Shachagra- Family of 5 traveles Europe and Turkey, International 7500

[shachagra]

Great threads here, great to see lots of projects. We just finished touring Europe and Turkey in our home built on a International 7500 chassis.
Large, 33K, 400 gallons water, 200 gal diesel, all diesel fired (stove, heating) with a 2K W solar array and 2100 AH of Lifeline batteries.
The trip was epic- and I don't use that word lightly.
Some photos




You can see some videos- search "shachagra" on youtube

[BKCowGod]

Flickr ain't being friendly, but the photos are awesome - link for those who don't feel like right clicking on the broken photo links above

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67595391@N02/6158878654/

[shachagra]

I thought that was too easy!

[Ford Prefect]

I would be very grateful for some interior photos of your vehicle. I was so impressed with the bedrooms you built in, and I would really like to learn a lot more about your set up. I have been thinking about ways to build a bedroom for my boys when/if I do get to build my own truck, but it never occurred to me that I might be able to build something they could stand in, without being so intrusive as to require the full height of the roof!

Thanks much!

[shachagra]

I'll try and post some pictures- interior shots are difficult without a wide-angle lens, which I don't have.
The staterooms worked out very well and I think the lack of them would have been a show stopper for children the ages of ours (13-18, mixed gender) It is hard to describe them- they are like the bathrooms on a bus, the ones you walk past as you climb into the bus. Add beds that lie under the floor and closet and sink and you have a room. I made a model, three of them actually, that better show the room layout. Did you see the youtube video where my daughter gives a tour - "American Grace"
I'll try and post some pictures.

[Overland Hadley]

I would be very grateful for some interior photos of your vehicle.

x2

[Frosty_1]

Wow, very impressive! How long to fabricate? Do you have boat building experience?

[shachagra]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67595391@N02/6288737986/
I'll see if this photo posts and then add more of the interior.
The build was pretty quick, it went from a pile of wood, two 55 gallon drums of epoxy and an International chassis to being our home on the road in 4 months. There was still lots to do but we did it on the road. The truck was specifically built for our trip, the trip was the priority, the "end" so we had to work pretty hard and got her across to Europe over a month later than we planned. We were prepared to just give up and grab our backpacks if it didn't work out.
I have built two boats, small ones, but the techniques are similar- building the RV was easier as there weren't nearly as many curved surfaces and with the big chassis I wasn't as worried about weight as I would be with a boat (I sail multi-hulls) Shachagra is a big box sitting on a truck chassis, but she is designed and built like a boat, with all of the materials and equipment purchased from a boat building distributer (Jamestown Distributers)
It was fun to go through and dig up the pictures. A forum like this is a good way to keep a record, I wish I had started at the beginning, but I wouldn't have had the courage to lay out what I was doing and expose myself to the barbs of the RV'ers who kept telling me I couldn't buy or have built the truck I envisioned. I tried for 6 months to find someone to build her for me but spent more time trying to convince them of what we could do if we tried. This forum has a distinctly different breed of traveler and I'm happy to share with them.

[shachagra]

3070.jpg
Still figuring out the way photos work, but here are some. You can see the staterooms are below the floor, accessed through what looks like a galley cabinet. These photos were taken before the finish trim was installed and it looks much better now. Each child was able to decorated and paint thier own rooms- sometimes hard to take as "the builder" when the colors are pink, and the painting is a bit unprofessional- but they have such pride in their own rooms.
Note the maroon bed off to the left in the first picture, it runs under the main floor and is a very roomy twin bed. It runs across the RV while the beds in the front staterooms run fore and aft. You can see this in the Excel drawing I used until I built a few models. The models were all I used at the work site.

[shachagra]

A few more shots. First looking aft from where the head (toilet) and the soaking tub and shower are.
A picture of two Turkish soldiers getting a tour. The first time we had men carrying automatic weapons knock on our door it really freaked us out, then it became routine, all very friendly. We would never open the door without opening the high window, and greeting the visitor from 9 feet up and behind a bolted door. But I digress.