I have scoured the web and still cant find a complete answer. I am looking to see what the largest habitat I can fit to stay under 30ft. I read somewhere that relocating the spare can gain about 14". Lets say we are not worried about departure angle and just the box length.
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Largest Box on 1083/1088
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If you have dimensions of the bed, you can use that as a starting point.
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Everybody has an opinion - and not being concerned about "departure angle" will bring on it's own discussion. You could start with a pre-made steel box kinda like @chucky did on his build. Then if you can weld, you can fix the departure angle...
A 20ft Container might do well for you.
At this moment, my idea is to reinforce an existing trailer on a torsion frame. Beat the you know what out of it for some time and see what happens. Right now I have young kids, one in school and since we dont have a ton a free time, this rig is for exploring when we can. Im not looking to drive to Alaska.
Thats the beauty of this stuff you work at your pace with your skills its not a race but could be a great family project and if not in a hurry thing will just fall in your lap for cheap ! The most of my build stuff i had been collecting for some time so when i retired i just went out in the driveway and started glueing it together ! i dont know which part of cali your in but a weath of stuff can be found in rv scrapyards or scrapyards in general
No you are 100% correct, I just don't feel like I have the energy to build another cabinet let alone a whole habitat after building out my entire house.lol Last summer i rebuilt an entire lance cab over, it was easy and didnt blow the bank.
Thats today but next month or the next month you will get the itch and each build/project gets better and better and youve got good help there wasting away lol so give you all something constructive to achieve !
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I would caution against any overhang, personally.
Overhangs greatly impact turning ability and can negatively impact departure angles.
I did all the maths for the 939 series in its different flavors (923, 931, and 934), and not in one case did the extra length offset the negatives involved (in my opinion).
I saw someone put a 20' connex (or was in an M934 box?) on an M923 and I wanted to slap him... distance from the rear frame to the rear of the connex was like 6ft or something insane like that... Just.. no.
A foot? Sure. No big deal. But 6? Insane.
Overhangs greatly impact turning ability and can negatively impact departure angles.
I did all the maths for the 939 series in its different flavors (923, 931, and 934), and not in one case did the extra length offset the negatives involved (in my opinion).
I saw someone put a 20' connex (or was in an M934 box?) on an M923 and I wanted to slap him... distance from the rear frame to the rear of the connex was like 6ft or something insane like that... Just.. no.
A foot? Sure. No big deal. But 6? Insane.
ok but what would actually fit a ft behind the rear? Even the standard 14ft bed hits the end. My wife and I want to kill each other in our 16ft cab over camper.
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Moving the spare, reconfiguring the intake, moving the ABS and LDBC (if installed), relocating the air over hydraulic controls and toolbox gains about 14".
I agree on limiting the overhang to the least you can. Just the other day my wife and I watched from 4 fuel pumps away as a guy pulled away while turning: dragging his rear overhang against a bollard protecting the pump. Fortunately he stopped before slipping off and tearing the pump from its mounts. He had had a nice looking rig until adding the 'custom' body work.
You'll find the right balance for your use case—
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A one time ship connex box would be my choice. A great positive with moving the spare tire is you could fab up a pass through from the cab to the box. The spare tire is a real problem and I'm not sure where I would put the damn thing. Please keep up updated as to the progress.
Mark
Mark
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Back in the early 90s I built a 20' connex box mobile work shop/camper that was shippable anywhere in the world. I maintained a German made Ocean deployment power and fiber optic cable laying machine (panzer tank tracks and all. This was for the Dept. Of the Navy and AT&T. This machine was capable of deploying cable anywhere from 6" to 1.5' and put out over 30k of torque.
So I needed the connex box for support. I found the best way to setup sleeping accommodations was wall hanging racks that were pivoted down and supported by chains. This worked so well and used up almost no floor space. Made a metal box on the side of the box accessible from the outside for a genset. Another box held a 8k btu ac unit. I would highly recommend insulating the roof from the inside as in the sun cooks the box.
Mark
So I needed the connex box for support. I found the best way to setup sleeping accommodations was wall hanging racks that were pivoted down and supported by chains. This worked so well and used up almost no floor space. Made a metal box on the side of the box accessible from the outside for a genset. Another box held a 8k btu ac unit. I would highly recommend insulating the roof from the inside as in the sun cooks the box.
Mark
bluesteel01
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Anything between 14'-20' depending on how much overhand you are comfortable with provided you remove/ relocate the spare and auxiliaries
The hab I built is ~23' long at the top, resulting in about 7' of overhang from the rear of the aft tire and 12' from the rear axles
actual pivot point.
It's definitely a double-edged sword: I LOVE the space but I am very cautious when maneuvering. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but works for me. If you're comfortable driving a rig this size, it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment and I haven't found it overly limiting. In my use case, this vehicle is taking the place of a coach, so in that respect it's still more maneuverable than a 35-40' rig.
Full build thread is in my sig.
actual pivot point.
It's definitely a double-edged sword: I LOVE the space but I am very cautious when maneuvering. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but works for me. If you're comfortable driving a rig this size, it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment and I haven't found it overly limiting. In my use case, this vehicle is taking the place of a coach, so in that respect it's still more maneuverable than a 35-40' rig.
Full build thread is in my sig.
I will, I havnt picked up the truck yet. I'm more of a planner and when I get at it i go all out. Real issues here.lol
The hab I built is ~23' long at the top, resulting in about 7' of overhang from the rear of the aft tire and 12' from the rear axles
actual pivot point.
It's definitely a double-edged sword: I LOVE the space but I am very cautious when maneuvering. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but works for me. If you're comfortable driving a rig this size, it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment and I haven't found it overly limiting. In my use case, this vehicle is taking the place of a coach, so in that respect it's still more maneuverable than a 35-40' rig.
Full build thread is in my sig.
I have actually read your build a few times, awesome work! Can I ask, what did that habitat cost you up to this point?The hab I built is ~23' long at the top, resulting in about 7' of overhang from the rear of the aft tire and 12' from the rear axles
actual pivot point.
It's definitely a double-edged sword: I LOVE the space but I am very cautious when maneuvering. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but works for me. If you're comfortable driving a rig this size, it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment and I haven't found it overly limiting. In my use case, this vehicle is taking the place of a coach, so in that respect it's still more maneuverable than a 35-40' rig.
Full build thread is in my sig.
Thanks. It's been a long road but I have enjoyed it so far, and now that we're getting to use it too... It's awesome!
You can ask, but I won't have much of an answer- but not because of any secrets or the like. I haven't been tallying up the damage and have just been building it as life allows- both financially and time-wise. You'd probably be better off pricing steel locally, and then whatever qty of the insulation you'll need along with desired outer skin. After that, the cost will vary wildly based on what you want to put in it. Your goals and build objectives may be different than mine and would eat up a budget differently.
Part of me also doesn't really want to know.
How far away in CA are you? You'd be welcome to come take a look. We're just south of Portland.
I'm located in Sacramento, pretty far from you, but i appreciate the offer. My folks live down by cottage grove.
I actually just came across this supposedly all fiberglass trailer, pretty interesting:
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