C5500 TopKick 4x4 Crew Cab Build

[Ford Prefect]

I spoke with a super guy in an ER a few months ago. He said when he was looking for the right rig he went out and picked up a super nice international. He said it was perfect in every way. Bought it in Missouri and on the trip home to Colorado it took him less than half the trip before he called his wife apologizing profusely and asking if she would list it for sale for him. He sold that thing off as fast as he could after trying to drive it. Said it was seriously an uncomfortable ride. I think you got a good choice. The 06, if I am correct, does not have the new emissions crap thus making it still possible to drive in central and south America, yes?

 

[jesusgatos]

Like where you're going with this. Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

 

[NeverEnough]

Like where you're going with this. Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Thanks Jesusgatos (Jesus cats? cool). The tempo should accelerate over the coming weeks. Most of the components have either arrived or are en route. If the shell comes together as planned, January and February should see the bulk of the work done.

 

[NeverEnough]

.... Said it was seriously an uncomfortable ride. I think you got a good choice. The 06, if I am correct, does not have the new emissions crap thus making it still possible to drive in central and south America, yes?

Since I bought my truck from a farmer in Riggins, Idaho, I had a chance to drive it almost 700 miles to bring it home. The Link air-ride suspended cab and the air-ride seat made it a comfortable ride- not like a Suburban, but way better than my F750 Funmover chassis. But I also test drove a 7400 that had an amazing ride. I think its possible to cush out most suspensions if you want to spend the dough. I'm going to wait to see how mine rides loaded up before I do any tweeks. And emissions/bio capability were one of the reasons I specifically shopped for low miles 06.

Regarding what you can do with a 10' box, here's a slice from mine showing the bathroom and blackwater tank. The grey water tank sits in directly in front, with the same basic profile but not quite as deep. The bottom of my subframe is 24" off the ground, just so you have an idea of scale.

You can see how my box wraps around the chassis in a monocoque fashion. I've had my share of bad experiences with frozen water lines, cracked valves, and torn waste water tanks (not good memories). So one of my goals was to keep all the plumbing inside the shell, which reduces the energy required to avoid freeze issues. Another was to have bombproof tanks that are well supported. Mine are being custom fabricated from 3/8 PE and will be fully supported, rather than just on the perimeter.

As far as the slide out room tracks getting torqued- their only purpose is to extend and retract. All of the load is carried by the lifgate platform, which is supported on both ends by drop-jacks. The room literally rolls onto the platform. This is an older sketch, but it shows the rear platform and a set of jacks (not fully extended, to show that they can be used even if I'm backed up against uneven terrain).

 

[jesusgatos]

Thanks Jesusgatos (Jesus cats? cool). The tempo should accelerate over the coming weeks. Most of the components have either arrived or are en route. If the shell comes together as planned, January and February should see the bulk of the work done.

Yeah, I believe in a feline god. No, jesus gatos -> jesse katz (that's just my name). Seeing lots and lots of details that I like. Some things I'm doing really similarly, and some I wish I could incorporate, but we're building on different platforms and working with different limitations and whatnot. You mentioned something about riding dirtbikes? How are you planning on transporting those? Trailer?

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Of course this would be well outside of the insulated area, so it may freeze in winter. (which I do not plan to spend winter in the thing anyhow at this point) I recon on running the ducting et al. at the frame level. A little spray on insulation should take care of that (I think). Again my ideas are fully untested, so, perhaps when I talk with an expert he will nix half of what I desire.

If your tanks are going to be outside of the heated area, it would probably be best to put on some simply RV Tank Heaters. These are usually added upgrades on RV's/Campers, but we found that even though we rarely camped where the weather was cold enough to do any damage, we ended up using ours multiple times.

Remember that many of the desert areas of the Southwest will dip below the freeze mark at night in anything but the middle of the summer. We've had to run our tank heaters in Arizona in higher elevations in March when the grey water tank froze

The tank heaters are pretty crude and they draw a ton of electricity to run, so you'd want to be sure and only use them if you have adequate power, or a large bank of batteries or you'll wake to frozen tanks and dead batteries

Great Build and I'm loving it as it unfolds. Speaking of unfolding, here would probably be your best bet for steps. http://www.rvstuffusa.com/camperstepsbyhijacker.html You can order them in multiple styles and they fold up pretty small. I'd advise to keep them outside the cab or you'll probably run into issues with retracting them after or during rain and having it be inside the cab

 

[NeverEnough]

You mentioned something about riding dirtbikes? How are you planning on transporting those? Trailer?

I'm building a matching trailer. A lot of our trips involve dirt bikes, mtn. bikes, kayaks, windsurfing gear, and a ski boat- and sometimes all of the above! The Funmover was a great hauler, but not very nimble. A high-clearanc trailer will allow much better access than our 41' hauler did.

We're going to build the trailer shell first as a practice round for the "full-scale" shell construction techniques. It's a 16' modified V-nose, can carry up to 8 dirt-bikes (not uncommon for us), and has it's own small bathroom and some fold-down bunks. It is also being built on the same mult-use platform- an aluminum flatbed with a removable cargo shell.

 

[NeverEnough]

Great Build and I'm loving it as it unfolds. Speaking of unfolding, here would probably be your best bet for steps. http://www.rvstuffusa.com/camperstepsbyhijacker.html You can order them in multiple styles and they fold up pretty small. I'd advise to keep them outside the cab or you'll probably run into issues with retracting them after or during rain and having it be inside the cab

Seriously considering that approach, but worried if they're strong enough. I've had two Kwikee step sets fail in the past. I've got to find a set around here to test out. One of the manufacturers has a handrail accessory, which would be a nice thing to have if I ever want to have my parents climb aboard.

 

[alexrex20]

I'm building a matching trailer. A lot of our trips involve dirt bikes, mtn. bikes, kayaks, windsurfing gear, and a ski boat- and sometimes all of the above! The Funmover was a great hauler, but not very nimble. A high-clearanc trailer will allow much better access than our 41' hauler did.

We're going to build the trailer shell first as a practice round for the "full-scale" shell construction techniques. It's a 16' modified V-nose, can carry up to 8 dirt-bikes (not uncommon for us), and has it's own small bathroom and some fold-down bunks. It is also being built on the same mult-use platform- an aluminum flatbed with a removable cargo shell.

want to adopt me?

 

[jesusgatos]

Hah. Too funny. That's EXACTLY what I'm doing (building a custom removable enclosure on top of a flatbed). I'm building a motorhome out of an old military truck, so I'm using a matching military trailer. Much smaller all-around than what you're doing, but we're on the same page here for sure. Been thinking about attaching an extra panel to the outside of each side of the trailer (sort of like a box within a box). They would be mounted on hinges and pins, and could be configured to created awnings, windbreaks, or make an even larger trailer (double-wide). My trailer is going to be set-up as sort of a mobile workshop, but it will also be full of dirtbikes and mountain bikes - so would be really nice to have a 'garage space' where I could store those things when I get to somewhere I want to be for a while. Still sort of marinating on the whole trailer design, as I've got my hands full with the motorhome. Really like the idea of making the trailer able to serve as a mini basecamp.

 

[NeverEnough]

want to adopt me?

Only if you can cook, clean, and wrench...

 

[NeverEnough]

Hah. Too funny. That's EXACTLY what I'm doing (building a custom removable enclosure on top of a flatbed). I'm building a motorhome out of an old military truck, so I'm using a matching military trailer. Much smaller all-around than what you're doing, but we're on the same page here for sure. Been thinking about attaching an extra panel to the outside of each side of the trailer (sort of like a box within a box). They would be mounted on hinges and pins, and could be configured to created awnings, windbreaks, or make an even larger trailer (double-wide). My trailer is going to be set-up as sort of a mobile workshop, but it will also be full of dirtbikes and mountain bikes - so would be really nice to have a 'garage space' where I could store those things when I get to somewhere I want to be for a while. Still sort of marinating on the whole trailer design, as I've got my hands full with the motorhome. Really like the idea of making the trailer able to serve as a mini basecamp.

Great minds think alike......:ylsmoke:

This type of configuration is driven by a multi-use concept. I even toyed around with the concept of having my "roll-out" room be entirely removable, thereby allowing the camper to serve as a mini-hauler. But I opted for the liftgate/bike platform instead. The technical challenges of a removable room and the compromises required to make it work just got a little overwhelming- lmited ROI.

I think that folding panels have a lot of potential, with or without soft-side walls. My wife is like the "Princess and the Pea" when it comes to sleep, so a hard, heavily insulated enclosed shell is always a requirement. When we go backpacking she never sleeps- which means I never sleep.

 

[jesusgatos]

Yeah, sounds like a good compromise, given what you're building. I'd like to find a liftgate to put on the back of my motorhome too. Mostly so that I could use it as a patio deck, but also to carry dirtbikes when I don't want to haul a trailer.

 

[NeverEnough]

Yeah, sounds like a good compromise, given what you're building. I'd like to find a liftgate to put on the back of my motorhome too. Mostly so that I could use it as a patio deck, but also to carry dirtbikes when I don't want to haul a trailer.

I'm building my own, for several reasons:

1) Weight. Even the lightest aluminum rail-style liftgates come in at 1200lbs (for the largest platforms). And if you want a platform big enough for a deck, you have to buy a heavy liftgate (typically 1500-1800lb capacity).
2) Size. None of the commercial products are wide enough to accommodate the rear slide-out dimensions, so I'd have to have the fabricator cut up the rear mount plate. And the platforms are not bare-foot friendly (this I know from experience with our Thielman liftgate on the Funmover).
3) Malfunction. From personal experience, I can say that having your liftgate get stuck in the boonies sucks, since they're not easy to field repair and they don't have manual overrides. You basically have to take it off.

My platform will consist of two 4x8 structural panels and aluminum support frame, joined with a lock hinge. The lift mechanism will be my Rieco-Titan 5K lbs. rear jacks, which have several modifications to allow them to pull triple duty: lift and level the camper, lock the camper onto the subframe, and lift the cargo platform (folded). It will be able to easily hoist 650lbs (two heavy dirt bikes or dual sports, or one ATV).

Of course, the big down side of this approach is cost, since I have to pay someone to do all my fabricating. It'll suck if it doesn't work!

 

[jesusgatos]

So it seems like you're pretty mechanically minded and a capable designer. How have you avoided getting your hands dirty for so long? There's no magic to metal fabrication. But time is a limited resource I guess. If you can afford to pay someone to execute your vision, maybe your time is better spent doing something else?