Pre-made box vs. custom

[dgorila1]

I was surfing the net and found lots of used boxes available in the 15'-30' range,with most for no more than a few thousand $. What would be better to use when building a custom coach on a stretched HDT....a pre-made box or custom building one from scratch?

[Big Mike]

I Had delta build my 28ft box new for about $8900.00 I liked the idea of plywood floor & no door in the rear

[geofkaye]

....DEPENDING ON THE CONDITION-you might have a winner if you do your homework carefully[$2500 is a good price]....as far as saving money-maybe 25% of a new box if straight and not leaking-use spray foam to insulate and eliminate the water issue-check carefully for damage-aluminum will work itself into stress cracks at joints-so check carefully every joint....geofkaye

[Roadside]

I agree. Do your home work on how and, will the box work for you. When I did my project I looked at doing just that. My thought for the rear door opening, was to put in a 2 or 3 ft. slide to the rear to make the beadroom bigger. Or use as the front door with a fold up platform as a small porch. The roof is the big deal, tuff and no leak. Good luck : Roadside

[geofkaye]

....OK....THE BACK DOOR CAN BE REMOVED AND A SLIDER USED IN IT'S PLACE VERY EASILY WITH very very very LITTLE COST...USE A MURPHY BED ON THE BACKSIDE WALL AND HAVE IT SLIDE OUT WITH THE SLIDER AND THEN FOLD DOWN....FORGET THE SIDE CABINETS AS THEY ARE ONLY HEAD KNOCKERS AND WILL JUST MAKE THE SPACE ONLY SMALLER FOR THE BED...USE OVER HEAD CABINET AND BOLT THEM TO THE SLIDER'S BACK WALL....THIS WAY THE BED CAN BE DOWN-WITH VERY LITTLE ROOM FOR WALKING ETC OR OPEN UP TO A LARGE BEDROOM WITH PLENTY OF SPACE AND CABINET/ROD SPACE.......geofkaye

[dgorila1]

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. I wondered about the durability of the boxes that are riveted, but the majority are made this way and are built for commercial use so I assume they are engineered and made to hold up. Converting one into a RV should only strengthen it with the interior walls acting as reinforcement (if they are tied into the outside walls). As Geof said, in buying a used one a detailed, thorough inspection is key. $8900 for a new one isn't a bad price though and you will start with something you know will be watertight and straight. They could also put in all the cutouts when building it, making the build process much easier and cleaner. I assume they could also build in the insulation as well if making a new one. So much to investigate :-)

[geofkaye]

...forget built in insulation[styrofoam] unless you don't mind the expense of running heat and a/c....I have spray foam in mine and also a sheet foam insulation....a 15oo watt heater and 13.5 a/c is good enough for winter and summer in my 37' trailer....it will pay for itself if you are using it a lot the first year-but won't pay if it is a vacation or weekender unite for 3 years of occasional use....maybe longer if the weather is mild....spray foam eliminates the leaking issue altogether as the foam seeps or is sprayed into the cracks and expands-stopping any air leaks or water leaks....may be repaired inside or out with a spray can or you can bring it back to us and we will respray it for you-cuz if you wreck it you are not going to be is a good mood any way so the respray is on us.....I do it for you guys as a favor.....anyway there is nothing better than spray foam in a RV and of course the manufactures wont spend the money....so you have to to keep warm or cool as the case may be ;&gt....it also eliminates the moisture issue and makes it easily correctable....geofkaye

[Doc Weaver]

to add to that. all it takes is the smallest little hole to let sound/air in. After my first trip in my truck I went back and filled all those "insignificant" holes and it made a huge difference.

Doc Weaver

[geofkaye]

....TO GIVE YOU AN EXACT NUMBER [AND I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW THEY ARRIVED AT IT]....I AM QUOTING HERE "40% LOSS FROM INFILTRATION OF AIR INTO THE HOUSING UNITE DUE TO VOIDS IN THE EXTERIOR"....SOME ARE OF THE OPINION-AND AGAIN HERE I DO QUOTE "THE VOIDS IN THE EXTERIOR SERVE DUAL PURPOSE BY LETTING OUT THE MOISTURE AND ACCUMULATED WATER VAPOR OUT WHEN THE ENVIRONMENT IS FAVORABLE.....I'll FINISH LATER I HAVE A CLIENT TO SEE AT THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW....t-a-y-l ..... geofkaye

[geofkaye]

....OK-I'm back...that was a "quick admit"-even for me at this time of the evening[no nap today!].....anyway....the issue is two fold here with insulation of an RV...one is transmission of H/C and the other is air moving through the insulation and taking the heated/cooled air and mixing it with exterior air which will make any insulation less effective rather quickly...also the issue of moisture-which in relation to many insulation types makes them part of the problem and not the solution....have you ever looked at a pink insulation batt full of water?....it ain't pretty-as your insulation is shot and all you H/C is going elsewhere-additional moisture is rotting your RV and the mold is making your living space stink and/or worse...I don't want to be a fear monger here-but that stuff can shorten you life and dying that way is a b-atch....drowning in your own mucus....not the way I want to go...[should I have a choice!] anyway.....the way to avoid liquid condensation in your insulation is to keep if from getting there in the first place-cheapest way is to enclose it in a plastic bag-seal it and then install it in the cavity....cheap easy and a 1000 sq ft of plastic is about $30.oo at Home Depot....use glue and/or tape to seal it and keep it in place in the cavity[I have done this and it works well on previous installations]make sure the bag is sealed well with the tape......I did use a sealing iron/gizzmo that was supplied by a moving company for a seal like a plastic food bag and it did work but it was a PIA cuz I wasn't used to using the dam thing and made mass mistakes and had a lot of waste.....second easiest way will be in the next post....I need a drink of water-and a small bowl of popcorn....geofkaye

[geofkaye]

...one other issue when you think about insulation....if you spray foam a 1/4" in the outside of the cavity and use isocynate board to cover the cavity before you add the plastic wrapped pink stuff you can make an -airtight- leak proof cavity/moisture resistant- and repairable with a spray can- with a very good insulation value very inexpensively-for those of you that are like me easy-cheap-and good R-value and very functionable....geofkaye [ pls. capitalize the word _CHEAP_!]

[Doc Weaver]

kinda back to the original topic, I was at B and D truck and gear in greenwood Louisiana today and they have a topkick straight truck with low miles that they are trying to dump. They bought it for the engine (for a particular customer) who ended up not taking it. I think it's a CAT. It looked good and I think they are asking 3k.

b and D truck and gear
8190 W 70th St, Greenwood LA - (318) 938-6144

I don't benefit from this, I just wanted to let everyone know. They have always been fair to me. In fact, I bought Freightliner aluminum wheels from them today for $140 each. real good shape too.

Doc Weaver

[dgorila1]

Dang Doc, $3,000 is cheap if its in good shape! Would make a great platform for a small coach. Wish I had the $$$$ to look it over and jump on it . Thanks for the heads up.

[Doc Weaver]

they offered it to me, but I'm still working on my first one. I didn't inspect it, but it looked good from a quick walk around. i think they said it had 40k to 50k miles on it. Thats good even on a 3126.

Doc Weaver