Input needed on crazy idea - trailer apartment

The Mexican population in Mexico have been doing this for years. Take a trip way down south and have a looksee and a chat.

 

i'm thinking trailers such as these drop decks have got have an interior height of at least 12', so no, it won't be comfortable, but i think i can stand up on both levels.
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/bill_banks_avl.htm

2) securing the plywood should be no problem---U bolts.

Believe me, i've thought alot about this.

 

http://www.kendersolar.com/ is the link for the helium Solar Panels that produce electric from the heated helium that drives a generator. Very Cool.
Powell Peralta, you mentioned putting the cross bars for the floor. I wonder if you've heard of SIP's. These are Structural Insulated Panels made from 4X8 sheets of plywood with 3.5,6.5, 7.5, & 9.5" styrofoam marine glued in between the two sheets of plywood. They're typically used in Post and Timber framed homes and act as the exterior sheathing thereof. They're also used on the roof tops of commercial flat buildings and I personally used them in the construction of my 1300 sq.ft. room addition. I used them for the exterior walls and what makes them so easy to use is that the circumference of the panel has a 3/4 or 1.5 inch cutout so that a 2X board will fit perfectly inside. I liked them because styrofoam is the worlds best insulator per dollar (ABOUT R-5 per inch thick). Additionally they make for a super straight, super strong wall and they've been used for FLOORS as well. For your application you would use the 5.5" SIP's so you could nail floor joist hangers directly onto the plywood which would support the Double 2X6 "joists" and the panels would ideally have the 1.5" cutout so one of the 2X6's would fit into the edge of each panel, with two 2X6's nailed together, inside the edge of the panels. You would need 12 panels or less for a 48' trailer depending on where your stairs would be located. To give you an example of how strong they are, Ohio State University took a 3.5" panel....that's 4.5" including 1/2" plywood on each side... and put a single 2X4 into the inside edge of the panel with an 8 penny nail every 6". They then put the panel onto a 4" pipe on each far end (7.5' apart) and stacked 5000 lbs of concrete blocks onto the panel before it started to bow. Try that with a conventional 2X4 stick framed wall. They cost about $100 each. A company in Columbus, Ohio named LAMIT uses panel up to 8' X 24' at about $1000/each. IMO, this would be the strongest and lightest floor system you could use in your trailer.

 

Sounds like a plan to me.You might have a problem finding somewhere to park it.I would assume the average rv resort wouldnt want you there with a freight trailer vs the $100,000 RV's with the wheel covers.You have a great idea,it would work.next time your thru a local truck stop, take a look inside one of the mobile chapels.They are nice.You could actually make a nice aptartment out of a 48 ft. reefer (refrigerated ) trailer.

 

Even a 28' pup would make a good starter apartment.

i think the big hurdle would be to find a suitable place to park it like everyone else says.

Where can i find out about zoning for a particular area or zoning in general? Don't want to rent the land, want to own.

 

Alot of RV parks have age limits on units and will NOT let you park a semi trailer conversion...If you REALLY want to do the work go look into what people are doing converting old over the road buses (old Prevosts...MCI...Eagles)...There are many web sites with info on them and magizines that give you all the info on converting "something"...At this point it is cheaper by alot to buy something already converted and modify it to fit your needs....

 

http://www.azteccontainer.com/storagecontaineroffice.htm#office4

The link above is something like I've seen on several temporary job sites, using a cargo container and turning them into a mobile office. You can rent or buy them ready to go.

 

Yes it can be done. I saw a tv show where a guy built a mobile home himself. He bought a flatbed trailer and built it. If he built it from a flatbed trailer frame you can also do it with a van trailer. He had experience fixing an old trailer home he had. He went to the trailer home store where he used to buy parts for his old trailer and bought the parts there for the trailer home he built. It took him about a year to built working on it in the evenings and on the weekends. He spent 10,000 dollars on parts but after he was done the trailer was an equivalent of a 35,000 dollars mobile home. As for hauling the semitrailer home you want to build; you would have to pay somebody to do it and is not going to be cheap with diesel prices today.