by Ben Wilby
For many tourer owners the closest they will get to modifying their caravan is changing the interior, or maybe putting in an extra shelf.
One enterprising 16-year-old from America has gone much further however – by building his own tourer completely from scratch.
Austin Hay got the idea in his freshman year of high school (year 9 in the UK) and ran with it when students at his school where tasked with researching a project.
As the design began to take shape however he saw the project as more than that, saying; “I’ve definitely matured since then and seen how special this is.”
As a result the building, which began as a way for the young Austin to get away from his parents, became a fully fledged tourer.
Beginning to build
He began the project in 2010 and by January 2012 had begun moving his possessions from the main house into his tourer.
The entire interior was built from scratch, including a bookcase, a ladder to a small single bed, shelves and cupboards.
As well as this, the tourer features all the amenities necessary for living, including a kitchen, a shower, a toilet and even a couch that folds out into a bed.
Austin has gone further still; fitting an electrical outlet and hot water in the tourer to ensure he could pitch up anywhere and be able to take a shower or watch TV – just like in a factory-built caravan.
To celebrate the near-finished trailer, Austin held an open house and showed family and friends the place he has lived in for over a year and a half.
The caravan received positive praise as proud family and friends admired his handiwork.
Christina Nelleman, a blogger for TinyHouse was surprised by the quality of the design, describing it as “very stylish” before giving the verdict every teenage boy wants to hear: “I think it’s a chick magnet.”
Austin learned how to build the caravan by watching his father rebuild their own home after it was burnt down in a fire.
The low cost is also impressive. Using a mixture of left-over material, presents and salvaged items, he estimates that the entire tourer cost around $12,000 (roughly £7,500) to finish.
His grandfather spoke of his pride for what Austin did, demonstrating this by buying him an outdoor oven for Christmas. An unusual present for a 16-year-old boy perhaps, but one Austin was thrilled with.
Other items, such as the shower, he bought from a salvage yard, while much of the wooden frame was left over material from his parent new home.
Using a mixture of all of these items, he has slowly but surely put it all together to form a living space that is perfect for his needs.
Legal wrangles
It was at the open house that he revealed that the caravan has been granted a licence plate, making it road legal.
Having never road tested it before, he spoke of his excitement about taking it for a ride, despite someone jokingly questioning its ability to stand up to speed.
As long as it survives the test run Austin will have a good base for when he heads to university.
He also spoke about the benefits of building your own house: “Everyone’s always worried about renting or buying a house. I’m not going to be worrying about that.” All he has to do is find a college near a trailer park and he’ll be set.
Interestingly he has received many questions from adults and it seems a new wave of DIY caravans could spring up in America as people struggle to afford mortgages.
Austin’s mother talked of how popular the idea was becoming, stating that lots of high schools are interested in how he built it.
Hopefully this will serve as inspiration to people in the UK, as Austin says:”I didn’t want to buy an RV because I really wanted it to be mine and. to be able to say I built a house.”
To see this homemade caravan in all its glory, click on the video below.
