cost of Gortite rollup doors
 

I got a quote from Gortite tonight. The size they quoted will be changed a little. The cost for each door was given with three finishes 1. satin anodized, 2. door painted and 3 door and trim painted. Sizes and prices 1. 30" high x 18" wide anodized $331 2. 30" x 18" painted $413 and 3. 30" x 18" painted door and trim $487. 1. 30" high x 40" wide anodized $478 2. 30" x 40" painted $568 and 3. 30" x 40" painted door and trim $641
1. 30" x 72" anodized $693, 2. 30" x 72" painted $789 and 3 30" x 72" painted door and trim $863. You can order them with a mill finish and paint them yourself. I think the mill finish is the lowest cost. I need to talk to the rep and make sure I understand what is what. I also need to clear up the compartment construction because I was told before that you could frame the top, bottom and both sides in 2" tubing but the instructions shows the top being sheet metal. I will talk to him in the next day or two.
They have many options like locks both manual key and power locks, sill plates, cabinets lights and pull straps for tall doors.
I thought I was ready to order mine but I need to make sure I have it all right, thats a lot of $$$ to order the wrong thing. I will keep up posted.
Kenn

Those prices are more reasonable than I expected. I presume 30" high for the under box compartments. I live about 25 miles north of Milwaukee (WI) and Gortite is in New Berlin, WI ... suburb on the SW edge of Milwaukee. Thanks for the info.

So far the only down side I see is that on a 30" tall door, there will be a 6" diameter roll of door at the top when its open, 2-1/2" of that will be up above the top of the opening in the header space, but 3-1/2" will be hanging down in the doorway. I think if planned properly that would not be much of a problem compared with the advantage of not having a hinging door to get in the way or bang your head into. I think i would make the space above the door a bit taller to hide the whole roll. They have some nice trim that would make it easy for do it yourselfers to skin the rig and not have to do any bending. A tall one would make a nice garage door for the harley in the back also. And the power lock option is a definate bonus, not having to search for keys in the dark.

Dave

I was looking at one of our city's fire engines today and snapped a few photos of the roll up door on the side cabinet. Let's see if I can get it to show up here. Different brand than what you've looked at. Maybe check their pricing?

The first two show the manufacturer info. The other two show where they roll up into an enclosure inside the box. I don't know if that enclosure comes with them or was built after installing the door.

If you click that second picture to see it bigger you can read the phone number for the company.

roll-up doors
 

Bob thanks for the info on ROM, I got a bid and samples of their door harware. I have not decided between the two manufactures, lots to think about. Yesterday I finished the framing for the doors so now the sizes are set. I had a big Oops in my designing. I was told by one of the door companies that I could use 2" tubing all the way around the door. Not true if you want the door flush with the outside of the bodywork. The roll needs to be as close to the front of the body works as possible. I ended up cutting out 36' of 2 x 5 tubing and replacing it with 2 x 2 welded to 1/8" flat bar. Lots of work and money. Although it is hard to get good pictures inside the shop, I will post some. Next up is to order the doors (3 weeks delivery time) and build the rest of the compartment framing along with the rear lower bodywork and wheel wells.

Hey Kenn- you do nice work, you wanna' start welding on mine when yours is finished? I'll buy the beer!

Free beer?
 

Hot rod I can't drink beer anymore, it's not a skill thing, it's the diabetes. I think welding on another project would be cool and I have learned a lot so far. Today I ordered the 5 roll up doors from Gortite. It should take them three weeks. I need to paint a small pice of something and send it to them and they mix a paint to match mine, paint something and send it to me so I can say yes it matches or no it does not match. I gave them my paint name (Sherwin Willams) and code # but they us another paint company. I have finished the door frames and tomorrow I will pick up the sheet metal for the rear of the body and the wheel wells. I moved the exhaust to just in front of the left rear tire. I will work on cutting and welding angle iron to frame the compartments. I hope to have all of the fab work done when the doors arrive.

Looking good, can't wait to see it with the doors installed and the lowers skinned. Are you planning on matching the cab color or going for something different?

Dave

paint
 

Everything will be canteen white. The upper body will be white FRP. If the doors for entry, water heater and anything that is white does not match I might paint them with the same paint. When I first painted my race car I wanted white with blue trim. I bought blue and white race tape and took them to the paint store and had the car paint mixed to matched. When I have had to use the race tape it matches pretty good.

White is definitely the hardest color to match. Everybody thinks white is white, but there are practically infinite variations. I am sure that is why your door company is being very careful to match. My skin will be white aluminum sheets, and just need to match up the cab. My past experience has been most items like refrigerator vents, etc. are a close enough match to the aluminum to look good as is.

Dave

What is "FRP"?

Frp
 

The FRP I am talking about is fiberglass reinforced plywood and it is made by Fiber-tech industries and the product is called Clad Tuff. They are on the net and have locations in Spokane, Washington (509) 928-8880 and Washington Court House, Ohio (740) 335-9400. The panels are available in sizes up 120" wide x 58' long. Thicknesses range from 3/8" up to 1-1/4". I plan to use 1/2".

Interesting. Learn something new every day.

Kenn,
I am anxious to see how the FRP works out for you. It has been in the back of my mind as a skin for my future build. I have been favouring skinning with aluminum, but am thinking it may not be as user freindly to deal with as FRP for a home builder. I have concerns with both methods of construction; Aluminum has problems with expansion and excessive conductivity of heat/cold into the metal framing potentialy leaving condensation within the wall cavity. Age old question of screws or the super sticky tape to fasten it. I like the seamless look of the FRP, and as long as you keep the water out it should last a good long time, however should you get some type of damage, not sure how you would make a decent looking repair? Then there is the cost of getting a full motorhome sized sheet shipped to your location (I will be looking at a 32'-36' length). My question to you is how do you plan to fasten it to your framing? and what are you going to do for the corners and roof to wall joint? have you decided on a roofing material yet? would love to get a look at your project when you get to that stage...I could even hold the camera while you muscle one of those side sheets into place..lol Keep up the good work and updates

Dave

muscle side sheets?
 

The heaviest side will be the drivers side, no door and smaller windows. The drivers side will weigh around 285# in 1/2" and 235 in 3/8". The roof is the brute. If I do it in 1/2" it will be around 450# The FRP is 1.9 lbs per sqft in 3/8" and 2.3 in 1/2". I do plan to use FRP on the roof. If you go on the roof in the sun take some shades and sun block. My plan is to glue the frp to the 2x2 studs and bolt (3/8 button head cap screws every 8") around the perimeter. I will use polished stainless steel (1/8" x 6" bent into a 90) for the corners. It will look like angle iron. I will pick up the FRP in Spokane because they will load it on my trailer in the reverse order that I will need it. I have a crane to do the heavy lifting but I expect it to be a challenge. I will have all of the holes (windows, vents or ?) cut and epoxie all of the exposed wood. When it goes together I will use marine sealant on everything. By the time I get to the FRP my brother will be in the area to lend a hand.

Sheet metal
 

I am doing as much fab work as I can before the roll-up doors arrive. I finished the exhaust and did the wheel wells. I made the framing for one compartment (the only compartment that I can finishe before the entry door and steps arrive) and clamped it in place. I drilled and clamped the sheet metal (16 g) for the fuel tank cover, and rear end of the motor-home. I did the back while my brother was visiting because that rear piece is big and hard to handle by myself. We got it fitted and drilled the hole for the lights. My roll-up doors are due in on Tuesday and the Kwikee steps and entry door will be in on Monday. Next week will be fun.

rear panel
 

My brother is cleaning up welds on a small piece of tubing that the pamel will rivet to and I am welding a piece of 3/16 flat bar to make everything flush. I moved the truck half in half out so I could close the door behind the cab and keep the rain and cold air out. My brother always finds a heater to work near.

Looks really good, Ken. Keep the posts and pictures coming.

make sure u line the wheels with steel trust me u dont want to blow a tire wioth out it

more new stuff
 

In the last two weeks it has been like Christmas at Kenn's house. I got my painted roll-up doors, the three step electric steps, the entry door, the cab interior and a new jack-knife sofa. I had a local uplhosterer make new door panels, headliner, corner pieces and redo the seats. I am happy with his work and his price was fair. I installed the stairs and need to finish the steps inside the coach. I have installed one roll-up door and it took some time to get the first one in, I hope the rest will go faster. I started with the smallest door and that worked well because you need more than two hands at times. All that new paint makes me nervous. I will get my sister to help with the larger doors. After they are all mounted I will remove them and put them back in the boxes until later.
Monaco shut down all of their Oregon operation and Northwest RV Surplus bought everything and opened a new store in downtown Eugene. Tuesday was the first day they were open and my sister and I made the two hr drive and I found a sofa that is what I was looking for. I got a 68" leather Villa jack knife sofa for $500. It was standing on end and has damage to one arm (lucky Kenn it is the arm that will be against the back of the cab) and a small piece of trim upholstery. I also picked up some interior lights and a 2500 W inverter. I will try to get pictures of the doors with the truck outside.

looks very nice !

I presume that is a roll-up door next to the steps. If so, what is white or grey thing at the bottom of the door, looking like it sticks perpendicular to the door? Looks like two electrical outlets are on it.

All your stuff looks great!

looking around northwest surplus web site i imagine you were just like a kid in a candy store with not enough dimes.

don

roll-up doors
 

#90 I think the parts you are seeing are black nylon stops mounted to a flat bar that you push down on to close the door. When the door is opened all of the way, the black stops contact the top drip rail. In the picture with the door open you can see them against the drip rail. In the closed position the stainless bar rides over nylon ramps and keep the door down. I got the keyed locks that have a 3/8" rod that goes into each side of the framing. I took pictures of the roll from inside the compartment with the door open and closed.
Don the pictures online are from NW surplus first store which I have been to a few times. The new store is PACKED with boxes on pallets and it is not yet organized like the first store. We had to open boxes to find out what was inside and nothing was priced yet. And yes I was a bit like a kid in the candy shop. I plan to make other trips after they have a chance to unpack. All of the hours online looking at parts helps with having a feel for the value. Just because it is at a surplus store does not mean it is a great deal.

more roll up doors
 

Today my sister helped me install the longer doors. I did one of the 45" ones by myself the other day and I was lucky not to damage the paint. The longest door is 69" and it hangs by threes straps. I don't have enough hands. We got all five doors on and working fine. Then I moved the truck outside to clean the shop and get some better pictures. On the passenger side the rear compartment will hold the generator, the small (17") door will be for the batteries and the big door will be storage or as we call it Mike's bedroom.. On the drivers side the rear compartment will be for the holding tank, dump valve and water pump. The compartment in front of the tire will be storage. We took the doors off, rolled them up with the same foam that they were shipped with and put them back in the boxes. I will not see them again until the project is almost done. They work just like I remembered on the fire rigs and the paint job looks great. My total cost was $2918. for the doors and $251.76 for shipping. After working with the doors I think I made the right decision to have them do the painting. Next up is to finish off the compartment framing.

more door pictures
 

That is me on the entry step feeling good about life.

Very nice. Thanks for the update.

More doors
 

It took longer than it should have but the small doors for access to the diesel fuel, propane and leveling jacks are mounted. I cut one hole in the wrong location and had to replace the 16 G panel. The LPG door is 12 x 16 and I need to change the latch to a thumb latch so anyone coould open it without a tool. The fuel door is 12 x 12 and has a key lock and the two jack doors are 6 x 6 and have a screwdriver slot. The doors are bolted on for now but will be riveted before I paint everything white.

more door pictures
 

These are the jack doors and I can install and remove the pins through the 6 x 6 door.

Kenn,

keep the pictures coming, i do miss the thought and effort of doing what your doing.

if i may,,,,,,, a short piece of pipe (acting as a kind of bushing/bearing) that your landing gear crank goes through will take the wobble out of the crank shaft as your lowering the gear.

don

rear body work
 

I have finished with the framing for the rear body and drilled and clecoed the 16 guage panel to it. The center section of the frame is bolted in so I can lift the body off and still clear the rear cross-member. I think it should be plenty strong and more steel to protect the LPG tank.

Kenn, Looking good, nice to see the progress you are making. Makes me want to get mine started right away but its going to be a year or two before that is in the cards. Keep up the good work, perhaps one day you can have an open house to show off your hard work to the rest of us on the west coast..

Dave

I just went through the whole build thread so far and it looks great. a few questions for you. Why did you make the box removable? And what is the wheelbase and overall length of your truck? I am planning on a build and want a 20' box basically what you have and am trying to figure out how to stretch the frame between the axles but yours was added behind the axles. Thanks of you can help. Again your project is amazing.
Jason

answers for Jason
 

Jason, the wheel base is 243" The truck was built with a sleeper and most sleeper trucks are that long or longer. The bumper to bumper length is 19'4" and it is 119" from the front bumper to the rear of the cab.
My shop size has a lot to do with the way I am building it. The shop is 24' x 40' with a 9' workbench area and an open floor area of just under 31'. The roll-up door is 10' high and the motorhome will be just over 12' when finished. I am building the lower unit (everything from the floor down) on the truck first then I will build what will look like a big camper on the shop floor and move it outside and put it on the truck.
Take your time looking for a truck and get one that will work for your plan. I will upload a picture of the truck when I bought it. Good luck

Kenn

How much overhang will you have? I will be towing a stacker trailer with 2 cars in it once I'm done with my project. So I am thinking I may need a little longer wheelbase due to the amount of tongue weight that I will have

overhange
 

My rear bodywork extends 7' behind the center of the rear axle and the hitch ball is 9" behind the bodywork for a total of 7' 9". You need to think about axle weights when you are towing and not towing. My truck with the front drive axle removed has just over 8K on the front axle and 6K on the rear. With a 12K front axle if you move the rear axle rearward you will increse the front axle load. I have located heavy items (50 gal LPG tank, 85 gal holding tank and the generator) behind the rear axle to help with the weight balance. My trailer is much lighter than a stacker. Mine is 20' and is 3500# empty and around 7K when I go racing. Do you have a commercial drivers lic? I think in Calif. you can tow a travel trailer up to 15K with a class 3 but not a race trailer over 10K.

excellent work so far
 

Nice work Kenn. I've been lurking on the site for a while watching your build. I secured my truck and am almost ready to get started on the build. My shop situation is almost identical to yours. So your approach to build the lower on the truck and the upper in the shop and mount on the truck has really helped to inspire me. I have the mechanical and welding skills as well as tools, but needed some visual tutorial, such as your build.
I have a couple more things to get "right in my mind" before I start welding box tubing. I'm considering leaving both axles under the rear, and having the ability to not worry about weight issues.

What are your thoughts on insulating your floor and protecting it from road debris? ( on the underside)

new pictures
 

Today I had the truck outside for the first time in nine weeks. I took pictures that include the compartment framing, the 1"x2" floor framing and all of the sheet metal installed. The floor framing will be lifted off the truck and set aside until later. You might see that it is inset 1/2" from the outside bodywork to make room for the FRP. The battery tray will hold four 6 volt golf cart batteries and I will be able to slide it part way out to help service and install them. I still need to make a hold down bracket but I will wait until I have the battries. I also spent some time making a piece to fill the gap between the bottom of the entry door and the electric steps. I need to make one for below the steps. It will need to fold up out of the way when the steps are out. I need a bigger brain for this one. I welded some flat bar on the diagonal to help keep things square when it is off the truck. It will all be removed after the box is welded back onto the lower unit. Next up will be to trial fit the entry door (I need extra hands for that one). I have ordered aluminum to build my holding tank (83 gal). When the tank is finished I will remove the floor framing and then remove the lower unit for welding and painting.