Area 51's Box Truck conversion

[Guest]

<p>Hi&nbsp; All&nbsp;,&nbsp; Its&nbsp; with&nbsp; a very very&nbsp; sad heart I&nbsp;write&nbsp;this . Our&nbsp; son&nbsp;gave his life&nbsp; saving&nbsp;a friend&nbsp;from&nbsp;drounding May&nbsp;21,&nbsp; he&nbsp;was only 15. He&nbsp; died a hero , but that makes it no less painful.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have&nbsp; suspended&nbsp;my Van&nbsp; living for&nbsp;a while&nbsp; and rented&nbsp;a inexpensive&nbsp; small moble&nbsp; home in a quiet community so his Mom and I can&nbsp;be with each other&nbsp;while&nbsp;we heal . Our older son took over&nbsp;the house. <br />&nbsp; My&nbsp;wife&nbsp;was&nbsp;given a 40 foot camper from&nbsp;her&nbsp;93 year old&nbsp;Dad,&nbsp;as one of His&nbsp; friends&nbsp; passed on&nbsp;early this year,&nbsp; and left him&nbsp;with that, and&nbsp;a&nbsp;class A that needs a lot of&nbsp; work&nbsp;, He&nbsp; also&nbsp; gave&nbsp; that&nbsp; to my&nbsp; wife .&nbsp; A few weeks&nbsp; before our son lost&nbsp; his life&nbsp; I bought&nbsp; a 14 foot X U haul&nbsp;box truck that&nbsp; me&nbsp; and him&nbsp; were going&nbsp; to convert&nbsp; into&nbsp; a toy hauler as a father and son project to&nbsp; foster&nbsp; our&nbsp; dreams of flying PPG,s and&nbsp; attending&nbsp; flyins&nbsp;. <br />&nbsp;Now&nbsp;,&nbsp; My&nbsp; wife&nbsp; says&nbsp; we&nbsp; will keep&nbsp; the 40 footer&nbsp; where it is on Her&nbsp; dads property&nbsp;&nbsp;(that&nbsp; is&nbsp; also&nbsp; willed to&nbsp; her) as a weekend get&nbsp; away for now&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp; And&nbsp; the&nbsp; Class A I&nbsp;will&nbsp; scrap out and use what I can out of it&nbsp; into&nbsp; the&nbsp;Box truck conversion toy hauler. I sold&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ford Van&nbsp;&nbsp;I was living in&nbsp;to pay&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp; rent on&nbsp;this&nbsp; moble&nbsp; we're living in now. We&nbsp; will&nbsp; most likely&nbsp; stay in this&nbsp; moble&nbsp;for&nbsp;the rest of the year, at least&nbsp;. The&nbsp; rent&nbsp; and utilities&nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp;affordable, and&nbsp;&nbsp;I can&nbsp;save&nbsp;a little&nbsp;each month.<br />&nbsp;also I have&nbsp; a&nbsp; decent place&nbsp;to&nbsp;work on the toy hauler project, although not covered its&nbsp; a nice large&nbsp;flat&nbsp; concrete slab&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;My son&nbsp; was&nbsp; really&nbsp; looking&nbsp; forward&nbsp; to&nbsp; doing&nbsp; this conversion and its in&nbsp; his memory&nbsp;and honor&nbsp;that it&nbsp;will be completed,&nbsp; But&nbsp; I'm going to have to&nbsp; wait&nbsp; until the&nbsp; weather&nbsp; brakes&nbsp;and cools off some. I&nbsp; can do&nbsp; a little&nbsp;at&nbsp;night&nbsp;&nbsp;but there&nbsp; are noise&nbsp; restriction&nbsp; here , And thats&nbsp;Good . I'm&nbsp; not&nbsp; going&nbsp; to complain&nbsp; about that&nbsp;at&nbsp;all. It&nbsp; one of&nbsp; the reasons&nbsp;I selected&nbsp;this&nbsp;place&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;Yesterday&nbsp;&nbsp;I&nbsp; bought&nbsp; on the&nbsp; cheep &nbsp;from&nbsp; C list&nbsp; 2 nice&nbsp;captins seats with&nbsp;arm rests&nbsp; to&nbsp; replace the bench seat and&nbsp; a&nbsp; fiberglass topper&nbsp;for the 3&nbsp;sliding&nbsp; windows it has. I&nbsp; will&nbsp; replace the&nbsp; back truck cab glass&nbsp; with&nbsp; a slider&nbsp;&nbsp; so&nbsp; we&nbsp; can&nbsp; pass through the cab into&nbsp; the box&nbsp; by&nbsp; installing&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp;topper&nbsp; sliding back glass&nbsp;in the&nbsp;box,&nbsp; with it in&nbsp;line&nbsp; with the&nbsp;cab sliding&nbsp;back glass.&nbsp;&nbsp; The other 2&nbsp;sliders&nbsp; will&nbsp; go in the sides of the box for windows&nbsp;.&nbsp; The&nbsp;&nbsp;fiberglass shell itself&nbsp; will be cut down to make bottom closeouts&nbsp; for the under box side&nbsp;storage&nbsp;areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;At&nbsp;work I'm building&nbsp; a&nbsp; drop door ramp / deck&nbsp; that&nbsp; is&nbsp; lifted&nbsp; and lowered by&nbsp; 2 winches .&nbsp; The&nbsp; drawing&nbsp;&nbsp;shows&nbsp; what&nbsp;thats about.&nbsp; Its&nbsp; a covered and enclosed&nbsp; deck and&nbsp; a ramp extention.&nbsp; I&nbsp; will be&nbsp; getting&nbsp; photo capability&nbsp;&nbsp;so I can post&nbsp; photos&nbsp;&nbsp;of ths build .&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...7/t5028166-114-thumb-3 modes.jpg?d=1342980622" alt="" /></p>

 

[sidat202]

Im sorry to hear that. My heart goes out to&nbsp;you and your family as Im sure does everyone elses.<br />I wish you the best on healing and your project.

 

[Guest]

&nbsp;Thank You , I hope&nbsp; the healing&nbsp; will be the project and&nbsp;I hope&nbsp;&nbsp;to get&nbsp; my&nbsp; Wife involved , She&nbsp; is not&nbsp; doing&nbsp; well&nbsp; with this.&nbsp; &nbsp;

 

[Guest]

Oh man Area 51.....I am so sorry for your loss. He sounds like he was really a "stand-up" young man. I join Sidat202 in wishing you the very best in your healing and project...<br /><br />I think you are doing a great thing to finish the project in his memory.<br /><br />Bless you all,<br />Bri

 

[Seraphim]

You and you're family will be in our prayers.

 

[Sunny1]

Area51, my heart goes out to you and your wife.&nbsp; I am so sorry for your loss.&nbsp; Your son died displaying the highest ideal that mankind is capable of -- giving his life to save another.&nbsp; I hope in the years to come that that will help bring you comfort and peace.

 

[Rollin]

I am&nbsp;truly sorry for your loss. I wish you all the best in your&nbsp;conversion and healing.

 

[Guest]

<p><img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/1/0/2/1/2/7/t5051336-207-thumb-seats.jpg?d=1343784110" alt="" />&nbsp;<img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/1/0/2/1/2/7/t5051337-188-thumb-bike.jpg?d=1343784110" alt="" /><br />&nbsp;Thank you all&nbsp; for&nbsp; all the kind words . I'm a vet&nbsp; and&nbsp; what&nbsp; my son&nbsp; did&nbsp; will&nbsp; always make me&nbsp; proud of him. It&nbsp; brings&nbsp; tears of&nbsp; proudness , not sorrow.&nbsp; Here&nbsp; are some pics&nbsp; I expermented&nbsp; with today. With the help of cloud cover this afternoon,&nbsp; Got&nbsp; the&nbsp; seats in position and&nbsp;a shot of&nbsp; One of my&nbsp; toys&nbsp; thats&nbsp; going in the back.&nbsp; XJ 1100 Yamaha I named Blackie</p>

 

[Guest]

ooooo, nice seats and nice XJ too....<br />Bri

 

[Thoreau]

Area51: I add my voice to those of others extending to you and your wife our deep condolences. <br /><br />In the close aftermath of such a loss, no words can make much of a difference in speeding up the healing that can only come slowly with time. But it can't hurt to&nbsp;know that&nbsp;your CheapRvLiving&nbsp;forum friends and fellow-members are thinking about you, and wishing you well.<br />&nbsp;

 

[Guest]

Thank You&nbsp;Very Much. My&nbsp;wife&nbsp;returned to the&nbsp;work force this week&nbsp;, I can only&nbsp;hope&nbsp;It&nbsp;will help&nbsp;her like It did me. <br />&nbsp;I got the&nbsp; seats&nbsp; mounted secure and&nbsp;wired up. I&nbsp; used&nbsp;flat bar&nbsp;and&nbsp;washer Shims to&nbsp;level&nbsp;them out due to the un-evenness of the floor board surface.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...083066-227-thumb-truck seats.jpg?d=1344979177" alt="" />&nbsp;<br />These&nbsp; are&nbsp; electric seats ! <br /><img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...119-thumb-truck seat install.jpg?d=1344979177" alt="" />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;3/8 x 2 inch Flat&nbsp;bar&nbsp;and washer&nbsp;Shims . I used&nbsp; Stainless steel&nbsp; hardware and&nbsp; Nylocks .&nbsp; Notice how the&nbsp;seat frame&nbsp;mounting&nbsp;holes&nbsp; did not line up with floor board when&nbsp; the&nbsp; seat&nbsp; was in the&nbsp; correct spot. Thats why&nbsp;the&nbsp; flat&nbsp; bar&nbsp; was used . This&nbsp;was&nbsp; the&nbsp; same for the passenger side.<br />&nbsp;( this is what happens&nbsp; when you crossbreed a Ford&nbsp;with a Chevy )<img src="/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" /><br /><img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/1/0/2/1/2/7/t5083067-125-thumb-truck.jpg?d=1344979177" alt="" /><br />Lets&nbsp; go&nbsp; for&nbsp; a Ride !<br />&nbsp;Then&nbsp; lets&nbsp; work on&nbsp; insulating&nbsp; and outfitting&nbsp; the box&nbsp; durring&nbsp; the&nbsp; cool&nbsp; days of&nbsp; fall&nbsp;.<br />&nbsp; Along&nbsp; with&nbsp; the&nbsp; drop door&nbsp; ramp / deck,&nbsp; I'm&nbsp;putting on a side awning that&nbsp;will&nbsp; serve as a carport&nbsp;for her&nbsp;Car and&nbsp;Blackie&nbsp;for now. It&nbsp; will&nbsp; come in&nbsp; very&nbsp; useful at&nbsp;camp, &nbsp;and completely&nbsp;store-able&nbsp;inside&nbsp;the&nbsp;Box &nbsp;<br />which&nbsp; will&nbsp; sorta look like this&nbsp;<br /><img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...55-thumb-truck with car port.jpg?d=1344981360" alt="" />&nbsp;

 

[yesican]

My heart goes out to you and your wife.&nbsp; I like your idea of completeing the project you started with your son.&nbsp; It is a testament to the love you had between the two of you.&nbsp; <br />His memory will drive you.&nbsp; At 42 y.o. I had a heart attack--stress--and at 45 decided to train for a half marathon.&nbsp; My sister was there to cheer me on as we were best friends throughout life.&nbsp; But, she was killed a few months into training.&nbsp; It was difficult&nbsp;with a lot of setbacks yet Terry's memory kept me motivated and I was able to run&nbsp;the Trent-Walton half-marathon in Anchorage eight months later.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unfortuneately, my feet and hip were injured during the run but my mind&nbsp;would not let me&nbsp;stop because I just couldn't let Terry's memory down.&nbsp; I finished last, barely&nbsp;able to limp&nbsp;to the finish line and&nbsp;no one there to congradulate me just the memory of my sister.&nbsp;It felt good.&nbsp; Terry and I accomplished one more thing; my way of saying goodbye but never forgotten.&nbsp;<br />Yea...I really think completing that project you started with your son is the best thing for you and his memory.&nbsp; I wish you the best and good memories during your project.<br />Rae

 

[Guest]

Rae, Thats one&nbsp; Heck of a Tribute to your&nbsp;Sis ! I&nbsp;am very&nbsp; moved by&nbsp;your&nbsp; deturmination and in&nbsp; awe of your&nbsp; spirit.&nbsp; Terry is&nbsp; proud of you,&nbsp; no&nbsp; doubt !<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;

 

[angeli]

Area51, I've just seen this thread, coming back to the forum after some time away.&nbsp; I'm so very sorry for the loss of your son.&nbsp; He was an amazing young man, and from your description of him, the love between you is clear.&nbsp; All my good thoughts and prayers to you and your wife.&nbsp; <br />Blessings.

 

[Guest]

<p>I have been&nbsp;kicking&nbsp; some ideas around . <br />This is in&nbsp; combination&nbsp; with the&nbsp; rear fold&nbsp; down&nbsp; "deck&nbsp; ramp"&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; Metal self suporting&nbsp; pole&nbsp;frame Awening&nbsp; shown&nbsp;&nbsp; earlier in the post.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;Found&nbsp; a supplier&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; Continious&nbsp; heavy&nbsp; duty&nbsp; water proof&nbsp; hinge&nbsp; to&nbsp; accomplish&nbsp; this&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; deck&nbsp; ramp&nbsp; with. &nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;If you&nbsp; dont get it, &nbsp;Drawing&nbsp;has&nbsp; been&nbsp; "sized"&nbsp; to&nbsp; fit&nbsp; so&nbsp; its&nbsp; not&nbsp;&nbsp; that&nbsp; good. May&nbsp; have to use&nbsp;&nbsp;your&nbsp; zoom&nbsp; function&nbsp; to&nbsp; read it . &nbsp;&nbsp; The&nbsp; Box&nbsp; truck&nbsp;wall&nbsp; folds&nbsp; down and&nbsp; the&nbsp;side wall&nbsp; hinges&nbsp;(&nbsp;folds up)&nbsp; from that&nbsp;,&nbsp; then&nbsp; the&nbsp; roof panel&nbsp; slides on&nbsp; from&nbsp; the roof top where it&nbsp; stores ,&nbsp;then&nbsp; the&nbsp; end&nbsp; walls&nbsp;&nbsp; install .&nbsp; The&nbsp; end&nbsp; walls are&nbsp; stored&nbsp;upright&nbsp; along&nbsp; the&nbsp; walls when&nbsp; traveling , All&nbsp; 2 inch&nbsp; foam&nbsp; and&nbsp; 3/4 X 2 &nbsp;plywood "studs&nbsp; and joists" constructed&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; glued&nbsp; with&nbsp;Polyurethane adheasive &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><img src="http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...amp;txt=&amp;jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13488906842181" alt="" /></p>

 

[Trikepilot]

This is my build but had to change handles as i no longer have the email associated. with it. this is a tandem post with the super stealth box truck build so the readers have an different take on approaches to building out a box truck. Iwill be posting pics tomorrow of what i have gotten done so far. The deck ramp turned out awesome !

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There are some changes from the original posts. that i didn't do.plans change Iput in a boot between cab and box. Took out the rear glass.

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Just going to make sure i can still post photos
Here's Boxy in the snow

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Here's a vid i took at a flyin in spring of this year. Camped comfortable for the 4 day vacation [video=youtube]

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[Trikepilot]

Yes that's my Powered paraglider Trike

 

[Trikepilot]

[video=youtube]
this vid shows the bike and trike in the back.
the blue tarp is the shower.
The winch has 3 positions to mount .on the roof. on the ball hitch and on the back wall to pull things in as seen

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Oops i didn't install the shower yet

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Here is some shots of the under box storage bin for the water tank. pump and other storage. and a shot of the boot.

 

[Trikepilot]

Sorry for the double you tube post..
Boxy is wired for 120 v ac on 2 30. A breakers
Microwave , fridge , 120 v small window unit AC,
Solar water heater. Lp water heater and stove
5700 W gen set with duel tanks.