Ford E450 4x4 build revival

[xracer144]

I'm still working on making the cab more soundproof. I already have Dynamat and one layer of insulation installed on the door itself in place of the plastic vapour barrier that comes stock. This sheet completely covers the door panel except for the hole for the door speakers.

 

[hitek79]

Glad to see this build is still going! In a few years I'd like to chop the fiberglass body off of my chassis and put a box on like this.

 

[Baloo]

Great build! I like the use of spray foam, I need to figure out a way to get something in my wall cavities!

 

[xracer144]

Did some cold weather testing of the school bus heater last night. -20c with a windchill of -30c. I have the Fan set to medium for now. After less than 5 minutes, the back was toasty. After 10 minutes it was like a sauna, to the point where I could turn the cab heater to low speed and half temp. I'm not sure why more manufacturers don't install a big heater that runs off the engine like that. It appears to be the hot setup. Combine that with the foam insulation and you wont cold at all while you are rolling.

Really lousy driving conditions here today. Freezing rain , changing to heavy snow by the evening as temps fall again to below -20c and -35 winchill. Rather than fight with a 2wd E350, I decided to use my rig to take #7000 lbs of garbage to the landfill.

 

[hitek79]

Do you mind giving a model name/number for that heater?

 

[muskie]

Hi ,On aluminum truck campers they use wood inside the aluminum tubes, because they had problems with screws pulling out out of the aluminum..just trying to help.

 

[xracer144]

Hey Muskie, thanks for the input. I have 3/4" plywood firring strips attached to the inside of the aluminum panels. The strips are screwed in place as well as bonded in place by the SPF. The interior components will be anchored through the wood and aluminum as well.

Hitek79, I meant to look at the heater last night, but forgot. I will though.

I got a chance to spend a couple hours in the shop last night working on the interior and layout of the camper body. This is something that we have really struggled with. Trying to fit everything we want into a really tiny space is an engineers nightmare. So many factors to consider. Rather than continue to over engineer something into a carpenters nightmare as well, we are now leaning towards a simple but functional layout that is very similar to our first class c rv 12 years ago. I think my next step will be to create a 1x2 mock up of the interior to make sure things actually will work as laid out. I'm still debating aluminum vs wood cabinets. Maybe wood lowers? I dunno yet.

 

[Capt Eddie]

As I look at the floor plan, it reminded my of why I goot rid of a standard floor plan camper. No Open floor space? Two people and normal winter gear filled up the floor space on our Lance camper. So I started looking around and found the Lance 1040 floor plan. The biggest difference was the extra open space. Not the extra room for more junk. But extra openness to walk, change clothes, leave boots on the floor. The difference was only 6 inches wider. I think that if you mock up the area with boxes or plywood, you would understand what I am referring to. Take a look at the layout of an earthroamer.

 

[pappawheely]

I am building my own box because I want open space too. In my opinion, factory built campers try too hard to make it look just like home. I am making things stack, fold and slide to get more open space.

 

[xracer144]

Do you mind giving a model name/number for that heater?

Here is the link to the heater:
http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/24-700-btu-12v-auxiliary-heater/A-p4240028e

 

[Healeyjet]

I am looking at building a similar box and have a question or two if I may? I am from Saskatoon and have enjoyed watching your build so far and am excited to see it's progress.

XRACER144, being locate in Winnipeg I assume some winter "camping" in the truck is in order.

1) Are you planning to have the water and sewer system fully enclosed inside the heated box portion of the camper or use tank heaters of some kind?

2) How are you going to handle the black water tank for cold weather? Cassette toilet?

BTW, MCC, the maker of your bus fan seems to make some very nice products that may translate over to this type of vehicle as well.

3) Do you think the aluminum skin and frames of the ITB panels are strong enough to mount an awning?


Ward

 

[xracer144]

I am looking at building a similar box and have a question or two if I may? I am from Saskatoon and have enjoyed watching your build so far and am excited to see it's progress.

XRACER144, being locate in Winnipeg I assume some winter "camping" in the truck is in order.

1) Are you planning to have the water and sewer system fully enclosed inside the heated box portion of the camper or use tank heaters of some kind?

2) How are you going to handle the black water tank for cold weather? Cassette toilet?

BTW, MCC, the maker of your bus fan seems to make some very nice products that may translate over to this type of vehicle as well.

3) Do you think the aluminum skin and frames of the ITB panels are strong enough to mount an awning?


Ward

Hey Ward,
we will primarily use the rv to travel to somewhere warm in the winter. I might use it a bit for winter sleepovers, but not that much at this point. The Black/grey tanks will be stored in an outside bay that will be created once the interior layout is set. I may prewire for tank heaters, but I'm not sure I will use that. I have a large heated shop at work and the rv dump is a 2 minute drive from there. We have found in the past that the use of rv antifreeze works really well to keep the tank liquid as long as we aren't dealing with -30 conditions. If it's that cold, I wouldn't be camping anyway. I looked at the cassette toilet. I don't mind it myself, but my wife hates that Idea. Since she will take the rv out alone sometimes, having a regular dump system that she is familiar with just works best for us.

The fresh water tank will be inside the heated area.

The ITB body is very strong. I researched it a lot before we decided to go this way rather than the Unicell body. I have several buddies that work for the utility companies around here. They have all kinds of stuff mounted inside and outside on the body and they have no issues. Mounting an awning would be easy however its not something we will be doing. We rarely use the one we have on our current rv. If we are in the bush, then there is no room for it to be extended. If we are at the racetrack then we use the easy up tent we carry in the race trailer.

 

[Healeyjet]

Will you be staying with the duals or have you thought of switching over to super singles? I am looking at doing a very similar camper but on an F550 chassis and would like to switch over to super singles. Is the kick over the cab for sleeping or just storage?
Ward

 

[xracer144]

I'll be staying with the dual wheels. The area above the cab will be a nice 42" wide sleeping area. I looked for a couple years to find a low mile E550 v-10 for conversion but no luck. The v-10 back in 02-03 when the E550 was made were the lower hp versions as well.

 

[Healeyjet]

Racer, what is the height on the inside from the wheel arches to the insulated ceiling? How much insulation do you have on the floor in the photos?
Ward