Why build a caravan from scratch?

So, the task in hand is to build a caravan from scratch.

Why?

My caravan is old. It is, I believe, a 1995 or ‘6 Elddis; originally 5-berth. I paid £50 for it to a bloke who was breaking them up on a little industrial estate, on land that was once part of the South Crofty mining complex in Cornwall. When I got it to Crasken, I had to do a lot of work to get it to any habitable state. Hairy Rich, bless his heart, helped me a lot with that. It was in a hell of a state. Some ‘pikey’ had lived in it with a dog and evidently treated it like a den.

Anyway, caravans are not designed to be lived in for years. They are flimsy boxes on a single middle axle (two if over 17’, or whatever the legal requirement is), built to last a small family a couple of two or three years, going on ‘camping’ holidays once or twice a year.

I have spent a lot of time repairing my caravan. I’ve rebuilt the rear end where the lightboard is and below and strengthened the front end, among a lot of other things. I can’t keep chasing the problems for the rest of my life. Some people suggest that I should get a new caravan. That is out of the question. Beside the cost of buying a half decent one, there’s the reasons I’ve just highlighted above. And that’s not taking into account that newer caravans are built less well in the first place, with inferior materials.

I need a home that I haven’t got to do major repairs to every ‘five minutes’.

I need a home that I can relax in in my doting years.

I need a home that is practical and comfortable, with everything where it should sensibly be.

I need a home that that is sturdy, light(ish) and safe to tow.

I need a home that is self-sufficient.

I need a home that will outlast me!