No ac in cab yet. One good thing is the motor is behind the cab which helps, but i was hoping to get some sort of roof top unit that would fit below the rack. I have the newer computerized 2 cylinder gas Generac 4500 which is ok(not the best on the market) but i would have liked to get a nice diesel but they sure are spendy. I have a ac, microwave, tele, marine batteries etc in the living that the gen supports. Also waiting on Solar- plenty of space on the roof of the toyhauler and i would want it before Baja as well as a desalinization watermaker.
Some of the tubes are 2x3 and some 2x2 pretty heavy gauge with no cracks at all in the tubing. The probleme i had with the rack at first was welds between the rack itself and the supports which i did away with and put rubber mounting pads inbetween and bolted them through- no problems now!
The best way to mount the box would ve been a 3 point kinetic mounting system like most of the spendy rigs, and air bags might work also, but i ended up welding and bolting it to the existing 20' bed i had. The existing bed is pretty rigid so it prevents twisting to the toyhauler frame itself which would have been twisted to bits without the bed underneath. The bed with the box on top does get some independent movement above the chasis, but not nearly as much as if you had the 3 point system(much better but about 10 times the cost).
Dont have many build photos, but after lots of planning and thinking we built it in about 2 weeks- the tricky part was keeping it low enough to be under the 13' 6 inch height so we torched a space in part of the bed to let the water tank sit down into it (because it hung down below the frame of the toyhauler) as well as taking out the gery and black tanks that hung down also. Put the tanks in the steel rectangular gear box that came on the bed and mounted it on passenger side just behind battery box/air tanks. Insulated as well as installed both 12v and 110 v heating elements on holding and fresh water tanks. Had to take off the stock ac on roof because of height and replaced with fantastic fan and a portable ac inside that vents out a window. Height came out at 13'3inches. I have a good chainsaw if absolutly necessary for big branches. Lots of scrapes from smaller branches but just cosmetic. My wife loves when i put new scrapes down the sides!
Well the whole thing was pretty much in my head with some basic sketches- the first was the chasis which i thought of many, but i wanted something big enough to have a garage so i would not have to trailer gear.Also the garage keeps everything out of sight as well as well as protected from elements and dirt. 6x6 was the smallest i thought of but most had big hoods which makes it hard to see what your running over. Unimogs were too short although a modified one into a 6x6 may have worked. I looked at Tatra8x8 which are better then hemtts for many reasons but czech parts would probably be hard to come by and Man 8x8 would be another good choice but import and parts were somewhat of a issue. So good old us steel with the detroit and allison were the ticket and with only 10,000 miles on it, the hemtt was a good start.
After deciding not to go with a pro build with one of the expedition vehicle builders because of expense, my mind started turning and decided to mod a toyhauler onto the chasis. Most toyhaulers were stick and tin and too tall, but after lots of looking i found the roadmaster predator which is a steel cage and were originally designed for cargo so much beefier. It also had a lower profile which got me under the height limit. The hauler is 25 ft. of which 10 ft is the garage and the other 15 is living a/kitchen and bathroomwith seperate shower. The slideout helps alot for space the couch area wich is a pullout for guests.
25 feet was a little longer then i wanted because of the hangover in the back but since it is 6 feet off the ground i have not had much problem with departure angle. Also the gas tank for the hauler fuel station was backthere and hangs below the frame of the hauler so that extra overhang was needed especially since any furthur forward on the chasis would make it difficult to pull the trainy.
So actually after we got it on there with a crane, we set up the gen set and had to reduce the 24 volt hemtt electric to 12 volt for the hauler lights to work with the truck as well as charge living batteries while under way. Built a small bumper to make it legal in the back so nobody would rear end me and take it in the windsheild. The bumper flips up as to not restrict departure angle and can be latched up for backcountry. The last thing was diamond plate to mesh the hauler to the truck as well as beef up under the overhang in the back. The rack also came at the end and at first was somewhat of a cluster with too much plating and bad over all design, but i have fixed that as stated above.
Well beyond that just some propane rigging and misc mods to get to where we are today as well as recent black paint on the cab. I know alot of the guys on the site only like drab green or camo to keep it military, but with the toyhauler on the back i think i blew my cover. Alot of people think it s black ops or dea- pretty amusing! Well good thing it was a rainy night downhere in Patagonia or i never would have gotten that all out! G
