TRX wrote:
I've refurbed several motorhomes and travel trailers. Those suckers are plenty heavy when loaded; GVWR shouldn't be an issue.
Normal construction is to lay the floor, then attach the side walls, roof, and interior walls and cabinetry. Without any interior walls you'll get some twisting on bumps or with side winds; it happens to enclosed trailers too, and is generally harmless, but would probably startling if you were inside to watch it. A partition or cabinets just ahead of the car and some corner braces at the rear hatch and you should be fine.
Your ramp/hatch/door needs to be fairly sturdy. Depending on your approach angle and the height of the floor, you may need to fold the back down onto some supports, then use conventional trailer ramps to drive up onto that. And unless you're a weight lifter you probably should plan for a winch to crank it up and down with. You might want to run some triangulated tubes from the cable axle at the top to the floor instead of depending on the sidewall structure; a lot of that is just stapled 2x2s.
Weather sealing can be a hassle. Steele Rubber and others sell various types of weatherstripping; get some catalogs (there are places lots cheaper than Steele) and look at what's available *before* you build the rear door.
Don't forget to check on registration and insurance before purchasing. With some states/insurance companies there are sizeable price jumps between Class C and Class B motorhomes, and "once a motorhome, always a motorhome." In my state motorhomes and box trucks are taxed differently. *But* most motorhomes spend most of their life parked, and can be very low-mileage, while box trucks are generally commercial vehicles and thoroughly used.
Generators are most often at the rear; you can relocate the generator forward if needed. It's nice to have power and air conditioning... the furnace and water heater can probably go. The water and sewer holding tanks are plastic and don't weigh much when empty; you can just cap the openings and ignore them. You can screw through the plywood down into the frame for your tiedown anchors. Put some lights at floor level to assist hooking up, and remember you need access at the front to hook up straps or chains. It's easy to frame hatch openings in the wall for that; you frame the inside first, jigsaw the aluminum or fiberglass siding from the inside, and you can get the aluminum trim and hardware from RV suppliers to make factory-style access hatches.
Oh, and if you need to move the entry door, you can just frame and cut another one forward if necessary and leave the old one on place. It shouldn't be hard to find a complete door and frame from a scrapped RV. Or you can make your own like for an access hatch.
Existing outside hatches that aren't needed any more - refrigerator, storage, etc. - can be sealed shut so rain and wind don't enter. Louvers can be sealed by gluing or riveting a piece of sheet metal to the inside.
Touching on two points here..
A. The large fold down ramp and a winch.. Harbor Freight sells a cheapo "atv" winch that works excellent for this. we outfitted a friend of mines enclosed trailer they use to haul a NEMA Lite car with. 5 years later and its still going strong.
B. My old boss upgraded his motor home, and used to race spec miatas. He used the old grey water tank (or at least the space it occupied) combined with a 12v transfer pump for race fuel. it was secure, and with a fill on the outside of the motor home, meant that he could buy as much fuel as he needed off the track (didn't have to pay the extra $$$ associated with buying at the track), and didn't have to worry about anyone stealing it while he was busy racing.
_________________
Tucker
Driven5 wrote:
Forced Induction + Magic Spinning Doritos = EMod