Hi Darwin, what I intend on doing with this truck and build is to "open source" (I come from a software development background) the details. What this means to me is I will share all the details including costs and design in a format usable by others. So, the goal of my build will be to DIY by using a Total Composites/Tern Overland "kit". The box will be about 16'x8' and I have done the preliminary design using Sketchup. I also hope to source the major electrical items from
Renogy (batteries, inverter/charger, step down transformer and charge controller). I have also created a fairly detailed spreadsheet of all the equipment/costs and sources. Although this is my first truck like this I have lived and cruised on a sailboat for years and the systems are pretty much the same. What I need to learn about is the truck itself. After literally 1.5 years of research (we have been sailing so research is all I could do) I really think these trucks are the best for an extended world travel vehicle. I have just now setup a skeleton website that will detail everything, I will not bother with a link until it has any usable into though. This site hopefully will help others that want to build a similar vehicle in North America (it will highlight the shipping, import and vendors used), but reduce the amount of research needed and be able to visualize a finished product. My goal at the end of it all is to have a truck that looks/works as well as one of the major European builders, but at at a DIY cost.
So, the truck with shipping to Georgia and registration in Vermont (6% sales tax) is roughly $25k. My goal with this build is to keep the overall costs at around $100k (though likely to go a bit above this). The only way to keep close to this goal is careful shopping and doing most, if not all, the work ourselves. The good thing is that we will be working on this build full time until finished so my goal is to have it ready for the summer of 2019.
Here is my first take at a floor plan
