🛠 How much will I earn per hour on a DIY trailer flip?

Over the course of three episodes, Build it with Brett took a free abandoned RV, stripped it down to the frame, and rebuilt it into a custom utility trailer. The entire goal was to track every dollar and hour to see if flipping a junk RV is a viable side hustle. Use this calculator to estimate your own build.

Track every dollar that goes into the build. As Build it with Brett notes, he ended episode two at $768 and 27 hours into the project. In episode three, he paid for the trailer box, lights, and wire loom, adding another $328 in expenses.

The real test of a side hustle is your effective hourly rate. Estimate how long the teardown, welding, and finishing will actually take, and set a target wage for yourself. If your profit divided by your hours does not beat your target wage, you might just be working for free.

As Build it with Brett points out, he sold the trailer for $2,250, which left a profit of $1,155. Taking 37 hours to build it yielded $31.22 per hour. He thinks he could shave about 5 hours off his time on the next one.