Anyone put a camper on the back of a 7T MTVR?

[10isBestmm]

Who's made a camper out of the 7 Ton?

Was thinking of just removing the axle off a camper trailer, Putting a custom container or building it up from there, or
building a the trailer by hand.

Any pics of your setups?

 

[MTVR]

We just took delivery of our MTVR today. We are planning to install a 20-foot shipping container on the back and build it out into an overland expedition vehicle:

Our MTVR camper:

Greetings. We just purchased an MTVR from GP. The vehicle is a 2007, indicating 3,443 miles and 216 hours. I spent hours scouring the Inspection Reports and photos, and tried to pick the nicest one. The only material defect listed in the inspection report, is that the CTIS is flashing. I have an...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[10isBestmm]

What will you do for the extra 6' hanging off the end? Beds only 14 foot? Cut it down?

 

[MTVR]

What will you do for the extra 6' hanging off the end? Beds only 14 foot? Cut it down?

My wife and I are currently in negotiations on that subject.

Containers can be cut and rewelded to any length.

The MTVR is plenty tall enough to handle the rear overhang without materially effecting the departure angle.

...and we're exploring scooting the container further forward, closer to the cab, especially if the intake and exhaust stacks are relocated and/or sectioned into the front of the container...

 

[MTVR]

It appears that a standard 8'6" container would make the truck higher than the legal limits, so we're looking into other options...

 

[Kbarnes0]

What is the bed height, and what is the frame height on these trucks? Maybe an option to use the container is by cutting the floor out and make it to the max height. Then you could notch the front of the can to go over the cab for storage and have roughly three feet off the rear.

 

[MTVR]

What is the bed height, and what is the frame height on these trucks? Maybe an option to use the container is by cutting the floor out and make it to the max height.

This is an option that we are considering...

 

[Nomadic]

The bed height is 66 1/2". https://steelsoldiers.com/threads/help-with-dimensions-please.194232/#post-2270201

 

[MTVR]

Yeah, I'm measuring about 5'6", and all four corners of the rear suspension are topped out on the rebound bump stops.

I'm wondering how much sag I'll get with 10,000 pounds in the bed...

 

[Nomadic]

Not sure about the squat for 10k lbs. If I did the math right, the container would be 1" too high. Would removing a leaf spring from each side lower it enough? If you wanted anything on top of the container that may be a problem. For air-conditioning a split-systems would allow mounting on a side of the container instead of the top. But if you want solar panels, a fantastic fan vent, etc that may put the height over 13'6" (assuming that is max height).

 

[Kbarnes0]

Looking at the frame without the bed, it looks like it isn't much taller than the tires. Removing the bed and maybe the container could go on the frame to get the extra height

Then a couple wheel well arches in the lower rail on the container.

How much travel height does the have suspension have? With it being independent suspension I wonder how much frame flex is when articulating front to rear. I've seen a lot of expedition trucks have the pivoting mounts for the box. Pretty sure with a container you would be fine to mount straight to the frame.

 

[JCoop]

I believe there is 12.5” of suspension travel on rear. We removed the bed and built our new bed with 8” of clearance above tires. After loading the truck with the 2,000 gallons of water there is now 3.5” of clearance. First trip off road all 4 tires rubbed under box. To prevent that from continuing to happen we built suspension stops to go below the rubber bumpers. Bolted right up to lower a-arms.

 

[simp5782]

Any squat of the rear can be compensated with hydraulics like the MK31 uses

 

[MTVR]

I believe there is 12.5” of suspension travel on rear. We removed the bed and built our new bed with 8” of clearance above tires. After loading the truck with the 2,000 gallons of water there is now 3.5” of clearance. First trip off road all 4 tires rubbed under box. To prevent that from continuing to happen we built suspension stops to go below the rubber bumpers. Bolted right up to lower a-arms.

That sounds like about 3,700 pounds per inch. At that rate, we'd get a little over 2-1/2" or so of sag.

 

[Navy dude]

That sounds like about 3,700 pounds per inch. At that rate, we'd get a little over 2-1/2" or so of sag.

I think the squat might not be linear, maybe get more of it early on as it loads up.

 

[MTVR]

I think the squat might not be linear, maybe get more of it early on as it loads up.

The springs appear to be straight rate, and there is no progressive linkage. It should be linear.

 

[Navy dude]

Gotcha, I suppose you could slap some weight on and see what it does. I plan on doing the same thing, put on a camper box. I was thinking about a custom chipper body box, but I keep the truck in a hangar and don’t want to exceed the height of the exhaust stack which is about 12 feet high. That is not going to give me much ceiling height (barely 6 feet once finished). Another option would be to remove the bed but not sure if I want to go that route. I’ll have to price it out but not gonna be cheap any way I look at it.

 

[MTVR]

We are right there with you.

We are considering all options at this point. One of my brothers suggested cutting away the bed, leaving the torsion-free under structure to mount the box to, doing away with the storage "trunk" and giving us the ability to mount the box lower on the vehicle, to the point of even cutting wheelwells up into the sides of the box over the wheels.

We're also looking into using a dry van box (like off a U-Haul rental truck). The ones we've looked at are not as tall as a standard container.

Another option that we're looking at is simply building it like...a building, out of wood, which would give us total control over the dimensions of the box. That would make insulation and windows/doors simpler too. We'd just need to make sure that we seal it well, to keep water out of the wood.

 

[Navy dude]

We are right there with you.

We are considering all options at this point. One of my brothers suggested cutting away the bed, leaving the torsion-free under structure to mount the box to, doing away with the storage "trunk" and giving us the ability to mount the box lower on the vehicle, to the point of even cutting wheelwells up into the sides of the box over the wheels.

We're also looking into using a dry van box (like off a U-Haul rental truck). The ones we've looked at are not as tall as a standard container.

Another option that we're looking at is simply building it like...a building, out of wood, which would give us total control over the dimensions of the box. That would make insulation and windows/doors simpler too. We'd just need to make sure that we seal it well, to keep water out of the wood.

Yeah, going to take some thought. The forward fixed cargo stop "braces" pinch in a couple of inches, so a box exactly as wide as the bed cant slide all the way forward without some type of notch off the bottom front. If the forward stop is cut off, the box can slide forward but limited by exhaust, intake, etc and I don't think I want to relocate all that. It sure would be nice to have a pass through from the cab to the box but not sure about flex and modifying the cab. Keep your thoughts coming, I'm going to take my time trying to figure out the best plan.

 

[MTVR]

Yeah, going to take some thought. The forward fixed cargo stop "braces" pinch in a couple of inches, so a box exactly as wide as the bed cant slide all the way forward without some type of notch off the bottom front. If the forward stop is cut off, the box can slide forward but limited by exhaust, intake, etc and I don't think I want to relocate all that. It sure would be nice to have a pass through from the cab to the box but not sure about flex and modifying the cab. Keep your thoughts coming, I'm going to take my time trying to figure out the best plan.

That is so funny- my wife and I are going through all the same things, to include the idea of relocating the intake and exhaust for a pass-through.

The idea that we are working right now, does not involve doing that, but does involve cutting off the short vertical wall at the front of the bed.

Once the Jerry can mount was removed, the platform between the cab and bed appeared very inviting.

So we are looking at some aluminum scissor steps made by Brophy, that could be moved back and forth between two mounting brackets, one under the driver's door, and one under the platform between the cab and bed, so that our dog can access either.

We are considering making our "front door" on the front of the box, so that we would be able to step out our front door onto the platform, and then either enter the cab through the driver's door without descending to the ground, or use the Brophy stairs to reach the ground. Even when the stairs are not in place, we can still swing around and use the cab steps on the driver's side.

When the stairs are not in use, the only thing visible would be the two mounting brackets, and we would spray them to match the CARC camo.

Hope I explained that well...