Can You Build Your Own Caravan? Are you trying to find the perfect caravan to begin your caravanning adventure? But the available caravans in the market are not according to your taste? If not, ever thought of building your own caravan? But, above all, you must first know that can you build your own caravan or not?
YES! You can build your own caravan. All you’ll need is the required parts, some space and time, and a good skill set. If you feel that you’re not a professional, you can even get help from a professional in the process.
No doubt, it’s challenging to build your own caravan. But with a little patience, you can create the caravan of your dreams. So, if you’re confused, how you can build your own caravan, then read this post will be a great help.
Can You Build Your Own Caravan? How To Build Your Own Caravan
If you’re already a DIY lover, then building your own caravan will be more fun than a challenge for you. You already know how to use things in the best way possible. With such a creative mindset and a guide, the final look of your caravan can be surprisingly rewarding. But even if you have no DIY experience, this simple guide will help you build your own caravan from scratch.
1. Mock Up The Caravan Chassis Design
It is one of the most important parts when you start building your own caravan. You can’t even imagine a caravan without a chassis. It’s the ultimate support for holding your caravan. It acts as a support for caravan body and things such as water tanks, suspension, etc.
Therefore, you need to design the chassis thoughtfully and skillfully. You must ensure that your design fulfills all the technical requirements of a caravan chassis design. To make it easier for you and avoid any mistakes, you can get help from a computer program such as AutoCAD. It will allow you to see clear visuals and create precise 2D and 3D images for building chassis.
Using AutoCAD is particularly useful if you’re going to hire a professional later for constructing your caravan chassis. It’ll help him get a clear idea of the design you want.
2. Make The Caravan Chassis Design
Once you have the chassis design, you’re ready to make it. If you know the welding work, you can even do it yourself. But if you don’t consider yourself thoroughly trained or skilled, you can hire a professional too. He’ll know to make the chassis professional without any errors.
When you’re in the process of building caravan chassis, you’ll need to get caravan parts and accessories such as jockey wheels. If you don’t want to invest time in building chassis for your new caravan, you can also use an old caravan chassis. You’ll have to consider the quality of the old chassis. If it’s good enough, you can save some time and money by using it for your new caravan.
3. Build The Caravan Shell
No doubt the traditional stick ‘n tin caravans are still very common, but they are difficult to build. In contrast, modern caravans are easy to design and construct, and they too are becoming popular in recent years. For fiberglass and aluminum panels, it’s best to get help from a professional to cut the exterior shell as per your requirements. He’ll consider your requirements and cut the panels to the exact dimensions making your caravan lightweight and durable.
You must leave space in the shell for other parts of the caravan, such as windows, vents, doors, etc. Once everything is done, seal all the gaps with a waterproof sealant.
4. Add Power & Plumbing To Your Self Build Caravan
If you’re not a plumbing and electrical work expert, handling it all yourself can be challenging while building your own caravan. Also, government often guidelines insist that these things should be done by a professional. Hiring a professional will increase your budget than expected, but it’s a much safer and better option than doing it yourself.
For your caravan, you’ll need 240V electrical power to run all the appliances unless your thinking of operating solely on power packs. Moreover, you’ll also have to consider power inlets, wiring, a circuit breaker, switches, and power points. Make sure that you position the wiring correctly.
Plumbing isn’t like a power supply and can be handled more like a DIY project. While doing the plumbing work for your caravan, consider a portable tank with a tap, an electrical pump, filter and accumulator, manual and remote water filters.
5. Paint or Treat The Caravan Exterior
If you choose a composite caravan, paint won’t be necessary unless you want to add a color of your choice. In the case of the traditional caravan, painting the exterior acts as a shield from water and rust. You can either use a brush or spray paint for your caravan as per your choice.
When it comes to kitchen cabinets and other caravan interiors, you can get custom-made items or pick some already available items for it.
How Long Does It Take To Build Your Own Caravan?
The time required to build your own caravan depends upon many factors and can be between 2 months or a year. These factors include:
• Availability of spare parts and other accessories.
• The time you make for construction.
• Arrival period of the custom-made items such as doors, windows, etc.
Summary
Building your own caravan may seem a daunting task, but it’s actually not. With the required skillset and materials, you can make your own caravan.
Start with designing the perfect chassis and then making that chassis yourself or with a professional’s help. You can also use the chassis of an old caravan. Once the outer shell of your caravan is ready, move towards the plumbing and power work.
In the end, paint the exterior of your caravan as per your choice. You can get all the interior items already build in the market. Just measure your caravan dimensions and get the perfect-sized items.
The complete process of building your own caravan may take anywhere between 2 months to one year. The duration depends upon many things, and you can reduce the manufacturing time by considering those factors.
