Hello All

reynoldsfamily3 · 03-30-2011, 10:11 PM

Hello everyone. I was just retired from the Army so my wife, and I decided this was a good time to take my 7 year old son and see the Country. We are home schooling using the curriculum from Calvert (a nationally accredited home schooling program). We figure we can teach him through this part of elmentary school, and the experience will be unmatched by any classroom learning. We will be traveling with a 90 pound retriever and a 50 pound (and growing) boxer. WE will be full timing until we feel like stopping.

We have looked at class A's and most don't have a permanent 3rd bed or the bunks are right next to the master. We still enjoy privacy from time to time. We would need a big C to fit us all and not drive each other crazy. It seems to me that a truck conversion gives the best value. It will give a longer service life, it will easily tow our '95 Jeep Wrangler, or any other vehicle we choose, and it will have more available capacity for our "stuff".

We are in the planning stage and shopping for a rig/builder that can work with us. We need a solid build, but do not need fancy luxury. We hope to work out the right vehicle on the right budget. We will need to set it up for frequent dry camping and boondocking.

I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from those who have already "been there, done that". I am open to suggestions and nothing in our plan is set in stone.

Thanks
Bill

dgorila1 · 03-30-2011, 10:45 PM

Welcome! Check out Race, performance & street cars, engines, engine parts, trailers for sale and the Escapee Forum Escapees Discussion Forum

You should be able to find a real nice used custom coach or HDT and 5th wheel setup for a great price. The Escapee forum is especially informational because it caters to full timers and families on the road.

reynoldsfamily3 · 03-31-2011, 03:43 AM

Thanks, I have been watching the first site, they have a nice variety of trucks offered. I had seen and read about Escapees before, but had never thought about their forum. I will definitely check that out.

Thanks again
Bill

mmmc101 · 03-31-2011, 07:22 PM

Welcome to the site Bill!
You might also want to look on Racing Junk.com for a truck. There are over 250 toter's and motorhomes on class 8 chassis on that site. If that doesn't work you may want to contact Hawk Engineering in Mo. I have looked at one of his units and he does nice work. I think he will custom build just about anything you may want. I do not know him or what the prices are like. He is on this site sometimes. Just food for thought.
MMM

reynoldsfamily3 · 04-01-2011, 08:27 PM

Thanks, I have looked a little at racingjunk, but have to look closer. I appreciate the information,

Bill

Eskimo · 04-02-2011, 10:21 AM

Bill, First off, thanks for your service..

I think one of the Renegade style rigs would probably meet your needs perfectly, in that most all of them (and many others, but Renegade are some REALLY nice HDT's!) have a permanent bunk over the cab, perfect for a kiddo of that age, and it's at the extreme opposite end of the coach for privacy.
It's a deal-breaker for >us< only because we want the stand-up cab, and you can't have both, but if you don't mind it, those will be perfect, and something you don't get with a Class A.
Many HDT's carry an insane amount of water on board which will really help with your dry camping.

Regards,
Rich
USA '93-'01

Bob86ZZ4 · 04-29-2011, 07:59 PM

Welcome to the Truck Conversion forums, Bill. That sounds like a great idea you have to see the country while educating your child. A friend of mine did something similar with their 3 children. They created a pretty good web site to document it: Kirkwood Family Field Trip USA

I like the idea of a Truck Conversion with a bunk above the cab for your family. Or, a conversion built on a sleeper cab with a bed between the two front seats and the living area? I really like this coach that is for sale that Hawk built: 4509GCDDGTA0Csb Those two sofas in the cab area make into a pretty nice bedroom. I looked pretty seriously at that coach before buying mine but with the garage it doesn't have a 40k lb. hitch. I want to maybe pull a stacker trailer so I needed the heavy hitch. Hawk said that coach would have no problem with a 10k lb. trailer tho.

For boondocking t/c's are a good choice. Most seem to be made for the race car people that "camp" at the track and often tracks don't have hookups and such in the paddock areas. My truck has 200 gallons of fresh water.

Bob86ZZ4 · 04-30-2011, 01:41 PM

There's a dealer not far from me that has a bunch of t/c's too: Buy Custom RVs and Recreational Vehicles For Sale

If you scroll down to that '05 Showhauler it's got the same setup I was talking about in the cab area. I really like that rig. He wanted $140k for it back in early '09 when I was shopping. I offered considerably less and he wouldn't bite. It's still for sale 2 years later (and it had been for sale at least a year before I made my offer). I bet he would take a lot less than $140k now for it. It's a nice truck I think. I live very close to the Mpls/St. Paul airport and would be happy to pick you up there and give you a ride to check out any of those trucks. I like stopping there to visit Ralph and look at the trucks too. I've got no connection with him tho, just would like to see more of these coaches on the road than in his lot.

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