Soliciting thoughts, considering building my own rig.

Plan on it costing you 100 times more than buying a nice used one. Just saying.

40+ feet, and it will prohibit you from camping in any National Parks. Also staying places like Quartzsite long term visitor areas are out of the question for a commercial rig. As for campgrounds, they will not want to see a used moving van pull in. Many have restrictions for overweight vehicles as well. Anything with a 14,000 pound capacity front axle can smash right through the thin pavement of a typical campground. Usually they like to limit loads to 8,000 pounds front axle and 15,000 pounds rear axle.

I also think that a well planned out conversion of a fifth wheel would work, except for the part about putting a Jeep inside. Perhaps a "Smart Electric" car would work as well? They can be carried with most toyhaulers.

If you want something custom, New Horizons will build just about anything. Yes they are expensive, but designed to last a really long time. Heavy! Yes. And you would want to tow it with something like a Freightliner or buy a used Volvo and remove the center axle, changing it to a housecar, and it will still have a 40,000+ towing capacity!

You might want to get in touch with Escapees.com THey have several RV parks around the country that have reasonable sized campsites, (30' wide and 50 - 60 feet long is typical). You can buy into some of the parks, and stay as long as you desire, then allow the property to go into the 'rental pool' where the campground keeps the rent money in exchange for lower dues to maintain the RV park (roads and administration costs). You can rent a site for a reasonable amount - say $18 a night + electric at only around $0.16 per KW (or what the locals charge the park).

I can boondock for upwards of 3 weeks and have a 100 gallon fresh water tank, 42 grey and 59 black. I do sometimes water the local vegetation with the grey water, and bury the hole at night, so I do not attract flies.

My buddy that converted a MCI bus has a 100 gallon grey tank sitting above his 100 gallon black tank. In this way, he can dump some or all of the grey water, or dump the black, then use the grey water to rinse and dump through the black water tank. Also if dry camping for say 3 weeks, he can dump some of the grey into the black tank - to gain more grey water tank space. I think his fresh water is a stainless 150 gallon tank! He was considering removing the tag axle, and installing a pair of 150 gallon fuel tanks in that space. He only needs the two axles for his GVW. His bus has a 8V92 - that is 92 cubic inches per cylinder! and V8 two stroke diesel. It makes something like 500 HP but can be programmed for more HP if desired.

Solar cells? I have a 400 watt system, and it makes 'plenty' of power for me. I don't have a all electric refrigerator. I have heard that the Samsung is a great brand while running from a inverter, as the compressor is most efficient. I would not have a auto ice maker, as I would rather make my own ice from fresh water, not the tank. Also the 300 watt electric heater that is on while harvesting the ice produces a lot of heat inside the freezer, and consumes a lot of energy overall!

You probably will need about 8 golf cart batteries for a all electric coach, not running gas refrigerator, and minimum of 800 watts of solar. You will need to decide between 24 and 12 volts battery system. The inverters work much more efficiently on 24 volts, or even 48 volts. My new home will include a 48 volt 8 KW Outback inverter to support life critical systems (oxygen generator, CPAP, ect). The 8 KW can run any normal appliances, including the ductless A/C you speak of. Normally ductless units are very energy efficient. However the drip pan is not all that deep, so driving, it might start to drip water, until it all reaches the drain line. If parked off-level, it might become a water drip problem, but otherwise will work fine off level. You might consider a axillary drip pan, or a 'cartridge ductless' design, or a ducted design with the same type ductless outside unit that is inverter controlled, and super energy efficient!

So if you plan on being all electric and mostly run on solar, consider a 200 amp hour 48 volt battery bank (8 X 6 volt batteries in series) to store about 9.6 KW of power. You would also need a pair of golf cart batteries for a 12 volt system too, to run the lights, water pump, and accessories.

A solar system for each bank of batteries would be required. If you run the inverter on 24 volts, you can pick only 4 batteries, (67 pounds each) and only 4.8 KW storage, or go with 8 batteries, and much longer battery life. Double the voltage, and for a given wattage, amperage is 1/2. To run a 800 watt load on a 12 volt inverter is 80 amps, 40 amps at 24 volts and only 20 amps at 48 volts. So much smaller wire size is practical with the higher battery voltage. I would see 150 amps going out of my batteries when running my microwave via my Trace 1500 watt 12 volt inverter. IT is a lot of power and required size 000 wire, about the diameter of my thumb.

SunElec.com

Tank-Depot.com

Have fun planning and then camping!

Fred.

You are willing to spend 3 to 5 years building this rig?

You are willing to spend premium prices for all components, to end up paying extra?

You are willing to be locked out of many commercial RV parks, TT, NACO that your father loved? They won't allow homemade rigs in most of them.

Many of the Escapees Co-ops have 40' rig limits, especially in the west.

The rig will be too long and heavy for real remote boondocking.

Building your own sounds like a lot of fun and a way to save money, but unless you can devote yourself full-time to the construction, it isn't.

You can find used units for good prices you can convert - much easier, much faster and for a lot less money in the long run.

Hi,

48 feet is too long.

The skill sets required to transform a moving van into an RV are many. Few people have all the tools needed.

Costs of materials will be retail rather than wholesale.

Full timing in an industrial park would be a different way to see the country.

This sounds like a very interesting and fun project but for all of the reasons stated above it is impractical. A bus conversion like Golden HVAC's buddy has would meet most of your criteria but still fit the mold of a standard RV allowing you access to RV parks. But if you do decide to use a moving van please keep us updated on your conversion work!

I'll hold off responding until OP makes a reply.

I think a 5th wheel toyhauler would be much better suited to your needs, for all the reasons listed above. You can modify and upgrade to your heart's content. As long as you maintain it, it will last a long time. Look for one that's 2-4 years old and well maintained. You will likely need to replace tires, add batteries, add solar if desired. But that will be much better than starting from scratch.

With a 5th wheel you can drop the trailer and drive the tow vehicle, you might not even want or need the toyhauler space.

Listen to Golden HVAC. He knows whereof he speaks.

Have you looked in to some of the really cool expedition vehicles that are made specifically for overlanding? Go to Overland or Overlanding Magazine and take a look. These are quite common in Europe and will fit and are accepted at all campgrounds as far as I know.

Just another suggestion.

4X4Dodger wrote:
Have you looked in to some of the really cool expedition vehicles that are made specifically for overlanding? Go to Overland or Overlanding Magazine and take a look. These are quite common in Europe and will fit and are accepted at all campgrounds as far as I know.

Just another suggestion.

Then there was the guy who bought a used fire truck, sold the ladder section for more than he paid for the used truck, and then converted the basic chassis to a large motorhome. It also had a 8V92 engine, and heavy duty 3 axle design. I suppose he could have installed a rear garage over the back axles, and carried a Jeep if desired, and a smaller bedroom above the garage area.

A used 1970's era fire truck normally will only have around 80,000 original miles, as they normally do not see a lot of daily mileage, yet are built on a chassis designed with components that normally sees over the road use of 100,000 miles a year! Yet I wonder if this design would be prohibited from many RV parks, due to it's size and not looking like a typical camper. And the owners reported a 'tin can' problem when they are parked on a beach, or near a trailhead. People would walk by and start knocking on the walls, say "Yes it's real, and probably someone is inside!

Fred.