Explorer
Side note on home schools
Growing up in the Third World I was virtually home schooled for many years. We used the Calvert System and to this day, I believe it had a better curriculum than most schools.
Granted, I am dating back to the mid 1950's, but you may want to consider it. http://www.calvertschool.org/
Best wishes!
--
DiploStrat
Certified Expo Poseur - Lives on Paved Road
Adventurer
You've effectively made the TARDIS on wheels...Congratulations on a fantastic build and developing such a well tailored solution. I add my name to the list of people applauding your adventurous spirit.
.
Maybe it is because I was not in the Navy (
.
Bravo
Humphrey
Explorer
I am very impressed Sir,
Thank you for sharing all of this wonderful detail.
May I ask for some further clarification as well? Namely I see that you mentioned one of the "basement" bedrooms runs perpendicular to the frame of the truck. Does that room sit above the truck, or below? If below it would seem to be very low to the ground.
May we also inquire, and I only ask because I know just about everyone has thought it, but could you give us a ballpark figure for total cost of the build?
This just seems like such a wonderful build idea. I never really needed a 4x4 truck, so doing something as low to the ground as your is does not irk me at all, very excited.
Thanks a lot
"Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He's the chap who makes it possible for civilized folk to despise war." -Allan Massie
Adventurer
Beds
I am going to make a few drawings that clarify the bed, I find it hard to describe, a good isometric drawing would really help. I attached a few pictures of a model I made. 2 of the beds are in the front just behind the cab. (the front is the shortest part) You can see that they run fore and aft above the chassis rails. The lowest part of the truck is the diesel tanks, it has good clearance. Each room, entered from the galley, has a bed, closet, standing area 3X3 and a sink, everything is under the main floor except where you stand.
The boys room in the back is different only in having the bed run across the truck- saving length. The very back is where we store the Vespa scooter. That worked out great. The big window in the model became the two small portholes, one in the standing area, one in the bed.
Last edited by shachagra; 10-31-2011 at 02:11 PM.
Adventurer
I can give a pretty good figure. $171,000. I have an excel spreadsheet that lists all components, weight, location, cost. electrical requirement, and on. Used it for weight and balance calculations, budget etc. I'd be happy to share it. The truck was $93K so there is the biggest chunk. We bought very high end appliances and systems, all designed for long distance cruising sailboats, pretty pricey. The solar array, batteries and components alone were $13K.Originally Posted by Ford Prefect
One of the reasons I built was when I listed the costs to build vs the cost of anything like it http://www.unicatamericas.com/vehicles_amerigo.html which was going for 600K used, with a single axle, I couldn't figure out where the money was going.
Observer
this is very interesting and inspiring !!!
thank you for taking the time to post all this info
wow...i can imagine the design challenge to build the rig to give 3 teenage kids the privacy they need/demand.
i`m in the middle of designing another truck based rig for myself so any more info and pics would be highly appreciated
Stephan
i know i should ignore the voices in my head ... but some of them have really cool ideas
Observer
Bookmarked, thank you!Granted, I am dating back to the mid 1950's, but you may want to consider it. http://www.calvertschool.org/
Can you put a 3' wide box on either side of the framerails and keep it under 100" width, or did you need to make part of it narrower (ie notch for the frame rails)? How wide are the frame rails, btw?The lowest part of the truck is the diesel tanks, it has good clearance. Each room, entered from the galley, has a bed, closet, standing area 3X3 and a sink, everything is under the main floor except where you stand.
That model really helps visualize how the beds are setup - thanks!
$171k seems pretty reasonable especially given the cost of the truck and solar system. Did you do everything yourself or did you contract anything out? Your build time seems pretty quick as well! Looks like you really had a well-organized plan going in.
Observer
US truck frames are usually 34" wide spaced
they are mostly HSS (MDT`s) or heat treated (HDT`s) C-channel that is roughly 10.25" tall and has ~ 3- 3.5" flanges (depending on application and GVWR needed).
i know i should ignore the voices in my head ... but some of them have really cool ideas
Adventurer
Floors
the rooms are 3X3 above the rail, the actual floorspace is 3X about 2. There is plenty of room to change, brush teeth etc. They are roomier than I thought they would be.
We did everything, we even made the water tanks. The build was not a fun time, 14 hour days with a friend of mine helping my Dad and me for 6 weeks. I took a day off every 2 weeks. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was my body not being able to keep up. My hands would swell every night and wouldn't function until I had been up for a few hours.
Last edited by shachagra; 10-31-2011 at 11:31 PM.
Adventurer
It sounds like it was going into the labor...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote