ACELA 6X6 WITH SLRV EXPEDITION BOX NEW BUILD

[waveslider]

We would have died without an AC. It’s 99 in Moab right now.

Right, I think what you will find is that perhaps unlike your experiences abroad, the US offers a wider range of climates at much closer distances. As a result, we try not to visit the desert in the summertime and if we find ourselves in a consistently inhospitable hot environment, we make good use of the fact our 'house' is on wheels and go somewhere else.

Nonetheless, It's still intriguing to hear you running an AC off just batteries vs generator. That's attractive. We purposefully left enough room and pulled wires for the addition of an AC in the future if the need called for it but haven't found it critical......yet

 

[Alloy]

A cassette toilet has 5 gallons capacity. 100 liters is 26 gallons. Wish we had more but I had to give up something else.

What is the balck tank for if you have a cassette?

 

[waveslider]

I think he was using the typical cassette as a comparison to the comment that his Black Water tank was smallish. Meaning, he was saying that a cassette is even smaller so they are happy with the tradeoff of a larger Black water tank so-to-speak. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[poohbearusvi]

Correct. We did not opt for a 5 gal cassette toilet. The 26 gal, if used mainly for #2, works out fine.

 

[Ramdough]

So my comments were just in the gray water tank. I am trying to size what I want and I am looking closer at 50 gallons.

The 26 gallons seamed a bit small. Did you find that was a limiting factor?

Thanks!


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[poohbearusvi]

More is better. If you have room for 50 gal, go for it.

 

[poohbearusvi]

A short video of our rig at the top of Schnebly Hill

 

[Ramdough]

More is better. If you have room for 50 gal, go for it.

Your truck is gorgeous by the way. I hope you have tons of enjoyment from it.


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[coachconverter]

Amazing rig and build!

Sorry if you've answered this already, but what material is used for your cabinet bodies and doors? Looks like solid surface material?

I've been lusting over these trucks for many many years, your's is phenomenal!

 

[poohbearusvi]

The cabinets are by Harn in Asia. Here are a couple of photos. We have three large pull out pantries (photo shows two of them). We’ve had the rig on some very rough and rutted roads. Absolutely nothing moved inside. Everything slides in and out and fits like a glove. Faces are a laminate covered wood as well as the bottoms. Drawer sides are a molded plastic.

 

[Adventr.us]

More or less overlanding rookie here. We have a small Opus OP15 adventure trailer we love. Spent a lot of time in it over the last year. When our local schools decided to "distance learn," we decided to get out on the road with our then 12 year old and truly distance learn. But it also taught me I could do more away from the office than I thought. So it'll be a number of years, but I'm starting to think through the next chapter for my wife and I when our boy goes off to school. At the very least, an upgraded off-road trailer is in our plan - but perhaps instead a custom expedition vehicle may serve us better as I think through all the use cases. Anyways, all that just to say thanks for sharing your journey and the tradeoffs you made in designing/acquiring your vehicle, it's extremely helpful to me as I think through our next step.

Being a rookie, I'm still trying to get my head around the basic options. Can I ask - are the Kenworth and the Acela the only cabover-based chassis options for a vehicle I'll use primarily in North America? (I've read that I could buy a 25 year old chassis from Europe and import it. However, I guess I don't understand why you can't import a turnkey German or Austrian unit built on a MAN or Mercedes chassis? Is it outright impossible/illegal due to emissions or something? Or just super difficult and/or so expensive to adapt it to US requirements that nobody bothers? If so, how is it that Europeans bring their rigs here for travel (or are the rules different for temporary import?)

Thanks in advance, I know these are pretty basic questions, but after an afternoon of google, I still can't find much. Seems like you found a great solution for your requirements that may offer a viable approach for mine ...

 

[DzlToy]

The 25 year rule applies to vehicles of all kinds that were never originally manufactured for, or offered for sale in the UNITED STATES. This is true whether the vehicle is a 5023 Unimog, a VDJ-200 or an R33 Skyline. As you noted one may import vehicles temporarily, under several categories, one of which is Show & Display and many have done this. The vehicle can only stay for two years, must be foreign owned and either exported or destroyed at the end of the two year period. There are exceptions such as a USDM company doing R&D on making car parts for a ROTW vehicle. Large companies such as Ford and Toyota do this regularly, but as you can imagine, it's a bit easier for Toyota USA to import a JDM vehicle than it is for you or I to do that.

You have the option of purchasing a USDM vehicle, shipping it to the EU for fit out, then re-importing the modified vehicle, importing a 15 year old vehicle into Canada, buying an EU vehicle in the name of a LEGAL ENTITY and importing it here for two years at a time or federalising a non-USDM vehicle at great expense. Reference Bill Gates and I believe Bruce Canepa importing Porsche 959s in the 80s. If the vehicle meets FMVSS and the OEM will certify this, the latter is a bit easier, but is still quite expensive and time consuming.

There aren't any IVECO, MAN or Mercedes Unimog dealers in the US, so if you import one of those vehicles, service will be a nightmare.

 

[gregmchugh]

More or less overlanding rookie here. We have a small Opus OP15 adventure trailer we love. Spent a lot of time in it over the last year. When our local schools decided to "distance learn," we decided to get out on the road with our then 12 year old and truly distance learn. But it also taught me I could do more away from the office than I thought. So it'll be a number of years, but I'm starting to think through the next chapter for my wife and I when our boy goes off to school. At the very least, an upgraded off-road trailer is in our plan - but perhaps instead a custom expedition vehicle may serve us better as I think through all the use cases. Anyways, all that just to say thanks for sharing your journey and the tradeoffs you made in designing/acquiring your vehicle, it's extremely helpful to me as I think through our next step.

Being a rookie, I'm still trying to get my head around the basic options. Can I ask - are the Kenworth and the Acela the only cabover-based chassis options for a vehicle I'll use primarily in North America? (I've read that I could buy a 25 year old chassis from Europe and import it. However, I guess I don't understand why you can't import a turnkey German or Austrian unit built on a MAN or Mercedes chassis? Is it outright impossible/illegal due to emissions or something? Or just super difficult and/or so expensive to adapt it to US requirements that nobody bothers? If so, how is it that Europeans bring their rigs here for travel (or are the rules different for temporary import?)

Thanks in advance, I know these are pretty basic questions, but after an afternoon of google, I still can't find much. Seems like you found a great solution for your requirements that may offer a viable approach for mine ...

You can get an Isuzu/Chevy cab forward converted to 4wd if you can live with a lower GVWR than the Kenworth and Acela. Fuso too but they are leaving North America.

 

[Adventr.us]

The 25 year rule applies to vehicles of all kinds that were never originally manufactured for, or offered for sale in the UNITED STATES. This is true whether the vehicle is a 5023 Unimog, a VDJ-200 or an R33 Skyline. As you noted one may import vehicles temporarily, under several categories, one of which is Show & Display and many have done this. The vehicle can only stay for two years, must be foreign owned and either exported or destroyed at the end of the two year period. There are exceptions such as a USDM company doing R&D on making car parts for a ROTW vehicle. Large companies such as Ford and Toyota do this regularly, but as you can imagine, it's a bit easier for Toyota USA to import a JDM vehicle than it is for you or I to do that.

You have the option of purchasing a USDM vehicle, shipping it to the EU for fit out, then re-importing the modified vehicle, importing a 15 year old vehicle into Canada, buying an EU vehicle in the name of a LEGAL ENTITY and importing it here for two years at a time or federalising a non-USDM vehicle at great expense. Reference Bill Gates and I believe Bruce Canepa importing Porsche 959s in the 80s. If the vehicle meets FMVSS and the OEM will certify this, the latter is a bit easier, but is still quite expensive and time consuming.

There aren't any IVECO, MAN or Mercedes Unimog dealers in the US, so if you import one of those vehicles, service will be a nightmare.

Thanks for the explanation. That helps. See, I'm so much a rookie I even had to google all the acronyms. But unlike the rest of this info, google readily got me to those In light of all that, I better understand poohbearusvi's initial decision to take the first approach you delineate in your 2nd paragraph.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

The 25 year rule applies to vehicles of all kinds that were never originally manufactured for, or offered for sale in the UNITED STATES. This is true whether the vehicle is a 5023 Unimog, a VDJ-200 or an R33 Skyline. As you noted one may import vehicles temporarily, under several categories, one of which is Show & Display and many have done this. The vehicle can only stay for two years, must be foreign owned and either exported or destroyed at the end of the two year period. There are exceptions such as a USDM company doing R&D on making car parts for a ROTW vehicle. Large companies such as Ford and Toyota do this regularly, but as you can imagine, it's a bit easier for Toyota USA to import a JDM vehicle than it is for you or I to do that.

You have the option of purchasing a USDM vehicle, shipping it to the EU for fit out, then re-importing the modified vehicle, importing a 15 year old vehicle into Canada, buying an EU vehicle in the name of a LEGAL ENTITY and importing it here for two years at a time or federalising a non-USDM vehicle at great expense. Reference Bill Gates and I believe Bruce Canepa importing Porsche 959s in the 80s. If the vehicle meets FMVSS and the OEM will certify this, the latter is a bit easier, but is still quite expensive and time consuming.

There aren't any IVECO, MAN or Mercedes Unimog dealers in the US, so if you import one of those vehicles, service will be a nightmare.

I would look into that a bit closer.

I am 98% sure the 30 year rule has been changed and no longer applies.

I believe they changed it to anything manufactured after 1976 and that’s the new criteria