Eco-Roamer - F650 based Expedition Vehicle

Heading Out

Hi there,

No new pics today (sorry!) but a few updates:

- The rear ramp door / veranda is now fully mounted and carpeted. We still need to build the rails for it, but I can't wait to try it with the Fiamma Tent.

- We were planning on using coil springs with cables to counter weight the ramp door (a la cargo door on a box truck) but it turned out that the door is going to be too heavy once we mount the two spares on it. So, we decided to go with two 2,500lb little electric winches. Probably overkill, but they should last. I was concerned about using electrics (which can go wrong) for something like that, but I figured the ramp door seals tight, and they are inside, so they should never be exposed to the weather or dust. Worst case we can always gather a few people and raise/lower it manually.

- All the cargo bays are getting their doors on this week. Should be done by Monday when I'll upload new pictures. Very nice design, should be good and water tight.

- We're building two grey water tanks into the triangle gaps around the rear wheel wells. When I get really bored / motivated, I will route a special circuit of the engine coolant (already running back for the water heater) through the grey water tanks to keep them from freezing up.

- The Medex sub-floor is going in next Tuesday, together with the Plyboo stairs unit.

- The LED lights, water filters and kitchen cabinets are next after that...

The timelines are starting to look pretty grim, and I don't think we'll get nearly as much done as I had wanted before the Overland Expo. If you're stopping by don't expect to see too much on the inside... (feels like the Michigan U.P. trip all over again, only 8 months later!)

Cheers,
Jay.

Well it's such a massive project Jay, building something custom, all around the country, while you go about trying to live the rest of your life... I'd say you are doing a great job.

It looks like you have hired the 'right' people to do the work.

jayshapiro said:

snip...............

The timelines are starting to look pretty grim, and I don't think we'll get nearly as much done as I had wanted before the Overland Expo. If you're stopping by don't expect to see too much on the inside... (feels like the Michigan U.P. trip all over again, only 8 months later!)

Cheers,
Jay.

Click to expand...

Today's update...

:wings:
HEE! HEE! BWA HA HA HA!!!
:victory::victory::victory:​

(no other comment required, see below...)​

OK, we're in our happy place again...

Jay.

On my Way!

Hi guys,

My apologies that it has been a while since the last update. A LOT has happened, and it has been a crazy past few weeks trying to get the truck ready for the big trip to Arizona for the Overland Expo.

If any of you are planning on going to the OvExpo, be sure to stop by and say hi! We'd love to meet you and show you in person what I've been blathering on about for months in these posts...

Not everything has gone according to plan, and I'd be lying if I said that "we're there" - read below and you'll understand... BUT, in the mean time, this is my very first ExPo post that I am writing FROM THE TRUCK! I am sitting in "my office" working on my laptop with the truck WiFi, and some nice Cowboy Junkies music playing on the stereo to drown out the sounds around my Boondocking here in St. Louis.

Here's my route to the show, keep your eyes open for us on the highway!


OK, so what happened?

Well lot's of things went very well, for example:

GENERATOR:

The Generator is installed:

Except, it's not working because we ran out of time and didn't plumb it to the diesel tanks...


ELECTRICAL:
I started on the wiring and the electrical cabinet is in:


Here's the two alternators: 1 - 200A 12vDC & 1 - 200A 24vDC

[MORE PICTURES TO COME AS SOON AS I HAVE BANDWIDTH]

Except the guys installing the new dual fuel-tank guages disconnected the old guage/sender not realizing that it controls the pump which moves fuel from the left tank to the right tank (strange way to balance the system) causing the engine to only draw from one tank, leading to them running it dry and a $300 bill for CAT to come out and get the truck running again. (I was in New York, or I would have primed the fuel pump myself)

However, Leon & Steve over at Home & Mobile Energy (who are in charge of the solar) did a fantastic job starting the work on the cabinet. They got the 2 Outback 2kW inverters installed, the charge controller, and the Transfer switches (2 of them so we can take either 50Hz or 60Hz to be 'globally ready') The 8 Lifeline batteries are also installed. That battery bay is crazy. I'll upload photos of it as soon as I have bandwidth again...

Also, the LED lights are here, but they missed 7 of them from the shipment, and we can't put them in until the ceiling is in, which we can't do until we insulate... so no mounted lights for this week!

Here's the lights though, they're fantastic:

i2 Systems Aperon HB:


i2 Systems V-line Lattitude Linear light:


CABINETS:

By that point, Alice came out with Maya to meet Kurt and I. We went over to see Matt & Bill at Michiana Laminated Products who are building all the cabinetry.

Bill and I have been working on the designs in AutoCAD for months, but nothing replaces some practical time with tupperware and adjusting shelves:


We changed the latches, to these great SouthCo ones from Austin Hardware, they PULL the door in tight when they latch, which gets rid of any rattles. Very nice!


That also shows the recycled MDF board.

Here's a shot showing how over-built all of these cabinets are, to deal with the vibration of off-roading. The guys there have done a fantastic job:

...except, that we missed the deadline... The bamboo faces need to be treated for 1 week before they can be put in the truck, and we missed that window. It's not worth putting everything in the EcoRoamer, and then pulling it all out again (scratching it up in the process) - and so we'll have no interior for the Overland Expo. I'm REALLY bummed about that fact, because the cabinets look amazing and I wanted to show them off!

SAND LADDERS:

One thing that did kind of work out this past week, was the Fibreglass Sand Ladders that I ordered from Norm Klapper at PEC Boulder (Thanks ExPo forum for that connection!)

Somehow, Norm lost the order, and so I thought we were going to miss that window too, but he took good care of us and made sure we got the custom size ladders in time. I sprayed them black, and built brackets for them on the front of the camper:


They seem pretty heavy and amazingly strong, so we'll see how they hold up.

WATER FILTERS

I believe, I've mentioned before that we got this 5-stage water filtration system from World Wide Water. It uses the NASA filtration system from Water Security Corp that is used for water recycling on the ISS. I like it because it's: a) amazingly thorough, and B) dead simple to run unlike an R-O system.

Unfortunately, the box broke in the mail from WWW, and so one of the cartridges was smashed. Here's what it looks like in the rear bay though:


This system deserves it's own post some day with the details, but in short:

• The two stainless steel 25gal tanks on the back deck hold unfiltered water and feed the pump
• The unfiltered water goes through a sediment filter
• It is then pumped at v.high pressure (with a 24vDC pump) through the 5 stages to clean all the nasties
• the clean water (2L/min) is then fed either to: the 65+35gal fresh water tanks, or the tap outside the vehicle to filter water for the village.

OTHERS:

Lot's has happened since then, including:

• painting the cargo bays on the camper
• installing the spare tire carrier on the ramp door
• installing the outside counter/cabinet for the classroom
• installing new tail lights, etc.

Unfortunately, I have almost zero UPLOAD speed here, so I'll save all those for another night...

See you guys in Arizona!

Jay.

I've been following this build religiously, can't wait to see it this weekend!

O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a...ok!

Greetings from sunny Oklahoma! The trip is going well so far. Last night I spent my first true night 'camping' with the truck. I used the new outside countertop with the BBQ on it, and it worked like a charm!

Here it is: (in various stages of progress)

STEP 1: Cut a big hole in the side of your truck (ouch!)


STEP 2: Build a frame out of 1 1/8" aluminum


STEP 3: Cover it with a skin of Alucobond and a couple of latches


STEP 4: Apply one hot BBQ and one cold beer


I managed to get enough bandwidth to upload all the photos I had promised. They're all posted in the PHOTOS section at www.EcoRoamer.com (sorry it's easier than trying to copy them across here with my limited connection/time, at the moment.)

Today I'm on my way to New Mexico to pick up our first EcoRoamer Trailer for the Muskoka Foundation Fleet. If you haven't seen the thread on the Adventure Trailers forum section, it's an AT Horizon, that we are going to be loaning for FREE to people going on expeditions and are willing to volunteer a little time along the way for one of several good causes.

I'm really excited about it, and can't wait to see the trailer in person. It will be at the Overland Expo, free reservations are on a first-come-first-served basis, though free bottles of beer may be considered for preferential treatment! :coffeedrink:

See you guys in Arizona!

Jay.

Jay,

Any updates for us? It has been months!!

Spence

WIth the dual 2500 pound winches closing the rear door, how do you synchronize them so that the door is not warped when opening or closing as well as stopping the winches just at the right time so that the door seals are not crushed or hinges stressed?

Back online...

spencyg said:

Any updates for us? It has been months!!
Spence

Click to expand...

Thanks for pushing Spence... I've been very unfair to you guys, yes it has been ages, my apologies!

It has been a very challenging past couple of months. We've had some personal medical issues at home and production issues in Sturgis, both of which have caused substantial distraction and delay to the project. So, I haven't really been able to post any updates.

HOWEVER, Kurt and I just spent last week working on the truck, and we're back on track and there is some great momentum.

Here's a start of what's new since you last heard from us. There's much more to tell which I will post over the coming couple of weeks. (I promise!)

------------------------------------

When I last posted, we were just headed for the Overland Expo in Arizona. It was an AMAZING event, and it was so great to meet so many of you there. It's kind of funny, you build a big project like this pretty much in isolation in the shop (aside from ExPo posts of course) so, to be able to walk through the truck with so many of you and get real-time questions and suggestions was great. I have incorporated a lot of those suggestions into the truck now.

Here's some truck porn from the drive out to Arizona:





On the way out I stopped in New Mexico to meet Doug Streight ("Spressomon") and pick up his Adventure Trailer Horizon, which is now the first member of the Muskoka Foundation's fleet of FREE trailers for people interested in doing some volunteer work on their next Overland Adventure.

Here he is saying good bye to his trailer and how tiny it looks behind the truck...





In order to tow the trailer, we built a removable 2" receiver hitch on the back of the EcoRoamer, that allows us to tow class 5 level trailers, but also comes apart in pieces so we don't sacrifice our departure angle when not towing. Here is what it kind of looks like:



It worked great on the way out to Arizona and back.

If you want to learn more about the trailer, see more pictures or sign-up to take it yourself for free, check out the vehicles page here.


At the Overland Expo we launched The Muskoka Foundation, which is our new non-profit to help Overlanders "Do Good As You Go". Thank you so much to everyone who came up and talked to us. We've had over 350 different overland travelers come to the www.TheMuskokaFoundation.org website since the Expo, many of them signing up to potentially be future travelers. So thanks again! Here's the EcoRoamer doing double duty as our show booth...






One of the things you may have noticed in the above pics, that I haven't mentioned before is the spare tire rack.

It mounts on the rear ramp door, and has release so that it comes down under it's own weight with gravity when the door is lowered.

Here's what it looks like with the tires down:





I'm not happy about having that much weight up so high, but we went through a dozen other possibilities, and I believe this is the best solution. I particularly like that it doesn't require a separate winch/aparatus, and Alice can run it herself if she ever had to in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and to answer the question this week, that rear ramp is lowered by the two Warn 2500 winches, that have their controls attached together, so you physically hit both switched simultaneously. There is no electronic syncronization, but it lets you make fine adjustments as you watch it go up/down.

My experience has been that they never run at the same speed so small adjustment is usually required.

Because of the size of the door and the number/strength of the bottom hinges, there's quite a bit of flex in the door to allow you to adjust it.

As for not pulling it in too far, I've been thinking about putting a cut-off feather switch inside the door frame, but that's just another thing to go wrong. So long as you use your brain, it should be ok. I'll let you know then I violate that rule and screw it up!

There's lots more to tell, but that's all I ave time for today. I'll post more again tomorrow. Feel free to send me any questions / suggestions - they're always welcome!

Also, there are loads more pictures available already at: www.EcoRoamer.com

Thanks!
Jay.

Jay the truck is just Epic!
It was cool to be across from you at the Overland Expo and just stare at your rig.

I also think what you are doing with the trailers just beyond cool and I hope folks take the time to learn more and work with you guys.

Keep the updates coming as I know many people come here for reference and info.

Moving Inside

This week marks a fairly epic milestone in the development of the truck. We've started installing the interior!

The major work over the past two weeks has been the pop-top and the electrical. (both of those now link to the newly organized photo galleries)

The pop-top was a bit of a scary affair. Any day that you wake up in the morning and take a sawzall to a perfectly good truck makes you feel a little nervous...

The overcab area is where the kids are going to have their two beds. But in order to keep below the self-imposed 13 ft height restriction, and wanting to leave enough room between the truck cab and camper to allow for sway, meant that the actual over-cab area is pretty tight.

So we designed the truck with a pop-top. But left it until one of the last things to do, so that we had a stiff & sealed truck for our side trips over the past year.

Here's what the over cab looked like at the Overland Expo in Arizona:



Then we got back to Sturgis and did this to it: (gulp!)


Then we started framing in the pop-top. It is has a double wall system (interior, exterior) that overlap so that there's never a gap to the outside:


The big beefy side beams you see, extend back 10ft into the camper to give the overcab a nice solid support:


Finally we used the original cap, with a new rolled nose cone for the clamshell. Here it is in place: (don't ask how they got it up there)


And here's the HUGE piano hinge holding it on:


From the front then, it will look something like this:


...but the real challenge is not the front, it's the back.

There is a big gaping hole back there and we spent a couple of months going back and forth on different ideas on how to seal it up. We thought about:

- fold-down wall - leaves an open gap when raising the roof.

- tent-cloth - poor insulation when camping in the cold.

- accordian style - takes up too much room when folded, and lots of gaps for drafts.

- full clamshell (4 sides) - restricts access when down.

...then I had an idea. What if we take a fire-truck / service-body style ROM roll-up door, where the track is usually stationary and the door rolls up. And reverse it so that the door stays stationary but the track is the part that moves?

A ROM Door:




The guys at ROM thought we were crazy, especially since the door we want is 100in wide. But after months of back and forth, they built it, we installed and IT WORKS!

Here it is getting install in the new tracks:


The bottom end of the door is fixed to the main camper roof.

The top end of the door slides up parallel to the pop-top roof when the top is down.

As you raise the top, the door stays put and slides into place as the rear wall.

What's beautiful, is that you can release the bottom if you want to and slide the whole thing up to create a massive (screened in) window, which should scoop in a warm summer breeze. (if you park the camper in the right direction!).

The whole pop-top is assisted by 2 x 500lb gas shocks, so when you release the latches and push it up the first inch, it then slowly rises under it's own power. No motors, no chains, no worm gears. Lowering it is a 30lb pull down from the inside.

Each aluminum slat in the door, (hollow) can be filled with foam insulation if we think it needs it once we've tried it.

On the roof is a Heki 2 Skylight (accessible only in the up position) and the 8th solar panel.

I will post up some shots of the pop-top fully skinned and with the door down as soon as I can.

In the mean time, after two years from when I sketched the pop-top, and months and months of struggling with it's design, I'm delighted that it works! I don't think there is anyone else in the camper industry that has built something like this. (there may be a reason why, which I just haven't figured out yet!)

Cheers,
Jay.

Solar!

Here's the other 7 solar panels on the main roof:


1.5kW overall. (theoretical)

They are going to get some rub rails to keep branches from ripping them off or damaging them. Time will tell how well that works...

Cheers,
Jay.

Yep, i would be nervous too! That's a big commitment.

Nice pop-up design. I'm building a vehicle that's pretty tight inside, and it's funny how it's made me start to think a lot more about space - how to save it and make better use of it. Anyway, that pop-up looks like a cool way to expand your space a little bit.

I know you keep hearing this, but that truck is awesome. It must be fun to see your ideas take shape on such a dramatic scale.

Admission: I'm a bit envious of your project and your ability to make it happen. Imagine the stories that your kids are going to tell one day!