Beating the dead horse...

[Dodger]

Ok, so as some of you guys may have read, I am installing the box from my old ambulance on the frame of an International 4700. The big confusion has consistently been the gap between the box and cab since mine is a walk through. It is currently bolted directly to Ford van cab, I was going to leave a 2" gap and use a bellow seal. That is what everyone else does. So today at work I was getting some tool shopping out of the way on the Cornwell truck and noticed that the cab on the truck is hard mounted.





I climbed under it and the box is U-bolted with wood between the frame and the box, the cab is rubber mounted. Mind you this is a professionally mass produced rig. I would much rather hard mount mine, but was unsure of the amount of frame flex I would have. My truck is much shorter than the Cornwell truck, so now I am confused once again.

[blizzardND]

Every Class B camper I looked at when designing mine, was hard mounted to the cab. I'm not sure how much the frames flex, but when you compare a E350 frame to a MDT or HDT I would guess the frame flexes less then the E350.

There are many many 25-30 year old Mini homes (class B's) sitting on used dealer lots they all seem to have age issues, but cab to box seals are not one of them.

Thats when I decided to hard mount mine. I securely bolted my cab to the frame, to eliminate the rubber mount flex, then we welded the side panels directly to the cab. There may be an easier way, but I couldn't come up with one.





blizz

[Dodger]

Thanks Blizz, it is grea to hear from someone who has hard mounted one. Ok, my plan was to used 14 rubber mounts (all the same) for both the box and cab. That way there would be equal give in any way. The other factor I think goes in the favor of a hard mount is the the cab of my truck is actually shorter than the van cab because the hood is not part of the cab. Do you have any pics of your setup during construction? Have you had any issues? Leaks? Squeaking? Cracks? how many miles have you put on it? Thanks,

Dodger

[blizzardND]

My whole build is blogged out on the Escappees MDT forum.

So far lots of issues, the ones you mentioned are not any of them. Truck is solid, squeek and rattle free. It could be a bit quieter (engine turbo whine) but that's more a function of more sound deadning.

here is the link:
http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=73051

blizz

[Dodger]

Thanks Blizzard, you have set my mind at ease with how I want to do this. I really enjoyed reading your build, lots of great info in there. I will be refrencing it quite a bit till my truck is done.

Dodger