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

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shachagra

Adventurer
I planned to put in supports from the bed to the bumper but I can sit on the very end with no flex at all (I'm a mere 140 LBS) but that would actually be an extreme- most weight will be in the forward 30 inches, directly supported. I'm dropping the additional supports as unnecessary. If one were very heavy, or very active in bed, one could add the supports. The owner is neither, though may be pushing the heavy description.
 
M

MicroBird

Adventurer
Awesome thread. I will be converting a 30' Intl school bus and I will definitely be stealing...I mean borrowing some of your ideas.
 
BeyondAlexandria

BeyondAlexandria

New member
Doug, it is great to see your new project and hear updates about Shachagra states-side. Given the fact that we had our first child last year we had to stay stationary for a while so we could figure out our next steps. However, we are back to planning, drawing, and dreaming, and a few months ago bought a 1991 Dodge Van camper conversion in very good condition that we have used quite a lot recently. I am considering modifying the van first (into a pop-up with foldouts, ironically, seems like we are thinking similar things) because it is what we have, then building our own full rig in the future once we find out what we really need.

I love that everyone keeps building and making ideas come to life. It is very encouraging! And that Killer RV thing looks like a great show, we will have to look it up on the net, we have no TV hookup!
 
S

shachagra

Adventurer
IMG_1149.jpg
BeyondAlexandria said:
Doug, it is great to see your new project and hear updates about Shachagra states-side. Given the fact that we had our first child last year we had to stay stationary for a while so we could figure out our next steps. However, we are back to planning, drawing, and dreaming, and a few months ago bought a 1991 Dodge Van camper conversion in very good condition that we have used quite a lot recently. I am considering modifying the van first (into a pop-up with foldouts, ironically, seems like we are thinking similar things) because it is what we have, then building our own full rig in the future once we find out what we really need.

I love that everyone keeps building and making ideas come to life. It is very encouraging! And that Killer RV thing looks like a great show, we will have to look it up on the net, we have no TV hookup!
Click to expand...


Congrats on the child, busy, frustrating but the greatest gift you'll ever get. The van will be great for trips while the child (children??) are young. The one I am building (slowly) now could easily sleep a family of five if the children were small. We used to sail for weeks in a small boat when we were two. We haven't had TV/cable since since 1992 except for one year when we had a nanny that couldn't live without it and it has made a huge difference. We have netflix now an it is sucking the life out of me! How did the Navy thing work out? I put in a photo of Shachagra's new dock, right on the St Johns river. Plenty of parking space for journeyers passing through.
 
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fabiopb

New member
Hi Doug,

It's been a while since your last post, I really hope you're still around. After I found out about Shachagra I watched all videos and read the whole thread... what an amazing feat, congratulations for you all.

I'm in the process of fantasizing about something similar and I'd love to ask you a few things if you don't mind.


1. Are you familiar with this kind of composting system? I was wondering how well it would work on a motorhome. Have you seen this during your time in the navy?

http://sun-mar.com/prod.html

2. You mentioned the stiffness of the suspension. Did you consider replacing the standard one with an air suspension, bus style? Maybe going with a single axle? I've seen videos of heavy trucks with air suspension and they seem to have an incredibly smooth ride.

3. Regarding design, being Shachagra so high weren't you afraid of excessive rocking, even overturning? How did she perform in this sense?

4. Was it easy to get an insurance? Did it cover everything? How much did it cost?

5. Did you guys usually try to spend the night on camps or parking anywhere was cool enough?

6. Did you ever feel you were in danger during the trip? Did you have a weapon on board? (that's a strange question, I know)

7. Was the hull 100% stiff and solid by the end of the trip? I confess that the flexing/torsion of the chassis would scare me as hell if I was in your place...

8. I suppose you guys had international health insurance? How does it work?

Sorry for asking so many things. Thank you!
 
S

shachagra

Adventurer
fabiopb said:
1. Are you familiar with this kind of composting system? I was wondering how well it would work on a motorhome. Have you seen this during your time in the navy?

http://sun-mar.com/prod.html Not familiar with a composting system but it would eliminate one of the worries of traveling without use of campgrounds, where to dump your crap. We could go ten days between dumps and in the wilds it was easy- feed the bushes. Most of the world required us to find a suitable spot to dump. Highway rest stops were the norm, 30 foot hose into a toilet, or lots of hauling in two 5 gallon buckets.

2. You mentioned the stiffness of the suspension. Did you consider replacing the standard one with an air suspension, bus style? Maybe going with a single axle? I've seen videos of heavy trucks with air suspension and they seem to have an incredibly smooth ride.

Shachagra has an air-ride suspension, but its still a truck. I don't want to say it was too bad, it wasn't. On good highways it was no problem. In places like Turkey we had to move pretty slow (40 mph) I think lightening the front suspension would help, its rated at 12,000 lbs, but only carries 8000.

3. Regarding design, being Shachagra so high weren't you afraid of excessive rocking, even overturning? How did she perform in this sense?
No problems with rocking at all, she is very stable. Most of Shachagra's weight is at or below the rails, the shell is all we have up high, unlike a real truck that load cargo to the ceiling. She is 12" 9" and sitting next to a real truck she looks small.

4. Was it easy to get an insurance? Did it cover everything? How much did it cost?
Insurance was a pain. I couldn't find comprehensive, I just have liability and it runs $1100 a year. I got it through Bluesky Insurance and will do a bit more shopping around when I renew.

5. Did you guys usually try to spend the night on camps or parking anywhere was cool enough?
In 16 months on the road we only spent 21 days in campgrounds/RV parks. We considered time in a park as a vacation from the road and a place to fill up, dump out and condition the batteries. We also found that we did the most visiting and socializing when we were in a park and people had a day to stalk around before getting the courage to come by for a visit.

6. Did you ever feel you were in danger during the trip? Did you have a weapon on board? (that's a strange question, I know)
We never felt in danger, not once. There was an attempt to steal our bikes off the back in England- funny story, scared the crap out of the would be bike theives. There was also an attempt to break in while in a French truck stop but after breaking my locks my boy scared them off (4 guys in masks) The only weapon we had overseas was a billyclub. Too much danger of having a weapon in a country that discourages them. That said we were never searched, not even through customs in either direction. We had plenty of tough looking border police come aboard, but it was out of curiosity, not duty. Here in the states we do have weapons on board.

7. Was the hull 100% stiff and solid by the end of the trip? I confess that the flexing/torsion of the chassis would scare me as hell if I was in your place...
The hull and shell are rock solid. The hull is a box beam made of 3/4 inch plywood with biaxial cloth and epoxy joints. I could drop it off a cliff and it it wouldn't crack. Look at the U-Haul box trucks with cheap joints- they last. We never beat the truck like you would a jeep, the appliances would break long before the shell would.

8. I suppose you guys had international health insurance? How does it work?
We are retired military and stopped at US bases in England, Italy, Germany and Turkey. I think most health plans will cover you overseas. One thing I realized after the trip was how unadventurous it really was. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. Everyone, everywhere would bend over backwards to help us. Good luck and don't worry I enjoy answering questions. I planned the trip for ten years and the truck for 18 months, there's a lot to share.

Sorry for asking so many things. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Need to write something outside the quotes.
 
S

shachagra

Adventurer
Overland Expo

If anyone is at the overland expo I have forced my way into the "Build or Buy" expert panel and will have my latest build there to show off. I wish I could bring Shachagra, but I'm not wealthy enough to pay for the diesel to get me from Florida to Arizona just for a little showing off.
 
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mrbs9271

New member
Love everything you have done. Former Navy myself and husband is former Army. We have 4 kids under 12, i have been trying to imagine a set up like what you have, but with 4 kids berths. We want to do Europe so bad. Our next adventure is the USA for sure, but after that is Europe, so you postings have giving me more dreaming to do. I do have a couple of questions for you as well.

1. Would you consider designing and building for someone else?

2. What on average did you spend for you trip over there? Did you have some huge savings account or relied more on your retirement to pay for stuff?

3. What age do you think would be too young to go, my kids are 12,11,8 and 6 right now.

4. In some of your pics I see dogs and cats, did you take pets with you over there? That is a big issue for us right now.

Look forward to keeping in touch and hearing your stories , would buy a book if there was one!! hint hint!! Did you keep a budget or anything you could share?

Micah
 
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