My 28′ Forest River Work & Play Toy Hauler Camper
Giving Up The Camper Life
When I moved to Texas in 2016, my plan was to live in my camper at an RV park for a month while I looked for an apartment. That one month turned into just over four years. The RV Park was just minutes from everything DFW had to offer and allowed me to live in a really nice area for less than renting an apartment. The RV Park had a swimming pool, laundry room, I could park outside my door, and I didn’t have to go down a flight of steps to walk the dog. All of my neighbors were ‘full-timers’. A few were seasonal and travelled north in the summer, one was a flight attendant and was only there two days a week, and some were in the area for just a few months for a job. I spent four years living maintenance and headache free. Finding the RV park was a blessing, and today I miss the simplicity of the life I had in those four years.
But as time passed, I missed having a garage. I even contemplated buying a piece of property where I could build a garage and still live in my camper. I even tried to buy a piece of property with a 40’x40′ shop on it, but it was owned by five different family members who couldn’t agree on a price.
The property I tried to buy with a 40’x40′ shop
I spent some time trying to find a house with a garage. They were either more than I wanted to spend, or needed to much work before I could move in.
In the fall of 2020, I finally purchased a small 2-bedroom home that came with a 20’x70′ cinderblock building. It wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, when I first drove by to check it out, I didn’t even stop. The house was OK, but I had no Idea what I would do with the building. After a little time, the house dropped in price, and it was a deal that definitely deserved another look.
The house wasn’t bad and had a lot of potential. It was the perfect size for my dog Marley and I, and the 2nd bedroom could serve as a guest room if family wanted to visit. But what about the building?
The building was listed as a ‘storage’ building and was packed full of stuff. So much so that I couldn’t walk through it to really get a look inside and see what I was buying. Honestly, I think the building turned off potential buyers, but I think the house was worth the purchase price with or without the building.
Purchasing My Future Shop – TRS Garage
I purchased the property and was assured that the owner would have the building cleared out by our closing date. On the day of the closing, I signed my stack of paperwork, got the keys, and came home to check it out. The building was still full. There was no mention of it at closing, and there were no agreements made allowing the owner more time to get their stuff. Technically, it all belonged to me now. The previous owner showed up, and we agreed on a time frame for her to finish removing her things. There were things I wanted to do in the house first and I knew I wouldn’t be using the building for anything in the immediate future, so it didn’t really bother me that she still had things to remove.
Below are a couple of before photos to show you what the building looked like when I purchased the property along with a photo of some of the buildings contents. Apparently, her late husband (she’s remarried now) liked Elvis Presley. If you look at the photo, there’s a wooden display full of Elvis albums and records. There had to be well over 100 if not 200 or more Elvis records on this display. I didn’t look through her stuff, but I suspect there were a few treasures in there. It goes to show that you never know what you might find when you explore an old building like this.
It Has a Bathroom
I didn’t realize at the time, but the building has a bathroom. It doesn’t work and probably hasn’t been used in decades, but it’s there. A 1,330 sq ft cinderblock building with a finished ceiling, concrete floors, and a bathroom. There has to be a story here.
Devising A Plan and Getting Estimates
I would love to say that I looked at the building, became inspired with an idea, and put a plan into motion, but that wasn’t the case. In my mind, I wanted a garage. It would be great if I could open the front (street side) of the building and install a garage door. The lowest ceiling height for an overhead garage door is 8-feet. The floor to ceiling height in this building is 7-feet 3-inches. I considered increasing the ceiling height by either adding more block to the wall height and raising the roof or replacing the roof with different trusses.
After contacting different companies, I finally got someone to come out who quoted me $50,000 to convert the building into a garage. That was way more than I was expecting. That included tearing the roof off, adding another three rows of block, building a new roof, and adding a garage door. I think he said $15,000 was just to remove the old roof. To just do the front half would be $35,000. But for $24,000 the guy would build me a 20’x24′ metal garage next to it instead.
I thought that the $50,000 was the “I don’t want to do it” price, so I got another estimate. The next guy said “Do you have any local trades? Masons, framer, roofer? That’d be the cheapest. Just some quick math puts the framing and roof at $50k ballpark. What is your budget?” Umm, it’s not $50,000!
I got two more quotes for a metal building. One quoted me $21,250 for a 24×30 metal garage with two 10×9 doors, 10-foot walls, a man door, three windows, and concrete for $21,250. The other quoted me $23,100 for a 24×30 metal garage with a 16×10 garage door and opener, a 3’x3′ window and a man door.
It seems crazy to spend over $20,000 to build a 24’x30′ garage next to a perfectly good building. It also seems crazy to tear down a perfectly good building.
Some of my friends had their own suggestions of what I could do with the building. A couple of them suggested plans that included gasoline, and one simply sent me this:
So, What’s The Plan?
I’ve always loved old buildings. I’ve looked at old, abandoned buildings and dreamed about what I would do with them if they were mine. This building isn’t nearly as cool as the ones I’ve dreamed of renovating, but it’s mine. Instead of building a new building, I will give new life to this one. My plan is to remodel the building into three sections:
- Rear-Section: This will be ‘The Shop’ where I work and build stuff. I want to be able to park a vehicle in there.
- Mid-Section: That area will display a collection, have storage, snack pantry, fridge, sink, and bathroom.
- Front-Section: This will be a Man Cave with a large TV and leather furniture. Maybe a pool table. IDK.
I know, you just read that, scrolled back up, looked at the building, and thought ‘This guy is nuts.’ Maybe you’re thinking, he’s probably a contractor or does renovations. Well, I’m not and I don’t. My father had a phrase “Jack of all trades – master of none”. I can generally fix anything, but I’ve never took on any major renovations.
The Jobs Ahead
My father passed away several years ago, but he was the kind of guy that could fix or build anything. He didn’t call a repairman and didn’t hire a contractor. He didn’t “half-ass it” either. I will enter this journey with the idea that some of the jobs will have to be done by a professional. There will be times that I will remind myself that my father would just figure out how to do it and get it done. I will consult with experts along the way and share my progress to make sure I’m doing it right. I live in an area where you don’t need a permit, but I will make sure that everything I do would pass an inspection where applicable.
The Job List
Below is a list of the jobs that I will be documenting and sharing with you. I hope that they will inspire you in your own projects.
- Reframe & replace the front door
- Reframe and replace the front window
- Open up the side wall for a vehicle to pass through, frame it, and build and install barn doors
- Raise a large section of ceiling in ‘The Shop’
- Repair the exterior facia, trim, and repaint the building
- Build a dividing wall with a door
- Build a wraparound counter with storage underneath (mid-section)
- Build a pantry closet (mid-section)
- Hang new wall panels and paint interior
- Replumb and remodel the bathroom (I get to learn how to use PEX)
- Run new service to the building from the house so it’s on the same meter
- Install a new breaker panel
- Rewire the whole building and install new outlets and light fixtures
- Pour a concrete step outside the door
- Landscape around the building
If you read all of that than you see that I will be doing (learning) construction, plumbing, electrical, and some concrete work. I’ll even see how many plants and bushes I can plant in Texas that don’t actually die.
