ACELA 6X6 WITH SLRV EXPEDITION BOX NEW BUILD

[poohbearusvi]

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

We do not have a cassette toilet. We will have a cassette tank stored in case we need to empty the black holding tank in a place without a dump site. We looked at every toilet option. Incinerator, cassette, holding tank and compost. For North America, where we will be for the first year, dump stations are easy to find. Africa and South America is a different matter. We’ll cross that bridge when we are ready to ship the unit over. Until then, it’s the holding tank. How was the decision made? Well, we are a couple and decisions are made together. In the case of a tie when deciding something on the rig, I hold 51% of the votes concerning the exterior of the rig and she holds 49%. The reverse for inside the rig. We were in an expedition rig with a compost toilet at one of the Overland shows a few years back. It smelled bad. I know it’s probably the owner’s fault but my wife said “no”! And thus the decision. For now. (If it becomes a problem, we'll go over our options again.)

 

[Victorian]

We do not have a cassette toilet. We will have a cassette tank stored in case we need to empty the black holding tank in a place without a dump site. We looked at every toilet option. Incinerator, cassette, holding tank and compost. For North America, where we will be for the first year, dump stations are easy to find. Africa and South America is a different matter. We’ll cross that bridge when we are ready to ship the unit over. Until then, it’s the holding tank. How was the decision made? Well, we are a couple and decisions are made together. In the case of a tie when deciding something on the rig, I hold 51% of the votes concerning the exterior of the rig and she holds 49%. The reverse for inside the rig. We were in an expedition rig with a compost toilet at one of the Overland shows a few years back. It smelled bad. I know it’s probably the owner’s fault but my wife said “no”! And thus the decision. For now. (If it becomes a problem, we'll go over our options again.)

The only thing that smells, is ruin bottle when you empty it. the solids do not smell at all! A black water tank or cassette toilet smells like sewage. Way worse than the pee bottle.
I rented an rv ones, I couldn’t believe how gross it was to empty that blackwater tank. Back then a swore that I would never deal with this again.

 

[Joe917]

Our Truck had a blackwater tank when we purchased it. pumping out was disgusting. I asked the previous owner (who had lived in the truck 18 years all over the world) what he did when he could not find a pump out. His response:
" you will only find pump outs in North America and Europe (had not been to Australia). Everywhere else we just pump out into a ditch in a rural area."
I don't think that is acceptable behaviour. He was right about one thing, we never saw a pump out station in south America!
Good luck with the build.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Our Truck had a blackwater tank when we purchased it. pumping out was disgusting. I asked the previous owner (who had lived in the truck 18 years all over the world) what he did when he could not find a pump out. His response:
" you will only find pump outs in North America and Europe (had not been to Australia). Everywhere else we just pump out into a ditch in a rural area."
I don't think that is acceptable behaviour. He was right about one thing, we never saw a pump out station in south America!
Good luck with the build.

I agree. That is not acceptable behavior. We will amend the toilet based on where it goes.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Is it done yet??
Can hardly wait to see pictures of the completed rig.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Is it done yet??
Can hardly wait to see pictures of the completed rig.

Not as much as me! I'm told it should be ready by the end of September.

 

[SDDiver5]

No hurry up and make it happen! Looks like it's going to be so awesome

 

[bajarat]

+100 on Nature's Head !!!

 

[mhume802]

Hey poohbearusvi, great looking build!

I have been interested in Acela trucks (and Stewart & Stevenson) , but was initially turned off by the placement of the spare tire, and air intake behind the cab (looks like it would force you to move the box back, and make a pass-thru difficult.)
I have seen people build these with a big gap there, but it seems like a bit of wasted space to me.

It looks like your truck has a different and much slimmer configuration behind the cab.
Any info on the process to get it set up that way? Are there any box mounting restrictions given your setup?

 

[gregmchugh]

Hey poohbearusvi, great looking build!

I have been interested in Acela trucks (and Stewart & Stevenson) , but was initially turned off by the placement of the spare tire, and air intake behind the cab (looks like it would force you to move the box back, and make a pass-thru difficult.)
I have seen people build these with a big gap there, but it seems like a bit of wasted space to me.

It looks like your truck has a different and much slimmer configuration behind the cab.
Any info on the process to get it set up that way? Are there any box mounting restrictions given your setup?

The 6x6 can have that stuff behind the cab relocated and you can have the box next to the cab with a pass through to the cab. Here is an example done by GXV...

 

[poohbearusvi]

Hey poohbearusvi, great looking build!

I have been interested in Acela trucks (and Stewart & Stevenson) , but was initially turned off by the placement of the spare tire, and air intake behind the cab (looks like it would force you to move the box back, and make a pass-thru difficult.)
I have seen people build these with a big gap there, but it seems like a bit of wasted space to me.

It looks like your truck has a different and much slimmer configuration behind the cab.
Any info on the process to get it set up that way? Are there any box mounting restrictions given your setup?

Hi. Acela and Grigsby Truck both have a rear cab prep option. Looking at the drawing from Acela, is looks like a 15" gap between cab and box. The two spare tires will go to the rear lift.

 

[Lwing]

Dude I don't know what you've done to get where you are, but well done,, great adventures await, don't forget Canada lots of amazing places up here to visit

 

[poohbearusvi]

Dude I don't know what you've done to get where you are, but well done,, great adventures await, don't forget Canada lots of amazing places up here to visit

We have every intention of exploring Canada. My wife and I are Canadians. We lived in Toronto until 1990 when we moved to the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. We lived there for 30 years before going to California. We spent many weekends winter camping in Northern Ontario, Killarney Park, to name my favorite. One of my favorite books is called Dangerous River: Adventure on the Nahanni by R.M. Patterson published in 1954. It tells the story of the author trapping in the 1940's in Nahanni. We intend to drive as close to that park as possible and then go explore it a little. One of the least visited parks. Less than a thousand visitors a year. This book inspired me to winter camp in my youth. Best of times! No people! No mosquitoes! Now we intend to explore in a little more comfort.

 

[fatrider]

Looks fantastic. Love the design too.

What’s the length of the box? Do you have any measurements for your layout, I am interested in doing something similar in size.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Looks fantastic. Love the design too.

What’s the length of the box? Do you have any measurements for your layout, I am interested in doing something similar in size.

Hi. The overall length of the box is 6800mm and the interior measurement is 6084mm. Yes, I have detailed drawings with measurements but they are proprietary and I'm not allowed to share those. I'm sure if you contacted SLRV and asked for information on the Acela 6x6 box, they'd be happy to give you a more detailed layout of the interior. Good luck in your own build. As much as I want this NOW, I've actually enjoyed the planning and build very much as well.