out with the old in with the new

[westyss]

I had some folks come out to lend a hand but we were all too busy so no pics of the actual fork lift episode , but all did go extremely well. I moved the unit out into the road, next to the truck, then lifted it up and set it onto some dunnage on the deck so that the tines could be slid out from under it, then we lifted the back end high enough to get the dunnage out from underneath, to do this I had to tilt the cab so they wouldnt touch, then once the dunnage was removed, we slid the unit forward into place.All this lifting sure showed me how stiff the cabin is as it did'nt flex at all. It was a very snug fit, I could have probably had a little more space between the deck and cabin, I must of had too much Sika somewhere. The big plan was to have the unit removable with some camper jacks if need be.



I threw some big straps onto the whole thing and got it home into the drive way, but not before I took it onto some rough terrain and bounced it around a bit, pretty silly really as it wasnt even very secured, oh well.

[Greggk]

man this thing looks awesome. what is the projected inside height of this? to me it looks a little short...

[slowtwitch]

Freekin sweet. Any estimate on the weight of the box? Serious inspiration.. please keep it coming. I'de be curious about material costs as well, but understand if that's mum.

-Mike

[spencyg]

What is the plan for roof drainage? It seems like you've got a flat surface up there that will want to pool water. If planned right, this might be used well with a rainwater collection system.

Interested in your plans up there...

Looking super.

[matthewp]

Absolutely wonderful build! I love it! I can't wait to see the interior pics.

[Overland Hadley]

Great build! Keep the information coming.

[westyss]

Wow, thanks for the nice comments, I appreciate it. To answer some questions

1) The walls were made by Rhinocore, and they were mostly all the people from Big foot I believe, and I recently heard that they are reopening Big foot so I am not too sure how available the wall product will be, I am very happy that they worked with me, good folks, there is another Co. that says they supply the same stuff , Canadian Commercial Vehicles. I tried to work with them but was not successful, they quoted me double Rhinocore's quote and it only took them seven months with constant calls to give me that quote, so good luck with them.

2) The height inside when the roof is up is 6' 6", down is 5'.

3)Weight, well let me tell you a story about myself first, I have this problem of over building things, it stems from my childhood so I cant help it, like I said before , it is strong, probably too strong, I am sure one could lighten it up alot, but as it stands, the deck came in at 900 pounds and the cabin just under 2000 pounds.

4) Water collecting, well that is a bit of the plan, right now it just dumps on the ground, I put my dogs water dish there so it fills up, but someway I will collect water, it just makes sense, as for pooling, in these next series of pics you will see a 4 toggle double throw double pole switchy thingy, so I control all the actuators individualy, so if it rains I tilt the roof any way I want, which is usually to the side without the door.

There is just a temporary interior, I am trying out locations before I commit, so not much inside.


Next step in the process was to install the door. My dog was complaining that she wasnt in enough pics so I had to put one in, for the install I had to get the truck as close to the shop as possible due to rain and wind, it was not too hard as the hole in the wall was already there, just had to cut out the aluminum corner that was conveniently left unglued.



Hers one after install.



This is the one I call, door to no where.



Up til now I have not tried raising the roof, so its time, I wired up the actuators to give it a go,



An actuator ready, these are Firgelli, 400lb, 18" inear actuators, I carry a spare.



So away we go, half way, sooo exciting!



All the way.

[slowtwitch]

Thanks. 2,000 lbs just for the shell with no interior, or complete?


-Mike

[westyss]

Once the door was in, it was time to finalize the step plans, and get them made.



And installed.





From inside.

[westyss]

Finishing up the steps with a frame around the part where the door screws onto. And some non skid.





I needed some air, so I picked up a VIAIR system, I really wanted an engine driven compressor, but didnt have the time to make up a mounting bracket etc. so I went with this, my National air seats were arriving soon so I had to get on it. I mounted the tank between the frame rails, and put the dual compressors into my under body tool box. There is a remote switch with pressure guage mounted in the cab of the truck.





Needing to get this thing on the road for the May long weekend, I had to get the roof a little more done, so I picked up some stainless heavy duty sliders and installed six of them. These are needed to keep a set distance between roof and wall to keep the brushes working right.








And installed the enviromental seal brushes. These work surprisingly well, no noticeable air flow through it.