Engineer Turns Trailer into Luxurious, DIY Camper

diy camper trailer — Photo Courtesy Of Bill Southworth Via Treehugger

Bill Southworth is not like you or me. That’s because when Bill took a long, hard look at this 16′ Haulmark cargo trailer, he didn’t just see a storage locker on wheels — he saw the foundation for a luxurious, 80 sq. ft. DIY camper that would put most commercial RVs to shame. Then, he actually got to work building it.

Bill’s journey began with his large rottweiler, who he loved to drive with but who, also, made finding a decent hotel difficult. There had to be a better way. “I checked out all the obvious travel trailer options,” says Bill. “And decided that they were either too large, too ugly, too inefficient, or too poorly constructed. I decided that I could do better.”

After fitting his DIY camper with all the usual travel-trailer/camper goodies, Bill went on to make the trailer as self-sufficient as possible. To that end, he added roof-mounted solar panels, highly efficient batteries (note: there are now many more home battery brands out there), and massive, frame-mounted water tanks. “I wanted more water storage,” explained Southworth. “(That way, can) travel for a couple weeks without having to find a fresh water source.”

Bill also designed an innovative, shape-shifting interior layout that would transform from “living room” to “dining room” to “bedroom”, making the 80 sq. ft. DIY trailer feel like a much bigger vehicle, in practice. The full-size kitchen and vertical shower/bathroom, also, are way beyond what most RV manufacturers offer in a unit this size- and every aspect of the trailer is geared towards sustainability.

“The floors are made from recycled, compressed Mulberry bushes from Sustainable Flooring of Boulder CO,” says Bill. “It’s much harder and more durable than even Teak and we think it’s quite beautiful.”Yes, it would be much cooler if this camper were pulled by an electric car, electric truck, solar car(!), or some other electric vehicle, but hey, it’s a pretty good start! Maybe when the EV charging network improves, more than 13 electric cars are for sale on the US market, EV prices come down, and electric car sales burst upward, Bill will have an EV pulling this camper.

You can see more photos of Bill’s ultra-compact, ultra-awesome DIY camper, below, then head over to Treehugger to check out some CAD and layout drawings, and let us know what you think of the camper in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!