Custom camper platform

[FlyingPig]

i will be graduating collage in December and am interested in building a mobile home. i would like to be able to live and work in ski or mtb resorts or anywhere else seasonally and without rent. the rent in most of these places is skyhigh and with a big dog can be impossible to find. these are my thoughts so far but i am open to suggestions and any input on engines would be appreciated.

i am trying to find the best platform to start with. so far i have the following parameters.

Diesel, better for load, towing my truck, and capable of running veggie
Room for my dirtbike, mountain bike, skis, and dog
Ground clearance for dirt roads.

i have been looking at alot of things and trying to find the best platform to start, so far

RV-expensive unless old, no ground clearance, hard to find or afford diesel, crappy appliances, no room for toys
Extended van-e-350 series etc can be converted to 4x4 but a little small overall.
Ambulance- same as van but with a box that has 1/3 taken up for storage
Military truck-deuce and a half, 5 ton, m109a3 box, m934 expansible box. great offroad, big, poor gas mileage, low top speed, rough ride.
Unimog- lottery
School bus-cheap overall a decent platform, most are to long,a low rounded roof is harder to stand in and mount solar panels but solvable.
Box truck- e-350, npr, etc currently i am thinking a 17ft +- box that extends over the cab plus a liftgate for a porch would be ideal. needs windows, a door, ventilation and heat. im thinking a small garage in the back. a slide out queen bed from the boxover cab or pulley based drop down. living room and small bathroom.

im trying to figure out what engines to avoid. i dont know a whole lot about diesels but from what i understand is that they will run forever but they might need $3-4k to replace the injectors especially when running veggie. i am trying to find what engines are affordable to replace the injectors. the idi turbo is my leading candidate but i am curious if any other engines have affordable injectors. it is also in alot of e-350 based trucks. i dont know much about which isuzu, nissan, chevy international or cummins engines i should avoid if running veggie.


also i found this and was wondering if anyone know of something similar that could run on propane or 12v
http://www.appliancesconnection.com...gJJinkBKcreWnQmxYiDxyyGKI59o6FC_tvxoCRerw_wcB

 

[Darwin]

double post.

 

[Darwin]

im trying to figure out what engines to avoid.

Any one that came in a ford.

from what i understand is that they will run forever

Simply not the case. Well cared for, proper and the right maintenance, along with the RIGHT motor, it will probably last longer than a comparable gas truck. One thing to keep in mind though, to change the oil it costs 50 dollars, and that's doing it yourself.

Box truck- e-350, npr, etc currently i am thinking a 17ft +- box that extends over the cab plus a liftgate for a porch would be ideal. needs windows, a door, ventilation and heat. im thinking a small garage in the back. a slide out queen bed from the boxover cab or pulley based drop down. living room and small bathroom.

Might not be a bad option, but they are only two wheel drive. to convert it into the living quarters like you are talking about would take some serious time, like a year or more potentially, cash, and would probably need a nice shop to use while you did the work.

I would probably forget the "veggie" thing. I have been doing it for close to ten years now, started with ford f 250 IDI truck and two Dodge 12 valves and the list of problems with it, especially in your situation is long. I won't go into all of them but first, since you will be living out of your vehicle you will have no way to filter oil, second it's damn near impossible these days to even find it, the restaurant owners some how got it in their head that it's worth the price of gold. It's messy and a major pain in the ***. I still use it commuting back and forth to work in my 95 dodge but my newer 97 dodge I bought I would never convert. Maybe a little biodiesel but again, you can't do that in a rental house/apartment let alone on the road. The fords don't make good conversion trucks and the IDI is slow and underpowered IMO, atleast compared to the dodge. A good reliable truck is the 97 or 98 12 valve Cummins with a camper on the back, problem is they have horrible payload numbers so you would be looking at a dually unless you want a pop up camper.

Another option and I think the best would be to tow a small travel trailer, you will get comfort with it and can unhook it and stay at an RV park or boondock.

 

[TwoTrack]

http://tinyhousetalk.com/

 

[Haf-E]

If it is your "house" then it might be OK to go without 4WD since you probably won't be going anywhere too tough in it - even in the developing world most of the commercial trucks are 2WD and make it through where they need to go - besides - you have a motorcycle so you could park and go out on that. You might consider adding a limited slip or locking rear differential and a winch on the front instead of 4WD.

The school bus is a great option - they make shorter ones - and it possible to raise up the roof if you are handy with a welder. A bit of work but not bad - especially if you are planning on getting ride of some/most of the windows. It takes a bit of work to make it not look like a "hippy" bus - but I see lots of them in ski resorts these days - just put some racks on it for boards / bikes / kayaks and you'll get some respect and more tolerance.

I'd avoid the veggie oil as well and just keep it as stock and simple as possible. Goal is to have it parked most of the time - right? finding mechanics will be hard enough without adding challenges to it. I run at least B20 in mine all year long and haven't had issues in 200,000 miles + so far.

Another option is a sprinter van - not super huge outside but very usable inside. 6 feet of standing room. More "modern" look with the option of Mercedes emblems / grills - lots of higher mileage vans dropping under $10K that are very usable. Not 4WD and no option for LSD or locking diff unfortunately. Mine is easy to get stuck as the back is mostly empty - I wouldn't drive it on a beach even.

The bottom line is pick something and make the most of it...