Trailer Renovation

Houses aren't the only thing you can buy, fix up, and sell for a profit. Websites dedicated to photographing completed vehicles are interesting. Hotrods and motorcycles are both popular for that, as nostalgia is big business.

A Teardrop Trailer, complete with rack for a scooter or motorcycle. 

A friend of mine wanted to build Teardrop trailers, which is a good idea only the plans he had got modified for higher strength. This put some delays into the project and the space for it in our metal shop wasn't guaranteed. The raw materials, like square steel tubing aren't square when you buy them, just the length you paid for. You have to fix that yourself with a heating torch or pay someone to do it for you, which is a career by itself. Even being physically close to the material supply stores isn't enough. Are the wheels in the right place? If you put too much tongue weight on the hitch it will lift the front wheels of the tow vehicles. If you put the wheels too far forward, the hitch will lift the rear wheels of the tow vehicle of pop off the hitch, possibly at speed and go flying into oncoming traffic, which makes you liable of 2nd degree murder and criminal negligence. So you as the manufacturer had better get this right. And document it for court. There's always some critical step and it becomes a steep learning curve. I can see why trailers and RV's are so very expensive.

Teardrop trailers are a step up from a tent, being rigid, and better security and comfort, though you can't stand up in one. Most trailers have sleeping space, a car stereo, a window for ventilation and light, and minimal storage space. A teardrop can be pulled by most cars because they weigh around 1000 pounds. Keep in mind that most sedans can ONLY tow 1000 pounds, though ironically compact cars can often tow 1500, and a Subaru, long reviled as a lousy tow vehicle, can tow 2500. Some SUVs are closer to 3500 pounds of tow capacity so would pull a Teardrop trailer with ease, though something taller and longer would offer more comfort and features. Better trailers with higher ceilings and built with an aluminum frame and thicker insulation are usually the better choice for camping short term. Once you start living full time in a trailer, you need more space and proper washing facilities. You either pay to carry that with you or pay to rent them and stay in places they can be had. Whether this is bath house and laundromat or a KOA campground, that's up to you. None of that is truly cheap.

I've seen folks try and make money restoring cars, but hot rods lose money. Too many dreams invested in those and the parts are often not available anymore and you either pay for it through the nose, hunt junkyards, or upgrade to something fancy and expensive. The buyers are obsessed with the quality of every detail so they are crucial to what makes a car a Hot Rod. This is why hot rods are treated as rolling art objects. There's no profit there.

Contrast this with motorcycles which are bought from farmer sheds and private party sales, sometimes as disassembled parts in boxes or crates for mere hundreds ($400-800 or so). The chrome is polished and parts replaced, the bike reassembled or rebuilt for fairly low material investment and the end result gets photographed and the finished product sells for thousands, which is actual profit. A motorcycle is a shorter term investment and while the end value is lower than an RV, they are also quicker to turn over too. Buyers are far more likely to have the cash to buy them. The danger seems to be collecting them in your garage, a far-too-common trait of avid motorcyclists from what I've see on ADVRider.com.

It looks like RVs would be a good potential for restoration, but the biggest problem there is the market of people you could sell it to. Fuel is expensive, people are poor today, and buyers are few and far between. Any RV sold cheap is going to have big problems, probably expensive ones. You'd probably need to gut the thing and start over with a shell. If that's the case, isn't it cheaper to go custom from the beginning? My friend's efforts with the Teardrop trailer proved you can build a trailer chassis with a mail order axle and MIG welder. The steel isn't impossible to get, just irritating because it doesn't come straight. His trailer was perhaps too heavy for what it was intended to be, and while steel is much easier to work with, aluminum might be a better choice for a trailer because it weighs about half as much for the same strength. It really just needs to be strong enough to hold the coverings on and provide a framework for the cabinets, bed, and kitchen mounting. Good Teardrops have a panel on the back to expose the kitchen area (outside!), and the sink. Downside is if its raining, you're standing out in it trying to cook. Many clever modders build a tent to cover the back end, keeping off the rain and bugs. A second mod would be an outdoor shower inside a curtain. Pity the water goes everywhere, including the soap. Might be frowned upon in many campgrounds. Its real minimalism, but at least its light weight and cheap. If only Top Gear pulled one of those.

Steel is not the only answer to trailer manufacturing. There are many trailers built of Aluminum, beyond the obvious and high quality (and expensive) Airstream. For value holding, Airstream is probably it. The fiberglass ones are certainly functional, but being plastic means they are less than classic. Fiberglass cracks and is damaged by UV light. It isn't nice. Much like the modern Vespas aren't metal and will fall apart like the Tupperware they're apparently made from given sufficient time in the sun, old metal ones are best. I wonder if someone will eventually make nice looking aluminum sheeting to cover a modern Vespa with?

I wish I knew enough structural engineering to build a trailer without massive legal threat. If the structure fails on the road and someone dies, you get sued. Maybe even face criminal negligence charges. Defending yourself is very expensive. At least, that's how I understand it.

Its probably safer from a legal standpoint to LLC yourself, and gut a flatbed since that will be DOT certified. The coed above built this little house onto a trailer that was DOT certified.

Your other option is gut a nice looking shell and rebuild the inside properly. If you don't mind your company going bankrupt every couple years and paying yourself huge wages and dividends towards the next LLC. LLC, Limited Liability Corporation is entirely about legal protection. And all loans are cosigned by a person that the bank goes after. That means you. Anybody wanting to start a business had best do some hard studying of Business and Tort Law. Its really discouraging, but you have to protect yourself. It's so dirty, most Boomers prefer stock investing because your money is safer and the returns are better. Stocks are a lower risk than a business which can be sued at any time.

It is ironic that motorcycle owners rarely sue builders, perhaps because they accept and admit that motorcycles are dangerous and most accidents on a bike are operator error. I have heard of cases where they did. There was a famous one where a biker on a custom chopper hit a small bump on the freeway north of San Jose and the front forks tore off, dropping the bike onto the road to skid in a shower of sparks. The rider survived and sued them out of business. Turns out the design was really stupid since it is really difficult or impossible to make that weld and it looks like they don't check each weld properly.

From what I've seen, a trailer or RV with modern appliances and furnishing is worth far more and while prices are high now because there are still relatively rich Baby Boomers, this won't always be true and the longer you wait, the lower this price will be till break-even is reached and the boomers are dying in rest homes. Probably 15-20 years of that left. Sounds like a lot of time, I know, but think about it. Is our Dollar going to be worth much in 5 or 10 years? Its already inflated. The administration is going out of its way to destroy the USA's reputation, which directly lowers the value of the dollar since it is a Fiat currency. How many trailers or RV's can you restore to lovely condition and then find a buyer with the money, rather than just wasting your time, who can and will pay more than you put into it so you make money on the deal? So basically, if you're going to flip an RV, fix the stuff and flip it fast. Don't take too long because as America gets poorer, buyers will have less money to pay and banks will have less interest in funding a mobile home that can "be stolen".