Licensing

I chose to build my own trailer frame and license the trailer as a home built trailer.  In the state of New Mexico, the process is fairly straight forward.  You fill out some paperwork and take all your receipts for the trailer materials (steel, axle, wheels, lights, etc) along with the built trailer down to the local DMV office.  I took pictures of the build process too.  After they do an inspection and charge you the appropriate fees, they issue your a title and plate. You then affix a permanent tag to the tongue that has the VIN on it. The entire process took about an hour. The state of New Mexico doesn’t really care what is on the trailer.  They really only care about the trailer itself. Before you start to build anything, you should find out what you will need to do to license the trailer in your state if you decide to build one from scratch.

The other option is to purchase a pre-built trailer that comes with a title and modifying it to fit your needs. I talk more about doing this in a later section. Either way,  it is a good idea to make sure that you can get proper licensing. Do some research and find out what you need to do before you start.

Tools needed  

I have a relatively crude workshop (my garage) and I didn’t use very sophisticated tools to build my trailer. Here are the highlights of the power equipment that is needed. To weld your own frame, you will need a welder, chop saw and a handheld grinder at a minimum.  A cutting torch is nice to have for some of the finish pieces but the cutting could be done with a hacksaw instead.  If you would rather not attempt the fabrication, a good welding shop will be able to give you an estimate to fabricate the trailer. For the rest of the project a circular saw, table saw, jig saw, router and drill should be enough. You will need various other common hand tools like a hand saw, builders square, tape measure and such.  You can never have too many clamps so stock up or borrow as many as you can.

Work space

I managed to build the trailer frame in a barn and then I built the cabin on top of the frame in my garage.

Cost

Allow about $4200 to $5000 for the project as it is designed. That includes the cost for title and license, the cost for all of the interior features such as the mattress, toilet, baskets, lantern, paint, supplies, glue,  everything! I purchased almost everything new off the shelf.  So I think it is safe to say that $5000 is on the high end for a cost estimate.  If you already own some of the material or are good at scrounging material the cost of the project could be significantly less.  I’ll point out all the places that I could have spent significantly less and the places I feel it is best to splurge and get the best.

Time

Expect a build time of around 320 hours.  This will vary depending on how fast you work and how much re-work you have to do but 320 is a good ball park estimate.