My Fuso-based idea

[Sixinarow]

Buzzkills! I know, you're trying to help me find a more practical solution. I have a '12 Ram shortbed now and could upgrade to a 4500/5500 longbed...

As for the crew cab...yes, that was mentioned to me in another thread. However, won't a 4x4 conversion cost a considerable amount more than a cab?

Like I said, I'm still entertaining all ideas and won't discount anything or anyone's opinions.

 

[SkiFreak]

There are way too many unknown variables here, so giving anything other than our own personal thoughts on your proposed build is very difficult.
In regards to the cost of converting a 4x2 crew cab to 4x4... if you would be getting other people to do this work for you then the dollars could add up quickly but if you were doing most of the fabrication yourself that might be a different story.
As I mentioned, for a family of 4 I do not see a single cab FG as a viable vehicle. It is your build and obviously you will do as you want, but you should be fully aware of what this truck can and cannot do before throwing lots of time and money at one.

 

[pugslyyy]

Buzzkills! I know, you're trying to help me find a more practical solution. I have a '12 Ram shortbed now and could upgrade to a 4500/5500 longbed...

As for the crew cab...yes, that was mentioned to me in another thread. However, won't a 4x4 conversion cost a considerable amount more than a cab?

Like I said, I'm still entertaining all ideas and won't discount anything or anyone's opinions.

If you love fabrication and have a fairly unlimited budget then have at it. The vehicle you are describing is going to cost you at least $250k to build (unless you get fancy) - and that's assuming you contribute a lot of the labor yourself.

All we are saying is that there are much more cost and time efficient solutions out there.

 

[Sixinarow]

There are way too many unknown variables here, so giving anything other than our own personal thoughts on your proposed build is very difficult.
In regards to the cost of converting a 4x2 crew cab to 4x4... if you would be getting other people to do this work for you then the dollars could add up quickly but if you were doing most of the fabrication yourself that might be a different story.
As I mentioned, for a family of 4 I do not see a single cab FG as a viable vehicle. It is your build and obviously you will do as you want, but you should be fully aware of what this truck can and cannot do before throwing lots of time and money at one.

I understand. Thanks for the tips. I don't know if I'll go this route but it can't hurt to daydream and draw up plans.

If you love fabrication and have a fairly unlimited budget then have at it. The vehicle you are describing is going to cost you at least $250k to build (unless you get fancy) - and that's assuming you contribute a lot of the labor yourself.

All we are saying is that there are much more cost and time efficient solutions out there.

Thanks to you, also. I could build the camper but I don't know about the axle/transfer case work. So, we'll see. $250k sounds like a lot but I know it usually costs more than one thinks.

 

[Sixinarow]

So, assume I go this route. The passenger compartment will mount to the bed. The camper will also mount to the bed. I will go spring-mount on the bed mounting.

In this drawing (had to play with my new Note 5) the blue represents the non-rigid connections or where two parts move relative to eachother.

The yellow represents the passenger compartment sitting on the bed and the pink represents the camper sitting on the bed.



Would it be best to attach the camper to the passenger compartment while on the truck to eliminate flex at the pink/yellow point?

Thanks

 

[pugslyyy]

So, assume I go this route. The passenger compartment will mount to the bed. The camper will also mount to the bed. I will go spring-mount on the bed mounting.

In this drawing (had to play with my new Note 5) the blue represents the non-rigid connections or where two parts move relative to eachother.

The yellow represents the passenger compartment sitting on the bed and the pink represents the camper sitting on the bed.



Would it be best to attach the camper to the passenger compartment while on the truck to eliminate flex at the pink/yellow point?

Thanks

Since that pink/yellow point is directly above where your frame is going to break, yes.

 

[david506th]

Why not make the passenger compartment and camper one in the same. Since when being used as a work truck you will most likely not be carrying the kids.

 

[Sixinarow]

Since that pink/yellow point is directly above where your frame is going to break, yes.

Even if a spring-mounted bed distributes the weight over 8-10 points on the frame?

Why not make the passenger compartment and camper one in the same. Since when being used as a work truck you will most likely not be carrying the kids.

That is a possibility.

 

[SkiFreak]

A problem that I see with this design is that with the limited vertical height you have available in the "passenger pod", when your kids grow it is unlikely that they could use this area comfortably.
Maybe you could consider making the passenger pod and camper one unit, as has been suggested above. If you utilized swivel seats and did not have a "roof" above this seating area it would likely be more practical, as it could be used while driving with the seats facing forward and then if the seats were swiveled around it would give you additional seating in the camper section.
Just an idea...

 

[pugslyyy]

Even if a spring-mounted bed distributes the weight over 8-10 points on the frame?

How are you going to safely carry passengers in a purely spring-mounted bed?

I like a lot of the things you are suggesting and being creative is great - but what I'm missing is the design scope. Are you looking for a 3 season rig you can camp in domestically for weekends / a week max or are you looking for a rig you can take to South America and survive a year on the road with minimal maintenance? How much onboard power do you need? How important is weight and offroad capability? Do you need heat? water? How much? What cruising range do you want for the vehicle? How much battery capacity for the house? Will it be a pure diesel vehicle or will the camper be propane based? Will you do a traditional US black water / grey water system or a European grey water / cassette toilet? Or maybe a composting toilet? Are you going to cobble this together on a budget (used truck and components, DIY), or have someone build a new expedition vehicle for you from scratch to your spec?

All of these design decisions really need to be taken with respect to whatever the goal of the vehicle is - and the range and endurance need to be calibrated for the intended use. Don't build a vehicle that can cruise 1000 miles without resupply, keep you comfortable from 0 degrees to 110 degrees and store food, water, and waste for a month if that's not what you need.

In the US the rules are a lot less particular and we don't have to follow the ADR, but they are some mighty good guidelines - most of them are there for a reason.

I'm honestly not trying to rain on your parade, you have some great ideas - but you are asking for input and there is a lot of talent and experience out there that can help if you can bring some focus to your requirements.

 

[selfy]

why not put a crew cab "cab" onto a 4x4 chassis, you would probably only have to move the rear cab mount back and sort out the 4x4 levers

 

[SkiFreak]

why not put a crew cab "cab" onto a 4x4 chassis

This is definitely feasible.
I know that John (whatcharterboat) has replaced a damaged FG cab with one from an FE. Doing a crew cab should not be considerably more difficult. You could probably transplant the rear mounts from the crew cab onto the FG frame too, or better yet, design a lift mechanism (like a dump truck) so you can lift the cab and have easy access to the engine.

 

[whatcharterboat]

This is definitely feasible.
I know that John (whatcharterboat) has replaced a damaged FG cab with one from an FE. Doing a crew cab should not be considerably more difficult. You could probably transplant the rear mounts from the crew cab onto the FG frame too, or better yet, design a lift mechanism (like a dump truck) so you can lift the cab and have easy access to the engine.

Yep.....absolutely. The FE and FG cabs are almost identical. In the Australian FG84 models the only differences are
* an extra panel spot welded onto the floor for the 4wd selection cables to run through . About the size of an A4 page.
*a bracket in front of the radiator to support the 4wd selection lever assembly
*an extra bracket on the rear of the cab for the higher snorkel
*no roof clearance lights
*extra entry step
*the cab tilt torsion tube also has slightly different brackets the support the 4wd cables
Crew cab differences should be the same. Definitely grab all the rear crew cab support components. I bought an absolutely perfect cab and swapped it over. You will need good lift gear. I had a forklift which made the job easy.

 

[Sixinarow]

Made a scale model of my camper. I'm going to do the interior, also. Mostly just to see if it works space-wise.

 

[SkiFreak]

That design is very open plan, which is nice, but when you lose a complete wall you will probably also lose a lot of usable space.