I build my own motorhome

[speeder]

Oh yeah, and what is the race car? A Radical or(?)

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by speeder

I just clicked on this thread today for the first time. I'll have to admit that when I saw the title, I wrongly assumed that someone had built some janky RV on a van chassis or something. Holy balls...this is impressive.

It begs the question, at least to me; what did you do in life, (or still do), that would equip you with the skills for this type of endeavor? Are you a builder or(?) As amazing as this truck/RV/hauler is, I'm more interested in the builder. Ignore my inquiry if you'd rather not answer on a public forum but damn...what a project.

Yep ... that's exactly what I was thinking too after seeing this thread.

Sooooo.... just what are you building next ?

Thank you for raising the bar so high I can limbo under it standing up...

Easy-peasy

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by KFC911

Thank you for raising the bar so high I can limbo under it standing up...

I can limbo under it on silts...clown stilts while I'm juggling.

Goodness.

[911 Rod]

Budget? Gotta ask.
Most people have skill, time, or money.
Rarely all 3!

[speeder]

When I think of all of the things that go into the design and construction of an RV, it's a vehicle and a house on wheels. Water, electric, (usually two different systems), waste, HVAC, etc., etc...

What a rig.

[rfuerst911sc]

To the OP: what is your day job ?

[rrental]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Aluminum exterior skins very nice , durable and somewhat lightweight . I never would have guessed industrial tape as the install method . How many gallons are the fresh/grey/black tanks ? I assume you have/need a CDL license to be able to drive this rig ? Just a phenomenal build !

200 gallon of fresh water under the bed in the garage, 75 gallon black and 75 gallon gray waste water between the frame rails in the rear. The fresh water tank is right above the rear axles, and the waste tanks are behind the rear axle, so it will never negatively effect the front axle load.

The fresh water location was a bit tricky. I didn't want to go the easy route as RV mfg do by using valuable bay space, so I opted to mount it under the bed. You can see it in the picture. I did not finish it yet as I want to use it for a bit to make sure it doesn't leak.

[rrental]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

To the OP: what is your day job ?

We sell skidsteer, tractor and loader implements/attachments.

[herr_oberst]

rrental- first, this an amazing build. I'm thinking that if you had filmed the build and edited it for youtube you would have had a LOT of subscribers. Nice stuff.


I see a lot of manufactured Toterhomes out at the track; are you planning to build a companion trailer to carry tools, tires, fuel, workbenches etc etc when you go racing?

[rrental]

Originally Posted by speeder

I just clicked on this thread today for the first time. I'll have to admit that when I saw the title, I wrongly assumed that someone had built some janky RV on a van chassis or something. Holy balls...this is impressive.

It begs the question, at least to me; what did you do in life, (or still do), that would equip you with the skills for this type of endeavor? Are you a builder or(?) As amazing as this truck/RV/hauler is, I'm more interested in the builder. Ignore my inquiry if you'd rather not answer on a public forum but damn...what a project.

No I don't do this for a living. Most of my career was in logistics, the rental industry and now heavy equipment implements. I was part owner of a RV repair/retail shop for a few years and I did learn there how not to do build an RV.

[rrental]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

rrental- first, this an amazing build. I'm thinking that if you had filmed the build and edited it for youtube you would have had a LOT of subscribers. Nice stuff.


I see a lot of manufactured Toterhomes out at the track; are you planning to build a companion trailer to carry tools, tires, fuel, workbenches etc etc when you go racing?

No, there is a build in fuel cell in the back with a pump and we can bring all the tools and parts we need to run the car. I am currently building a tire rack on the bed frame wall above the car to bring the extra wheels and tires. Besides that, it can tow a stacker trailer but I am happy that I don't need to tow anything.

[rrental]

Thank you all for the amazing comments. I am humbled by it. This forum is a great place and inspiration for me.

The good thing when building my own motorhome is that I can put the effort and recourses in area's that are important to me. Practicality, ease of use and reliability was my main focus.

For example, a fully tiled shower looks awesome, but it adds weight and more chance of leaks etc. So I opted for a simple fiberglass one piece shower stall. Or a vinyl finished floor instead of tile. Again, reduced weight and I haven't seen a single motorhome yet without cracked tiles and grout.

Instead I focused on using higher quality marine products as much as possible, and serviceability.

Here are some pictures of the more technical part of the project. For low voltage system I opted to go 24 Volts with some 24v-12v converters for the house part. This makes a more efficient system. The complete system is remote monitored through the web (Starlink) and setup with over/under charge alerts, geofencing etc. Pretty cool what can be done these days.

All the light controls are switched with a Canbus sytem, so the lights, HVAC etc can be controlled from anywhere in the coach. Handy to switch off the living room lights from the bedroom!

The heating system is a diesel powered heat exchange system. This will give instant hot water, and heat exchangers independently regulated per area. (living room/bathroom and garage)

The coach has 3 air conditioners. 2 in the living room and 1 in the garage. The are all ducted together, so we can run the garage air conditioner, close all the registers there and have cold air in the living room without the noise. On a good sunny day the solar will provide enough power to run one air conditioner without depleting the batteries. If we run more than 1 at the time we need to start the generator.

For the wiring, I can pull a wire at any time from the front to the back of the coach. All the wiring above the frame is located above the cabinets in the living room and the garage and goes to a central hub in the bathroom.

Sorry to be nerding out a bit here.....

[oldE]

Nerd away, my friend. We are your kind of people!

[rfuerst911sc]

I stayed in a Holiday Express once

[1990C4S]

That's one of the most impressive builds I've seen here (or anywhere). Outstanding.

[tdw28210]

Super impressive. Congratulations on completing this project. I've got huge respect for your fabrication skills. I've been sort of thinking about something similar but starting with a 20' aluminum v-nose trailer. I've been amazed at how many 24' "toy haulers" have only a 10' or 11' "garage". Does no one want to carry an actual car in one of these things? Only quads or bikes? My challenge is that I want to drive an aircooled 911 in a lot of places around the US but there is no way the wife will ride in one for more than a couple hours. PLUS she doesn't want to be in a transport vehicle with another car in the same space. She's worried about fumes and fires, etc. etc. so a toy hauler like you've built is out too I don't need a huge living area cuz this misses ain't camping out for maybe one or two nights max. And that is at a plush campground with hot showers and flushing toilets. Just need a compartment for a bed, small TV, coffee maker, microwave, sink, fresh and gray water tanks. I'm leaning towards converting a trailer into 14' garage area and 6'+ the V nose for the living/sleeping area. Anyway, congrats again.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

To the OP: what is your day job ?

Better yet, is it too late to adopt me?

[gsxrken]

I’m feeling the similar sense of despair I get watching some on YouTube play a guitar. Like throw my guitar out despair.
Amazing build. The amount of decisions and product sourcing and knowledge here is staggering.

[911 Rod]

Do you have plans to build another one?

[rrental]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Do you have plans to build another one?

I can't afford building another one, as it probably will lead to a divorce...