chris_the_wrench
Fixer & Builder of Things
Lmtv Mtv 1078, 1083 for example. Which are the unrestored versions of Acela trucks
ACELA 6X6 WITH SLRV EXPEDITION BOX NEW BUILD
- Thread starter poohbearusvi
- Start date
Lmtv Mtv 1078, 1083 for example. Which are the unrestored versions of Acela trucks
I don't want to clutter the thread, so let me know if you want this removed.
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poohbearusvi
Well-known member
We've been off grid in Canyonlands. I see the great ExpoPortal community has answered your questions. So, an update. It’s been nearly three months. I think all the bugs are out. What do we like, don’t like, would change?
The living space is great. We have 11 feet of counter space in the kitchen and love it. We seldom went to restaurants before Covid. We love to cook and make use of our kitchen. The two Isotherm fridge/freezers are always well stocked. We are glad we put in three large slide out pantries. They too are fully stocked. Separate shower and toilet are a must. The Kenyon electric BBQ is wonderful. I was skeptical at first but love it. You just put some aluminum foil as a liner and it makes clean up easy. If I had to do it over again, I would not have installed the diesel generator. The solar panels take care of just about everything. If we need to top off the batteries because of AC use, we run the engine. At nearly 300 amps per hour, charging is very quick. We don’t watch TV so, I would not have installed the satellite dish. Instead I would have put a skylight hatch over our bed. Black and grey tanks: more is better but you adapt. When off grid, we pee outdoors or in our his and her pee jars at night. We can get nearly ten days. The Acela cabover is louder than we would like. We both have Bose noise cancelling earbuds. We use them on and off. They work great, especially at higher speeds on the highway. I don’t bother with them when off road. We’ve had to replace one leaky shock, one macerator pump and the seal on the rear brake. Most of the initial ‘bugs’ were dealt with via phone or email with SLRV. We had an issue with the water heater and parts were fedexed. All is good now, until the next thing. We have not babied the rig. The deep scratches on the paint work will attest to that. We head back next month to take the rig and have a couple of mods done. (Extra hatch access under one of the seats; add a separate switch for the shower fan from the light; replace all childproof GFI’s to regular ones; buff and wax the exterior; add a bracket on a loose air pipe on the engine). When we get back from our other travel plans, we hope to take the rig to Baja in January or February. We’ll see.
The living space is great. We have 11 feet of counter space in the kitchen and love it. We seldom went to restaurants before Covid. We love to cook and make use of our kitchen. The two Isotherm fridge/freezers are always well stocked. We are glad we put in three large slide out pantries. They too are fully stocked. Separate shower and toilet are a must. The Kenyon electric BBQ is wonderful. I was skeptical at first but love it. You just put some aluminum foil as a liner and it makes clean up easy. If I had to do it over again, I would not have installed the diesel generator. The solar panels take care of just about everything. If we need to top off the batteries because of AC use, we run the engine. At nearly 300 amps per hour, charging is very quick. We don’t watch TV so, I would not have installed the satellite dish. Instead I would have put a skylight hatch over our bed. Black and grey tanks: more is better but you adapt. When off grid, we pee outdoors or in our his and her pee jars at night. We can get nearly ten days. The Acela cabover is louder than we would like. We both have Bose noise cancelling earbuds. We use them on and off. They work great, especially at higher speeds on the highway. I don’t bother with them when off road. We’ve had to replace one leaky shock, one macerator pump and the seal on the rear brake. Most of the initial ‘bugs’ were dealt with via phone or email with SLRV. We had an issue with the water heater and parts were fedexed. All is good now, until the next thing. We have not babied the rig. The deep scratches on the paint work will attest to that. We head back next month to take the rig and have a couple of mods done. (Extra hatch access under one of the seats; add a separate switch for the shower fan from the light; replace all childproof GFI’s to regular ones; buff and wax the exterior; add a bracket on a loose air pipe on the engine). When we get back from our other travel plans, we hope to take the rig to Baja in January or February. We’ll see.
Adventr.us
New member
Once again, very helpful. Really appreciate all you've shared in this thread that you've learned from the process.
driveby
Active member
Hello and congratulations on your amazing build. We've been RVing for a bunch of years and for retirement started down that 45' coach + toad path. Newell was/is on the list. Your comment about having a Newell and transitioning to this made me think. Ok really I've been thinking for a bit on this. I don't want to park in some "resort" I want to be where you are, out on the edge of some canyon or in some state park (at most). The plan was to park in that "resort" and then leave to go out exploring. I like my privacy and space to "be" - that's hard to find in most RV parks.
I guess my question is how much do you miss that bath +1/2, extra slide out space, extra sitting space etc.? I'm thinking more on bad weather days or evenings. Your comment about using noise cancelling head phones on the highway. Hmm, of course high clearance tread/tires + engine right below you means noise as opposed to the DP. But that makes me think a bit....
Also we too like to cook, your kitchen set up looks amazing. Did you do a 50/50 fridge/freezer split or 25/75 or? I'd think I'd want more freezer space but our current 15 cu fridge/freezer means lots of trips to the local stores. Can't do that on a 3 month arctic road trip.....
Again thanks for documenting your process as you went. I've spent entirely too much of my day drooling over my screen
I guess my question is how much do you miss that bath +1/2, extra slide out space, extra sitting space etc.? I'm thinking more on bad weather days or evenings. Your comment about using noise cancelling head phones on the highway. Hmm, of course high clearance tread/tires + engine right below you means noise as opposed to the DP. But that makes me think a bit....
Also we too like to cook, your kitchen set up looks amazing. Did you do a 50/50 fridge/freezer split or 25/75 or? I'd think I'd want more freezer space but our current 15 cu fridge/freezer means lots of trips to the local stores. Can't do that on a 3 month arctic road trip.....
Again thanks for documenting your process as you went. I've spent entirely too much of my day drooling over my screen
clydeps
Member
Great to hear it's all going well. We saw your rig being built last year when we were at the factory putting in our order, and finally got a confirmed date yesterday for the delivery of our truck - the 20th - just 13 sleeps to go!! Apparently the order book at SLRV is so full now they are quoting 2 1/2 years to deliver if you order today :-(
Alloy
Well-known member
I wrapped the front of my truck and wish I'd done the whole thing. Tree scratches haven't gone through the wrap but on the unprotected paint they are so deep they won't buff out.
poohbearusvi
Well-known member
Hi. I just talked to my wife and asked if she missHello and congratulations on your amazing build. We've been RVing for a bunch of years and for retirement started down that 45' coach + toad path. Newell was/is on the list. Your comment about having a Newell and transitioning to this made me think. Ok really I've been thinking for a bit on this. I don't want to park in some "resort" I want to be where you are, out on the edge of some canyon or in some state park (at most). The plan was to park in that "resort" and then leave to go out exploring. I like my privacy and space to "be" - that's hard to find in most RV parks.
I guess my question is how much do you miss that bath +1/2, extra slide out space, extra sitting space etc.? I'm thinking more on bad weather days or evenings. Your comment about using noise cancelling head phones on the highway. Hmm, of course high clearance tread/tires + engine right below you means noise as opposed to the DP. But that makes me think a bit....
Also we too like to cook, your kitchen set up looks amazing. Did you do a 50/50 fridge/freezer split or 25/75 or? I'd think I'd want more freezer space but our current 15 cu fridge/freezer means lots of trips to the local stores. Can't do that on a 3 month arctic road trip.....
Again thanks for documenting your process as you went. I've spent entirely too much of my day drooling over my screen
Congrats! There is nothing like being in the middle of nowhere. Send me pix of your finished unit.
poohbearusvi
Well-known member
Hi. I hit send too soon on my last reply to you. I asked my wife if she missed the Newell. Her answer was "no!" And it's because of the RV parks. There is absolutely nothing like being out there in a remote place all to yourself. The interior measurement of our box is 20'. We have all the space we need and are very comfortable with it. More is better however there's a price to pay for it like accessibility. We travel very slowly and don't spend a lot of time on the highways trying to get to another destination 300 miles away. Oftentimes, we travel less than 50 miles to a new place and sometimes less. There is so much to see. Our fridge/freezer is 50/50. We have two fridges and two freezers. I know this is a post on our build but I'm going to post a few places we've been in just the last three weeks. Can't get this in an RV park.Hello and congratulations on your amazing build. We've been RVing for a bunch of years and for retirement started down that 45' coach + toad path. Newell was/is on the list. Your comment about having a Newell and transitioning to this made me think. Ok really I've been thinking for a bit on this. I don't want to park in some "resort" I want to be where you are, out on the edge of some canyon or in some state park (at most). The plan was to park in that "resort" and then leave to go out exploring. I like my privacy and space to "be" - that's hard to find in most RV parks.
I guess my question is how much do you miss that bath +1/2, extra slide out space, extra sitting space etc.? I'm thinking more on bad weather days or evenings. Your comment about using noise cancelling head phones on the highway. Hmm, of course high clearance tread/tires + engine right below you means noise as opposed to the DP. But that makes me think a bit....
Also we too like to cook, your kitchen set up looks amazing. Did you do a 50/50 fridge/freezer split or 25/75 or? I'd think I'd want more freezer space but our current 15 cu fridge/freezer means lots of trips to the local stores. Can't do that on a 3 month arctic road trip.....
Again thanks for documenting your process as you went. I've spent entirely too much of my day drooling over my screen
poohbearusvi
Well-known member
Sorry, I think I hit photo download twice.
poohbearusvi
Well-known member
I'll buff it out as best as I can. Not going to repaint it now as it'll get scratched again. Badges of Distinction.
poohbearusvi
Well-known member
We are back home from an incredible 3 1/2 month trip. Next week the rig is going in to get a few things done. Later I'll post all the stuff that needed to be taken care of. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures that anyone who's been to Alstrom Point will find familiar. enjoy.
