Cab-over conversion?

[Eskimo]

And no, NOT the spaceship looking one.

Was looking at this truck:2000 Freightliner Argosy | eBay
It got me wondering..

Losing the ~8' of nose would give you another 8' of coach. So what was once a 9' garage could now be a 17' garage, and one might still be able to have a separate bedroom, which is more important to us than a garage even, but it would be GREAT to have a self-contained unit with no trailer, capable of hauling the bikes, a car, or even our rock buggy. (roof height might be an issue here, but the next buggy will be no more than 60" tall)

The biggest obstacle I see is keeping the ability of the cab to tilt forward for servicing. I'd think you'd have to lose the air bags on the cab, and then add an accordion-style boot to seal the cab-to-coach hole, but I have to wonder how well that boot would hold up over time.

All this is ASSuming, of course, that when you tilt the cab, the bottom-rear of the cab travels in an arc that doesn't let it move any farther back- otherwise, it'll hit the coach body.

What's everyone's thoughts on this? How do the Argosy's ride? I know the old cab-overs sucked.

[Bob86ZZ4]

I think it's a neat idea. There was some company that was going to build truck conversions on that chassis. I saw some concept type photos/drawings awhile ago. There was a guy that posted on one of the other camper forums that he was going to buy one. That site had some nay-sayers that poo-pooed him and he hasn't posted back on it for some time. I'll see if I can find the thread.

[Bob86ZZ4]

I can't find the user or thread. I think he was "hotrod" or "hotrod1" or someghing.

[Eskimo]

yeah, I remember that one, but that's why I said "Not the spaceship one".. but it looks like these guys already made one or 2... FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY CABOVER ,CALL (817) 710 5209 2006 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2011 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,1999 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2003 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2005 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2002 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2001 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2004 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY,2

[dgorila1]

They look like they do some nice work if all of the pics shown on the site are their work. I like the custom trailers they made using commercial trailers as the build platform. Wonder what they cost?
I like the looks of the cabovers they did, but how do you get to the engine? If you have to disassemble half the cab to access the engine for work then, to me, it's not worth it. The labor charges will go up significantly for having any work done. That's one reason most people tend to lean towards regular HDT's.
I also noticed they list a phone # but no address. Kinda strange, I'd like to know where they are and see what their facility is like to know how reputable they are.

[Eskimo]

One of the mandates of my idea would be that the cab would NOT become an integral part of the coach, and that it would still tilt. The grey coach doesn't not have this feature anymore, but the red one does.

[andyg]

I think that using a cabover is a great idea. You can increase the living space without increasing the wheelbase. It's hard enough to get around corners with these long truck as it is. The trick will be making the cab tilt while still having pass-thru access to the RV. It can be done you will just have to be creative.

[dgorila1]

Regarding my previous post about the "Cowboy Cadillac" manufacturer. I found out the owner is a major scam artist, so use the pics on his website only as reference since he didn't build any of them.
Here's an alternate idea for the cab: instead of a tilt cab, install a linear bearing/rail setup and use air, electric, or hydroelctric pistons/actuators to lift the cab straight up to access the engine. Then you could have a close fit to the coach section and probably keep the air ride suspension. Just a thought. Would require some creative engineering but is possible.