Custom Design Your Own Mobile Home
Tips on custom designing a motor home to your own requirement from.
March/April 1971
by DON STEPHENS
INNOVATOR
RELATED CONTENT
Although purchase of a readymade modern slide-in or chassis-mount camper on a pickup or cab type truck may seem the easiest way to become a motor-age gypsy, I feel there is much merit to considering the alternative offered by the numerous used, or compact vans on the market. If you find, as I do, laying out six or seven thousand dollars for a factory-built unit is a bit beyond your budget, then combining the used van with a bit of component buying and do-it-yourselfing may be your answer.
By custom designing a motor home to your own requirements you can make certain that not one precious inch of space or dollar is wasted. You will not be trying to warp your living patterns to fit a space designed to attract the mythical average buyer. You can select components that best fit your need and desires with a choice of options as wide as the market and you can buy many items factory-direct at a sizeable savings. By doing the parts of the installation which are within your capabilities, you can reduce actual cash outlays greatly and most manufacturers are glad to give you the information you need to do the work painlessly.
Once you have your basic vehicle you can proceed at your own pace as time and money allow. Start by throwing a mattress on the floor, cooking on a camp stove, bathing in a wash tub and storing in cardboard boxes if this is all your pocket book will allow in the beginning. As you slowly upgrade you will be planning ahead for greater efficiency and, by doing the work yourself, you will end up knowing your rig and how it works. Thus, repairs and maintenance will not present the doubt they do to the man who bought a factory package.
You may wonder why I recommend starting this project with a van. First, you have enclosure from the beginning. You also have easy access from driving to living areas as these are actually one area; not two smaller separated cubicles. The van's monolithic construction saves weight over the separate truck and camper, each of which must have its own structure. Because it weighs less and presents far less wind resistance, a van does not require as much horsepower and it uses less gas. Because of its lower center of gravity and because it is less affected by wind it is easier to handle than a high, broad camper. It also presents the driver with better side and rear visibility than most chassis-mount and slide-in units.
Vans like the Dodge A-100 and A-108, the Chevy-vans, the Ford Econolines and those by GMC are available with a variety of engines, both sixes and V8's. They offer automatic or standard transmissions as well as many performance and load options. Most come in two lengths; short vans with 8.5 feet behind the seats and the long vans with about 10 feet. They are available with a variety of glass and door options and on many, side and rear cargo doors are inter-changeable. If you find one with side doors with windows and rear doors without, and you want it the other way around, it can be changed painlessly.
