What Is The Cost To Build It Yourself?

“I want to build a new trailer.” That is an awesome thing to say, and it is even better to do. Yet, many such adventures don’t launch because of project economics? What does it cost to build? I am not talking about big economics like they teach in school, rather I am talking about the microeconomics of the personal pocket book. (If you ask us about the cost to build one of our projects, we will refer you to this article.)

Many people think about DIY projects as a way to save money by building something yourself. In general, that is valid, for sure, but sometimes the economics don’t work out the way we plan. The real value in a DIY project goes way beyond saving money.

New Trailer Example

Let’s start with “I want to build a new trailer“. I am right there with you, so we will use the personal experience of Right Now. As you know, this website has a bunch of trailer plans for sale. We price them cheap for the value they provide. However, in this case, we are engineering and building something different – an experiment with a few crazy new ideas. (If it pans out, we will have an awesome new trailer, and you will get some cool new trailer plans.)

This project started with a system idea for small cars to pull trailers of some significance. As you know, most small cars will not tow very much, but I don’t believe it has to be that way. I was thinking and researching, then found this EcoModder Post about trailers (post now gone!) that nailed it. Why buy a pick-up truck when we rarely use the load carrying capability? How about a slick little trailer for the occasional run to get sheets of plywood, or a cubic yard of mulch? How often do we take a load of trash to the dump?

Note: I am not against trucks, on the contrary, they are awesome. I have one, and I use it to carry machinery, tools, lumber, steel, trash, landscaping, bicycles, pull trailers, etc. . . . frequently.

But, I also like trailers, and the idea that they can solve many carry needs. Here is a great small car trailer example. Anyway, I need something a bit different, so I designed it. I also want a nifty platform to test out some new trailer towing ideas. Now it is time to build it, and test it.

Project Economics For The Unique

Building a new trailer is not so expensive. Sure, there is a cost to build for materials and tools, but overall, what you get for the price is outstanding. (I am including the pride of ownership, the customization for your lifestyle, and the lifetime of great service in there, too.) However, things can get expensive when the project becomes truly unique. (It is one of the reasons we provide so many options to choose from.)

Our new trailer system has 4 unique design areas. Each of them tackle a “normal” situation with an improved way of doing things. Unfortunately, 3 of these unique design areas require special parts – prototype parts – in order to build and test the concepts. Have you priced CNC prototypes? If not, get ready for sticker shock.

We don’t know if the ideas will pan out as we want, but it is certainly worth a try – even if the cost to build is high. That is how we learn. Theory is great, but it is worthless if it does not become real.

The project economics don’t come as a surprise here. At Synthesis Engineering Services we deal with prototypes all the time – plastic, metal, 3D printing, etc.. It is just part of the normal processes for us. However, from a DIY perspective, most people are not willing to shell out $700 for 6 small metal parts to build something. The cost to build prototypes is high, so we will do it for you, then bring the ideas to production so you can buy them much cheaper.

Cost Before Starting The Build

Once the design is complete, we send the drawings and CAD models out for quote. Some part costs come back pretty high, so we sit down and discuss ways to revise the design for a price reduction. For this project, there are some conflicting goals – like weight and cost. Originally we wanted to make it with Aluminum, but for testing the ideas and to save money, we decided to build in steel, even if it is heavier. Steel is easier to work with, modify and fabricate as we develop and hone the new features.

Next, we look at ways to reduce stress in the system and to eliminate high strength (high cost) materials.

Finally, we take a long look at the off-the-shelf parts we can purchase to see if there are ways to get them cheaper. Honestly, we need a better hook-up source, but we will get into that more in a later post.

Part reducing the cost to build and saving money comes in being creative. Sometimes it is changing things – like Aluminum for Steel. Or, sometimes it is finding a better deal on parts (like this example). Then, there are the minor design modifications which will take out or change the more expensive bits.

The Cost To Build

For the trailer frame itself, the cost to build is not too bad. For us, the real cost comes with the prototype sections, and that is the big issue with DIY project economics. More on what those entail later. For now the design is “done” once again, and prints are going out again for re-quote. Check back occasionally and we will post more about how the project is going. We will also talk later about the unique features, what they do, and how the testing goes. Hopefully we will find some success with some of them.

Starting a new project is always fun. Perhaps these areas that have new and creative elements particularly, so I hope you will join us on the journey.