New, Build it Yourself, Fiberglass Camper?

[tua]

Welcome and glad you are sharing!

I like the exterior look and the squared door.
Not a fan of the plywood floor.

Before I bought my tt I wanted to build my own, but as others have stated, is it cost effective? I think there are more people who want ready built for a low price than there are people who want to design/customize, so I think it's exciting that you are offering both.

I think your question is.....
ls there a market for your tt? I think so.
New tt owners? I think so.
Builders/Remodelers? Yes.
Current tt owners willing to switch? Not sure. It would have to have everything everyone enjoys about their tt PLUS SEVERAL added 'wish I had' features.

Best of luck and keep us informed!

[DaveMinBako]

Think it's great idea. For me, it would be even better if it could be extended to a 17-18 ft long box.

[sharon_b]

congrats on your new adventure! looks cute!

the name..... reminds me of my uncle's horn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqc6yRIHiW0

[CarlD]

Dive, Dive Dive!!!!

[Doug Arthurs]

I am not in the market for a small trailer but it looks like a great idea. I would make it so people could pick the shell and then add things like windows furnaces and other appliances that you would ship inside the trailer and the buyer would install when he got it. You guys could probably get better prices on stuff like that then the consumer could. Plus you are sending out an empty shell with lots of room inside so buying and shipping parts from another supplier would just add costs.

[Donna D.]

I think a blank slate is a great idea and hope Hooga Campers has much success! There seems to be plenty of people looking to purchase a trailer where they can build the interior to suit their needs. Typically a very large bed (king size?) that runs lengthwise and plenty of storage. Those type of people often cook outside and are buying trashed trailers that need complete rebuilds. This 'blank slate' would provide what's needed without worrying about a bad frame and bad floor.

[bsedwebt]

I am a fan of the original Parkliner and was within seconds of ordering one of these years ago. The interior size was wonderful. The exterior look was great. The anti-trolly roof design gave good head height and structure to the shell as well as an area to hide an ugly roof a/c unit. I loved the upper interior cabinets but the kitchen area was too small for a good size fridge. The bath area was quite nice and roomy but the street side wall made no real sense to me. It would be much better to allow the bathroom and one closet to use the full front of the trailer. In later builds the roof escape hatch was replaced with an escape window that I actually found and sourced. I like that you got rid of the belly band and got the flat door - please consider the wheel house area issues - even with the revised shape that was done a couple years into the build there is really no room for a decent tire. I would say a higher capacity axle with shocks and a several inch lift is needed or a larger wheel tub (but that takes away space for the fridge). The battery box also was an issue on early builds so the front battery box was a good design from what I could tell. The wood floor did not really bother me since it was not structural. The sides of the shell are what was bolted to the frame and then the floor was bolted on top of that. I would use that special OSB board that is laminated with pure epoxy with no voids so that it is waterproof or a large flat aluminum sheet. When I was ready to order I wanted to use my own vinyl floor, fridge, window shades, hinges, handles, fixtures, wheels, tires, vinyl graphics, etc.... and I was not afraid to put it together. I may actually be a potential buyer for this but would require the expertise of a builder to install windows, fiberglass upper cabinets, prewire, etc... You can name it whatever you want but I would consider the marketing aspect. If I bought one I would name it myself and do custom graphics with the name I gave it anyway. I sincerely wish you all the best in this venture. I would LOVE to see this trailer on the road and in the marketplace.

[Hooga Campers]

Originally Posted by bsedwebt

I am a fan of the original Parkliner and was within seconds of ordering one of these years ago. The interior size was wonderful. The exterior look was great. The anti-trolly roof design gave good head height and structure to the shell as well as an area to hide an ugly roof a/c unit. I loved the upper interior cabinets but the kitchen area was too small for a good size fridge. The bath area was quite nice and roomy but the street side wall made no real sense to me. It would be much better to allow the bathroom and one closet to use the full front of the trailer. In later builds the roof escape hatch was replaced with an escape window that I actually found and sourced. I like that you got rid of the belly band and got the flat door - please consider the wheel house area issues - even with the revised shape that was done a couple years into the build there is really no room for a decent tire. I would say a higher capacity axle with shocks and a several inch lift is needed or a larger wheel tub (but that takes away space for the fridge). The battery box also was an issue on early builds so the front battery box was a good design from what I could tell. The wood floor did not really bother me since it was not structural. The sides of the shell are what was bolted to the frame and then the floor was bolted on top of that. I would use that special OSB board that is laminated with pure epoxy with no voids so that it is waterproof or a large flat aluminum sheet. When I was ready to order I wanted to use my own vinyl floor, fridge, window shades, hinges, handles, fixtures, wheels, tires, vinyl graphics, etc.... and I was not afraid to put it together. I may actually be a potential buyer for this but would require the expertise of a builder to install windows, fiberglass upper cabinets, prewire, etc... You can name it whatever you want but I would consider the marketing aspect. If I bought one I would name it myself and do custom graphics with the name I gave it anyway. I sincerely wish you all the best in this venture. I would LOVE to see this trailer on the road and in the marketplace.

Thank you for all of the input! Much appreciated!

[slowpat]

Too bad Slim Potatohead already purchased a trailer!

I have a Casita and I have no skills, but I can see how nice it would be to customize the trailer for the individual needs.

Good luck to you.

[redbarron55]

Welcome to the site and I wish you well in your endeavors.
Personally I did what you are proposing in buying an old Scamp 16' with nothing in it.
The shell (much used and dogged) was a lot less and I still ended up with well over 10K in the finished product.
Economies of scale in purchasing mean that your customer will be working against that, but might get more of the things that they want in their camper.
However my guess is that many of those who might be your customer might be as cheap as I am and would buy and rebuild and buy used bits and pieces to complete their project.
I suspect that the market is not very large compared to finished trailers.
Currently there is a large demand for RVs but that might not last all that long.
As you have bought the molds from one of the several failed trailer manufacturers you are aware that this business has it's risks and might not be as easy as it might seem.
Even Thor and Airstream have discovered that the fiberglass camper market is not that easy to break into profitably.
Not to say that it cannot be done, but the two major builders have been around for a while and were joined at the hip at one time.
You may have a great idea and a very profitable venture as if I were all that smart I would be able to trot down and buy a nice Oliver and a nice Diesel truck to tow it and not worry about the money.

[daveo12345]

I would love this idea in a 21 to 25 to compete with Bigfoot or Oliver or Escape


I'd love to have a premounted unibody of that length, and i love the idea of a split ac system and absolutely minimized roof and wall holes.


Having owned a stick travel trailer, i believe that despite all best attempts they are all going to leak

[weezrd]

When I first saw "Hooga", I thought you were trying to approximate a horn sound (a-oo-ga), which didn't make much sense for an RV. That you were trying to get an American pronunciation of hygge never occurred to me. Why not just use Hygge as your name? You may get some mispronunciations, but at least most people know the meaning these days.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Steve_M

I like the idea, though I wouldn't pay that much for an empty shell. Keep in mind you have to compete with a fully built scamp for ~$13,000 (and empty cargo trailers for $2,000) Could I outfit one of these for less than $3,000? Maybe. But is it worth the effort, time, and potential failure- probably not.

Just my two cents. If you offer a camper with small bath, kitchen & bed, I'd certainly consider it!

That was my thought. Very high price. But at a more reasonable cost I might be interested. I have been thinking of a trailer that could be used for a mobile radio center. I will add an additional thought. Have you thought of a bigger chassis under it. I will include a picture of a pop up with a bigger chassis. Just for something to think about.

[MontclairBobbyB]

Certainly not for the feint of heart... After getting to know my Casita SD 17 I certainly appreciate all the thought and work that went into designing and constructing it. Wish you the best of luck, but I see this appealing to a specialty niche market, and for that reason, I'm out... (BB aka "Mr Wonderful")

[computerspook]

I do see a bigger nitch maybe for a nice camper, but with the ability to haul some light cargo. Maybe even if you have to balance it a bit. See my extreme example above. But it would be cool to have say about 2 foot of cargo space front and back of the camper part, with enough chassis so that could add say 500-800 pounds of weight.

For the price or a little bit more maybe you could offer the shell, and then a set of parts which the person could install as desired. Or maybe the option to have a bit installed.



And then maybe a bunch of videos and details on what people have done with your product. Maybe take some people who are going to do something unique and offer them a rebate for a set of videos and pictures of the process.

[SnowballCamper]

I think it's pretty neat, but probably not a large market. I suspect that someone interested in completing a shell would be just as comfortable renovating an old shell that could be had for much cheaper. I suppose doing your own windows would be an advantage to your shell. I would suggest developing some modular interior components that users could move around, along the lines of the Lovesac couches. Then you'll have a bigger market.

Personally, I'm happy with my 17.5 Bigfoot. If it ever comes time for an upgrade/change, I'll probably just build a tiny house on an existing flatbed cargo trailer, probably do it in the style of traditional plywood boat construction.

Good Luck!

EDIT: see clcboats.com for an example of well thought out kits and the knowledge base online that would support such a product. The hard part is finding the one that is profitable enough to get you going.

[Cfbrand3rd]

Originally Posted by Steve_M

I like the idea, though I wouldn't pay that much for an empty shell. Keep in mind you have to compete with a fully built scamp for ~$13,000 (and empty cargo trailers for $2,000) Could I outfit one of these for less than $3,000? Maybe. But is it worth the effort, time, and potential failure- probably not.

Just my two cents. If you offer a camper with small bath, kitchen & bed, I'd certainly consider it!

Where are you buying a new Scamp for $13K? Sign me up for that one!

[Rzrbrn]

Originally Posted by Cfbrand3rd

Where are you buying a new Scamp for $13K? Sign me up for that one!

Call Scamp and tell them you want to buy a 13' standard. Then dicker. You should be able to buy it for less than 10 grand.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Call Scamp and tell them you want to buy a 13' standard. Then dicker. You should be able to buy it for less than 10 grand.

ROFL. Scamp, in fact NONE of the all molded manufacturers, 'Dicker.' They're selling every trailer they can produce and right now they're all out at least a year to deliver a trailer. Nice thought though. If you want to dicker, try a sticky sales lot.

[Jim_M]

They look great!
I have a gutted 1959 “Bimbo” built on a Whittier frame.
It needs a floor and ribs to begin with.
Give me a shout if you want to take on another project in your spare time....