M1088 camper conversion

[chucky]

Momentum gained - side hatch installed:

Passthrough accordion gasket installed:

Took it around the block yesterday and it's fairly stable. The most deflection seems to be from the cab air ride with the box remaining pretty stable on the chassis (or at least appearing to be).

Next project is planning out and building the bathroom/shower layout next- unless something else comes up first.

Looks great ! where did you find the accordion boot at ? Are they very high ?

 

[Third From Texas]

Looks great ! where did you find the accordion boot at ? Are they very high ?

I spoke with these guys a few years ago. Their prices have gone up a little but not much. But price depends on the width of the boot as well as the tunnel circumference):

Accordion Boot Rubber Material Replacement Order by Feet

Order Accordion Boot Replacement Rubber material to seal truck cab to Campers, Toppers and Audio Punchthrough. Sold by feet

www.accordionboot.com

I was thinking of mounting the pass thru tunnel to the frame, then booting each end.

Because, reasons....



*still one of my favorite LMTV pics (not mine)

 

[ckouba]

I spoke with these guys a few years ago. Their prices have gone up a little but not much. But price depends on the width of the boot as well as the tunnel circumference):

Accordion Boot Rubber Material Replacement Order by Feet

Order Accordion Boot Replacement Rubber material to seal truck cab to Campers, Toppers and Audio Punchthrough. Sold by feet

www.accordionboot.com

Yep, that's where I got mine. It's at what I'd call a neutral extension "at rest" and is the 4.5" to 10" version.

Looks awesome !!!

Thanks!

That's one of the reasons I decided to stick with the ridged A1R cab mount. I miss the "cool factor" of the air ride cab, but I really want to have a crawl thru if only for emergency and for the dog to access the cab for overwatch at night). Retrofitting to air ride was just one more project I really don't have the time for, but the added flex was a factor.

I think it depends where you anchor your subframe. Mine is pinned right behind the cab to minimize displacement between the cab and habitat.

I assume that's a standard 1079 box mount, which I thought I read somewhere was pinned at the rear of the frame (but I fully admit I could be wrong). That would explain the displacement when confronted with the terrain they're crossing.

Sorry... lots of edits to make this post look the way I wanted it.

 

[chucky]

I spoke with these guys a few years ago. Their prices have gone up a little but not much. But price depends on the width of the boot as well as the tunnel circumference):

Accordion Boot Rubber Material Replacement Order by Feet

Order Accordion Boot Replacement Rubber material to seal truck cab to Campers, Toppers and Audio Punchthrough. Sold by feet

www.accordionboot.com

I was thinking of mounting the pass thru tunnel to the frame, then booting each end.

Because, reasons....

View attachment 861285

*still one of my favorite LMTV pics (not mine)

THANKS this is everything i needed to know now to get over reservations of cutting the hole !

 

[Third From Texas]

Yep, that's where I got mine. It's at what I'd call a neutral extension "at rest" and is the 4.5" to 10" version.




Thanks!



I think it depends where you anchor your subframe. Mine is pinned right behind the cab to minimize displacement between the cab and habitat.



I assume that's a standard 1079 box mount, which I thought I read somewhere was pinned at the rear of the frame (but I fully admit I could be wrong). That would explain the displacement when confronted with the terrain they're crossing.

Sorry... lots of edits to make this post look the way I wanted it.

Interesting.. I'd never given any thought to swapping the capture springs to the back.

 

[Guruman]

Those seals have me thinking.

It's a lot of time and expense to close the gap between the cargo bed and the cab, moving the spare, air filters, air/hydro etc.. something I'm not sure I have the will to do.

This was eluded to above, but I'm thinking out loud here. A guy might be able to make a stationary "frame" in the middle, and have a compression boot facing the cab (so the cab would still tilt unimpeded), and either a compression or accordion boot facing the box. If you put enough"floor" in the frame you could have a sturdy extra-long tunnel without an actual connection to the cab so flexing and tilting the cab would be no problem.

Now.... if only there were enough actual room in there to build something without moving everything.

 

[Third From Texas]

Those seals have me thinking.

It's a lot of time and expense to close the gap between the cargo bed and the cab, moving the spare, air filters, air/hydro etc.. something I'm not sure I have the will to do.

This was eluded to above, but I'm thinking out loud here. A guy might be able to make a stationary "frame" in the middle, and have a compression boot facing the cab (so the cab would still tilt unimpeded), and either a compression or accordion boot facing the box. If you put enough"floor" in the frame you could have a sturdy extra-long tunnel without an actual connection to the cab so flexing and tilting the cab would be no problem.

Now.... if only there were enough actual room in there to build something without moving everything.

It's been done that way (well, with accordion boots not a compression collar).

And while it's a very limited location and size (see last pic below), you can create a crawl-thru w/o deleting the spare or air cleaner.

 

[ramdough]

Those seals have me thinking.

It's a lot of time and expense to close the gap between the cargo bed and the cab, moving the spare, air filters, air/hydro etc.. something I'm not sure I have the will to do.

This was eluded to above, but I'm thinking out loud here. A guy might be able to make a stationary "frame" in the middle, and have a compression boot facing the cab (so the cab would still tilt unimpeded), and either a compression or accordion boot facing the box. If you put enough"floor" in the frame you could have a sturdy extra-long tunnel without an actual connection to the cab so flexing and tilting the cab would be no problem.

Now.... if only there were enough actual room in there to build something without moving everything.

You can leave the intake where it is and have a crawl through. The tire has to go, the hydraulic pump gets moved down…. But you can do it. The issue is your box has to clear the filter so you may have a notch in the box. That is what I plan to do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ckouba]

I've been off the radar for a few weeks for a couple of reasons- work, travel, waiting on parts... Today, I picked up one of the parts- my water tank. It is a work of art!!

Custom made to perfectly fit the cavity between the frame rails and get me max capacity out of the available space. I cold-called a local company, Pioneer Tank and Vessel (https://pioneervessel.com/, outside of Portland, OR) and they did a fantastic job. Kevin is the owner and worked quite flexibly with me on the project. I brought the truck by for a meet and greet once he had a design drawn up and we walked through it together, making a few minor changes and then he was off to get it fabbed. I can't recommend them enough if you're in need of their services. Very happy with how it turned out!

As an extra surprise, Kevin was also prototyping a method for engine turning the finish and used my top panel to demonstrate. It is an absolute shame and crime that this piece will be buried under my floor. It's stunning!

I didn't take any pics of my own when we put it in the space, but I will when I get back out to it and get them posted. Fits like a glove!

He has a guy who does videos for them and they got some footage from the meet and greet design review. From that, he put together a quick promo video:

Enjoy!

 

[ckouba]

Kevin also just sent me the video they made while building the tank:

 

[ckouba]

A few pics of the tank in position:

And one of (unfortunately) what it looks like after it's in position:

Plumbing to start soon!

 

[chucky]

A few pics of the tank in position:

And one of (unfortunately) what it looks like after it's in position:

Plumbing to start soon!

Is the lug in the side with the brass fitting on it the overflow ?

 

[Mullaney]

A few pics of the tank in position:

And one of (unfortunately) what it looks like after it's in position:

Plumbing to start soon!

.
That is AMAZING! Looks like a perfect fit like you suggested in an earlier post. The top is fine, so what about under the truck? What do you have for clearances down below? No driveshaft or axle flex problems - Right? I mean with all the measuring and fitting that you have done, the answer has to be No Problem but I just have to ask...

 

[ckouba]

.
That is AMAZING! Looks like a perfect fit like you suggested in an earlier post. The top is fine, so what about under the truck? What do you have for clearances down below? No driveshaft or axle flex problems - Right? I mean with all the measuring and fitting that you have done, the answer has to be No Problem but I just have to ask...

You are correct. There are no clearance issues. I don't have any specific pics but the short story is the subframe rail and the base rail of the habitat gave me ~12" of height to play with, and the floor deck gives me another 3" as well. I think the bottom of the structure is slightly below the tops of the frame rails, but even so, there is more clearance between the bottom of the tank supporting structure and the ball joint for the V-links than there is between the axles and the frame rails. For there to be a clearance issue, the axles will have to seriously relocate some of the other chassis components first!

You can kind of see the structure in these pics:

 

[ckouba]

They already published the video from yesterday's tank pick up:

 

[Mullaney]

You are correct. There are no clearance issues. I don't have any specific pics but the short story is the subframe rail and the base rail of the habitat gave me ~12" of height to play with, and the floor deck gives me another 3" as well. I think the bottom of the structure is slightly below the tops of the frame rails, but even so, there is more clearance between the bottom of the tank supporting structure and the ball joint for the V-links than there is between the axles and the frame rails. For there to be a clearance issue, the axles will have to seriously relocate some of the other chassis components first!

You can kind of see the structure in these pics:

.
Looking good!! Mighty Fine!

I remember seeing all that space back early in your build process (now that you reminded us with pictures).
Heck of a good idea to have that space available for sure!
Even better that clearance under the tank is NOT going to be a problem.

 

[ckouba]

Is the lug in the side with the brass fitting on it the overflow ?

Sorry Chucky, missed your post... Those are the water fill and the air vent ports. I need to create the channel for the plumbing to access it, but that's where it will enter the tank. I think I will also have a pressurized service connection somewhere as well.

 

[chucky]

Sorry Chucky, missed your post... Those are the water fill and the air vent ports. I need to create the channel for the plumbing to access it, but that's where it will enter the tank. I think I will also have a pressurized service connection somewhere as well.

So i guess i just saw 1 port in the picture but you will fill there and when the tank is full it will push water out the overflow to the ground to show your full ?

 

[ckouba]

Water will back up in the filler neck when full, or push out the air vent. I don't have an overflow built in. The three other rv's I've had have all been that way.

 

[GENX]

...... I think I will also have a pressurized service connection somewhere as well.

Good looking build my friend. Are you planning on utilizing air to move the water? Or what did you mean by pressurized service connection?