Inspiration for buying/modding my deuce (see pic)

[montaillou]

I want to go here:

 

[marchplumber]

I want to go here:

View attachment 760087

Ok, should be do-able. Fuel. Inner-tubes. Tires. Welder. Water (LOTS of WATER) Supplies. Large limit credit card.

Definitely do-able.

GOOD LUCK!!

What mods are you looking to do, to your truck. How ya getting it there? How ya getting it back?

ENJOY!!

 

[montaillou]

I am (not in order):

1)Rebuilding the cab to strengthen it and make it taller
2)Putting a roof rack on top of the cab capable of holding 1k lbs (see above) - when I go off road, I plan mostly on carrying water cans
3)Installing tandem 12v system (alternator, 3rd battery) to run electronics in the cab, other stuff
4)Putting HVAC system on with 2 zones, one for cab, one for camper
5)putting 81 gal m939 fuel tank on driver's side
6)building a custom camper in the bed, pushed back 17 inches over the drop gate - the gap will give me room to store a spare tire (I have super singles), and some tools & stuff
a)camper will have 2 solar panels and retractable wind generation as well as a battery (something like Tesla's home battery)
b)camper will probably also have another fuel storage tank (probably something in the 75 gal range) as well as grey & clean water tanks. I am looking at waterless toilets, so no black water.
7)a horizontal motorcycle rack attached, perpendicular, to the square hitch with my Suzuki Savage 650 riding on it - not strictly for the outback of Australia, more for parking the deuce and getting around towns/cities.

Various other mods I'm putting on not directly related but just to make the truck a little more reliable, safer and a better drive.

I've got a guy working on #'s 1 & 2 right now. I've ordered the parts for #'s 3 & 5, been making inquiries concerning #4 (spoken to Red Dot, other Google searches). Thinking about the design for #6 and how I'm gonna skin it (considering these panels). I want to stay under 5000 lbs. I've seen a few different models for #7 - I will get something far beefier than I need.
​

As to getting it there, well, Baltimore to England is about $4k, so I might do that and drive/ferry it there - still looking into this, I'll get more into this part when the camper starts taking shape. If I ship direct from the US, I figure it's probably gonna run ~$7k. Or maybe I'll go up to AK, ship to JPN and work my way south.

First plan is to drive around the US and see how that goes, if it all goes great, I'll take it to other continents. Oh, and I'm planning on bringing my pets along as well, and that's a whole other logistics issue.

Right now, the timeline is to leave in fall/winter 2020 or early 2021 and drive to the American southwest/south. Not sure if I'll drive east and catch a ship to Europe or drive north to Canada, AK and ship to RUS and head south. I know I can't drive across China. It might just come down to which country has the most lax policies on bringing in pets (Japan, for instance, has a 30 day quarantine).

If everything goes perfectly I'll probably be gone 18 months, and y'know, if I break down in Macedonia and I can't fix it, well, I'll just head home.

Probably a good 20 things between now and then (truck stuff and non-truck stuff) could go wrong to derail this plan, but I'm working towards making it a reality - at least the US part of the plan. And if anyone's wondering, no, I'm not rich, but I have enough money (I think) to make this work.

edit: Last few nights I've spend a few hours looking at options. Found an electric HVAC unit that looks promising.

​

 

[rustystud]

I am (not in order):

1)Rebuilding the cab to strengthen it and make it taller
2)Putting a roof rack on top of the cab capable of holding 1k lbs (see above) - when I go off road, I plan mostly on carrying water cans
3)Installing tandem 12v system (alternator, 3rd battery) to run electronics in the cab, other stuff
4)Putting HVAC system on with 2 zones, one for cab, one for camper
5)putting 81 gal m939 fuel tank on driver's side
6)building a custom camper in the bed, pushed back 17 inches over the drop gate - the gap will give me room to store a spare tire (I have super singles), and some tools & stuff
a)camper will have 2 solar panels and retractable wind generation as well as a battery (something like Tesla's home battery)
b)camper will probably also have another fuel storage tank (probably something in the 75 gal range) as well as grey & clean water tanks. I am looking at waterless toilets, so no black water.
7)a horizontal motorcycle rack attached, perpendicular, to the square hitch with my Suzuki Savage 650 riding on it - not strictly for the outback of Australia, more for parking the deuce and getting around towns/cities.

Various other mods I'm putting on not directly related but just to make the truck a little more reliable, safer and a better drive.

I've got a guy working on #'s 1 & 2 right now. I've ordered the parts for #'s 3 & 5, been making inquiries concerning #4 (spoken to Red Dot, other Google searches). Thinking about the design for #6 and how I'm gonna skin it (considering these panels). I want to stay under 5000 lbs. I've seen a few different models for #7 - I will get something far beefier than I need.
​

As to getting it there, well, Baltimore to England is about $4k, so I might do that and drive/ferry it there - still looking into this, I'll get more into this part when the camper starts taking shape. If I ship direct from the US, I figure it's probably gonna run ~$7k. Or maybe I'll go up to AK, ship to JPN and work my way south.

First plan is to drive around the US and see how that goes, if it all goes great, I'll take it to other continents. Oh, and I'm planning on bringing my pets along as well, and that's a whole other logistics issue.

Right now, the timeline is to leave in fall/winter 2020 or early 2021 and drive to the American southwest/south. Not sure if I'll drive east and catch a ship to Europe or drive north to Canada, AK and ship to RUS and head south. I know I can't drive across China. It might just come down to which country has the most lax policies on bringing in pets (Japan, for instance, has a 30 day quarantine).

If everything goes perfectly I'll probably be gone 18 months, and y'know, if I break down in Macedonia and I can't fix it, well, I'll just head home.

Probably a good 20 things between now and then (truck stuff and non-truck stuff) could go wrong to derail this plan, but I'm working towards making it a reality - at least the US part of the plan. And if anyone's wondering, no, I'm not rich, but I have enough money (I think) to make this work.

edit: Last few nights I've spend a few hours looking at options. Found an electric HVAC unit that looks promising.

​

Sounds fun ! Better to do it now while your still young and healthy enough to handle it.

 

[77 AMG]

If you are wanting to go with an electrical HVAC unit, I suggest that you consider the ones that are available on the newer Semi tractors. FULLY SELF contained, heat AND A/C, battery operated (4 DEEP cycles) recharge while you are driving/ idling, and work quite well in places like Southern Texas in the summer, and lower Great Lakes areas during the winter, all though, personally, I still high idled the engine to keep it warm in the stupid cold temps. International Trucks offers them, as do the newer Freightliners.