New Member With Big Plans

[pextron]

Hello,

I am new to travel trailers and do not currently own one but I am in the process of planning my own frame-up build project which will require a donor travel trailer in the 24 foot size range to use as a foundation for my build. While conducting research, I was attracted to your forum by the Homemade Travel Trailer Project thread and have been following it for a while now.

You folks seem to have a positive attitude and appear to be tolerant of new ideas and ways of thinking so I decided to join your forum and see how things went. People seem to really like Sunlines so I may consider using one that is in need of some serious TLC as a basis for my build which would make me a Sunline owner, sort of anyway.

If anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to post my plans/ideas and would welcome any feedback or suggestions that anyone has.

Thanks

[rich2500]

Hi pextron and welcome to the club,I and I'm sure most others here would love to follow your build,I have read your posts on rv.net and liked your way of thinking.I think starting your project with a sunline is a great idea and you have come to the correct place when it comes to sunline and rv's in general,we got lots of very knowledgable folks here that I know would be happy to guide you in the right direction with your project.

[pextron]

Thank you for your kind welcome.

As you could tell, I am also a member of the other forum but my experience there has been met with mixed results. Regardless, I used the same name here so there would be no confusion as it only seemed logical that some people would be members of both forums.

I am still very much in the planning stages and have yet to locate a suitable travel trailer to use as a donor but it seems that a Sunline would be an excellent candidate. The biggest problem I am facing is finding one that has water damage that has not been wrecked and is priced low enough to make the cost of my build feasible.

I have gained a lot of valuable information here and have little doubt that there is much more to be gained but more importantly, this seems to be a friendly place where the potential exists to develop lasting friendships while sharing ideas and information. My entire reason behind doing this is to have fun and sharing experiences and information would make it all that much better.

[pextron]

Is this forum not very active anymore? There doesn't seem to be a lot of traffic.

[Steve Collins]

Summer = camping. Easily a third of our usual posters are out away from home right now and may not even have internet access. Those that do generally only check in once a day.

And, our total number of members here is a very small fraction compared to places like rv.net.

[pextron]

Yea, I knew it was a smaller site before I joined and unfortunately summer doesn't mean camping for me, at least not yet anyway.

[Honda03842]

Pextron,
There are three or four site members that are massively reconfiguring their trailers or building a trailer from frame up. These postings get a lot of views and a fair amount of comment.

It is a site where people do respond and answer questions. The best part of this site is the freindliness of the members. Part of this may be due to the fact that the manufacturer no longer exists and we are more dependent on each other; another part may be that members love their Sunlines. With all that the members have been tolerant and accepting of those members that are seeking more, going a little beyond, something to be respected about the nature of the group.

Certainly your postings would be welcome. As to a Sunline as a base for your development, I am using a Sunline frame for my trailer, dismantling it with heavy heart before starting, at the same time learning a lot about trailers and their construction.

Another member ("Homebuilt") is using a popup frame. Certainly cost of the frame and additional available components on the sacraficial trailer are a deciding factor. In my case, one factor were the Sunline windows in our trailer and all the components we had added over the years plus the emotional ties to our little Sunline.

Welcome to the site, my personal favorite RV site.

[DianeScraps]

Hi and welcome!

I truely admire those up to the major rebuilds and mods! For us just doing the small stuff requires help, but the people around here are awesome with us non handy types too!

I have seen various posts around here in the past about damaged sunlines for sale, so perhaps they can even help you make your match.

Chat with you soon! (now i've gotta go finish packing my sunline - we leave tonight)

Diane

[pextron]

Friendliness is one of the things that attracted me to the site. I am a big believer in quality over quantity and it means a lot to me to have the ability to not only communicate with people but to actually relate to them in a meaningful way. This seems like a great place and while I may be new to travel trailers, I have a great deal of experience in many other areas and would be more than happy to contribute in whatever ways I can. Afterall, helping one another and sharing a friendly atmosphere is what camping is all about.

I also gave a great love of the outdoors and have went tent camping and even backpacking many times in the past. Over time, I had less and less time to go camping until I eventually stopped but now that I have more free time, I have decided to resume camping, only this time I want to step it up a few notches.

I had originally thought of simply purchasing a travel trailer that was ready to go but as I began to research them and came across a few build threads, the seed for building my own started to take root and eventually brought me to the point where I am at today.

Taking on a travel trailer build project is a huge undertaking but I am fully prepared for the task. In fact, I am very much looking foreward to it when the time comes. Photography also happens to be one of my hobbies so as my build progresses, there will be lots of pictures with annotations for me to share.

My build plans are still a work in progress but here is my floor plan and a general overview of what it will look like. It's profile actually resembles a Sunline.

I very much welcome feedback and suggestions.

Floor Plan:


Structure:


Overview:


Interior 1:


Interior 2:

[JohnB]

Hi Pextron

Welcome to Sunline Owners Club.

Yes I know I for one would very much like to see your camper build. And modeling it after a Sunline would be a bonus but not a must have. If you can find a Sunline that fits the needs of your starter project, documenting the construction of build as you take it apart helps us all. And pic’s are really really helpful as we all take away different things from the pics to help with our campers.

Have you seen this persons build of a 5th wheel?

http://www.chadsprojects.com/RV_Homemade_Trailer.asp

I myself may redo our Sunline when I retire and after we have stopped our western US camping travel spree for a while….. By then it may need an upgrade as we use ours all year round now and have no plans to stop doing that. So I’m still collecting ideas and documenting the repairs I do now so it may help others.

The advantage you have in doing your own is you can add the extra time to make a good TT, great. Sunline was above most in the RV industry and a lot of it was from taking a little more time to finish it off right. They still followed and or lead the RV industry practices in how to build a camper so they are a good base for your new project. And yes there are some things that they too could of done better but in today’s industry they where top class.

H’mm looking at your diagrams, what CAD packaging are you using?

Good luck and hope to see more soon.

John

[pextron]

I used a program called Google Sketchup (http://sketchup.google.com) to create the 3D model of my floor plan. It's really easy to use with many great features and the best part is that it's a free program. I like planning in 3D because it allows me to see it before I build it to ensure it is what I had imagined. I have many ideas and have little doubt that many more will follow. Especially with the help of others.

The 5th wheel project was one of many that I refer to while planning for my build. He did a great job and the name "Envision" fits perfectly. In my case, I have considered the name "Phoenix", after the mythical bird that was reborn from the ashes of the old. The name "Phoenix" also lends itself to some interesting custom logos and graphics too. The following picture is one of many ideas I had for a custom logo. It was created using Photoshop.



Sunline's do appear to be better constructed than most. Granted, they could have done a few things differently, but overall they look very good. However, I do think that plywood would have been better suited than OSB for the floor because OSB has a tendancy to absorb moisture, leading to rot, but that's just my personal opinion.

In any case, I would be more than happy to take lots of pictures and document everything during disassembly of my donor travel trailer, after I locate one. When I began planning for this project, I knew nothing about the methods used to construct travel trailers but it was pictures and documentation provided by others that gave me the information I needed. In fact, the pictures of the factory tour on this site were some of the most helpful of all.

It would be great if I could manage to find a used Sunline that is suitable for my project so I will be especially alert for them. You never know, perhaps an owner of a damaged Sunline will read this and want to give their beloved Sunline a good home so it can be reborn. Hey, I can dream right?

[pextron]

The Phoenix logo would look something like this if it were on a trailer.

[frank]

Originally Posted by pextron

Hello,

I am new to travel trailers and do not currently own one but I am in the process of planning my own frame-up build project which will require a donor travel trailer in the 24 foot size range to use as a foundation for my build. While conducting research, I was attracted to your forum by the Homemade Travel Trailer Project thread and have been following it for a while now.

You folks seem to have a positive attitude and appear to be tolerant of new ideas and ways of thinking so I decided to join your forum and see how things went. People seem to really like Sunlines so I may consider using one that is in need of some serious TLC as a basis for my build which would make me a Sunline owner, sort of anyway.

If anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to post my plans/ideas and would welcome any feedback or suggestions that anyone has.

Thanks

First off, welcome! Yes, this is a very friendly community over here with a bunch of great people.

I saw some of your posts on the "other forum" and am the guy that replied to your side vent questions saying that some fun finders use that configuration. To be honest, that was my first post on there in probably two years, so it's safe to assume I find your project quite interesting.

By the way, really nice sketchup work.

- Frank

[luvrque]

Originally Posted by pextron

Hello,

I am new to travel trailers and do not currently own one but I am in the process of planning my own frame-up build project .

If anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to post my plans/ideas and would welcome any feedback or suggestions that anyone has.

Thanks

Hi Pextron,
Welcome to the club. We have lots of very friendly knowledgeable people here willing to answer all your questions...

I am very interested & would love to follow your build. as many others I am sure.
As for suggestions all I would say is put Large windows to see out from your sitting area, Large counter space, & Large holding tanks.
The first two I have... but the Lg.tanks I don't......., Which is a shame because I now see TT my size with 30 & 40 gal.holding tanks. but the remainder of the trailer is by far inferior to the Sunline QUE I have.
I am sure YOU know what is important to you that is all that matters, so make the TT the way it suits you best.......