LeishaShannon
Adventurer
Isn't 8'8 about 8cm higher than the door to a hi-cube container?
Or are you doing a pop top for reduced height while driving?
Starting a home build FG and looking for lots of advice.
- Thread starter 1aquaholic
- Start date
Isn't 8'8 about 8cm higher than the door to a hi-cube container?
Or are you doing a pop top for reduced height while driving?
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I think you are thinking of a standard container (8'6")
No, he's right. It's my math that was off, I'm not as good at converting metric to imperial as I used to be.
40' highcube door opening is 2.585m (8' 5 3/4"). My expected height will be 2.6m, let some air out of the tyres and should drop the 5cm it needs to drive in. Depends on how far the suspension sags when I put the weight on it too, chance I'll be able to drive straight in. Same dimension set in a format I'm more comfortable with.
Internal heights are a little rough at the moment, waiting for confirmation on them. Initial plans though are 1.4m at the front, 1.6m in the main body section when the roof's closed. Open, will be 2m at the front, 2.2m in the main body with a 600mm rise. Storage cabinet under the bed will be 2.0x1.55x0.75m (LWH) plus clothes storage of 200mmm on top. Overall height I expect will be 2.6m with the roof closed, 3.2m with the roof opened.
Just looked back at the start of your thread. We're using essentially the same base vehicle (FG140 I believe = FG84 in Aus). How're you getting it to 7'6", I thought they were over 8' as standard?
1aquaholic
Adventurer
Yes I think they are the same also. With stock front suspension the highest point on my cab is 94”, I have however removed the forward clearance lights and will install LEDs just above the windshield to replace them as they added a few inches to the overall height.
True, it doesn't get any simpler than that!
What makes things problematic is the step-up in the frame on the FG, but the Fuso's Body Builders guide offers a solution.
I'm not sure why more people haven't used a standard cargo body to start a build with. Their strong, robust and there's a whole industry devoted to their build, service and repair. I know Morgan has supplied bodies without rear doors and supplied blank panels to close off the openings.
Morgan Cargo Body has a parts catalog that gives some ideal how their bodies are built.
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1aquaholic
Adventurer
OK hot water question. Can I get away without a hot water tank? I need hot for radiant floor and sink/shower. In my mind I would like to do a desiel type on demand system with a circuit for the floor that runs through a very efficient plate heat exchanger to heat the shower/sink. I would also like to heat the floor while running from the engine coolant. What do you think, is this possible? Better ways do do it? Price and space are the driving factors.
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pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
Best way to heat with engine coolant is to use a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger with a separate (electric) circulation pump. Put the heat exchanger on the engine coolant outlet between the engine and the radiator. There's no reason why you couldn't have two heat exchanges on the same radiant floor heating circuit, one for the truck motor and one for another heat source.
Diesel hot water on demand is going to be slow. I think I read somewhere for the Webasto Dual Top it was something like 20 minutes from cold water to hot. If price and space is an issue, maybe look at something like the Seaward, saw one that's a rectangular box with 6 gallon water tank (it was around 300 on ebay). Connect that to the engine and radiant floor heating, you could have heating (while driving) and hot water. If you need more hot water, either run the truck engine, or use a Webasto/Espar unit to heat it back up again.
How are you controlling internal temperatures with the radiant?
Czechsix
Watching you from a ridge. In Alaska. I'm cold.
Quick question: I'm looking at replacing the clearance lights too, with LED - have you found any that will retrofit into the existing holes, or are you doing completely new installs? I'm trying to find low profile LED clearance lights that fit the existing format, reason being a light bar mount on a low profile rack. I need to keep things as low as possible too....
SkiFreak
Crazy Person
Are you talking about in floor heating here or a hydronic radiator style heater?
Czechsix
Watching you from a ridge. In Alaska. I'm cold.
Yep, already tried them. They do have low profile LED clearance lights, but I'd have to either fab some new base adaptors, or drill new holes in the cab, neither of which I'm thrilled with doing. Might come down to the adaptor solution though, I'm pretty sure I can do a very thin adaptor plate...but it would be nicer to find an off shelf solution.
1aquaholic
Adventurer
pugslyyy I was thinking the same thing, seems the plate heat exchangers are substantially more efficient if I can find one that has the gpm and low fluid resistance.
Maninga that is exactly right and I would like on demand heat. I'm considering two different ideas right now, one is to build two water tanks one cold and one well insulated hot with and copper coil running through it heated be engine coolant and option to switch to a Webasto heater. The other is a propane tank to run a small on demand system, I'm resistant to have propane but want a bbq also so maybe this is the way to go but not sure. There is a company locally called Sure Marine that is a major distributor of Webasto mostly for marine use but really know their stuff and they make a system that connects to the heater and works off a wall thermostat to reg temp. http://www.suremarineservice.com/PriceLists/T90PRO.pdf
SkiFreak in floor.
Czechsix I'm filling the original mounts and going to use something small between the top of the windshield and the roof drilling new holes.
Maninga that is exactly right and I would like on demand heat. I'm considering two different ideas right now, one is to build two water tanks one cold and one well insulated hot with and copper coil running through it heated be engine coolant and option to switch to a Webasto heater. The other is a propane tank to run a small on demand system, I'm resistant to have propane but want a bbq also so maybe this is the way to go but not sure. There is a company locally called Sure Marine that is a major distributor of Webasto mostly for marine use but really know their stuff and they make a system that connects to the heater and works off a wall thermostat to reg temp. http://www.suremarineservice.com/PriceLists/T90PRO.pdf
SkiFreak in floor.
Czechsix I'm filling the original mounts and going to use something small between the top of the windshield and the roof drilling new holes.
FG Surfari
Adventurer
...personally I spent 5 years behind the wheel of my FG as a daily driver and I never once saw the need for sound deadening.
Very quiet at speed, but that's my opinion, I guess.
Very quiet at speed, but that's my opinion, I guess.
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pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I wouldn't mind having diesel heat instead of propane, but I don't think I would ever move completely away from it - just better for cooking and the only option for grilling. Even at home we cook outdoors on the grill more often than inside (it's right outside the kitchen door so very convenient).