ACELA 6X6 WITH SLRV EXPEDITION BOX NEW BUILD

[poohbearusvi]

Interesting project !

I'd say it will limited the roads to travel outside the US somewhat - but the need for comfort I totally understand.

Customs wise, this is interesting to follow as in Europe you'd call this "Temporary Export" and you'd only pay duties on the box - not the chassis. May I ask how this is in the US ?

Yes, it’s the same here. The chassis is in Australia on a temporary export. Duties will be paid on the box only.

 

[Arjan]

Good - that saves some serious money.

Looking at the wheelbase, it'll be a very stable vehicle to drive.

Interior looks very well thought out.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[Alloy]

Very nice!

I'd be worried about branches taking out the sat dish.

Any idea what the GRW will be and what the GVWR is.

Tank capacities?

Will you add storage outboard of the truck frame?

 

[gregmchugh]

Very nice!

I'd be worried about branches taking out the sat dish.

Any idea what the GRW will be and what the GVWR is.

Tank capacities?

Will you add storage outboard of the truck frame?

Branches could be an issue with the sat dish but going forward they will probably deflect over it, hitting it in reverse would clearly be an issue.

I wonder what type of sat dish will be installed?

 

[poohbearusvi]

Very nice!

I'd be worried about branches taking out the sat dish.

Any idea what the GRW will be and what the GVWR is.

Tank capacities?

Will you add storage outboard of the truck frame?

The GVWR is 44,640 lbs. Curb weight of the 6x6 is 19,600 lbs. Approximate weight of box with liquids 14,300 lbs. The sat dish is in the rear and facing in the direction of least resistance so I'm not too worried.

Water tankage will be determined more accurately when the chassis arrives. Right now we have 450 liters (118 gallons) in three tanks with an extra tank size to be determined. I asked for 150 gallons so we will see later how close to 150 gallons we get with the extra tank.

The Acela comes standard with a 58 gallon fuel tank. Acela can add a 113 gallon tank on one side and 35 gallons on the other. We opted to let SLRV replace the existing fuel tank and add the extra fuel tank when the chassis gets there. They will be better able to judge how much tankage can be squeezed in there. There are estimating 150 gallons. Acela’s literature claims a range of 400+ miles from the 58 gallon tank which is 6.9 miles per gallon. The 150 gallon tank will give us a range of over 1,000 miles. We will have a black tank about 25-30 gallons and a similar sized gray water tank. We also intend to carry a 5 gallon cassette tank. So, if it’s easy to go to a dump site, we will. If not, we can empty 5 gallons of the black tank into the cassette and carry that to be emptied in a restroom or outhouse. There won't be much room on the rails as the extra two wheels on the 6x6 reduced the space. We will have two storage lockers in the rear lift which also will house the two spare tires. We are adding two storage boxes on the roof of the cab with a small electric winch to ferry them up and down. There will be two external storage lockers, one on each side. The Acela has a nice sized space behind the driver/passenger, about two and a half feet and the width of the cab. This will be a great place to store stuff in containers.

 

[gregmchugh]

The GVWR is 44,640 lbs. Curb weight of the 6x6 is 19,600 lbs. Approximate weight of box with liquids 14,300 lbs. The sat dish is in the rear and facing in the direction of least resistance so I'm not too worried.

Water tankage will be determined more accurately when the chassis arrives. Right now we have 450 liters (118 gallons) in three tanks with an extra tank size to be determined. I asked for 150 gallons so we will see later how close to 150 gallons we get with the extra tank.

The Acela comes standard with a 58 gallon fuel tank. Acela can add a 113 gallon tank on one side and 35 gallons on the other. We opted to let SLRV replace the existing fuel tank and add the extra fuel tank when the chassis gets there. They will be better able to judge how much tankage can be squeezed in there. There are estimating 150 gallons. Acela’s literature claims a range of 400+ miles from the 58 gallon tank which is 6.9 miles per gallon. The 150 gallon tank will give us a range of over 1,000 miles. We will have a black tank about 25-30 gallons and a similar sized gray water tank. We also intend to carry a 5 gallon cassette tank. So, if it’s easy to go to a dump site, we will. If not, we can empty 5 gallons of the black tank into the cassette and carry that to be emptied in a restroom or outhouse. There won't be much room on the rails as the extra two wheels on the 6x6 reduced the space. We will have two storage lockers in the rear lift which also will house the two spare tires. We are adding two storage boxes on the roof of the cab with a small electric winch to ferry them up and down. There will be two external storage lockers, one on each side. The Acela has a nice sized space behind the driver/passenger, about two and a half feet and the width of the cab. This will be a great place to store stuff in containers.

What type of Satellite dish are you installing?

 

[poohbearusvi]

What type of Satellite dish are you installing?

Wineguard Trav'ler Dish

 

[38snubby]

The GVWR is 44,640 lbs. Curb weight of the 6x6 is 19,600 lbs. Approximate weight of box with liquids 14,300 lbs. The sat dish is in the rear and facing in the direction of least resistance so I'm not too worried.

Water tankage will be determined more accurately when the chassis arrives. Right now we have 450 liters (118 gallons) in three tanks with an extra tank size to be determined. I asked for 150 gallons so we will see later how close to 150 gallons we get with the extra tank.

The Acela comes standard with a 58 gallon fuel tank. Acela can add a 113 gallon tank on one side and 35 gallons on the other. We opted to let SLRV replace the existing fuel tank and add the extra fuel tank when the chassis gets there. They will be better able to judge how much tankage can be squeezed in there. There are estimating 150 gallons. Acela’s literature claims a range of 400+ miles from the 58 gallon tank which is 6.9 miles per gallon. The 150 gallon tank will give us a range of over 1,000 miles. We will have a black tank about 25-30 gallons and a similar sized gray water tank. We also intend to carry a 5 gallon cassette tank. So, if it’s easy to go to a dump site, we will. If not, we can empty 5 gallons of the black tank into the cassette and carry that to be emptied in a restroom or outhouse. There won't be much room on the rails as the extra two wheels on the 6x6 reduced the space. We will have two storage lockers in the rear lift which also will house the two spare tires. We are adding two storage boxes on the roof of the cab with a small electric winch to ferry them up and down. There will be two external storage lockers, one on each side. The Acela has a nice sized space behind the driver/passenger, about two and a half feet and the width of the cab. This will be a great place to store stuff in containers.

Will the cassette be connected to the black water tank or would you have to manually fill the cassette?

 

[Alloy]

The GVWR is 44,640 lbs. Curb weight of the 6x6 is 19,600 lbs. Approximate weight of box with liquids 14,300 lbs. The sat dish is in the rear and facing in the direction of least resistance so I'm not too worried.

Water tankage will be determined more accurately when the chassis arrives. Right now we have 450 liters (118 gallons) in three tanks with an extra tank size to be determined. I asked for 150 gallons so we will see later how close to 150 gallons we get with the extra tank.

The Acela comes standard with a 58 gallon fuel tank. Acela can add a 113 gallon tank on one side and 35 gallons on the other. We opted to let SLRV replace the existing fuel tank and add the extra fuel tank when the chassis gets there. They will be better able to judge how much tankage can be squeezed in there. There are estimating 150 gallons. Acela’s literature claims a range of 400+ miles from the 58 gallon tank which is 6.9 miles per gallon. The 150 gallon tank will give us a range of over 1,000 miles. We will have a black tank about 25-30 gallons and a similar sized gray water tank. We also intend to carry a 5 gallon cassette tank. So, if it’s easy to go to a dump site, we will. If not, we can empty 5 gallons of the black tank into the cassette and carry that to be emptied in a restroom or outhouse. There won't be much room on the rails as the extra two wheels on the 6x6 reduced the space. We will have two storage lockers in the rear lift which also will house the two spare tires. We are adding two storage boxes on the roof of the cab with a small electric winch to ferry them up and down. There will be two external storage lockers, one on each side. The Acela has a nice sized space behind the driver/passenger, about two and a half feet and the width of the cab. This will be a great place to store stuff in containers.

Wow! 10,000lb carring capacity + lots of fuel.

I'd expect 118gal FW will be plenty for 2 people. We have 180gal FW and with 4 people not conserving (flush tiolet and showers) water we go through 100gal in 2 weeks. We are set up so our waste tanks (2x120g) are larger than our FW. This was done so we can be self (if conserving water) contained for 4 weeks.

I saw the 2 back lockers but was wondering how usable the top one would be. Can the storage on top of the cab be made so it is accessible from inside?

Will the FW tanks/plumbing have frost protection and what is the heating system?

 

[waveslider]

Thanks for sharing and thanks for answering the fusilade of questions. You have a well thought out rig and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it as you answer questions and report progress.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Will the cassette be connected to the black water tank or would you have to manually fill the cassette?

Manually fill.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Wow! 10,000lb carring capacity + lots of fuel.

I'd expect 118gal FW will be plenty for 2 people. We have 180gal FW and with 4 people not conserving (flush tiolet and showers) water we go through 100gal in 2 weeks. We are set up so our waste tanks (2x120g) are larger than our FW. This was done so we can be self (if conserving water) contained for 4 weeks.

I saw the 2 back lockers but was wondering how usable the top one would be. Can the storage on top of the cab be made so it is accessible from inside?

Will the FW tanks/plumbing have frost protection and what is the heating system?

The top storage on the cab is not accessible inside. Dimensions are 77"x39"x12". The rear boxes (two of them) each measure 31"x23"x14". All tanks are internal. Heating is via diesel heater. Here are a couple of shots of the roof box on the cab.

 

[Howard70]

Hello Poohbear:

Beautiful truck & planned house. I noticed you mentioned a cassette toilet. We had a cassette toilet in our first EarthCruiser and while it worked fine, we decided to try a composting toilet in our 2nd EarthCruiser. For us, the difference is night & day - we love the composting toilet for it’s lack of odor, the fact it uses no water and the ease of emptying it. We’ve used it for about 5 different trips lasting 1 to two months each and find our overall water consumption is two gallons a day (total for two people). I’ll admit we’re frugal with water from years of desert backpacking and field work on the equator, but I’m still convinced much of that savings is due to the composting toilet. Ours is a Nature Head. Possibly something to think about.

Howard

 

[Joe917]

I was not going to go there but.. you could not pay me to slop out a black water tank with a cassette. We have lived with our composting toilet 5 years all over north and south America, it is the only way to go, literally.

 

[Victorian]

I was not going to go there but.. you could not pay me to slop out a black water tank with a cassette. We have lived with our composting toilet 5 years all over north and south America, it is the only way to go, literally.

100% agreed!