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I bought a weird fiberglass trailer basically as an impulse buy. Its intended to be a place where guests can stay. I didn't get any photos of the inside but its basically two v-births from a boat, one on each end, with a stove between them. I spent the whole weekend working on clearing out the 20' shipping container thats on my driveway, this was the overflow from moving house two months ago. Its a Bonair Oxygen, which there were about 90 made, and then the factory burnt down. Its in reasonable shape, better than the gutted airstreams that were in my price range, but still needs some work - need to add 120V shore power hookup so there can be a heater in there when its parked beside my house - either the door hinges are crooked or the whole thing has sagged so that has to be remedied - window seals aren't the best so that might get re-caulked - lighting / paint / upholstery bed - most pressing is to make a parking spot for it beside the house to get it off the road - get a tow vehicle as the van is rated at 0 lbs as its a hybrid I will try to document more bad decision making here as I play with it.   
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Sep 19, 2022 21:04
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That thing looks dope as gently caress dude. Fwiw, my buddy salvaged a fiberglass Burro to use as a guest bedroom in his driveway and it worked out perfectly.
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Sep 19, 2022 21:14
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That trailer is rad as gently caress. I’ve been on the waitlist for a Casita fiberglass camper and don’t anticipate delivery until this time next year.
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Sep 19, 2022 21:19
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Its pretty neat. Also adding to the list is since the parking is on the left side of the house, the trailer needs to go in nose first. Backing it in puts the door, which is on the passenger side, into the fence. I haven't tried just pushing it into position, as the spots filled with an old car right now. One of the reasons for this weird trailer is that I have 7'5" at the fence, and this trailer will have 1.5" on both sides as it goes through. I am pretty good at backing up trailers, but its going to be tough. In and out may be a whole weekend of work, we shall see.
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Sep 19, 2022 21:36
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I'm getting weinermobile vibes from that. Pretty cool.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:23
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I love that trailer
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Sep 19, 2022 23:32
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everdave posted:I love that trailer
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Sep 20, 2022 05:32
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That's awesome, pics inside when you can please
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Sep 20, 2022 08:50
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 This is the table that converts to a bed  Kitchen thing in the middle  Second bed, under is storage and a spare tire  sweet tunes, and the only light in the place, its not attached very well  Battery and heater, which will need to be rewired/replaced  Three way fridge controls  need to replace this dolly with something, it worries me it will punch through the bumper on sharp turns  The one through connection - drain for the sink. Need to get a shore power connection here too.
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Sep 23, 2022 00:04
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In our recent visit to Moab, we stayed in an RV park in a rental trailer, which was pretty great (although not especially cheap.) I was surprised that the 40’ trailer we stayed in, which had a full kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room, only had a retail price around $50K new. While teardrops we have looked at are $20k plus for basically a bed and a mini kitchen and go up from there. Is it just completely different markets shopping for these things and people don’t cross shop them?
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Oct 1, 2022 18:11
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smackfu posted:In our recent visit to Moab, we stayed in an RV park in a rental trailer, which was pretty great (although not especially cheap.)
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Oct 1, 2022 18:43
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smackfu posted:In our recent visit to Moab, we stayed in an RV park in a rental trailer, which was pretty great (although not especially cheap.) You can get 40 ft trailers in the 20s if you buy low end or you can buy high end and be over 6 figures. Theres massive cost cutting measures that can take place to get a trailer down to a low price
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Oct 2, 2022 02:44
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Syano posted:You can get 40 ft trailers in the 20s if you buy low end or you can buy high end and be over 6 figures. Theres massive cost cutting measures that can take place to get a trailer down to a low price That and raw square footage isn't necessarily that expensive. Now start adding more slides, extra bathroom, another AC, and more accessories and the prices go up.
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Oct 2, 2022 02:50
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My dad picked up a Bluebird Wanderlodge a little while back and it needs some updates. Top of the list is it needs a good backup camera with a separate monitor, ideally one that can take multiple inputs. I can't tell the cheap junk from ride good stuff, what should I look for/at for a good system with good resolution and low light performance? I can dig up more photos later if anyone's interested, it's kinda neat inside. Imagine the set designers from Scarface and Carlito's Way designed an RV interior. 
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Oct 3, 2022 15:37
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drat! What a beauty!!
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Oct 3, 2022 16:20
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Took the Camper on a 1 day shakedown trip. 12 minute drive from the house. Worked fine, the bed over the table needs new cushions, and one of the windows popped out because it was probably always broken. It stayed in for the trip, so its probably fine. Its very much just tent camping where you don't need to set up the tent - we didn't use the water or the stove in the camper, though the fridge was used, and it works pretty well. Kept things cool, but wouldn't do any freezing. List of things required increased such as: - Jack/lugnut wrench to change tire, van doesn't have a jack - Tongue dolly that can go down far enough to set the rear stablizers, had to use firewood and strength - bucket for grey water - Interior lighting as its dark inside - Heater for future as its not very warm even with 4 people inside  
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Oct 3, 2022 18:26
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That's basically what we use ours for: "really comfortable tent camping". It makes going out to the sites around our house way way easier to handle with our kids and I think it's the consistency and predictability that makes it so good for us.
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Oct 3, 2022 18:30
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SpeedFreek posted:My dad picked up a Bluebird Wanderlodge a little while back and it needs some updates. Top of the list is it needs a good backup camera with a separate monitor, ideally one that can take multiple inputs. I can't tell the cheap junk from ride good stuff, what should I look for/at for a good system with good resolution and low light performance? aw poo poo. rear engine 8v92? nice get.
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Oct 3, 2022 19:29
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Rear engine Detroit of some kind, the only pictures I have are inside the barn it barely fits in so I can't make out any info on the engine tags. I need to figure out the backup camera and satellite dish controller before Dad goes into hibernation this winter.
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Oct 3, 2022 20:59
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SpeedFreek posted:I can dig up more photos later if anyone's interested Ahhhh that would be a yes. What a great looking machine.
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Oct 3, 2022 21:01
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cursedshitbox posted:aw poo poo. rear engine 8v92? nice get. 8V detroits are awesome if you don't need to pay for fuel. Also 2 strokes aren't particularly good for buses/coaches. You don't really need all the power they make (8V92s are used in military HEMTTs, HETs, and PLSs, really big dumb trucks to move much heavier poo poo), they're not used by the big truck manufacturers at all, and they pollute like a son of a bitch on top of getting horrible efficiency. You really don't want an 8Vxx (there's also the 8v71, a 92 without the updated controls) unless you're running a mining site or a house moving company (the whole house, not just the poo poo inside).
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Oct 3, 2022 21:08
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Its prolly a 92 series TA. Wanderlodge went big on the rear engine models. most the FEs are just shitbucket 3208s. some with a turbo. Definitely post tons of photos. The 92s were a response to the high power big displacement sixes coming from Cummins and Cat to keep up with the 80s "horsepower wars". Hottest you'll see road going is around 500HP intermittent 450 continuous. you'll see 9260 injectors in fire engines/marine uses and the like. Some dumpers ran with 8v92s but it's not as common as say a N14 or a 3406. Another weird honorable mention of the era is Mack's Tip Turbine. Your run of the mill 50 thousand pound Prevost El Mirage XL will get around 4-6mpg with a 92 series TA out back generating 430-500hp. few years newer with a series 60 and lol it's 6-8mpg. My prior GM 4104 would get around 10 from a 2 valve 671. The 4106 had a 8v71. all the buffalos and the like run 8v71s as do earlier MCIs. New looks typically ran a 6v71. All V-drive stuff. I personally wouldn't bother with a 71 series anymore. ** prior bus mechanic, and actively looking for the next bus, likely with a 92 series...
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Oct 3, 2022 23:35
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Oh yeah, the 8Vs are great for power, but like all 2 strokes, absolutely poo poo at efficiency or pollution controls. Durable as hell, too, but you can get better power out of a big straight 6 4 stroke with a fat turbo, better mileage and less emissions now. Mileage and emissions didn't matter near as much 30~ years ago. You could still buy all sorts of 2 strokes at the time, now they're becoming rare. I think the only thing I've handled in the past decade with a 2 stroke was a weed whacker.
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Oct 4, 2022 00:03
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You totally can't go wrong with a series 60 or newer. Better power, lower fuel consumption, longer time between maintenance intervals, longer time between inframes, and all with lower emissions. MTU bought up all the plans and such for the 92s. They're still pretty popular in marine circles though they're aging out on the highways.
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Oct 4, 2022 00:31
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Only decent picture of the engine I have Awesome diamond plate roof, need a way to get the canoe on and off easily.  Built in 12v blender, it also has a wet bar right by the driver's seat.  It has phones everywhere, for doing your business.  Generator comes out for service via linear actuator  Instrument console, not pictured are the additional controls and gauges overhead. There's a similar control panel above the bed. 
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Oct 4, 2022 00:39
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Holy poo poo that thing is insane.
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Oct 4, 2022 00:45
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Goddamn. Bet that was expensive when new.
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Oct 4, 2022 00:58
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That rules and I love it. The bathroom has some serious 80s sci-fi vibes. Good find if the maintenance has been kept up. It's a 92 silver. Nice heat blankets.
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Oct 4, 2022 00:59
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We need more pics please. Wow. Love it.
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Oct 4, 2022 01:42
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holy moly, does that whole RV hook up to a phone line, or is it set up with a bag phone?? grew up with a '74 Winnebago, felt luxurious due to a 12" CRT TV and NES (gaming *while driving*; aftermarket, of course), but it's clear that the 'Bago was the budget model
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Oct 4, 2022 01:50
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That Bluebird is the absolute jam
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Oct 4, 2022 02:06
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It spent a month right before I took those pictures at a diesel mechanic who went through the whole chassis part of it. Needs a few things but nothing significant besides repairing a hydraulic jack in the leveling system. It's a 6V91
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Oct 4, 2022 02:34
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Peanut Butler posted:holy moly, does that whole RV hook up to a phone line, or is it set up with a bag phone?? That is an awesome bus and hope to see more of it.
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Oct 4, 2022 03:00
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There is some goddamn content on this page
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Oct 6, 2022 18:06
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Wow that thing is insane and cool.
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Oct 7, 2022 11:40
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Crossposting from AI: So a while ago we bought a VW Grand California campervan for our daily driver.  Turns out it is a piece of poo poo that doesn't work. So we returned it and got a Fiat Ducato based Weinsberg campervan instead.  Positives: It is more roomy and has way more storage. Better beds. Lighter and lower centre of mass, so it actually drives better despite being a Fiat. Higher quality more well thought out furnishings. MUCH better nvh for some reason. Better winter camping qualities, since it has insulated and heated water tanks. Actually seems to work. Negatives: Less cool. Less car-like cabin comforts: No ACC, no automatic air-con, no heated steering wheel or windscreen, and so on. Driving position was way better in the VW. LPG heater instead of diesel. So now I need to install a tow bar and backup camera and Android Auto/Carplay head unit, since it lacks both.
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Oct 7, 2022 11:52
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Slide ins drive ins and throwing payloads out of the escape hatch. I'm gonna blur the lines a little with this post with the sister Towing thread over in AI Having a slide in is a trade off between space, comfort level, the junk you want, and the junk you need. The kind of truck you have lets you pick how many of these things. You already own your own truck and know it well? Probably pick two. You already own your own camper and know it well? Probably pick three. Some of them let you pull fun toys behind the slide in. Others have such ginormous asses you need a SuperTruss(tm) to pull a secondary holding tank. Some have pop tops, others have three slides. They're usually all built better than their trailer compatriots but still built as an rv at the end of the day. Payloads and capabilities are highly dependent on what the truck's loadout is. A stripper gasser with crank windows is gonna have more hauling capacity than the same model with airconditioned forced air booty chillers and turbo diesels making an entire nation's worth of horsepower. But the diesel will always pull the load better. Pulling posts over from my truckcamper thread with regards to Half ton towables and a relatively comfortable travel style. This is a good question and I'd like for it to not get buried within my thread, so I'm gonna move the topic here. CarForumPoster posted:
The best place like this to get started with would be Campingworld or literally any RV dealer. Seriously. The second thing to do is to find the floorplan you like and then select the truck you want to go under it. None of this will be cheap if you want creature comforts. Cheap is light but not nice. Nice is not cheap and not heavy. Can't have it all. I'm gonna borrow your idea of hotel ratings for the purpose of this post. The Truck Forward I'll say that one should check with their manufacturers documentation of their truck to see if it even has a rating for a slide in. yes, they're dedicated and they are different. They load truck frames in ways trailers and your buddies' sofabed do not. Usually this rating is at or less than the truck's payload for structural integrity reasons. Some like a F150 lighting has specific warnings not to put a slide in on it. IMO a F150 isn't conducive with enough payload for what would be roughly a 3 star hotel. In this half ton towable category bathrooms aren't likely happening. The F150 with PowerBoost has something like a 1400lb payload. That's deep into just putting a topper on the bed or vacuforming a bare shell from fiberglass. Hardly luxurious. Any hard side on a Class 1 (tacoma or F150) sized truck is far over the payload if not tires and axle capacities too. Despite having 'half ton' capable campers in that segment. It's in an area of extreme compromise. This is like the one star hotel of TCing. You have a bed, but not much else. Pick one off the list early in the post. A 3/4 ton of any kind is pointless for a hard side. Fine if you want a pop top but I'd still highly suggest a 1-ton SRW. If you Must have the 3/4 ton, run the gasser. The diesel has significantly less payload. 1 ton SRW. Better option for a diesel. These are extremely common. Even I ran one. Though I needed to go up about four sizes. Luxury can range between 2-4 stars here depending on how overloaded you like to be. Pick two off the list early in the post. 1 ton DRW is kind of the gold standard for comfortable full timing in a truck camper. The gas version has a rude amount of payload. Diesel is still respectable. You can have one maybe two slides. A bit of power. Not much overhang. And a solid platform to tote it around with ease. Solid 3+ star range. I always hear complaints of the wide hips of the drw. It's overblown. You're not going through a drivethru with the TC loaded. And uh, probably don't unloaded anyway. A 2500 isn't doing it any better. Seriously. Pick two to three early in the post. 1.25 ton DRW is less common but more appropriate to the double and triple slide campers with enough overhead to tow a jeep or small trailer. They almost all turn better than their 3/4-1 ton counterparts with true medium duty truck parts within. The standard pickup types are usually on a 3500 frame with 4500 hardware bolted to it. The bed style is common as is the cab chassis type. This is where insurance/reg lines are blurred right at the 14k gvr point. It's not a problem to go bigger. Just know you can out drive your license beyond here. Note that also over 14k gvr the engines are detuned for durability. Companies and the drivers typically don't care other than the wheels need to turn and the engine's gotta burn. Downtime is revenue lost. 1.5 ton is not common but out there. with 8-14ish thousand pounds of payload you could almost have an Olympic swimming pool. Or two loaves of holiday fruitcake. Like the 1.25 ton but even more reinforcements. Most of these end up as specialized vehicles for utility companies and the like. The world is your oyster here. 2+ ton is almost unheard of but they're out there the savants. Something like a tall triple slide on one of these is going to get extremely close to the maximum height limits of road going vehicles of 14 feet. Truck Campers and their basic types: Popups Pop tops are basically three season campers that need regular maintenance and semi regular refreshes of the canvass material. They're part time rigs at best. Some do full time in them, yes. They're one of the more capable type of slide in the segment for those that worry about weight and center of mass. A hard side and especially a hard side with slides is tall and ungainly. They come with minimal creature comforts and their weights reflect it. These are the absolute best for traversing things like powerline roads. Two ish star amenities on this rating scale. Basic hard sides with no slide The shortish hard sides with no slides are great for weekenders and maybe week trips when towing at the truck's maximum towing capacity. Best for a 2500 gasser or a 3500 srw diesel. This segment is extremely wide with amenities ranging from 2-4 stars. Most are 2-3. Hard sides with 1+ slides These are taller since the new thing is to put the tanks below the main floor so that the slide is more floor level rather than having a large drop off. This happened in the mid 2000s. Each slide is good for about 500lb added to the camper. Your typical host mammoth with three slides and what's essentially two living areas can weigh eight thousand pounds ready to travel. This is heavy enough it can max out a class five truck's capabilities. Though with a mammoth you're definitely into 3 star hotel territory. A slightly lighter Lance 1172 with complete galley and would afford towing a hot tub and gym behind it with a F550 though facilitating a full five stars. I recently saw a 2022 platinum F350 drw(6500lb payload in XL trim) diesel hauling a host mammoth. With the camper and bed porpoising working the frame back and forth as it made its way through the intersection. It is soon to have the same fate as so many other truck campers hauling heavy. Amenities and weight Insulation, air conditioning, ovens, slides, dual pane glass, huge tanks, dry bathrooms, fire places, recliners, convection microwaves, in counter blenders, dish washers, washing machines, all add weight. A TC's dry weight is typically pretty optimistic. Especially if its more than a couple years old. Then there's about a thousand pounds for weekender/part time duties, and about 1500lb to 2000lb added for full time duties. Costs The cost of a good well matched nice to live in set up can easily approach the 200 grand mark by the time solar and lithium is involved on late model diesel hardware configured for the task. Thats within Winnebago Revel territory. 60-120 thou for the truck. (A suitable finished truck that'd give me the same capabilities and the ability to tow a trailer would run 125 large.) 40-80 thou for a 2-4 star quality slide in with the amenities you seek. 5-10 thou for lithium and solar if you want one-two big appliances at a time. 10-15 thou if you want two-three big appliances at a time. If you want hydronic, heated floors, auto leveling, that sorta stuff. cubic bucks. This can be pared down quite easily by trading off expectations of space, comfort, or reducing what one wants to bring along. Costs are extremely messed up since 2020 though they're looking like they're coming to a head. Full timed units get run hard and put away wet. Uncared for unmaintained units are just as bad. Anything built post 2020 is going to have absolute shoddy workmanship. In 2020 I renovated a junker 4 thousand dollar soggy 20 year old camper for about 20 grand. Right now the same parts if I could even get them would easily be double that. (read: I still can't get numerous parts for this thing, but two years later it's still truckin)
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Dec 30, 2022 03:09
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Super helpful post. I'm a newbie at this, but thought I might be able to share some helpful information and experience from that perspective. It's surprisingly (to me) hard to figure out exactly what weights and weight ratings will be of a truck, or truck camper, before actually having them and being able to see actual rating info or weighing it yourself. If we were in (or return to) a world where you could generally find poo poo easily available without ordering it, I bet it would be easier. For us, we started with looking for an appropriate truck; we wanted something relatively new (for maybe silly reasons, creature comforts etc), but found that finding a newer used 1 ton equipped the way we wanted was really challenging (mostly diesels, often more expensive than MSRP for what we would order for ourselves). Not only that, but of course listings don't usually include payload ratings so that adds extra friction to finding a suitable truck. We ended up just ordering a new truck; 2022 F350 SRW crew cab short bed, and a Lance 855s camper. Truck arrive finally in September, the camper is "any day now". Advertised base dry weight of the camper is 3064 lbs. It is a mystery what the actual dry weight of the camper as ordered will be. GVWR of the truck is 11300 lbs (that much we were able to anticipate when ordering the truck). Payload rating on the door sticker ended up being 4175 lbs. The truck camper certificate says the cargo weight rating is 3325 lbs. (I've seen hints that this discrepancy is simply due to the truck camper weight rating subtracting some number of pounds per passenger seat from the payload rating, but no clue if that's true, and skeptical). I was required to weigh the truck to register it in CA, and when I took it to the scales it weight out to 6940 lb, implying (as I understand it?) an inconsistency with the payload rating and that I can put 4360 lbs on it before exceeding the GVWR (dependent, of course, on how each axle is loaded) All this to say: the whole system is not terribly newbie friendly! Naturally, everyone on the Ford and Lance dealer ends assured me everything will be fine, but still apprehensive about the weight, and constantly second guessing whether I should have just gone for a bigger truck, not like I'm living in a city with tight streets or parking.
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Dec 31, 2022 05:01
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The difference between posted and actual is ~25 gallons of fuel, a spare + jack combo, you, etc. It's relatively close. Typically the TC loading from Ford accounts for 150lb occupants per seating position of the truck. Precursory goog shows two different major thoughts with the 855S and the 350 SRW. It's fine | It's not fine and needs bags/sways/etc. You're pretty close to its capacities, it'll be you that determines whether or not you want to have work done to the truck for the slide in. Base and Optioned out can be north of a thousand pounds if the options list is extensive... And as always, you can never buy too much truck.
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Dec 31, 2022 17:16
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cursedshitbox posted:The difference between posted and actual is ~25 gallons of fuel, a spare + jack combo, you, etc. It's relatively close. On the difference between posted and actual... do you mean the payload capacity sticker on the truck is assuming full fuel tank, driver in truck with some assumed weight? I guess that would track; I don't recall what the fuel level in the tank was when I weighed it and I was not in the truck. I was trying to do math on the TC loading which seemed a bit strange; what would make the most sense is 170 per passenger, with 5 passengers, though with the front bench seat it seats 6. Close enough I have done some small things to the truck to help, hopefully: for one, of course got the camper package with the custom order so it has a sway bar. I also did some additional upgrades to it recommended by the camper dealer when I brought it in to have the tiedowns installed: https://www.torklift.com/rv/stableload and https://timbren.com/p-35852-active-off-road-bumpstops.html I declined the suggested superhitch magnum upgrade because I can't imagine wanting to tow anything that would exceed the capacity of a vanilla hitch extension with the camper on there.
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Dec 31, 2022 18:19
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