Published May 29, 2023, 4:20 p.m. by Violet Harris
If you're anything like us, the thought of building your own travel trailer from scratch is an exciting one. The idea of being able to hit the open road whenever the mood strikes, without having to worry about finding a place to park or hooking up to utilities, is appealing to say the least.
Of course, the reality of building a travel trailer is a bit more complicated than that. But that doesn't mean it's not doable! In this series of articles, we're going to walk you through the process of building a travel trailer from the ground up.
In this first installment, we're going to focus on the frame. The frame is the foundation of your travel trailer, so it's important to get it right.
There are a few different ways to approach building the frame of your travel trailer. You can buy a pre-made frame from a company like RV Chassis or you can build your own.
If you're going the diy route, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to make sure that the frame is strong enough to support the weight of the trailer. Second, you need to make sure that the frame is designed to be towed behind a vehicle.
There are a few different ways to achieve both of these goals. One option is to use 2"x4" lumber for the frame. This is a common choice for DIYers because it's relatively inexpensive and easy to work with. However, 2"x4" lumber is not as strong as some other options, so you'll need to use more of it to create a strong frame.
Another option is to use steel tubing for the frame. This is a more expensive option, but it's also much stronger than lumber. If you're worried about the weight of the trailer, steel tubing is a good choice.
Once you've decided on the material you're going to use for the frame, it's time to start building. The first step is to cut the lumber or tubing to length. You'll need to make sure that the pieces are cut accurately so that they fit together properly.
If you're using lumber, the next step is to drill holes for the bolts that will hold the frame together. If you're using tubing, you'll need to weld the pieces together.
Once the frame is complete, you can start adding the walls and roof. We'll cover that in more detail in the next installment of this series.
You may also like to read about:
[Applause]
[Music]
hey there guys today's gonna be the
start of the biggest build of the year
for me a from scratch travel trailer I'm
hoping to make it somewhere between a
tear drop trailer and a full-size camp
trailer with hopefully the benefits of
both and none of the detractions so I'm
gonna have to be a little bit careful on
the fabrication portion so I don't add
too much steel but I think it's gonna
turn out well I want to say thank you to
industrial metal supply they are
partnering with me on this and supplying
some of the steel for me to resurrect
this project some of you may know this
actually started about two years ago and
then it got tabled for various reasons
but anyway let me give you the backstory
on where it started from and then we
will get to the build so here's the
quick backstory about two years ago I
received a free axle from my
brother-in-law and I figured the best
thing to do with that axle was to start
building a trailer on it what was that
exactly sure the plans I was gonna use I
just figured I would build a trailer
frame that would fit the axle and then
figure some sort of teardrop looking
thing on top my father-in-law helped me
with some of the critical welds because
I was still pretty new to welding at the
time but for various reasons the whole
project got tabled and that leads us to
today where I'm hoping to make this into
something that is going to be worth
taking on road trips
and here's what the trailer looks like
today pretty much the same with the
addition of some rust as well as the
fact that I moved the leaf springs back
a bit and anticipation for this build
you can see the old hangars right there
with the new hangars just behind them
the first big step of this phase of the
build was to lengthen and widen the
trailer I originally was going to be
pulling this with my Volkswagen Jetta
TDI but now that I have a pickup and a
little bit more towing capacity I
figured the extra size of the trailer
would be appreciated
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
after adding both length and width to
the trailer frame I then took off the
wheels and leveled it out on jack stands
making sure it was dead level in all
directions at this point I'm essentially
going to be using the frame as an
assembly table to put together my roof
and wall framework in kind of a mirrored
fashion so right now everything is
upside down
I will tack it together and then I'll
flip it back over so that it'll
hopefully fit the trailer frame
perfectly
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
after getting the mainframe flipped over
and tacked into place and confirming
everything of square I then started
filling in the rest of the framework and
building out the rough shape of the
trailer this piece is going on the front
side of the trailer and the top is still
unattached because at this point I'm
still not sure of just how I'm going to
bend the curve radius but as you will
see in about a second my father-in-law
helps me to do this with an acetylene
torch and an old water pressure tank and
we basically just bent the form around
it and it ended up being the perfect
curve that I needed
and when we were finished I asked him to
do the honors of attaching it to the
trailer frame so that I could keep yet
another build tied in our family roots
of having multi generations work on
different parts and pieces of things
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
okay so that's pretty much it for the
bulk of the fabrication and framing for
this first part of the build there are
still a few little things I need to add
in various areas and I need to finish
full welds on a lot of these joints a
lot of them are just kind of tacked into
place but let me grab the camera I'll
give you a walk-around of what I need to
do and what is to come for the next
stage of this build for the next phase
of the build I'll be adding wood framing
to the structure both for reasons of
weight savings as well as to provide a
better interior surface to mount wall
paneling and cabinets - it's also going
to help to add support and bridge the
gaps of some of these larger metal
openings when I attach the aluminum
siding and the plywood from the inside
I'm also going to use wood to frame out
all of the window openings so there will
be one that goes there one that goes
there there will be a front window that
goes right there and then the door the
main door will be right here and I still
need to add a metal support on the top
of that that will be attached directly
to the metal with wood just filling in
the gaps and the floor will be made up
of two by fours that will be attached to
these metal tabs that you see right
there with plywood decking the reason
I'm using two by fours versus steel is
just for reasons again of weight savings
it was about 60 pounds difference going
from steel supports versus two by fours
and that's why I'm doing it I don't
think it's going to get exposed too much
to the elements with the exception of
when we're driving having roads spray
but I am going to try to seal from the
underside once everything is completely
framed out the wheel wells are just kind
of sitting there right now that's not
their final location as you can see I've
got a little buffer room of how far I
can move those up but eventually they
will be secured with bolts and then when
I put the siding on the siding will
completely meet the wheel well and
hopefully have a really seamless look
and if you're wondering about the wheels
no those weren't original to the free
axle I got these were the original
wheels that I had they were all dry
rotted and need in need of replacement
so I started looking on Craigslist and I
found a guy who was upgrading his jeep
rims these were the stock Jeep rims and
these tires only had a few thousand
miles on them so I got five tires for
225 bucks and I just had to buy some lug
adapters so that is I don't know in case
I didn't mention it earlier so that is
it for the first part of the travel
trailer build I'm really pleased with
the way the profile has turned out I was
a bit nervous as to how that front
radius and the back angled section would
actually look in person versus my
sketches but so far so good the next
time you see this it should be skinned
up an aluminum I'll have the windows
added the interior framing the wood
floor the insulation and the door on so
it's really going to be looking like you
can't trailer then then after that it
might slow down a bit because I need to
wire in all the DC electrical and the
lights and stuff and I've never really
done that so it's gonna be a learning
process for me but I guess with that
said this whole trailers first time I
have done this so the whole thing's
gonna be a learning process but as
always I appreciate you guys watching if
you want to see updates of this check me
out on Instagram but until the next
video we will see you next time
2CUTURL
Created in 2013, 2CUTURL has been on the forefront of entertainment and breaking news. Our editorial staff delivers high quality articles, video, documentary and live along with multi-platform content.
© 2CUTURL. All Rights Reserved.