Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers

[xtal_01]

Hey!

I have a class A RV now ... it's getting old and has seen better days.

It is highly modified with a new door, wheelchair lift, interior lift, hospital beds, equipped to handle -30 deg winters, ....

I am thinking of replacing it with a travel trailer.

After looking units I can purchase, I am not impressed ... plus my wallet started crying.

I am thinking of taking a shot at building my own .... not a small teardrop unit but a full size 30 ft trailer.

I have been looking around and found info but not a great site or forum where I can ask questions and see how other have built theirs .... and learn from their mistakes.

Can anyone suggest a forum or site?

Thanks ..... Mike


https://imgur.com/gallery/vgSAkTF

[xtal_01]

Sorry ... didn't want to get political (I am actually an independent ... have voted for both Dems and Republicans .... I have a very low opinion of both ...).

It is just that healthcare is really our biggest problem. I despise lawsuits. When my wife was injured (she was 12) her parents decided not to sue since they believed it was just an accident (she dove into a shallow pool at a friends house).

Now we are always trying to find money for something ... her wheelchair is $40K ... bed and air mattress $10K ... yearly supplies I be easily go over $10K ...

Plus a van (or she could never leave the house).

I also agree that private health insurers are making a kill off us!

That is why I am pushing for single payer medicare for all.

It works in Canada ... just an hour from where I live.

I have relives living there right now who will talk with anyone about it and say how great it is. And I am not just talking about people sitting home using the system. My brother is a professor ... he has a wife and two kids ... they can't believe how much it costs us and how many people go broke each year over health care issues ... even ones with insurance! ... this just came out a short while ago "A new study from academic researchers found that 66.5 percent of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues ... An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year because of medical issues and bills, the research found."

Anyway ... sorry ... just one of those things I deal with each day ... even controls were we live ... if we can get married ... just an overwhelming part of our lives.

I will do a bunch more research .... maybe find a good travel trailer to gut and start from ... maybe start from scratch ... as I said, lots of homework to do.

Thanks .... Mike

[Gdetrailer]

Everyone wants USA Healthcare "fixed" but yet everytime they attempt to "fix" it they end up making it worse by attacking the wrong end of the problem.

"Universal" coverage insurance is the absolute wrong place to start, you have to start in the place that is costing the healthcare system the most..

LITIGATION as in Lawsuits, Lawyers and such.

Tort limitations and REASONABLE settlements for truly bad outcomes can easily reduce the cost without any Government run health system.

It starts at the Liability insurance that ALL healthcare personal, Hospitals, Doctors and other staff must carry to protect themselves from being sued.

Have a sister who is a DR of Veterinary Medicine, when she first became a DR the Vet clinic she worked at paid her Liability insurance to the tune of $60K per yr!! Fast forward 20+ yrs and I would hate to see what that costs now let alone what a DR of humans would need for insurance..

Then there is the "health insurance providers", yeah, my Primary DR tells me they are not losing money, many have an "surplus" of money in the Billions of Dollars but yet they are telling the DRs like mine what the DRs must or can't do otherwise the DRs will not get reimbursed for services rendered..

I suspect that the DRs are being told to "push" the latest, greatest most expensive meds even though there may be less expensive older meds which work just as well or better than the new ones.. My DR has alluded to that..

Hopefully you can come up with a plan on your Trailer, as I mentioned, a custom builder most likely would be a better place to start for your situation. You have very specific needs which they should be able to design and build for you.

After fully rebuilding two TTs, I can tell you that it is not as easy as it looks to rebuild and even would be harder to start from ground zero with nothing to go by. Trailers have a balance thing that must be considered, axles must be in the correct place, your weight must be distributed correctly. Failure to get your load balance and or the axles balanced correctly will result in a trailer with a very bad towing instability.

IF you really wish to pursue from scratch, there was a company called "GLEN L" which offered some basic build pans. You can also search for "trailer design plans", vary your search terms and read up as much as possible!

There has been a few folks on this forum who have built from scratch, there was one who built a 5th wheel with slide outs, might have been by the name of Chad? I am sure someone else may remember that fellow and can find his build threads on this forum.

Additionally you will need to make sure you have all of the DOT stuff covered like your clearance lights, running lights and tail lights are in the correct positions and you will need axles with electric brakes and a emergency break away system.

[xtal_01]

Wheelchairs are not fun in winter ....

If we could, we would move south.

Problem ... her health insurance is supplied by the state (as I said, she chooses to work rather than collect SSI ... health insurance ... including home care ... is the one benefit she uses). She got a medicate waver so she can have her care done at home rather then have to live in a nursing home.

We looked into Florida ... 8 year waiting period!

And even then, most states only give you an few hours a week ... not enough to truly live on your own.

I get paid for a few hours a day of care .... not much but better than nothing ... every penny helps ... and truly better than 90% of the other states.

I was spoiled being from Canada originally. Everyone gets healthcare ... yes they pay more taxes but no premiums or deductibles. My mother, brother (with his wife and kids) still live there ... think we are nuts ... I am paying $500 a month ($6K a year) plus $5K deductible .. then %20 out of pocket ... and I am one of the lucky ones. I got sick last year and spent over $11K ... my brothers taxes are not $11K more than mine. Last year my mom (who is 80) broke her hip, got a new heart valve, got a pace maker ... and has been fighting cancer for 15 years. She was complaining to me the other day that she has a $25 bill for an ambulance fee to transfer her home! No death panels ... no waiting (she always see a doctor faster than I do).

Anyway ... love America ... just think we need to straighten out the health care system.

Then maybe we could move south.

Thanks .... Mike

[Gdetrailer]

xtal_01 wrote:
WOW ... impressive towing ..... but a scary price tag!

My wife works ..... amazing since most handicapped people don't either by choice (sit at home an collect SSI) or because they can't find a job .. or in some cases just he logistics of getting to and from a job.

She has worked since she graduated. They let her work from home most of the time, just having to go into the office a couple times a week for meetings and such (she works for the admissions department of a college doing computer work ... or as I call it, creating spam).

Her family said she could not drive. When we moved to the country (well 20 min from the city ... all VT is rural) .... I told her to try for her drivers license. She had wanted to but go t no encouragement.

She took lessons ... was taught to use hand controls (she can mover her arms but not her hands) and passed a standard drivers test.

Here in VT, there is a program ... if you have a job and need to get to it (there is no transit from out our way to the city) than they will pay for the conversion. You still need to buy the vehicle but they pay for any modifications you need.

This really freed me up ... I was always driving her somewhere ... now she comes home .... I do her care and she can be off again.

She has gone from part time work to working overtime almost every week.

So, since she drives, we need a van ... she can't transfer and needs to stay seated in her wheelchair while driving. Full size or mini but a van that we can have a lift put in and have equipped with hand controls.

Thanks ..... Mike

My hat is off to you and your wife!

VT is a very pretty place to live, one of my brothers moved to Southern VT (40 minutes from Bennington)and we visited him and his family every summer for a week. He passed away 10 yrs ago, still miss him, he was a great "tour guide" for us always found lots of neat places to show us while we were there.. I'm not a fan of the VT snow and cold temps but he liked it.

[campigloo]

If you’re building your own from frame up carbon fiber may be useable in some areas. I have no idea
how much it costs but seems like it would be worth investigating. I do know it’s very light and incredibly strong. I would think it would stand up to road salt too.
Good luck!

[xtal_01]

WOW ... impressive towing ..... but a scary price tag!

My wife works ..... amazing since most handicapped people don't either by choice (sit at home an collect SSI) or because they can't find a job .. or in some cases just he logistics of getting to and from a job.

She has worked since she graduated. They let her work from home most of the time, just having to go into the office a couple times a week for meetings and such (she works for the admissions department of a college doing computer work ... or as I call it, creating spam).

Her family said she could not drive. When we moved to the country (well 20 min from the city ... all VT is rural) .... I told her to try for her drivers license. She had wanted to but go t no encouragement.

She took lessons ... was taught to use hand controls (she can mover her arms but not her hands) and passed a standard drivers test.

Here in VT, there is a program ... if you have a job and need to get to it (there is no transit from out our way to the city) than they will pay for the conversion. You still need to buy the vehicle but they pay for any modifications you need.

This really freed me up ... I was always driving her somewhere ... now she comes home .... I do her care and she can be off again.

She has gone from part time work to working overtime almost every week.

So, since she drives, we need a van ... she can't transfer and needs to stay seated in her wheelchair while driving. Full size or mini but a van that we can have a lift put in and have equipped with hand controls.

Thanks ..... Mike

[theoldwizard1]

xtal_01 wrote:
An interior lift is one. My wife has been a quadriplegic for over 25 years. Her bones are relatively brittle and I just can't man handle her over into a bed 4 or 5 times a day. We use an overhead lift.

And maybe a rail system !

Sadly, I would not trust ANY regular trailer being structurally sound enough for a lift or a rail.

You definitely need to go CUSTOM BUILT !

[Gdetrailer]

xtal_01 wrote:
Weight is critical .... with 10,000 lbs towing, I am hoping not to exceed this.


I would think that is probably the limit of most trucks short of going to a diesel ??

Mike

No, many newer gas engine trucks can easily exceed 10K lbs towing provided they are optioned correctly.

For example, our 2013 F250 super cab short bed 4x2 with 6.2 gas engine has 3451 lbs of available cargo weight..



The thing to look out for is a HIGHLY optioned vehicle with the top trim level AND Diesel will most likely have a LOWER tow rating because of the weight of all the options plus the weight of a Diesel is far heavier than a gas engine.

I custom order my trucks, this way I get it configured for max payload without all of the expensive gingerbread.. Costs far less also, just bought a 2020 F250 XLT Supercab shortbed 4x2 with 6.2, out the door cost was $43K.. If I bought off dealer inventory I would be hard pressed to escape UNDER $60K and far less cargo capacity (many on the lot trucks had MSRPs starting at $70K upwards to $80K).

Vans are sort of a special creature and they do suffer on payload even though they may be "classed" as 3/4 or 1 ton. Best to check with your van outfitter to see what the REAL available cargo weight will be after the mods before you commit to a 10K trailer..

On edit.. FYI, just checked my 2020, available cargo weight is 3800 lbs! If I remember correctly they are rating the 6.2 F250 around 15K lbs towing..

[xtal_01]

Thanks for all the info!

The problem is, having used our RV for 10 years not, we have some specific needs.

An interior lift is one. My wife has been a quadriplegic for over 25 years. Her bones are relatively brittle and I just can't man handle her over into a bed 4 or 5 times a day. We use an overhead lift.

Then there is a matter of needing a bed I can get on both sides. In my RV, I built one that had wheels and a track. This let me move it right and left so I could get on both sides of her. At night I pushed it to one side into a fixed bed so we had a double bed and could sleep together.

Since we live in VT and my 80 year old mom in Canada, I need one that is winter rated. We have survived weeks at -30 in ours.

I need a generator so I can run the A/C when we stop along the way (usually a Walmart parking lot or rest area) to do her care.

I also want something that has a chance of surviving the corrosion of salt on the roads in winter.

Yes ....loooots to ask of a trailer or RV. If I had all the money in the world, I would just buy a new one every few years ... but I don't so I need to think ahead of what will last the longest.

Thanks again for all the help!

Mike

[theoldwizard1]

Sadly no one has really answered the OPs original question on DIY travel trailer forums. The only one I have ever found is strictly for "tiny trailers".

If you are serious, I suggest searching the internet for a small utility/enclosed ALUMINUM trailer manufacturer. It will be expensive, because it will be all/mostly aluminum, but customized with a wheel chair lift or maybe just ramps, it would be a great starting place.

Flat aluminum sides do not look as "pretty" as fiberglass, but if you glue foam board insulation to the interior, it will take out a lot of the "wavyness". I don't think you can (cost effectively) replace the rivets with other means of adhering the aluminum skin.

Besides spending extra for a (mostly) aluminum chassis and body, another place to spend extra on is the floor. Do NOT use a standard 3/4" plywood floor. It is heavy and will rot over time. You want a 3/4" honeycomb, fiberglass floor that has no organic (wood) in it. Install vinyl "plank" over it.

Personally, I would go with a dry/composting (or cassette) toilet. No black tank to empty and less fresh water usage.

[theoldwizard1]

xtal_01 wrote:
... I am still looking at things like broken engine studs (had this problem 3 times now on the Ford V10)

I am guessing you are referring to the studs that hold the intake manifold on. Sadly, this is a fact of life on all Ford Triton V8 and V10 engines and is frequently accommodated by a crack exhaust manifold.

Some people claim that the aftermarket manifolds are cats thinner or do not have a flat flange face so that they are more prone to cracking again. Whether you use the OEM or aftermarket manifold, all of the studs need to be replaced with the manifold.

Ford does sell a special stainless steel stud kit. These stainless steel studs do not corrode (as fast) so are less prone to fail.

[wanderingaimles]

Was just surfing the web on this and ran across this brand,,,
Harbor View

Harbor view elkhart In

May take a road trip to see or buy.

[wanderingaimles]

A couple of years ago we had looked at possibly getting a TT to travel with DW's mother who was basically wheelchair bound. Keystone had offered some models in their Outback line that had front ramps and a bunk area as well as a larger one with a king rear bed.
You may want to look at those, there are some other sizes on the used market from past years as well but here are some links.
Outback 324
Outback 240
Outback 335
Or you may find something in the toyhauler lines.
If nothing else the front ramps may give you some access ideas.
Good luck

[OleManOleCan]

xtal_01 wrote:
Hey!

I have a class A RV now ... it's getting old and has seen better days.

It is highly modified with a new door, wheelchair lift, interior lift, hospital beds, equipped to handle -30 deg winters, ....

I am thinking of replacing it with a travel trailer.

After looking units I can purchase, I am not impressed ... plus my wallet started crying.

I am thinking of taking a shot at building my own .... not a small teardrop unit but a full size 30 ft trailer.

I have been looking around and found info but not a great site or forum where I can ask questions and see how other have built theirs .... and learn from their mistakes.

Can anyone suggest a forum or site?

Thanks ..... Mike


https://imgur.com/gallery/vgSAkTF

Good Luck. You are very ambitious.
Plan on lots of stumbling blocks. This is when you start making Plan B, Plan C ect... Let us know where you are on your project.
I worked on a 20 foot 75 Fleetwood Prowler last year. Maybe it was just me, but lots of easy things got complicated during my project. Keep your sense of humor. Sometimes backing off for a couple of days helped me get back on track, or allowed me to think of different ways to do things.