diff --git a/camel/BaseDTO.php b/camel/BaseDTO.php
index d568bd47..c77bb24c 100644
--- a/camel/BaseDTO.php
+++ b/camel/BaseDTO.php
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 namespace Knuckles\Camel;
 
 use Illuminate\Contracts\Support\Arrayable;
-use Spatie\DataTransferObject\DataTransferObject;
+use Spatie\LaravelData\Data;
 
 
-class BaseDTO extends DataTransferObject implements Arrayable, \ArrayAccess
+class BaseDTO implements Arrayable, \ArrayAccess
 {
     /**
      * @var array $custom
@@ -14,6 +14,75 @@ class BaseDTO extends DataTransferObject implements Arrayable, \ArrayAccess
      */
     public array $custom = [];
 
+    public function __construct(array $parameters = [])
+    {
+        // Initialize all properties to their default values first
+        $this->initializeProperties();
+        
+        foreach ($parameters as $key => $value) {
+            if (property_exists($this, $key)) {
+                $this->$key = $this->castProperty($key, $value);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    protected function initializeProperties(): void
+    {
+        $reflection = new \ReflectionClass($this);
+        
+        foreach ($reflection->getProperties(\ReflectionProperty::IS_PUBLIC) as $property) {
+            $name = $property->getName();
+            
+            // Skip if already initialized (has a default value)
+            if ($property->hasDefaultValue()) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            
+            $type = $property->getType();
+            if ($type && $type->allowsNull()) {
+                $this->$name = null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected function castProperty(string $key, mixed $value): mixed
+    {
+        // If the value is already the correct type, return it as-is
+        if (!is_array($value)) {
+            return $value;
+        }
+
+        // Get property type through reflection
+        $reflection = new \ReflectionClass($this);
+        if (!$reflection->hasProperty($key)) {
+            return $value;
+        }
+
+        $property = $reflection->getProperty($key);
+        $type = $property->getType();
+        
+        if ($type && $type instanceof \ReflectionNamedType && !$type->isBuiltin()) {
+            $className = $type->getName();
+            
+            // If it's a DTO class in our namespace, instantiate it
+            if (class_exists($className) && is_subclass_of($className, self::class)) {
+                return new $className($value);
+            }
+            
+            // If it's another class in our namespace that has a constructor accepting arrays
+            if (class_exists($className)) {
+                try {
+                    return new $className($value);
+                } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                    // If instantiation fails, return the original value
+                    return $value;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        
+        return $value;
+    }
+
     public static function create(BaseDTO|array $data, BaseDTO|array $inheritFrom = []): static
     {
         if ($data instanceof static) {
@@ -49,6 +118,15 @@ protected function parseArray(array $array): array
         return $array;
     }
 
+    public function toArray(): array
+    {
+        $array = [];
+        foreach (get_object_vars($this) as $property => $value) {
+            $array[$property] = $value;
+        }
+        return $this->parseArray($array);
+    }
+
     public static function make(array|self $data): static
     {
         return $data instanceof static ? $data : new static($data);
@@ -73,4 +151,22 @@ public function offsetUnset(mixed $offset): void
     {
         unset($this->$offset);
     }
+    
+    public function except(string ...$keys): array
+    {
+        $array = [];
+        foreach (get_object_vars($this) as $property => $value) {
+            if (!in_array($property, $keys)) {
+                $array[$property] = $value;
+            }
+        }
+        return $this->parseArray($array);
+    }
+    
+    public static function arrayOf(array $items): array
+    {
+        return array_map(function ($item) {
+            return $item instanceof static ? $item : new static($item);
+        }, $items);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/camel/BaseDTOCollection.php b/camel/BaseDTOCollection.php
index ba2d1762..f5a32ce5 100644
--- a/camel/BaseDTOCollection.php
+++ b/camel/BaseDTOCollection.php
@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@
 
 use Illuminate\Contracts\Support\Arrayable;
 use Illuminate\Support\Collection;
-use Spatie\DataTransferObject\DataTransferObjectCollection;
 
 /**
- * @template T of \Spatie\DataTransferObject\DataTransferObject
+ * @template T of \Knuckles\Camel\BaseDTO
  */
 class BaseDTOCollection extends Collection
 {
diff --git a/camel/Extraction/ExtractedEndpointData.php b/camel/Extraction/ExtractedEndpointData.php
index ad95de24..f5983120 100644
--- a/camel/Extraction/ExtractedEndpointData.php
+++ b/camel/Extraction/ExtractedEndpointData.php
@@ -149,15 +149,17 @@ public function endpointId()
      */
     public function forSerialisation()
     {
-        $copy = $this->except(
+        $copyArray = $this->except(
             // Get rid of all duplicate data
             'cleanQueryParameters', 'cleanUrlParameters', 'fileParameters', 'cleanBodyParameters',
             // and objects used only in extraction
             'route', 'controller', 'method', 'auth',
         );
         // Remove these, since they're on the parent group object
-        $copy->metadata = $copy->metadata->except('groupName', 'groupDescription');
+        if (isset($copyArray['metadata']) && $copyArray['metadata'] instanceof Metadata) {
+            $copyArray['metadata'] = $copyArray['metadata']->except('groupName', 'groupDescription');
+        }
 
-        return $copy;
+        return $copyArray;
     }
 }
diff --git a/camel/Output/Parameter.php b/camel/Output/Parameter.php
index 75427457..2238ff0e 100644
--- a/camel/Output/Parameter.php
+++ b/camel/Output/Parameter.php
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@ class Parameter extends \Knuckles\Camel\Extraction\Parameter
 
     public function toArray(): array
     {
-        if (empty($this->exceptKeys)) {
-            return $this->except('__fields')->toArray();
-        }
-
-        return parent::toArray();
+        return $this->except('__fields');
     }
 }
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 98540824..4fe3dc61 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
         "ramsey/uuid": "^4.2.2",
         "shalvah/clara": "^3.1.0",
         "shalvah/upgrader": ">=0.6.0",
-        "spatie/data-transfer-object": "^2.6|^3.0",
+        "spatie/laravel-data": "^3.0|^4.0",
         "symfony/var-exporter": "^6.0|^7.0",
         "symfony/yaml": "^6.0|^7.0"
     },