Project "Autonomous" F-350

[rayra]

You want Corbin Dallas' apartment.

Just watch out for the autowash.


Venting out the side is also more desirable, as sealing perforations on vertical walls is a lot easier than sealing holes in the roof. Gravity shedding water takes care of most of the trouble. A little drip lip attached to the side wall overhanging the seam would help a great deal. Just a strip of angle material epoxied to the skin will do. Angle it too so it drains the way you want.

Stuff folding down from the walls is a great solution. Really think thru the layout and the sequences of your actions living in the thing, so stuff doesn't interfere with each other or you in the 'deployed' configuration. Config for transport, config for working, config for bathing, config for cooking / eating / 'entertaining'.

I've also seen a pop-up 4-seat table built into the floor of a toy hauler trailer box. The legs were a sliding scissor joint like on an ironing board. But in your situation a desk / table folding down from the wall opposite your kitchen / plumbing wall would probably work best. That way it's your dinner table too and you don't have to hold a hot pot of food while you close up the kitchen and deploy the table.


eta look at those combo elevated beds / work space rigs for dorm living for ideas. Also naval under-bunk storage ideas. And also chuck wagon boxes and wall mounted woodworking toolchests. Lots of compact / efficiency / up off the floor solutions to borrow from. Also google 'tambour door'. Would make a nice solution for your shower stuff, walled up in its own box when the shower isn't in use. But a hanging mesh travel toiletry bag works just as well. Also would make a nice solution for your kitchen cooking stuff / spice or knife rack. Sealed up when the kitchen counter is up. Could cram a lot of kitchen into a 48" by 20" counter and matching wall space. RV sink, camp two-burner, slide out cutting board / counter space. Sink on the end and have a slide out counter on the same end that covers the sink when stored, slides over to extend the counter when it's deployed. Slide into / over the shower space. Keep the plumbing really close / short.

 

[MaverickTRD]

I am having issues with the Colorado. It would not start; I had to replace the computer. Now it's not starting again!?! I want to sell it to fund my FORD truck build so I am going to have to figure it out.

its a cheby, what do you expect only kidding.

 

[pappawheely]

Stuff folding down from the walls is a great solution. Really think thru the layout and the sequences of your actions living in the thing, so stuff doesn't interfere with each other or you in the 'deployed' configuration. Config for transport, config for working, config for bathing, config for cooking / eating / 'entertaining'.

Could cram a lot of kitchen into a 48" by 20" counter and matching wall space. RV sink, camp two-burner, slide out cutting board / counter space. Sink on the end and have a slide out counter on the same end that covers the sink when stored, slides over to extend the counter when it's deployed. Slide into / over the shower space. Keep the plumbing really close / short.

Spent all day yesterday brainstorming/designing; I think I have everything planned out finally. The interior will be like a swiss army knife with lots of things folding out and fitting together for support. The ideas are there, I need to make them work. I wish I knew if I need wheel wheels to clear the tires. I am going to plan for them just in case.

Made a deal on an escape pod too:



The uhaul ramp will come in handy. I'm going to transport it inside the box.

 

[Seabass]

Your gonna need to swap out that rear axel for the dually rear end if you keep adding!! My father in law says he's never worried about me and my wife traveling because "I have one if everything in my truck." It's why I had to sell my half-ton, I couldn't carry enough gear! I'm stoked to see your interior come together. I love function over form. It sounds like function and utility are your main concerns- it's gonna be a trick!

 

[TheViking]

U Haul truck part out time again...

 

[Rot Box]

Don't have anything to add other than I love seeing the updates. Those TW's are a lot of fun!

 

[pappawheely]

Your gonna need to swap out that rear axel for the dually rear end if you keep adding!! My father in law says he's never worried about me and my wife traveling because "I have one if everything in my truck." It's why I had to sell my half-ton, I couldn't carry enough gear! I'm stoked to see your interior come together. I love function over form. It sounds like function and utility are your main concerns- it's gonna be a trick!

U Haul truck part out time again...

I have too much invested in my Trailready Beadlocks to go with the dually axle. That's why I'm trying to keep everything as lightweight as possible.

 

[dmanbluesfreak]

If you are going to repair a tire in the field, any balancing that was done is now compromised. Fixing a flat and then hitting the pavement for a couple hundred miles with an out of balance condition will kill your tire. I HATE! wheel weights but thankfully there is an awesome solution to this problem. I use Centramatic dynamic wheel balancers. It does not matter what the balance on the wheel and tire is, the Centramatic Dynamic balancers will make the wheel run smooth and true. They mount between the hub and the wheel. The minute I drove with the Centramatics I could feel the difference! If you hate wheel weights like me and want to get the most mileage out of your tires, wheel bearings, etc. you should check out Centramatic. I run the Centramatics and NO wheel weights.

Digging this thread, glad you shared it with me on Pirate.

I'm glad to hear these have worked well for you, but since there's not a lot of info on them on the web, do you know HOW they work? It looks like a dust cover from all the pictures I've seen so far

 

[pappawheely]

Digging this thread, glad you shared it with me on Pirate.

I'm glad to hear these have worked well for you, but since there's not a lot of info on them on the web, do you know HOW they work? It looks like a dust cover from all the pictures I've seen so far

The thick ring around the O.D. is filled with special shot and a lubricating fluid. Here is a video that explains how they work.

http://youtu.be/ullnFQD4F1I

 

[dmanbluesfreak]

The thick ring around the O.D. is filled with special shot and a lubricating fluid. Here is a video that explains how they work.

http://youtu.be/ullnFQD4F1I

Now that's freakin cool. Thanks for the update. I'm really considering going with these when I upgrade to beadlocks.

 

[Boog2001]

I've got a couple thousand miles on my Centramatics now and am impressed. I put them on at the same time as a set of BFG KM2s and anything below 60 mph is smooth as silk. I've got some vibrations above 60 or so, but may not be related to the balancers. I'm investigating those issues now.

 

[ripperj]

I had not seen those before, might have to check them out for my Ram.
I just put small coopers on my wifes Highlander( don't remember the size) I could not believe how much weight a couple of them took, for a small decent quality tire

 

[Paul B.]

Mike, I'm the new guy with the '93 F-350. Read through this thread. Great information. Did I miss something? You still got the old stock bed and camper?

 

[pappawheely]

Mike, I'm the new guy with the '93 F-350. Read through this thread. Great information. Did I miss something? You still got the old stock bed and camper?

Hello Paul. Yes, I have the bed and camper. I put the camper up for sale in the classified section here on EP and the bed will have to go soon too. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/136507-FWC-Keystone-Pop-up-For-Sale

 

[pappawheely]

Finally made some progress on the camper build. I sold the pop-up to Paul B which gave me a good cash infusion. I started with $200 in 1/4" angle and have not had to buy any additional material besides nuts, bolts and rivets.

1. The bed frame/ base. The angle forms a perimeter. It sits on top of some 1x1" aluminum tubing I had laying around. It has a thin piece of plywood bonded to each base as a thermal barrier. It rests on the aluminum extrusion that makes up the frame of the box. It is also tied into the aluminum bumper strips that are glued and screwed to the frp walls.



2. Aluminum angle is bolted to the aluminum box frame to support the plywood base. You can see the foam insulation with an air gap between the foil and plywood.



3. A lot of cutting, notching, deburring, drilling, riveting, bonding, figuring, re-figuring and building has gone into what looks like a very simple structure. All parts are aluminum; the added weight is next to nothing. In some places I have doubled up the angle to make box sections and I have re-used the aluminum bumper strips that had to come off for windows/doors on the structure to add additional strength.



4. The water heater is mounted down low and vents through the side of the box. Once I figure out where other items will mount I will brace the bulkhead to the floor. At this point it is suspended between the walls but still strong enough to support my weight easily (240 lbs).



5. Top view of the water heater.



6. The main electrical panel mounts in a recess in the bed access opening. You will be able to reach the main cut-off switch from the bed and the rear of the box.



7. My Ikea stainless sink with drain board is resting in the opening that will become my pantry. The sink and th propane cook top will be mounted to drawer slides below the cross struts. It will slide out when cooking and stow away when not in use.



8. The space between the bulkhead and the front wall of the camper will contain the water tank, pumps, the cassette toilet and some storage.