Conversion cost

[masterplumber]

I haven't built mine yet but have done a lot of pricing of materials,etc. and have figured about $6000 for a not-too-fancy 6x12 w/single-axle but would have solar,vents,etc.

However, I just spotted a 17' Casita on CL that appears to be in pretty good shape for $6000. Hmm...

How tall are you? I love Casitas, but the ones I've been in I can't completely stand up straight in at 6' tall.

 

[user 423]

How tall are you? I love Casitas, but the ones I've been in I can't completely stand up straight in at 6' tall.

Oh, I didn't know that about Casitas. I'm 5'-11" and 6' in shoes. I've noticed a lot of cargos are at 72" but if you add insulation it would be less. Others are 75" without extra $ and that would be the minimum for me.

 

[highdesertranger]

I don't know much about Casita's but if all the frames are built like this one they are not built for the long haul. the frame on this one is junk,



for what these sell for IMO they are not worth it. highdesertranger

 

[masterplumber]

Most flat roof cargo trailers that have the standard 72" walls are to short for us taller folks. Some, like mine have a rounded roof so I think I have about 6' 4" in the center finished. I didn't lose any height by insulating as I just put foam between the ribs so only lost the 1/4" for the panelling. 6x12 trailers are hard to find used with 6' 6" high walls, but can be ordered new.

 

[user 423]

I didn't lose any height by insulating as I just put foam between the ribs so only lost the 1/4" for the panelling.

My plan would put foam between the ribs (3/4",right?) plus another 1/2" layer, then the paneling. I'm looking for a new 6 or 7x12 single-axle but finding one with barn doors, 75" interior height and an RV side door is proving to be difficult. I'd like to find one that's in stock so I can see what I'm getting.

 

[waldenbound]

I don't have any of my receipts and I didn't keep track of what I spent on my build, but here are some thoughts on costs.

I didn't have tools, so I had to buy a jigsaw, impact driver, and Rockwell hand saw (that's really for trim, to barely cuts 2x4s.) I had small household tools, tape measures, lumber pencils. Then there's the adhesives, lots of wood glue. Then there's fasteners, omg, you won't believe how much you will learn about wood screws, self tapping this, die cut that, ect. When I see guys who have drawers and drawers full of screws, nuts, and bolts now, I think "yeah I get it."

After I had the basics in power tools, adhesives, and fasteners, there was the costs of raw materials. Just making a bed, it's about $200 if you have everything. About $300-$400 if you need fasteners, wood glue. I'm not talking mahogany, that's just cedar at Lowes.
More about raw materials, there's the 3/4 plywood for a floor, Relectix, polyiso for the walls ( I spent a little over $100 on my polyiso.) Then the thin plywood over the walls and ceiling. Then there's the flooring. Then the fan.

Then, here's where things add up. It's the do-overs, fixing mistakes, endless runs to HD or Lowes. Beware of inside vs outside measurements. My bed was 63 inches long, so my center support beam needed to be 3 inches less, to take into the account the 1.5 inches of the two sides. Well, I cut the piece too short and I made that same mistake THREE TIMES! Beware of inside vs outside measurements!

Then there's the "setting up house part." The storage bins that work best, over the wall storage, rugs, magnets, hooks, bric-a-brac, this, that, that can be endless.

This is just me, I'm a low-skilled do it yourselfer doing basic carpentry. I'm going to make more mistakes than someone who works construction and can judge how much material is needed without too much overage, what kind of this or that is better, cutting down on trips to the store, returns. When I can make an RTR, I'll show off my "leaning Tower of Pisa" cedar chest. The whole thing is crooked.

Well, I don't know how much I spent, but it's in the multiple thousands, I'm sure of that. My power is supplied by a Goal Zero Yeti, and a small solar panel, there's another thousand almost. No refrigerator, so my Yeti cooler is another $400, but I've had that for awhile now. With my new re-org, I finally feel like I'm "done," I don't have any other projects planned for it.

 

[kaBLOOnie Boonster]

Waldenbound, I grinned and groaned when your last post kept saying "Then...then...then..." on the saga of your cargo trailer conversion.

I made about three trips to Home Depot (etc.) per day for two months straight when doing my conversion. That adds up to over 150 car trips. Even if you figure that those miles cost only $0.33 per mile, that is quite a sum.

"Then" there is the extra cost of eating out. When your hands are constantly moving during a conversion, it is hard to go to a kitchen and cook food from scratch. So I grabbed food on the run at fast food restaurants.

When I did my accounting of the total conversion cost, I only added in $500 for transportation and eating out, but I could have doubled that. I'll bet few people would include such costs. "Then" there was the possibility of having a fender bender in the parking lot, getting a speeding ticket, then...then..then...

 

[bullfrog]

That is why the build outs at Havasu were within site of a Home Depot on BLM land. Maybe that would work for some!

 

[waldenbound]

"Then" there is the extra cost of eating out. When your hands are constantly moving during a conversion, it is hard to go to a kitchen and cook food from scratch. So I grabbed food on the run at fast food restaurants.

Yes, excellent point! When I'd make a Lowes run, I'd stop in Arby's next door. Really, when you're working 8-10 hours a day on a project, you just don't want to stop and cook.

 

[highdesertranger]

when I am working like that I usually will cook enough 1 day a week to get me most of the way through a week. it's much cheaper that way too. highdesertranger