Kenworth K370 6X6 with BoxManufaktur Habitat & Torsion Free Subframe

[gregmchugh]

Jealous of the cab extension, our standard Kenworth K-370 cab is way too small…

 

[richardxh]

As some may know, we put our Kenworth GXV for sale and commissioned a Bliss that we intend to put on an Acela. Here is our working out:

1. Having permanent 4WD was big for us. Twice we got stuck while stationary and couldn't engage 4WD. In both situations, a 4WD option would have got us out.

2. If I'm paying to have a vehicle converted to 4WD, I would rather re-purpose the money into the box! we spent 4x4 conversion budget on motorcycle carrier and Honda X-ADV.

3. There is some good value in the Acela with CTIS, Soundproofing. lights, and general overhaul.

4. the Acela 4x4 has a great turning radius.

5. The sound in the Acela is the same as the Kenworth. We have been in both and measured it.

6. No DEF for when we go to Argentina.

7. We looked at a cat 5 MAN and a Zetros. There are ways to get the vehicle on the USA. But by the time effort and Money wasn't worth it. Doing a temp registration would have worked for us, but buying in the EU also meant a potential, not definite, EU 21% tax.

 

[wfv56]

Richard could you elaborate on the problem with your previous 4wd that made you desire the Acela system?

 

[wfv56]

Thanks for the update. Whole project is amazing.

 

[gregmchugh]

What size are your fuel tanks and what mileage are you seeing? Our GXV Kenworth has 200 gal of fuel and we average 9-9.5 mpg at a weight of around 27,000 lb. Nice to be able to fill the tanks when you find low prices on fuel and when you are heading into high fuel price territory. We fill up in Fairbanks AK and easily make the round trip up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse and back without needing any fuel. Can also go from Tok AK to Tuktoyaktuk NWT on the Arctic Ocean and back without refueling. Always fill up before entering Canada or California…

 

[DeAusten]

Jealous of the cab extension, our standard Kenworth K-370 cab is way too small…

Greg -- if interested I'd be happy to send you the contact information of the company I worked with to have the extension done. They are based out of the UK so shipping would be a concern but the extension was very reasonably priced.

What size are your fuel tanks and what mileage are you seeing? Our GXV Kenworth has 200 gal of fuel and we average 9-9.5 mpg at a weight of around 27,000 lb. Nice to be able to fill the tanks when you find low prices on fuel and when you are heading into high fuel price territory. We fill up in Fairbanks AK and easily make the round trip up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse and back without needing any fuel. Can also go from Tok AK to Tuktoyaktuk NWT on the Arctic Ocean and back without refueling. Always fill up before entering Canada or California…

Truck came with 2 X 45gal tanks. I'm currently running 1 single 45gal as the placement of the dropdown door entrance meant I had to lose the passenger side tank. I am having a new larger tank made, but don't believe I'll be able to fit 200gals like your setup. Currently getting ~8mpg.

As some may know, we put our Kenworth GXV for sale and commissioned a Bliss that we intend to put on an Acela. Here is our working out:

Hey Richard (I believe we're IG friends!). I didn't realize you had sold your GXV but excited for your new rig. Same feelings on the Kenworth vs. Acela. Those Acela trucks are amazing. Do you have a build forum I can follow?

 

[gregmchugh]

Greg -- if interested I'd be happy to send you the contact information of the company I worked with to have the extension done. They are based out of the UK so shipping would be a concern but the extension was very reasonably priced.

Thanks for the offer but we have no plans for major mods to our K-370 at this point, we have had the GXV for 5 years.

Truck came with 2 X 45gal tanks. I'm currently running 1 single 45gal as the placement of the dropdown door entrance meant I had to lose the passenger side tank. I am having a new larger tank made, but don't believe I'll be able to fit 200gals like your setup. Currently getting ~8mpg.

We get between 8 and 9 mpg at a gross weight of 27,000 lb. Our two 100 gallon tanks were made my Alumitank and they have been great.

Hey Richard (I believe we're IG friends!). I didn't realize you had sold your GXV but excited for your new rig. Same feelings on the Kenworth vs. Acela. Those Acela trucks are amazing. Do you have a build forum I can follow?

 

[ryneodonnell]

I've not been great about keeping this thread up to date but I'm excited to write up some of the updates that have taken place over the past year. I've been working with the team at Boxmanufaktur, specifically Hajo and Andreas to make most of these changes come to life. My experience has been positive, and while it's taken longer than I'd like.. I've had quite a bit of fun in the process.

Anyways.. over the past year the truck has received the following updates:

• Cab extension added to K370 day cab: mentioned previously but I had a tough time finding anyone in the US who was willing to extend the cab of the K370. I spoke with Kenworth about this as well as GXV about doing an extension. Ultimately I found a company in the UK who manufactures fiberglass extensions for the DAF LF and the team at Boxmanufaktur coordinated to have the extension shipped to Germany and installed. The extension has a day bed with storage underneath and I'm really happy with the result. The cost was a fraction of what I was quoted in the US and the quality feels high.
• Habitat mounted to subframe: this was the day I'd been thinking about for quite some time. I'm really pleased with the placement of the box on the truck chassis and it was fun seeing the truck go through some torsion testing with the box on the frame.
• Storage boxes installed under habitat: I was surprised by the high cost of storage boxes from US companies and so I opted to have them built overseas by a vendor suggested by Boxmanufaktur. The boxes are high quality and the process of designing them was relatively painless. They took months to arrive but once they did they were powder coated black and bolted to the bottom of the habitat. I'm happy with how they turned out, especially the angled boxes for the wheel wells and the 45 degree angle of the rear boxes that aligns with the 45 degree angle of the habitat.
• Paint job for the truck: I didn't plan to have the truck painted overseas but again the cost of the quotes I was receiving back from companies in the US were so high that it just made sense to have the truck painted overseas. I went for a light grey color in a matte finish. Originally I wanted a darker grey color but was worried about the amount of heat a dark grey color would attract. We'll see how long the paint job lasts though. Perhaps the next version will be darker grey. I already snagged a few pinstripes on the journey back from Galveston to Seattle.
• Truck shipped from Bremerhaven to Galveston: this ended up being quite a bit more expensive than the trip from Galveston to Bremerhaven by roughly a factor of 3. I took my time shopping around for quotes but it seems to return trip home from Europe to the US is generally more expensive. At least that's what I was told by a number of different vendors. Curious if anyone else can confirm this and if they know why? Anyways, the truck landed in Galveston and I flew down to pick it up and I have to say... so exciting. I had a blast driving it back to Seattle. It took a couple of days to get used to the size with the box on the back but it drives nicely.
• Overland Adventure Truck: the truck is currently sitting at Overland Adventure Truck in WA. Quade (the owner of OAT) and I are working together to add a hydraulic lift to the rear of the truck to help with the oversized spare tires, motorcycles, and some additional storage. We're also looking at adding a cab to habitat pass-through.

I'm currently living in Seattle on a lease. My job is fully remote and my plan is to take the truck down somewhere warmer to work on once my lease ends here in a few months. I work as a Product Manager / Engineer in a SaaS company and so I don't have any formal experience doing builds like this but my plan is to document the interior build out of the box as I go. I'm hoping I can learn a bit along the way, and honestly save a bit of money as I've run through most of my budget for this build. Once the truck is complete I'm hoping to take it back overseas for extended travel.
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Amazing build! Wow. If you're ever interested in selling, do let me know! ryneo @ Mac (dot) com