This project is over a year done but I thought I would share it. Not too many pictures of the process but you can get the idea.
It started with a free camper trailer from an ex-coworker. Lots of sawzall blades and sledge hammers and we made a usable trailer.
We salvaged all we could and sold off the pieces and parts to offset some of the things we knew we'd have to buy (tires, paint, decking.) The disassembly process:
Dumpsters were paramount in this process:
Aforementioned sawzalling:
The frame was 28' long, from a 33' trailer. We decided on chopping it to 18'.
Chopping process, we took 5 feet off the back of the trailer and a 5 foot section out between the wheels and front of the trailer. This kept the wheels and suspension aligned. All we had to do was realigh the 10" I-beam main rails.
Of course to haul a vehicle we needed a dropped tail.
The next steps were delayed, weather wasn't cooperating for paint and the cost of treated lumber was sky high. Lots of sanding ,scraping, grinding the frame and it was ready for paint, Tractor Supply black implement paint, thinned with mineral spirits and sprayed on. Then, the deck was added.
Nice! I did that with one I bought from a friend. 26ft. trailer that he wanted for the glass and some other things he could use or sell off, I bought the frame with electrically braked axles for $200. It's a fun and very rewarding project.
We sold the fridge, hot water heater, AC unit, doors, windows, and bathroom pieces. We had to buy 4 new tires, paint, wood and pay dumpster fees. The bottom line came to about $1200-1300 to complete the build. All the wiring and many of the lights were recycled. We held on to the hydraulic pump and ram that moved the slide-out, so we could have recovered more . The trailer pull perfectly but tips the scales somewhere better than 2500#. The original gross weight for the camper was 12,000#. Much of the steel removed from the frame shortening was added as reinforcements between the frame rails.
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