New Rig -It's Going to be a Long Process

[deminimis]

We outgrew our Westy. Then we outgrew our Sporty. Now we've outgrown our Bigfoot camper. This time, I've gone completely off the charts and went with a 30' luxury RV. The reason I chose this unit, in part, is the rear clearance (Ultraride Suspension), and the F550 chassis. Unfortunately, it's powered by a V10 and is only 2wd. On the short list is to convert to 4x4 (pretty easy once I find a donor F550), come up with a spare and an acceptable way to mount it, and, as $ allows, considering a repower with a Cummins engine. We leave the serious off-roading to the dirtbikes, that are almost always in tow, so really don't need the serious 4x4s of rigs past (and present). Basically we need a rig for going to dirtbike races, some Moab trips (boondocking), the occasional Baja trip, ski resort parking lot camping in Winter and so forth. Generally don't need a Unicat for that, so this is it (I hope). However, this is way more fancy than we're used to, but great build quality. Steel frame. Should work. I suspect I'll need to keep a screw driver and copious amounts of Locktight on hand.

 

[locrwln]

Wow, that is quite the rig. Hopefully it fits your needs for a while.

Jack

 

[BurbanAZ]

nice rig, i know that one day after we get tired of running some trails and wheeling well get something like this. Definitely going to be comfortable where ever u decide to camp

 

[Carlyle]

Sounds like a fun project. Subscribed!

 

[deminimis]

Thanks all. I did promise DW that I'd wait on the repower decision until after our Spring Break trip.

 

[deminimis]

PS: That's not our house in the background. All I can afford now is a shanty.

 

[87GMCJimmy]

WOW! That's a nice cushy setup!!! I'd hate to see the MPG with the V-10 though, ouch!!! Perfect Cummins swap candidate! Sounds like you've got some great plans for this rig, I look forward to seeing your build!

 

[redthies]

Wow. One of the many semi-cockamamie schemes rattling around in my noggin is a 4x4 class C. My cousin is a vp with Freightliner, so I'm thinking of one of their driven front axle rigs with an Airstream on the back. But I digress. I look forward to watching your mods. It is most definitely "fullsize domestic"!!!

 

[deminimis]

8.5 MPG with passes, headwinds, and averaging 60-65 bringing it back from Colo. I thought that wasn't as bad as it could have been. I need more ooomph more than MPG because we're usually pulling a race trailer or boat. I thought about buying a Krystal bus (same basic shell) and building that, but it didn't pencil out. Those porcelain air flush toilets are expensive. I've got to say folks, if doing a domestic build, look at the Ultraride (Link Mfr) rear suspension option. Very slick.

 

[seanpistol]

That thing is begging for a diesel. Why not drop in a 7.3L powerstroke? They can easily be set up to put out around 500hp and 1000 ft lbs

 

[deminimis]

I'm a big fan of the 7.3.




However, they are pretty long in the tooth these days and I have not come up with a plug-n-play kit for the 7.3. If you know of company that makes one, please let me know. There are a couple of companies that produce plug-n-play Cummins conversion kits (well, as plug-n-play as one could hope for anyway), so that seems the least painful for a shade tree like me.

 

[Carlyle]

After my Ford experiences, I would go for the Cummins.

 

[deminimis]

I revisited the 7.3 swap and it's just not viable. Cummins is the way to go for sure. Even if I was to nab a totaled 05/06 f550 4x4 with a 6.0, it would take a good $3k to make the 6.0 reliable and still only gain a modest amount of torque (and less hp than the V10). I think I'm going to focus on the 4x4 first.

 

[Nathaniel0712]

the v10 is a good engine, and realisticly, especially if you make it 4x4, you wont see a huge milage improvement, maybe 10-13 mpg at the most. with the cost of the engine, trans adapter and the rest of the conversion it doesnt really sound worth it to me, although it would be pretty damn cool. think of all the fuel you could buy for that sweet rig as well as for the dirt bikes your hauling with it for the price of a cummins engine alone! in addition, you'd be on the road sooner too.

 

[deminimis]

10-13 would be freak'n awesome! Actually, it's more of a torque issue than anything (boat or race trailer hauling). Fortunately, my trans is the same used in the diesel and 4x4 versions, as is the rear axle gearing, so considerable savings there. 4x4 first, then I'll get serious about diesel vs v10. Anyone have a Super 60 and NV271 laying around??