Our MTVR camper:

[MTVR]

Our turn signals work, but then our truck only has about 3,000 miles on it...

 

[MTVR]

Cut the front off the bed today, leaving us a platform to build our home on...

 

[10isBestmm]

Cut the front off the bed today, leaving us a platform to build our home on...View attachment 800386View attachment 800387

I feel Happy, but yet sad inside.
How much more room are you able to clear with the space between the bed and trailer without further mods?

 

[MTVR]

I feel Happy, but yet sad inside.
How much more room are you able to clear with the space between the bed and trailer without further mods?

That's not why we cut it off. The door on our box is going to be on the front. Our box is going to overhang the front of the bed just enough to deter rain water from running down the front and getting between the bed and the box.

The platform between the cab and box is going to be our front porch. Our generator, propane tank, and the outside unit of our mini-split A/C heat pump, are all going to be located at the right side, behind and beside the exhaust stack and intake snorkel. And our steps will be at the left end of the platform...

 

[Cklreed]

Hey boss, as I think you are the most knowledgeable person I have encountered on the MTVR platform and we have similar plans for the truck, I was wondering if I could ask a couple of quick questions.

1. I was told to buy an 07’ or newer truck due to upgrades in some of the components but they weren’t sure what components were upgraded. Do you happen to know what was upgraded? My budget isn’t robust and I wanted to make sure that I am starting with the best truck possible as I plan on this being in my family for generations.

2. How is the progress coming on your build? I always enjoy reading your updates on what has been accomplished but I haven’t seen any recently. Did you decide on box size? pass-through? I was concerned with the height maximum as I would like to have a cab over for a queen sized bed but wanted to keep the height under 13ft to ensure I left room for solar panels.

3. I was planning on re-routing the exhaust/snorkel and extending the cab to make it a “crew cab” with parallel bench seats running perpendicular to the centerline of the truck. That should afford seating for six (family of five). I would add a table that extends/retracts from the floor or ceiling to providing a secondary function for dining (rotating captains chairs for the front seat).

Have you decided if/how you will be moving the stacks? While moving the snorkel and exhaust seems like it would be simple, I have found that reality and my academic approach in planning don’t always align

Thank you for your time and I hope that you and your wife have an amazing day!

Note: I particularly enjoyed your story of picking up the Mrs. BMW. After this build I plan on building a functional 20ft shipping container home, having it shipped to Spain/Portugal, and touring Europe with the family for a summer in 4-5 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MTVR]

We got a little good news- GovPlanet has processed our California state sales tax refund, and is mailing us a check for $1,325.25...

 

[MTVR]

Hey boss, as I think you are the most knowledgeable person I have encountered on the MTVR platform...

Ah, no- I'm only a step or two ahead of you in the process. Numerous other (and smarter) members here have been helping to point me in the right direction.

...and we have similar plans for the truck, I was wondering if I could ask a couple of quick questions.

1. I was told to buy an 07’ or newer truck due to upgrades in some of the components but they weren’t sure what components were upgraded. Do you happen to know what was upgraded? My budget isn’t robust and I wanted to make sure that I am starting with the best truck possible as I plan on this being in my family for generations.

They are all very similar.

I believe the '06 and newer trucks all come with air-conditioning. There are A/C kits to install A/C on the older trucks, but they are expensive and rare.

Keep in mind that diesel emissions systems made significant advances in 2008, so if you buy a 2008 or newer vehicle without these systems, you may have trouble registering it.

2. How is the progress coming on your build? I always enjoy reading your updates on what has been accomplished but I haven’t seen any recently.

The truck is just about ready to accept the box.

We are getting ready to order dual-pane windows and an insulated door. After that, we will order our lumber.

Did you decide on box size?

Approximately 8 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 16 feet long. That should make our height and width legal in all 50 states.

...pass-through?

No. We're gonna put our door on the front, and use the platform behind the cab as our front porch. We will have collapsible aluminum stairs on the left side, for our dog to be able to access the platform, and we will have a second bracket beneath the driver's door to be able to move the stairs over to allow our dog to access the cab.

I was concerned with the height maximum as I would like to have a cab over for a queen sized bed but wanted to keep the height under 13ft to ensure I left room for solar panels.

How does the machinegun hatch over the passenger seat(s) figure into that?

We're gonna be pushing the limits, just about 13'6" (including solar). Keep in mind that the suspension will compress about 1" for every 3,700 pounds of weight. We're gonna need every inch we can get.

3. I was planning on re-routing the exhaust/snorkel and extending the cab to make it a “crew cab” with parallel bench seats running perpendicular to the centerline of the truck. That should afford seating for six (family of five). I would add a table that extends/retracts from the floor or ceiling to providing a secondary function for dining (rotating captains chairs for the front seat).

The cab is aluminum, folding, and bonded with industrial adhesives. Does your design work with that?

Have you decided if/how you will be moving the stacks? While moving the snorkel and exhaust seems like it would be simple, I have found that reality and my academic approach in planning don’t always align

We had looked into that, as well as simply sectioning our box to fit around the exhaust stack and/or intake snorkel.

It's not rocket surgery, although if you shorten them, you may reduce your ability to ford 60" of water. The exhaust, in particular, could simply be disconnected under the right rear corner of the cab. You could install a short "racing" muffler if you want, but turbocharged engines are not as loud as normally-aspirated engines, as the turbocharger's exhaust turbine functions as a muffler.

Thank you for your time and I hope that you and your wife have an amazing day!

You're welcome, and we are.

After this build I plan on building a functional 20ft shipping container home, having it shipped to Spain/Portugal, and touring Europe with the family for a summer in 4-5 years.

Do it when you are as young as possible- we saw so many broke -down old American tourists dragging giant suitcases all over Europe, and it looked like torture. We have done Europe twice (a month each time), and we can comfortably do Europe indefinitely, out of one 3-day assault pack. The only reason we carried a second pack, was so that I could carry six pairs of her high heels (and costumes to go with each pair) for certain photo shoots...

 

[MTVR]

Note: I particularly enjoyed your story of picking up the Mrs. BMW.

This one?

"My wife and I have done several major marriage team-building type life projects in recent years. I will warn you in advance, do not show these stories to your wives.

For the first project, I let my wife custom-order a new BMW Track Pack car exactly how she wanted it, and then flew her to Munich Germany to pick it up at the factory. We made two stops on the way to pick up her car- first we flew to Paris for 3-4 days, and had dinner in the Eiffel tower on our last night. Then we flew to Rome for 3-4 days, where I rented us a red Italian Vespa scooter, and we scooted all over Rome. Then we flew to Munich, to do Oktoberfest (in costume) the night before her delivery.

Porsche, Mercedes, and others do European Deliveries too, but nobody does European Deliveries like BMW does. They had us picked up at the airport in Munich by a big black long-wheelbase BMW 7-series limousine, driven by a very dignified limo driver in a 3-peice suit. Upon arrival at the BMW Welt first thing in the morning, we were issued VIP credentials and lockers, and shown to the Premier Lounge, which is set aside for European Delivery customers. They change the menu three times a day, and European Delivery customers can have as much gourmet food and drink as they want. During the day, we toured the BMW Museum, the BMW factory, and the BMW Welt itself. At the appointed time, they walked my wife down a big dramatic flight of stairs to her car, which was slowly rotating on a giant turntable under spot lights in the center of the building. She cried. They had a professional photographer take some delivery photos of her with her new car, and then let her drive a "victory lap" around the inside of the Welt before exiting.

Her new car came with German license plates, registration, and insurance. They told us her license plates were not valid in Liechtenstein, so the first thing we did was head for Liechtenstein. Then we drove through the tip of Austria, into Switzerland, over the famous San Bernardino Pass in the Swiss Alps (had a little lakeside picnic at the top), and into northern Italy, where we stayed at a surprisingly nice hotel in Varese. Over the next several days, we toured Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, Ducati, and MV Agusta, as they are all located within a few hours of each other. My wife rented me a black 570-horsepower all-wheel-drive convertible Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Performante (I did about 150 mph or so through the Italian countryside). Then we did 3-4 days in Venice, before heading back up to Salzburg Austria (Sound of Music, Mozart, yada, yada), and across Germany for the second time. We did the famous medieval walled city of Rothenburg, took a horse-drawn carriage ride up to have wine and desserts in the world's most famous castle (Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired Disney's castle), toured Porsche in Stuttgart, toured the Mosul Valley wine region, and repeatedly maxxed her car out against it's 155 mph electronic speed limiter on the German Autobahns on our way to the Nurburgring, to lap her car at triple-digit speeds around the track that the Track Pack was designed for. The cherry on the top of this trip, was an $860 cab ride for my wife in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS race taxi, driven around the Nurburgring at speeds of up to 320 kph (200 mph) by the most famous racing driver there, Sabine Schmitz.

"

 

[NEIOWA]

I was also a lucky one that purchased one of these first trucks a year ago. I have been busy and now it is going to become part of our local fire dept. so a few changes were in order. Now I’m looking for the member that has been able to come up with a operators/service manual . I would like all vehicle operators on our department to go through this manual before being cleared to operate it.
Thanks
Jeff

PURCHASED? Your FD can get DOD surplus at no cost thru your state forester. Neb has one of the most active such programs in the country.

 

[JCoop]

PURCHASED? Your FD can get DOD surplus at no cost thru your state forester. Neb has one of the most active such programs in the country.

Yes, we do have that option, We currently have 2 trucks thru that program. These trucks are pretty new to us civilians and I’m not sure if the forest service is receiving them here in Nebraska yet. Also there is one downfall with the Forest service trucks. They tell you how much water you can haul on them for on and off road use. It’s typically less then what we would like to be hauling.
I am hopeing they do start getting the mk23’s available as that may be the route we go next time.

 

[JonM934]

1. I was told to buy an 07’ or newer truck due to upgrades in some of the components but they weren’t sure what components were upgraded. Do you happen to know what was upgraded? My budget isn’t robust and I wanted to make sure that I am starting with the best truck possible as I plan on this being in my family for generations.

The newer trucks have 3 major changes.

1. As MTVR mentioned, they have A/C as standard equipment.

2. A newer model of the Allison transmission and the next generation of the electronics controls for it.

3. Suspension changes for the factory installed armor.

Jon

Sent from my SM-G988U1 using Tapatalk

 

[MTVR]

The newer trucks have 3 major changes.

1. As MTVR mentioned, they have A/C as standard equipment.

2. A newer model of the Allison transmission and the next generation of the electronics controls for it.

3. Suspension changes for the factory installed armor.

Jon

Sent from my SM-G988U1 using Tapatalk

Mine does have the transmission control with two readouts instead of one.

I know there are CAB suspension changes for the AMK23, but are there SUSPENSION changes? The GVWR and payload numbers for my AMK23 are the same as for a regular unarmored MK23.

 

[NEIOWA]

Yes, we do have that option, We currently have 2 trucks thru that program. These trucks are pretty new to us civilians and I’m not sure if the forest service is receiving them here in Nebraska yet. Also there is one downfall with the Forest service trucks. They tell you how much water you can haul on them for on and off road use. It’s typically less then what we would like to be hauling.
I am hopeing they do start getting the mk23’s available as that may be the route we go next time.

Paying attention to the GWVR is a pretty dang smart thing to do. #1 killer of Vol FF in vehicle wrecks is rolling tankers.

The best DOD surplus chassis ever available for a rural FD, was the M916A3 that were put out a few years ago. Near new/low miles with huge load rating. We have a HEMMT 2500gal tank on ours just because had it. But GVWR would allow 4000gal.

 

[JCoop]

You are correct on watching the weight of these trucks. We are a ways under the gvwr on this mk23. I believe around 12,000lbs. The forest service only allows the off road weight rating on these trucks. So going back to the 5 tons that’s not a lot of water. I would assume that when these 7 tons start to trickle thru the capacity will be figured the same way. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with everything you say.

 

[MTVR]

$1,325.25 California state sales tax refund received...

 

[MTVR]

Cole-Hersee # 956-3125BX key-locking starter switch ordered for $24 with free shipping...

 

[MTVR]

...and I just got a$375 invoice for my key-locking outside door handles, so I'm assuming they're shipping...

 

[MTVR]

Key-locking door handles received and installed.

Key-locking starter switch received. Going to the beach tomorrow- may install it the day after, whatever day that is...

 

[MTVR]

Key-locking starter switch installed...

 

[Reworked LMTV]

Greetings- I've been reading the Steel Soldiers forums for a while, but this is my first post here.

I 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 apparent at this time, is that the CTIS is flashing. I have an extensive background in motorsports and vehicle repair- I'm hoping I'll be able to get that sorted out.

I recently retired, and my wife and I intend to convert it into an overland expedition type vehicle and register it as a motorhome (motorhomes do not require a CDL to operate on public roads).

I see that hundreds of these things have been sold, but I'm not seeing a lot of information out there. I'm gonna have a ton of questions (I know not to ask insurance questions here).

I gotta head to the bank to wire the funds over. I've asked for an SF97, to facilitate titling it in my state. I'll need to complete and submit my EUC. I've requested shipping bids from GP. And I'm gonna have to submit a bill of lading to get refunded on the California state sales tax. Anything else I'm forgetting?

Are there shipping options apart from whatever GP is going to offer me, that I should be considering?View attachment 793013View attachment 793065

That's a nice truck! I will stop looking, or I will buy one : )