Greetings from the Great White North

[Dances with Trees]

I thought it best to introduce myself before I start asking a lot of questions.
I live in Ottawa Ontario Canada, and I am about to build mt first RV-Toy Hauler.
I decided to do this two years ago when I did a straight through drive to Las Vegas because I was going to be late for the SEMA show. 34 hours in a modified Land Rover Defender 90 is not really my idea of fun and it occurred to me while trying to catch a cat nap at a rest stop that an RV would be handy to have.
Last years drive sealed the deal, yes I drove straight through again, I have to build a hauler.
So the plan is to build something that will carry my 90 soon to be a 106, but that is a different project all together.
I spent most of the day yesterday reading the first nine pages of the build section, and looking at all the pages in the gallery some interesting information and quite a bit to digest.
I must say however it really isn't fair that some of you have indoor facilities to build in, I am doing mine in my lane way, in the 'burbs. Nice to have understanding neighbors.

have a great week everyone.
:-) :-) :-)

[geofkaye]

.....34 HOURS IN A LAND ROVER....AND YOUR STILL ALIVE AND YOU HAVE ALL BODY FUNCTIONS?.....A MIRACLE! ANYWAY I'd suggest you find out what is the best design for what you want to do and let us know-we will help with the details....or you can steal others ideas and make a list of things that you want to have in the unite and we can help with any suggestions....the more minds you have on the issue the fewer mistakes you will build into the rig........keep us posted....geofkaye

[Dances with Trees]

Hi

Thanks for that.
I am currently looking at several trucks, my brother, a professional driver found a really nice Pete he knows very well in Toronto, and I am looking at a 2002 Freightliner with a new recon Cat locally. Both are conventional cab, I really like the cab over, however they are rather hard to find up here in Canada. I did find two near NY city, and dirt cheap at $3900.00 each and relatively low millage. One is a tandem, the other a single axle, the tandem is the preferable choice.
I am kind of leaning towards the Freightliner, a friend of mine owns the dealership, which provides for a small portion of confidence the truck is a good one to start with.

I have been driving Land Rovers for years, this particular truck is heavily modified, the only factory original parts are the chassis and the body and I have driven is across the continent eight times so far. She is a diesel and will cruse at 70 all day long.
I have promised myself I am NOT going to drive straight through to Vegas this year. I have two races to cover, first being in Arizona October 15th which is two weeks before SEMA. I am hoping that will be enough of an incentive.

have a great day.
:-) :-) :-)

[geofkaye]

...cab overs have their problems with the cab to box seal leaking-heating in the summer- air/water leaks-fumes-noise......plus you are "climbing over" instead of "walking into" if you know what I mean.....I will stoop some but the climbing over days are over for me....the seal is easy and cheap for a conventional to the box and you can still keep it an air ride cab....another issue is the tilt of the cab to work on the engine etc. With a HOE there isn't any problem...again your choice-But those are the two options and I will go with your decision as to what fits you-[and the money situation]......Hoe is a little more $ than a Coe on this side of the border...Canada might me different truck design wise....geofkaye

[Dances with Trees]

Seems my search is almost over, i was talking to a guy yesterday who has a '99 Pete 379 for sale, just pay off what is owed to the bank sort of deal.
My brother found the truck for me, and the owner is very particular about his trucks.
It has a 550 Cat that is a recent rebuild and a 13 speed transmission. The sleeper is a condo style, but that will be removed when I build the box. This is going to be fun, I guess I had best stock up on welding rods.

Kevin
;-) :-) :-)

[Doc Weaver]

Originally posted by geofkaye:
...cab overs have their problems with the cab to box seal leaking-heating in the summer- air/water leaks-fumes-noise......plus you are "climbing over" instead of "walking into" if you know what I mean.....I will stoop some but the climbing over days are over for me....the seal is easy and cheap for a conventional to the box and you can still keep it an air ride cab....another issue is the tilt of the cab to work on the engine etc. With a HOE there isn't any problem...again your choice-But those are the two options and I will go with your decision as to what fits you-[and the money situation]......Hoe is a little more $ than a Coe on this side of the border...Canada might me different truck design wise....geofkaye

Take it from one who owned a cabover, that flat front end is like pushing a garage door down the highway. You will constantly be looking for a drafting partner.

Doc Weaver

[geofkaye]

...I love it when you talk dirty DOC.....but the garage door is an excellent analogy.....I was thinking more like a tractor trailer driving backwards in a wind storm-but you have it perfectly.....geofkaye

[Dances with Trees]

The plan was to copy the HVAT design Oshkosh uses http://www.oshkoshdefense.com/...oducts~harv~home.cfm for the cab over/forward.
Only build a three axle design not a four axle.
I had even found a low mileage cement mixer in Florida, unfortunately the final ratio even with over-drive was 4.79 which is way too high a number for highway use. Since Oshkosh uses different ratios front and rear and makes up the difference with tire size the cost of changing the ratios was too high, even doing the work myself.
Good news is there is an old aircraft fuel truck locally for sale really cheap. I really have to go over and have a close look at the chassis.

Kevin
:-) :-) :-)