take to a shop or do it myself?

Ok, i'm close to as far as i can go without really fucking something up not knowing what i'm doing. I ran an idea by my wife earlier about taking out a loan to get a welder and some tools that i need to finish it, and getting enough so she can get a camper that she wants. She asked why i don't just take out the loan and take it to a shop so they can finish it. I really wanted to do it myself, but i'm scared i'll really mess something up (i'm relocating a bunch of stuff for 20's), i don't have a shitload of tools, i've only welded a couple of times before (and not very much at that), and it's taking hella longer than i thought. Pros of doing it myself are i'd know what was going on, so if something broke, at least i'd kinda know how to fix it. But taking it to a shop will be easier on me and my truck would be running a helluva lot sooner. I have a 13 month old, and the only time i can work on it is after everyone goes to bed AND i get all my paperwork for my job done, so i usually get to tinker with it for a couple hours or so between 11pm and 2am (and that's if the rugrat sleeps the whole time, if she wakes up, i try to wipe the shit off my hands and run upstairs and put her back to sleep). I hope the people who know me on here will know what direction i'm leaning hard, but i want some opinions on what i should do. Every little bit helps. Thanks in advance for help.

do you need the truck for trans, or is it strictly a toy/project/weekend cruiser?

im all for tryin to learn and do it yourself, but if you need it asap i say go shop

no, it's completely toy/project. It was paid off in January of last year (and the only vehicle i've ever paid off, lol), and i have a vehicle i drive for work.

I second Bret, to bad you didn't live closer, like to help you. If toy try workin on it yourself. Good luck either way.

fuck it, if it aint the mode of trans, im all for doin it yourself and learning

sounds like youve already decided to take it to a shop, if you doubt your skill level at all then i would not even take the chance of fucking it up, nothing wrong with letting a shop build the serious stuff for you, thats why they are there, then i suggest learning all you can from the shop about your truck, find out everything and pretty soon you will feel confident enough in knowledge to build one yourself, good luck either way. oh yeah some shops may even let you do some work with them on it, who knows.

If it's ur toy, I'd atleast go for it yourself. May take a bit longer, but you would know what to do as you stated. But I definately udnerstand w/ a family how that would put a strain on things like that. I personally would find someone around your area who knows, so they can come over one afternoon and go thru it and talk over all that you would need to do and such. Then have them pop over every few weeks to make sure you haven't messed up on anything. As for the welding, I would learn it, it's an awesome thing to be able to do, and also not too complicated. I talked with the people at the welding supply store I got the acetylene from to figure out the settings I should run, so from there, I just went and started practicing, so that's the route I would take. Goodluck whichever road you choose...

hmmmmmm....tough decision. i thought you already got pretty deep in removing/relocating everything,so whats left to do? what are u second guessing yourself about? i think the only thing your really gunna need a welder for is when u tub your firewall,right? suspension wise u can handle installing drop spindles and control arms right? youve already done the brake booster and master cylinder,so thats done. other than tubbing the firewall u could(considering all your circumstances with time/wife/baby) do the rest. if thats all that needs to be done to lay 20s,id say unless your just fed up with it and just wanna get it done quick,keep asking questions when u run into a problem and keep doin yourself. if your trying to meet a deadline for a show or something,then get a shop to do it. but consider your shop choices too. just cause they run a shop doesnt mean they know what the hell they're doin either. so if u take it to a shop make it a good reputable one. but if u think u cant handle some of this stuff at all,it might just be better to take it to a shop. theres some things id rather have a shop do from the get go cuz i wouldnt wanna do them either. so, thats my 2 cents plus some. i wrote a frigin novel didnt i?

as always, fatty. thanks for the input, guys. I think i'm probably gonna do it myself, i never even considered taking it to a shop until my wife brought it up. I've never had a shop do anything on it (except the alarm and power window install, and they fucked both of those up, the alarm did'nt work after 3 days, the power windows quit in 5, and the dumbass plowed my truck into his shop's garage door messing with the remote start with it in gear, so i ended up having a friend help me do it. BTW, the reason the alarm and windows messed up is because he ran the wires through a hole that was too small for them without using a grommet or anything, the first time the door was shit, it pinched both sets of wires.) Anyway, keep the opinions coming...