March 28, 2024

How to Build a DIY Travel Trailer - The Frame (part 1)



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

Resources:

Similar videos

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.