New to all this - Class 8 Hauler
 

I am very interested to see your set up. I have an international 7500 expeditor truck single. I also go to the desert a lot so I want to see how you set yours up. Mine is 39' just rig so I am limited to a 26' trailer here in CA.

Sounds like a cool project! Do you plan to drop the garage below the frame or keep it above frame height? What will your overall length be?

How long is the box on that? Are you planning on just sleeping quarters, or are you planning a kitchen/bathroom/etc as well? What are you planning to put in the garage?
What trans is in it? Super 10?

22' box, super 10, we plan on a bathroom and a shower.... Sleeping over the garage is my plan... About 14-16' worth vehicle inside.

Will likely squeeze a fridge up in the sleeper and a microwave as well. We kinda 'rough it' when we go. We spend most of our time on the trail or outside around a campfire.

May not be able to separate the lq from the garage very well. If you need 16' of garage space, that only leaves you 6' of lq space. Might be better to leave it an open layout, similar to the smaller toy hauler trailers, and pull the vehicle out of the garage when you sleep. If you build cabinets/shelving on the front wall (on one side), you could mount the microwave, fridge, and possibly a sink to it. On the other side (at the front) you could frame in a bathroom with a small shower. (The one we plan on putting in our trailer will be 4' x 4'). You may want to put fold down beds mounted to the walls for sleeping. Looking at the box, it appears that you have about 8-9' of height inside. You could put a loft bed in the front of the box as well, but you will want a couple feet of head room above the mattress.
If you decide to wall it off from the garage, you can put the loft bed over the garage area, but probably only about 4-6' back. We are planning this option in our trailer, and I believe 5' is about all I can do without contacting the windshield on my crawler. My measurements are based off a Toyota 4runner, so a Jeep may be different.

Just looked at the photo again, does that have a walk thru door between the sleeper and the box? Bunk beds?


On a side note, the super 10 works great with the load you will be carrying. Other than a funny shift pattern, it is pretty user friendly.

I may have spoke too soon, the shift pattern is normal so it's evidently NOT a super 10. I do plan to do an open floor plan as you mentioned. I hope to put a pass-thru from the sleeper to the box and have the shower/bathroom at the front of the box. seldom will be need the 'living room' on the road, so when we hit the park and unload, we'll have a little room to feel like we have a camper


I appreciate the comments and feedback. Please keep em coming

We are going to learn how to be smart with our use of space. We've been using this Class A and had TONS of living space, but little room for rigs ( could only carry two jeeps/buggies at a time).

Super 10 shift pattern is 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10. Every shift is in the same hole, just pull it out, flip the switch on the shifter, and put it back in.

If it has the "top 2" option, when the cruise is turned on, the trans will shift automatically between 9-10.


What type of vehicles are you hauling with this setup?

Yep that is the shift pattern I have and the lever on the shifter. Fully manual Trans.

Thanks for clearing up what I have lol.



We use Jeeps, Razrs and full on buggies.

Some of our toys...well it seems I can only add one pic at a time from my phone.

More of em... ( and I'm clueless as to why my kids are standing on their heads! )

My buggy in the works... I'm still up in the air as to what I want to do on the truck itself

That would take a bit for me to get used to. It has been over 30 years since I shifted a ten speed and it was run the bottom five, pull up the button and run the five again.

Funny thing is, I hadn't drive a semi in over 20 years. My first test drive in this truck was 1800 miles... Talk about figure it out and roll with it. After a few hours of driving I was able to only use the clutch taking off and then just slide it in the gear on the fly.

I learned to shift without the clutch too. I used to drive for a guy that kept making little comments about me not using the clutch until one day another truck broke down and we took my tractor in case I had to pull the trailer. It happen to be one of those good days for me and I didn't pay attention to the tach just the sound and hit every gear just perfect. He never said anything about the clutch to ma after that.
On another note, do you know when it is time to get off the road with a manual transmission? When you miss a gear. You may feel fine, but there is fatigue building......

I did not know that... I'll remember it though!!!!



Ol rig sounds good rowing through the gears...

Yea, they do sound good. In a way I kind of miss that old 1975 Freightliner conventional. It was the first conventional I drove but it fit me like a glove. I can still remember it had a 350 Cummins, 13 speed, 212 wheel base, 30" bunk,..... Ah the memories!!

There is an error in how you were told to shift your Super 10. When making a button shift there is no need to move the lever in and out of the hole. Just lift your foot off the pedal. You can preselect the shift too. In other words shift into 9th for example and then as soon as you are accelerating in 9th you can flip the button for tenth and it won't shift until you lift your foot off the throttle. I used to do it all the time. I much prefer the super 10 to a range change. super 10 design is a splitter. range change has the lever on the front of the shift knob that you flip up and down. Button on the side is a splitter. 13 speeds and above have both.

Yep, that's how I shift mine... And I have the lil lever on the side. It all worlds like a champ once you get used to it.

When I got my CDL the company i worked for was all super 10. 6 months later I said something REALLY stupid. "Sure I'll be a trainer".....

😁 lol... I bet that was an experience for sure

I'm sure of that! Don't think I could do that....... To many stupid people out there to try to train....:rolleyes:

Some were good. Some very good. Others not so much. I still remember calling the safety department and telling them I wouldn't trust one of them with a Ford Ranger never mind a semi. He was still in 8th and still going 35 mph IN the toll booth lane. No such thing as electronic tolling then. At least not in common use.

I guess I never realized you could do that. Learn something new everyday.

Ever since Fuller went to the black plastic shift knobs (as opposed to the big round chrome ones), all range andsplitter shifts can be preselected. Range shifts (flipper on the front of the shifter) are completed as the stick moves through the neutral zone. Splitter shifts happen when you lift the throttle.

Depending on which transmission you have the range and splitter buttons are interlocked as to not allow certain shifts.

I am a huge fan of the super 10. The ONLY reason there isn't one in my pickup is because it weighs 800lbs. I'm not kidding, it was an Eaton rep that pointed out the weight issue when I mentioned it at the show in Louisville a few years ago. I absolutely will not touch an Autoshift. There are two main reasons for this. One, I concentrate on my driving better with a manual. The second reason is failure. I have had to move several trucks with autoshift transmissions out of traffic and onto the shoulder of the road at work. I don't have to worry about servos, sensors and actuators failing with the Super 10.

Sorry about the hi-jack but,
Orangepeel, have you had any issues with the range selector grinding between 5-6 and 7-8? Mine shifts fine (floating) between all the gears EXCEPT 6-7th. When I move the shifter to the far right, it grinds a little. It doesn't grind going into 7th, just the transition between slots. This started about a year ago when it was -30* out, and the truck hadn't been ran in a while. This particular instance, it would NOT shift out of low range...period. I figured there was some moisture in the air line that iced up on the selector. It shifts to the high side now, but it grinds every time.

I can't help you here. I haven't driven a Super 10 in 14 years. When I did the highest mile truck had under 350k on it. when I became a trainer I got a new truck. 10.6 miles new. Everything I've got access to is full auto. Either automotive or Allison.

Finished my turbo install last night and took the truck for a drive. I have had this truck for 3 years, and didn't know it shifted that way. My wife even sounded like she wants to learn to drive it now, since it's "just" a 5 speed now. :)

There is another more important reason for your wife to drive it.
She may have to one day.

What if you have some kind of medical issue while away from home on a trip?
Maybe you sprained your left ankle. Minor but more than enough to make the clutch a sworn enemy.

i have always had a policy that my wife has to be able to drive ANY vehicle I own, just for that reason. She doesn't have to want to drive it. She just has to be ABLE to drive it. So far they've all been autos but I see a Super 10 coming at some point.
That is ok though, it will be easier to teach her how to shift a truck transmission BECAUSE she doesn't know how to drive a car with a stick.

Turner,
How is the progress coming along? Settled on a floor plan design yet?

BTW, looking at the pic of your buggy, I'm guessing you live in the southern part of the states? I like the looks of it. Sweeping lines in the tubing (the reason I'm guessing south), but keeping the classic Willy's look.






Orangepeel, I agree wholeheartedly. My wife CAN drive it, she just prefers NOT too. Maybe now, she will take over the driving duties a little more...