LET ME SEE YOUR IMPORTED DOUBLE CAB MB OR IVECO VEHICLE CONVERSION

[4x4for9]

Funny story about these hotel busses:
Many moons ago, I crossed the Sahara in Northern Africa by Motorbike. Some of those "roads" where the hardest I had ever encountered. Sand dunes and deep rutted sand roads where brutal. Needless to say, I was very proud of myself when I arrived at the campground in Mauretania. One evening while hanging out with some other "extreme" off roaders we watched as a Hotel Bus rolled in... We where all in disbelieve that this vehicle just did the same treck we did. We asked the driver how on earth he managed to do this: Speed and moving mass was his answer LOL. Btw, his bus looked like the one in the picture. No 4x4 or other off-road helpers... Since then I have a huge respect when I see those. View attachment 630455

Man this keeps getting crazier and crazier. First I had no idea a street version of these things even existed but now to see that an off-road or expedition style is also out there...MIND BLOWN. Hahaha

that is awesome and I am sure it would have been shocking to see it just pull up after experiencing what you just went through. Thanks for sharing. I will do a little more digging about these things.

 

[mog]

Maybe get one of the 4x4 Mercedes double/triple cabs that have the higher roof in the cab. There are two 'builds' on the Expo Portal now, Lowly the Lorry and 1124AF Double Cab.
Then you could have a power-down big bed in the cab (with folding seats below) for the adults and 7 bunks in the rear for the kids. As always YMMV, and disclaimer 'just a suggestion'.

photo credit- modified from Lowly the Lorry

 

[4x4for9]

Maybe get one of the 4x4 Mercedes double/triple cabs that have the higher roof in the cab. There are two 'builds' on the Expo Portal now, Lowly the Lorry and 1124AF Double Cab.
Then you could have a power-down big bed in the cab (with folding seats below) for the adults and 7 bunks in the rear for the kids. As always YMMV, and disclaimer 'just a suggestion'.

photo credit- modified from Lowly the Lorry
View attachment 630607

I like how you are thinking. I have been following Lowly the Lorry for a long time but I had never thought about putting a power-down bed in the cab. That is one of the reasons I love this forum. I put out a request for ideas and I get all sorts of ideas that I had never thought of. Thanks Mog!

As far as the triple cab goes, how rare are they? Is it just a truck with three windows like the one in my avatar or is it something bigger/longer/larger? I like that idea but I have never heard of them.

 

[mog]

As far as the triple cab goes, how rare are they? Is it just a truck with three windows like the one in my avatar or is it something bigger/longer/larger? I like that idea but I have never heard of them.

In general, they are calledl DoKa for double cabs, but in actuality, they have 3 rows of seats, so dreifachkabine (drei = three). DoKa is the most common term for a cab with 2 or 3 rows of seats. The trucks like Lowly have an extra high roof and if you notice a wider rear section. So while my 1017 (like your avatar photo) had a huge cab, Lowly's is super-duper-huge.

 

[mog]

D'oh, I forgot to give you a galley! So maybe have removable tables on Lagun mounts, with the upper bunks folding or raising out of the way, and the lower bunks converting to benches. I'd do the bunkbeds as 'personal space' pods with a cubby at the head or foot for their small personal items, and curtains so they could have some privacy, not only for sleeping but when their brother/sister is bugging them, they could go to their pod, close the curtain and read a book 'for some space'.

Click to enlarge

 

[4x4for9]

D'oh, I forgot to give you a galley! So maybe have removable tables on Lagun mounts, with the upper bunks folding or raising out of the way, and the lower bunks converting to benches. I'd do the bunkbeds as 'personal space' pods with a cubby at the head or foot for their small personal items, and curtains so they could have some privacy, not only for sleeping but when their brother/sister is bugging them, they could go to their pod, close the curtain and read a book 'for some space'.

Click to enlarge

View attachment 630817 View attachment 630818 View attachment 630819 View attachment 630820

Thanks for all the ideas. I have always thought that without unlimited amounts of funding (which will never be a situation I find myself) I would have to be creative and every area would have to serve dual purposes or more. Converting benches to beds is obviously nothing new but if I can figure out how to do it as a dining area/sleeping area/able to fold up and out of the way so as to be an open area if needed would be fantastic.
The idea of the higher cab roof would be awesome for many reasons. I will have to see if I can find some.

 

[Louisd75]

Might be able to skip a step on importing... did you see this listing in the classifieds?

Iveco 90-16 camper & 1984 Mercedes-Benz 1222

Not mine, I rarely post but thought they would be of interest https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-iveco-90-16/ https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-mercedes-benz-1222/

expeditionportal.com

 

[Ozrockrat]

Have you considered a domestic fire truck instead. A lot cheaper and probably a bigger cab. Also a lot easier to get and maintain here.



I have also seen a couple of triple cab ex railway service trucks sold in the last couple of years. They would be ideal for your crew but are rare.

 

[rbgerrish]

Hey, just thought I'd pop in and say hi! I'm the guy that'll be selling one of my 1222's soon, once the DMV gets me back my titles.

 

[4x4for9]

Might be able to skip a step on importing... did you see this listing in the classifieds?

Iveco 90-16 camper & 1984 Mercedes-Benz 1222

Not mine, I rarely post but thought they would be of interest https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-iveco-90-16/ https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-mercedes-benz-1222/

expeditionportal.com

The seller is actually only a few hours south of me and I am pretty sure I saw the Iveco driving through my town a few months back but I can’t guarantee that. They are nice looking trucks but the winning bid of $62,000 for the flatbed was WAY out of my price range.

 

[4x4for9]

Have you considered a domestic fire truck instead. A lot cheaper and probably a bigger cab. Also a lot easier to get and maintain here.


View attachment 630983
I have also seen a couple of triple cab ex railway service trucks sold in the last couple of years. They would be ideal for your crew but are rare.


View attachment 630983

I had considered these only just a little. I really like the 4x4 option and the cooler look of the MB 1222 but maybe I don’t know enough about the domestic options. Do they come with 4x4? I know some do but had not heard that those big ladder trucks did.

 

[Ozrockrat]

I had considered these only just a little. I really like the 4x4 option and the cooler look of the MB 1222 but maybe I don’t know enough about the domestic options. Do they come with 4x4? I know some do but had not heard that those big ladder trucks did.

Very few of the bigger ones are 4x4. But neither was my ambulance. Because the truck and box was ideal for my needs I converted it using military surplus running gear.

Also if the truck has the J1739 canbus it can be converted using hydraulic front drive. https://www.eztracawd.com

 

[Toby3]

Hi, how about further sleeping on top of the cab. This Steyr looks like a cool design to accommodate extra, particularly kids.

Steyr 4x4 Double Cabin Expedition Truck | Expedition Truck Brokers (expedition-trucks.com)

We have the 1124AF Double cab build on here. I'm only building for 4 of us and I want the roof rack space for kayaks but its 2.9m x 2+m so could work well. You could build a GRP module for the roof so it has the same insulation as a cabin but doesn't get in the way of the main cab and cabin twisting and means you keep the sleeping area separate from the seating without having to convert or at a push could have convertible bed below in cab as well.

As a variation, saw Zocama trucks at abenteuer und allrad. Quite a cool design for using the space, not completely sold on getting the combined cabin not to twist but reason for posting this bit is they have an electric raising sleeping section on top of the cab which you climb up into from the cab. Zocama-Custom made expedition monovolume truck made in Barcelona

Hope this helps

 

[4x4for9]

Hi, how about further sleeping on top of the cab. This Steyr looks like a cool design to accommodate extra, particularly kids.

Steyr 4x4 Double Cabin Expedition Truck | Expedition Truck Brokers (expedition-trucks.com)

We have the 1124AF Double cab build on here. I'm only building for 4 of us and I want the roof rack space for kayaks but its 2.9m x 2+m so could work well. You could build a GRP module for the roof so it has the same insulation as a cabin but doesn't get in the way of the main cab and cabin twisting and means you keep the sleeping area separate from the seating without having to convert or at a push could have convertible bed below in cab as well.

As a variation, saw Zocama trucks at abenteuer und allrad. Quite a cool design for using the space, not completely sold on getting the combined cabin not to twist but reason for posting this bit is they have an electric raising sleeping section on top of the cab which you climb up into from the cab. Zocama-Custom made expedition monovolume truck made in Barcelona

Hope this helps

Hey Toby3 thanks for the input. I had not heard of the company out of Spain but they look like they do some cool stuff. Thanks for the link. And I like the idea of using the space above the cab to use as additional sleeping or storage or whatever. It makes sense to me to utilize every bit of space possible. I will have to check out your build and see what great ideas I can steal from you. Thanks again for the input.

 

[mog]

I like the idea of using the space above the cab to use as additional sleeping or storage or whatever.

Then you should check out DarkBladeRunner-Magirus 170D11

drawing credit - DarkBladeRunner