Building a gypsy wagon... Help appreciated!

[daughterofthesun]

Buliding a wagon in April similar to this one. Have been doing a lot of research. I have a ford f150 and need to get a flatbed trailer 16 x 8'...
I will be on here often posting updates... its nice to have some inspiration!! Im in LA if anyone wants to come by and lend a hand... we start building sooon! Thanks, amy

This belongs to my friends Brooke and Sunny.. He has built 13!!

This is what i need! Anyone know of one?

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi Amy

Try Ebay or Craigslist for a used trailer. Maybe you could find a wrecked camper trailer and just rip off the top and start to build. Just my 2 cents.

[daughterofthesun]

Found this on Craigslist... retails for 2800.00. The guy will sell it to me for 1500.00 without the wood stakes. It measures 8 x 16', dual 3500lbs axl, brakes... made in 2003... I will be pulling this with a ford f150..



Will this work???

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Looks sweet enough, Right? The price is pretty good.

[daughterofthesun]

Hey Dennis... I noticed that you have a teepee tooo. I have a 16' teepee that i have been living out of the last year. I also got it from Colorado yurt co. Its been really cold here so i had to move indoors until March when it warms up. Anyway... Thanks for your help with my Gypsy wagon project. I wish i could build this sucker myself but unfort... I have to pay a friend to help me build it , but hey... i figure its worth it to have a sweet wooden home on wheels ha?
The gang and I hangin in the teepee...

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

What a wholesome looking bunch of folks A teepee is a great space isn’t it? I’m indoors at the moment as well but I can’t wait to go back home and get back to work on my new bus/home. I’m building a big one this time. I have a big piece of land up in Maine if you ever take the new wagon/home on a long trip

[maldoran]

i built a similar gypsy wagon which sharkey has on his website under other trucks, my name is kevin, i would love to see photos of the other 13 that your friend built. hope to hear from you. kevin

[daughterofthesun]

Gettin' started! Been picking out windows so we can start the framing. Here are some photos...

Ready to start framing!


my wood burning stove!


Window going into the split door...


Kitchen window...


My favorite window!! Going above my workspace table/area but turned like a diamond ... ( i do leatherworking so i'm taking it on the road!)
www.daughterofthesun.etsy.com


Not sure where this one goes but, i love it!!


I have a pair of these that will go over the table and eating area...


The window that goes over my bed is at the stained glass place having custom colors put in... will post later!

I didn't realize how many small decisions have to be made... lots of planning but i know it will be a magical creation when finished. Cant afford to buy a house these days so this is the perfect solution. Allowing us all to live anywhere we want!

[Jones'n4chrome]

Your off to a real good start, looks great. I bet you can't wait to start framing. Thanks for the update, I've been checking the site to see if you made any progress, so it's cool to see that you have.

[Caravan Monster]

Good luck with the build. I' ve been building my trailer this year and am looking forward to when it' s ready to move into it. The windows you have are excellent- one day I'll upgrade mine to some stained glass- the current ones came from the dump and are not very good!

Things I learnt were that there is no such thing as too much planning, and that it will take longer than you expect to build.

Same reason for building mine- housing is unaffordable over here too.

[daughterofthesun]

Its been a year now and its still not finsihed! The guy who was supposed to help me promised March, then June, then August and its now December and he has barely done the framing! I have the trailer (8 x 16') and all the windows for it. Its so frustrating not having the proper help and depending on someone else!! My main focus is getting this thing finished. I feel like I'm starting from square one.
If anyone is interested or knows of anyone who can help me I would be ever so grateful! I am living on 5 acres of beautiful land in Southern CA, close to San Diego. The land is surrounded by wilderness, hiking and horsebackriding. We have 2 horses on the ranch. You can live in your own private studio loft and have my 2000 toyota Tacoma truck! We also have a pool and jacuzzi. There is lots of room here to work on the project. My goal is to have it finsihed by mid Feb. IM looking for someone who has their own tools and can stay here until its finished. Please get in touch if your interested or have any suggestions... email daughterofthesunaw@yahoo.com

Much love! Amy

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Yah know Amy, I had some concerns when I saw your post a while back the this guy was going to fly in with his gypsy wagon building cape on and build you this beautiful wagon for cheap. If I wasn’t so far away my daughter and I would get a real kick out of building that thing for you. You need to understand that to have that wagon that you posted in your first pic built is not a cheap rig to build. It’s a sweet little piece of woodworking. I think that if you pick up a how to book for building sheds and use lots of screws and glue ( no nails ) you could pull it off your self. Making a good weather tight window, door or skylight is a little tricky but I maybe able to walk you through it. I still have 3 good size solar jobs to do here so I cant even take a vacation but if things dry up here and they may, maybe the kid and I will jump on a bird and spend a couple of month out on the west coast building a cool wagon/home. Have you put any real thought in to a budget for this little rig. Lets say on the wild side that I would jump on a cattle plane, is there a woodworking shop that you could rent some after hours shop time in to build the windows, door and any skylights you may wont to make? Put some real thought in how much money you have to spend and drop me a email @ busdweller56@ gmail.com and who knows, maybe we can work something out. I’ll either say yes or no but one thing I wont do is tell im going to do some thing and then not do it, that’s just not my deal.

Peace along the way
Dennis the bus dweller N.Y.

[Caravan Monster]

I would back up Dennis' advice by adding that by undertaking as much of the work as possible herself, Amy would have a fuller understanding of the construction of the wagon. When on the road, this knowledge would enable easier and better troubleshooting and repairs, executed with greater confidence and skill.

Hope it works out- the materials look like the beginnings of a superb project.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi Any

Anything new on the gypsy wagon front?