Looking for a DOKA Truck
- Thread starter MiguelVicente
- Start date
Coachgeo
Explorer
With as square as that cab is and box..... a local fabricator can probably do a roof raise over cab easy.... well easy compared to other jobs cause you would really have no compound curves to deal with. Do it right and you can turn that extra cab space into spare bed as well. That is if you do NOT want unibody cab and camper box.... that is a whole different thing..... requires specialized module builder very knowledgeable in unibody suspension over a truck chassis.
Keep in mind..... the box on back is safer for the riders (if buckled in) than the cab is. Never understood why folk put their loved ones in the worst area for them to be in an accident. Im certainly not. (My truck is cab over which in general have poor reputation in rolled mishaps; where my box is an Ambulance that you could near about drop off a cliff and it would be fine.)
Keep in mind..... the box on back is safer for the riders (if buckled in) than the cab is. Never understood why folk put their loved ones in the worst area for them to be in an accident. Im certainly not. (My truck is cab over which in general have poor reputation in rolled mishaps; where my box is an Ambulance that you could near about drop off a cliff and it would be fine.)
Maybe people like to spend time with their fellow travellers while driving. I can't imagine driving long distances and only be able to talk to my kids through a hole in the cabin. But I have never travelled with my family in anything bigger than a van.
I am also in the process of looking for a truck for a build for two adults and two kids. I thought a doka would be the best option for a comfortable and social ride. Maybe I should think differently.
I am also in the process of looking for a truck for a build for two adults and two kids. I thought a doka would be the best option for a comfortable and social ride. Maybe I should think differently.
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Coachgeo
Explorer
think outside the box.... well actually speak inside the little box.... lol..... these days technology makes this " I can't imagine driving long distances and only able to talk to my kids through a hole in the cabin" a non issue; use a headset with microphone. bluetoothed to riders in back on their tablet or phone . Also camera in front and sides.... view sent to tablets and/or to a large projection screen that pulls down ..... but they will be on their tablet anyway. Another advantage to not putting riders in Doka...... bigger living space can be installed in back.
Granted if you build your habitat on back out of a former travel trailer..... all I said about safety previously is out the window.... they will crush easier than cab.
Hey, even better, leave them at home, speak to them on the phone as you go and steam video of your cab view to the tv in the den. Actually thinking about it why not just send a camera drone out and then you can all stay in the safety and comfort of your home and still get the travel experience on the big screen without the hassle of installing windows, risking personal safety on the road or burning diesel!
Coachgeo
Explorer
you can take anything too far obviously... I agree we these days get little to carried away about safety... happen to work with kids, sports, safety in sports etc. daily and have for 45ish years.... and know all to well about overkill. especially these days.... yet ... there is simple logic in using tool available to one as well.
Biggest logic in all this "ride in cab or habitat; is that not going doka and riding in habitat just offers ton more ability for living space... or smaller rig and bit better MPG, thus can afford more trips. Also experience.... Motorhomed as a kid; in a family of three kids, thru the 70's and us kids spent most time in back of Motorhome by choice. Happened to have spent more time that other two up front looking out windshield.. but was only kid of us three who really wanted too.
DarkBladeRunner
Active member
I think rasing the roof on a DOKA cab and turning it into the Dining Room with seatbelts is ideal for families.
I can’t tell if you are being serious and thinking that watching the “trip” on tv and talking on headphones is a great idea... or hopefully you are just baiting in a very dry British fashion.
mog
Kodiak Buckaroo
While I would disagree about trucks being 'death traps', as I can't speak to the build quality of LMTVs, if they are so dangerous WHY would you put yourself in that danger?
Certainly, your wife would not want to lose her husband and you don't want to leave your children fatherless with no one to support and guide them through life.
While you can't drive via video cameras in a fully enclosed box like your passengers would be in, I would think the first order of business on your build would be adding a ROPS (Roll Over Protect System) to your cab to give you a level of protection that you are trying to afford your passengers. Or perhaps one of the LMTV armored cabs could be added for driver protection?
Armored cab for sale
I definately agree with the idea that avoiding doka gives a better option for the living space. I looked at doka mogs but on a 3.7m wheelbase we would have practically been limited to a 3m box which would not have worked for me. However even with our large pass through (600mm x 990mm) I think the box will feel like a separate unit.
My solution is to stick a roof tent on my defender and get my kids to drive themselves alongside!
My solution is to stick a roof tent on my defender and get my kids to drive themselves alongside!
Coachgeo
Explorer
dead serious..... well.... live serious actually lol. originally bought my particular truck cause it had a semblance of a ROP by a competent welder.... When came across 14.5 long ambo box to use as habitat... new its front would act like a ROP so the original will be removed. Yup.... Ize got a different way to look at it... big whoop.
dead serious..... well.... live serious actually lol. originally bought my particular truck cause it had a semblance of a ROP by a competent welder.... When came across 14.5 long ambo box to use as habitat... new its front would act like a ROP so the original will be removed. Yup.... Ize got a different way to look at it... big whoop.
Isn’t that what makes life so interesting. I may never understand the appeal of watching tv of what’s outside... but I don’t have too.. you probably never would understand why I rode an enduro through South America and kept riding after laying the bike down three times in the same day in Bolivia!
Coachgeo
Explorer
oh yeah I would understand totally... that is why Im driving in the cab.