Off-the-wall (or will it work)? Camper thoughts and questions.

[lblampman]

Greetings,

Well I posted here http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41058 asking for some input on what it would take to make my 1993 Roadtrek (based on a Dodge Maxi-Van) able to travel far and wide in off pavement situations (but not seriously offroad as in 4x4 territory). I got some great information.

But...I also have another rig I've really been thinking about a lot. I have a classic 1978 Beaver Class C motorhome on a 1-ton Chevy truck (not van) with a 454 and auto with 33,000 original miles on it. The camper part is just about done for without a major rebuild/renovation and I'm not really interested in keeping it. But it turns out the wheelbase is just about perfect for mounting a 14' camper box like those used on a Mog or Fuso (without doing a cabover section which will make the whole thing lower (80"), and it's only 7-feet wide so it really doesn't look like a typical large Class C).

So in my daydreams (delirium?) I thought I could:
- Strip the old camper off
- Build a new 14' expedition style camper
- Get rid of the dual tires in the rear and go to single tires
- Lift the cab (maybe not necessary) to install larger tires
- Install a front bumper with winch
- Install an ARB locker in the rear differential

And in the long run:
- Convert it to a 4x4
- Install a 5.9L mechanical (12-valve) Cummins diesel (it will eventually be a liveaboard for some very long trips)

I think it's this or the Roadtrek, I keep looking at other options and they seem a lot less obtainable at the moment. I can't sell the Roadtrek until I have another camper built or my wife will string me up, and I can't get enough out of the Beaver Class C to really fund the purchase of another chassis and get materials to build the camper. Catch-22.

We've travelled extensively in the U.S. so I know what we can live with from a camper perspective but I don't have much experience with camping off the (paved) beaten path in places like southern Utah, Colorado, Mexico, and such, or traveling in areas like Mexico, Alaska, or Central America (with perhaps less than stellar roads). It's the vehicle part that has me questioning things the most.

Is the van going to hang together and will I get enough ground clearance to make rutted and non-paved roads doable? Will the truck be too big and the wheelbase too long to make it viable (it's about 3.5' longer (at 23') than the Roadtrek and has a 201" wheelbase)? The departure angle is great though!

One last consideration is, if I build the 14' camper box for the 1-ton Chevy truck now then it will fit right onto the back of the Mitsubishi Fuso FG that I'd really like it to be on if it ever comes to that (I actually designed the box on that chassis in my CAD program). If I use the Roadtrek I'll just have to build the camper box later if and when I can swing the Fuso.

Any and all input is welcomed and most appreciated.

Les
Whidbey Island, WA

 

[Ford Prefect]

Looks like you have not had any response to this...

too bad really.

Simply put your 78 beaver is not going to hold up as is very well to the 'off the beaten path' type of travel. It simply will rattle everything free. (all of the bolts etc...) If you trust the vehicle itself well enough to take it on trips then I think you could do a fine job building something that could later be transferable to an FG or similar. The concern I would posit for you is the mounting. The mounts on your old beaver are likely to be very different from that of your dream fuso. SO you need to be certain what type of fuso you want, and then you need to be sure you know what the mounts will look like. This will allow you to build the camper to have strong mounting points for both vehicles from the begining.

Another thought for you, if you have not already considered it, would be to start from scratch with an older fuso. Find yourself an old freezer truck for 5K and use that. If you pop out the freezer unit, punch some holes for windows, and then furnish it the same as you would have to do with the box you are talking about building I think you would come out far ahead in the long run.

Just a thought

Good luck.

 

[ntsqd]

Thanks to Ford Prefect's answering I'm just now seeing this.

Has the back of the cab been cut open to allow camper access? That could force some tough decisions if so. I would suggest finding a new cab rather than patching a hole if that is the direction decided upon.

IF you keep the relative frame outside to outside and inside to inside widths in mind while desiging and building I do not see a problem in mounting a camper box. Unless the frames are identical in those dimensions you'll likely have to make new mounting cross members for the Fuso should it ever come to pass. So long as you don't put something where the Fuso's frame wants to be I don't see a problem.

Going on somewhat slim memory the GM Cab & Chassis trucks share the same rear axle WMS to WMS distance as the SRW pick-up trucks. The DRW pick-ups are wider in this dimension. Research this to confirm.
What that means is that by removing the dual wheel adapters up front you can go to a 'normal' wheel on all four corners and have nearly the same front & rear track widths. (GM's are normally slightly narrower in the rear than in the front.)
Normally converting a DRW truck to SRW results in the radically different F/R track widths, which forces using a custom offset wheel to space the front tires in and rear tires out.

If you opt to go with the GM leaf sprung 4WD suspension from the same era of trucks, then everything is pretty much a bolt-on (riveted originally). I highly suggest that you buy a donor truck or at least the whole front half of a frame to get all of the bits at once.

Considering the torque available currently and from the possible transplant coupled with the weight of the truck I do not see the 1/2ton-3/4ton front Dana 44 or Corp. 10 bolt living very long. You're going to need a front Dana 60, which only came under 1 tons (& heavier?). The bonus there is that you'll get bigger brakes than the 1/2t & 3/4t offerings.
What might be worth doing would be to try to find a whole ex-military CUCV truck. It will have the D60 under the front, all of the suspension mounting bits and 4WD steering box, the 4WD engine cross member (even if it is under a 6.2L diesel), a 4WD TH400 trans & t/c (trans is slightly different for 4WD), hydra-boost brakes, and a matching Corp. 14 bolt full floater rear axle with the same gearing as the front axle. I know that the 14bff is more than a match for a hopped-up DuraMax, I doubt that a 6BT will give it any trouble unless it has been really tweaked (compound turbo's etc.).

Speaking of brakes, if not already I would highly encourage converting to Hydraboost. This will make the diesel conversion much easier, and give you far better brakes.

Some links:
http://www.offroaddesign.com/
http://coloradok5.com/

 

[lblampman]

Thanks for the replies Ford Perfect and ntsqd, I much appreciate your thoughts and willingness to share.

FP...I absolutely agree on the Beaver body, I'm not sure how much longer I'd trust in on-road much less off pavement so the intent from the beginning was to strip it off. It's just that it's sitting on a nice 1-ton (C30) Chevy with only 38,000 miles on it with a 454 and TH400 and other heavy duty equipment so I was cogitating on whether or not it would make a good base for a new expedition-style camper, as opposed to the typical Class C profile. Of course that prompts more thoughts about getting even further off road then wondering about converting it to 4x4 and/or diesel for long range trips. Probably not the best use of time and money though in the long run.

ntsqd, thanks so much for all of that techical info. According to the decal on the truck it does have the Hydraboost and the 14-bolt rear end. What prompted the 4x4 question was seeing a 1-ton rolling chassis (with a running 454 and TH400) for sale on CL for $2,000. Absolutely everything would have been there for the conversion but I'm not far enough along in the decision making process to have made a move on it.

While my wife is signed on for travel (even into remote areas) we're still undecided on exactly how we want to do that; that is, what vehicle type will best serve our needs. I tend toward the minimilist side of things (say, a tow vehicle with a Conquest/AT style trailer and roof tent), she's still not convinced I can't drive a Class A motorhome the places we want to go. Somewhere in the middle we'll find common ground...just not there yet.

Thanks again guys...

Les