Truck Conversion & Toterhome Community - View Single Post - New Motorhome Project -- Looking for Comments/Suggestions -- LONG

Duff · 10-17-2013, 10:10 PM

Wow, Bob!

I didn't realize it had been that long ago! Those plans were just starting to get going--they've been through a million revisions since then, and have quite a few more to go. When I bought my current truck conversion, it was needing some work (on the RV part, not the chassis)--I thought at the time that I might re-do it to get the layout I'd like. Two years later, it's in good enough shape that I'd hate to rip it apart, especially the stuff that would n't be reused (like the solid oak woodwork). So anything custom I do would be starting from scratch.

Four years later, I can probably answer some of my own questions, and update my list:

The GearVendors Overdrive lives up to its claims about not leaving you stuck. After it quit working, I drove another 1,000 miles or so just fine. When I replaced it (30-minute job), there were all kinds of big metal pieces in the pan, yet it still transferred power through in 1:1 mode.

I wouldn't be happy with an MDT with 200 hp. The 475 hp I have now seems about right. I definitely like the Freedomline transmission so far as it's the only one from the early 2000s that skip shifts (often I hit 3,6,8...). Newer Ultrashifts and the i-shift do the same thing now, so any of the automated manuals would probably be fine. They're all going to be slower off the line than a true automatic though.

I don't think--at least this size range--that there's any big reason to try to single the rear. You'd get a little more storage space, and pay a little less in maintenance and tolls, but that's about it. Tandem there's really no worry about weight, towing or not.

I haven't really encountered anywhere where my height has been an issue. Same thing for overall length. I would have a little shorter wheelbase though--generally I think I'm more limited by breakover angle than rear overhang (neither is much of an issue), and a little tighter turning radius would be nice. I would gladly get rid of the roof A/Cs for another foot in baggage bay height, but I don't think anyone offers such a system anymore.

Some ideas seem to be cyclical, as the COE conversation popped up at the HDT rally last week. I have a decent idea for how I'd mate cab and box, but they're far more difficult to find in decent shape now than they were 4 years ago. The only practical way (and that's a stretch) to do this would be some sort of import operation or Argosy glider.

I really like how Showhauler (what I have now) and a few others construct their boxes, with a welded steel cage constructed first and everything attached to it. I've seen pictures of one after a rollover accident, and it fared quite well. My only complaints are the exterior panel attachment (which seems to be hit-or-miss), and the fact that the roof is completely flat--water tends to pool, especially with the lip where the roof meets the corner/side moldings.

I'm sure what I have cost me less than building one, but it just hasn't satisfied the urge to do it anyway!

10-17-2013, 10:10 PM	#14
Duff Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: - Posts: 15	Wow, Bob! I didn't realize it had been that long ago! Those plans were just starting to get going--they've been through a million revisions since then, and have quite a few more to go. When I bought my current truck conversion, it was needing some work (on the RV part, not the chassis)--I thought at the time that I might re-do it to get the layout I'd like. Two years later, it's in good enough shape that I'd hate to rip it apart, especially the stuff that would n't be reused (like the solid oak woodwork). So anything custom I do would be starting from scratch. Four years later, I can probably answer some of my own questions, and update my list: The GearVendors Overdrive lives up to its claims about not leaving you stuck. After it quit working, I drove another 1,000 miles or so just fine. When I replaced it (30-minute job), there were all kinds of big metal pieces in the pan, yet it still transferred power through in 1:1 mode. I wouldn't be happy with an MDT with 200 hp. The 475 hp I have now seems about right. I definitely like the Freedomline transmission so far as it's the only one from the early 2000s that skip shifts (often I hit 3,6,8...). Newer Ultrashifts and the i-shift do the same thing now, so any of the automated manuals would probably be fine. They're all going to be slower off the line than a true automatic though. I don't think--at least this size range--that there's any big reason to try to single the rear. You'd get a little more storage space, and pay a little less in maintenance and tolls, but that's about it. Tandem there's really no worry about weight, towing or not. I haven't really encountered anywhere where my height has been an issue. Same thing for overall length. I would have a little shorter wheelbase though--generally I think I'm more limited by breakover angle than rear overhang (neither is much of an issue), and a little tighter turning radius would be nice. I would gladly get rid of the roof A/Cs for another foot in baggage bay height, but I don't think anyone offers such a system anymore. Some ideas seem to be cyclical, as the COE conversation popped up at the HDT rally last week. I have a decent idea for how I'd mate cab and box, but they're far more difficult to find in decent shape now than they were 4 years ago. The only practical way (and that's a stretch) to do this would be some sort of import operation or Argosy glider. I really like how Showhauler (what I have now) and a few others construct their boxes, with a welded steel cage constructed first and everything attached to it. I've seen pictures of one after a rollover accident, and it fared quite well. My only complaints are the exterior panel attachment (which seems to be hit-or-miss), and the fact that the roof is completely flat--water tends to pool, especially with the lip where the roof meets the corner/side moldings. I'm sure what I have cost me less than building one, but it just hasn't satisfied the urge to do it anyway!