Shell Cost

[ReluctantTraveler]

A few weeks ago in another thread, some people had asked me what sort of prices I'd been quoted for a custom shell from Total Composites and Cascadia Composites. I promised I'd report back once I had more thorough quotes from everyone, and thought it would be better to make a new post.

For reference, here's rough layout of my proposed build...


That's an 11' floor with 2' departure angle (13' total length), 8' wide, with an 80" long cabover.

I also requested 6 Arctic Tern windows, an entry door, and two cargo hatches (one on each side of the dinette). I reached out to a bunch of vendors from both Total Composites and Cascadia Composites. I've also been trying to get ahold of Bison Overland but we keep missing each other.

Now, the good stuff...

• Total Composites. Rough quote of $50-60k for the box, assembly, and door and window installation.
• Cascadia Composites. ~$53k for the box, assembly, and door and window installation PLUS Reico Titan electric jacks, DOT light install, 440 watts of rooftop solar pre-wired, and a MaxAir fan and MaxAir bathroom wired and installed (basically all of the rooftop holes).
• Bison Overland. ~$40k for the box, assembly, door, and window insultation, plus Reico Titan jacks. Their numbers for an interior build were also quite reasonable.

Cascadia's boxes are also 3" thick instead of 2", and the video I saw of someone beating one with a hatchet was really impressive! They're manufactured in North America, which could be a pro or con depending on your perspective, but it does mean you won't run into shipping delays and long waits. It's a pretty compelling product.

Once you start getting into having someone build out the interior for you, prices skyrocket to $120k+ (labor is a big part of the cost).

While I think $50k-ish for the box is a fair price, I'm still not sure its within budget, which means I may be considering the DIY framed plywood + foam board option again. The two things I haven't quite figured out with that approach are...

1. How to properly reinforce the jack mount points.
2. How to properly reinforce the cantilevered cabover.

UPDATE: I finally got in touch with Drew and Bison Overland. Their numbers—for both the box and an interior build—were much more inline with the numbers I had in my head when I started exploring this option again.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Well that's up from 32-35K but more earlier, but more what i would have expected. Plus you've added things, but that's the way it goes.

It' adds up, no doubt about it..


Not sure how that could be a "con", unless looking at it from a foreigner perspective.

The "con" will be the promised 25% tariff. It that is on box material, it could be another couple - few K.

OTOH, way I hear it, the exporting country will be paying for that. So guess I might be chipping in a bit

Yea, the ~$35k is just the shell, assembled, from what I understand. Once you add doors, windows, and hatches... it adds up!

As for "how it could be a con," I think it's fair to say that American manufacturing is not what it used to be.

While Chinese-made products can be of varying quality, a lot of it is quite good, often better than had it been manufactured here. The tarrifs won't be fun, though! That's gonna really hurt TC's business, I suspect.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Well that's up from 32-35K but more earlier, but more what i would have expected. Plus you've added things, but that's the way it goes.

It' adds up, no doubt about it..


Not sure how that could be a "con", unless looking at it from a foreigner perspective.

The "con" will be the promised 25% tariff. It that is on box material, it could be another couple - few K.

OTOH, way I hear it, the exporting country will be paying for that. So guess I might be chipping in a bit

Sorry, just wanted to add: at the time I wrote ~$35k, I specifically noted that the price DIDN'T include windows, hatches, etc. and that I was waiting for a proper quote on that. This is that proper quote.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

btw, would the composite build require/recommend reinforcements ? I've seen a few with external brackets but not so much recently.

Understood on the windows etc. Even with a "proper quote" I'd advise a contingency amount for add ons etc that develop along the way..

That is a GREAT question! I know the old TC boxes used to include them for the extended cabovers (king-sized NS in my case). Cascadia Composites didn't mention it, and I wonder if the 3" walls and different skin they use adds enough rigidity that it doesn't need it? Or if it's an oversight that will lead to problems down the road.

External brackets on a DIY build are definitely an option, though. In particular, triangles are structural support and would work quite nicely!

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

I think the reverse could be said as well. And I'm not even American !

But enough said.

Good luck with with it.

Oh definitely! Chinese manufacturing is both very good (Macbooks) and very bad (knock-offs and cheap stuff), with a whole range of stuff in the middle.

At the end of the day, QC and a QA process are really the name of the game, I suppose.

 

[Ozarker]

Seems to me to be outrageously expensive, but then I bought 3 bedroom house for $65k.
You've been studying this for years, so I'd guess you know what this stuff is, but it still seems to be marked up to the stratosphere.
General rule for a cantilevered floor is 1/3 outside over 2/3 or say an 80 inch cabover and 160 inches, so I guess you're on spot.
But that price......WOW!

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Seems to me to be outrageously expensive, but then I bought 3 bedroom house for $65k.
You've been studying this for years, so I'd guess you know what this stuff is, but it still seems to be marked up to the stratosphere.
General rule for a cantilevered floor is 1/3 outside over 2/3 or say an 80 inch cabover and 160 inches, so I guess you're on spot.
But that price......WOW!

Right!? I know the materials and labor are expensive. When I looked into the DIY options, this seems to be both fair and about what everyone else is charging. I do suspect the overall prices are artificially high, though, because everything is today.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Seems to me to be outrageously expensive, but then I bought 3 bedroom house for $65k.
You've been studying this for years, so I'd guess you know what this stuff is, but it still seems to be marked up to the stratosphere.
General rule for a cantilevered floor is 1/3 outside over 2/3 or say an 80 inch cabover and 160 inches, so I guess you're on spot.
But that price......WOW!

The other thing I keep coming back to: even the "they build the whole thing for you" option is cheaper than the cheapest expedition trucks, WAY cheaper than an Earthroamer, etc.

Even buying a used truck camper to mount on a use truck comes in at a similar price (albeit with the interior already built out, no matter how poorly).

The shell almost feels like a bargain by comparison. But I suspect a lot of that is price anchoring.

 

[Victorian]

Without stepping on anyones toes... Who gave you a price of $ 50-60 for one of our habitats? Was that for the empty shell? Door and windows included? You can PM me if you want.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Without stepping on anyones toes... Who gave you a price of $ 50-60 for one of our habitats? Was that for the empty shell? Door and windows included? You can PM me if you want.

I'll PM you!

 

[AbleGuy]

We’ll be looking forward to your update on this discussion ⬆️

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

We’ll be looking forward to your update on this discussion ⬆️

There’s not really anything to share. The price I shared above is accurate once you account for windows etc.

 

[Ozarker]

Be lucky to get a parking space here for that.


$1.43 mil USD average detatched price Metro Van vs 53K camper box shell

say 27 : 1

$65K house, so the camper shell s/b ~$2,400. Sound about right, your world ?

Well, in 2018 bought a 1400 sq/ft house for 62K, put 8K in it, rented for 5 years for $850/mo. Sold it in May 24, for $136,500.00. That was a 3/2 single family, so, to me, it still sounds high for a 104 sq/ft camper box, but I'm sure the windows are better in the camper

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Well, in 2018 bought a 1400 sq/ft house for 62K, put 8K in it, rented for 5 years for $850/mo. Sold it in May 24, for $136,500.00. That was a 3/2 single family, so, to me, it still sounds high for a 104 sq/ft camper box, but I'm sure the windows are better in the camper

The first tiny condo I lived in cost easily 4 to 5 times that much. And that was nearly 20 years ago.

 

[Ozarker]

The first tiny condo I lived in cost easily 4 to 5 times that much. And that was nearly 20 years ago.

Sounds like SF, California, I'm in Springfield, Mo. I've bought, held and sold real estate for 40 years in this area, prices doubled overnight and still lower than the national averages. Your box seems to be about $6,250 a sq. ft.!