Daily Full Time Living in my Box Truck in Canada

[Willy]

&nbsp;What kind of fuel economy do you get with that rig? Been thinking of going diesel, so the more info, the better. ..Willy. <br>

 

[Wild_E]

Fuel economy ? funny<div>bigger means more fuel, now that said, this gets better fuel&nbsp;Mileage than that of my Astro Van!</div><div><br></div><div>Right now, I am parked in the back of a Farmers Farm area, so very good&nbsp;mileage, sorry had too. <img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif">&nbsp;I think it was about 12-14 or 15 miles to the gallon for the 7.3 ltr diesel. So about average for a larger vehicle, similar if not better, then the same for a School Bus or better than a Astro Van. Note, the Astro I had was about 1/3 better than the previous Astro Van, my Newer to me Dodge Caravan, is getting aprox. Twice what the Astro did! Or maybe even a bit more.&nbsp;<br></div><div><br></div><div>If I had to do it over again, I would look for a Box Truck with Barn Doors, not the roll up, way too much draft and problems with roll up doors. Barn Doors very little maintenance.&nbsp;</div>

 

[Willy]

Man, that's AWESOME fuel economy. My F-250 4x4 (302, 5spd, highway gears) only gets 10-12 MPG with the camper on.. and there's less room! ..Willy. <br>

 

[Wild_E]

To be fair about the fuel ratios<div>The 7.3ltr is about the best for small block diesel truck engines, best power-rate-fuel economy out there.</div><div>Mostly driving flat country, although lots of traffic as well.&nbsp;</div><div>I used to drive Big Truck, so am not a&nbsp;lead-foot, although this beasty does have a bit of take off power.</div><div>Diesels will get better&nbsp;mileage, so if you put a similar one in your pickup, you would be getting better&nbsp;mileage&nbsp;as well.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Even when I have a trailer on, there is hardly any difference with fuel economy. Now the trailer is a smaller utility trailer, though my buddy has a similar Chev with a diesel of similar size and with a loaded trailer, they get only a drop of 1-2gal pulling their Car Haulers, loaded with race cars and parts.&nbsp;</div>

 

[Wild_E]

<div>I live in Canada in the GTA, Greater Toronto area and am planning on moving another 12 hrs NORTH of here <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>now the .. woulda.. coulda...shoulda part ...&nbsp;</div><div>-&gt; when i did the first work on the box truck, I would have stipped it to the wood as I did and clean it as I did, now the part I should have done.&nbsp;</div><div>1.a. Put down tar paper to help seal it</div><div>b. put down Durofoam all over the floor, shiny side up towards feet</div><div>c. cover with 1/2 inch plywood, marine grade</div><div>-&gt; I would have lost 1.5 inches in height, but the floor would have been so much better.&nbsp;</div><div>d. I did cover it with underlay and then put 3 layers of wool throw rugs down, and screw them into place as they shifted a lot without the screws. I used the Throw rugs as they are more dense and better fibers than the regular carpets. Now for the sweet part, picked all of them up for only $10 each at a flea market! Make sure you clean them for mouse smells first though <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>2. Roll up door</div><div>&nbsp;-&gt; a. in the future look for a box truck with swing/barn doors</div><div>b. put in a new door inside or outside bypassing the roll door fully. This way the wind would not blow into the vehicle/home like it does and possibly allow the temps to not drop the 10-20 degs like it does when the wind blows over 25 km per hour in the winter!&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>3. I did create a way to remove or lift up the top and bottom of the wall to allow air flow in the summertime, Do that again! make sure though it is more bug proof! Dealing with the rails is a PITA.. so in the spring...</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>4. This spring, remove the roll up door completely, most probably and get rid of the rails as well. They are too hard to work around. Right now, I do just cut to fit the Durofoam wall, then push it against the rails and allow it to form around the rails so it is not too bad that way, but bugs still get through in the summer time.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>5. In the spring or maybe even before I will be upgrading my size by creating an outside vestibule area off the back. I will be running poles out from the vehicle to create a larger enclosed working, living area with a woodstove in there. This will be a canvas covered room with removable poles for transporting and setup. Similar to what the US and CDN Militaries do with their command vehicles to create a covered space for working/maps etc.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>6. better solar setup, much better solar setup, on the roof! Go see a body shop that specializes in roof top racking, platforms and have one made up that will not damage the integrity of the fiberglass roof and its waterproofing. The have the solar up there, flat when moving, sloped when on site and non stealth modes though. Sloped also when winter time so the snow does not damage the panels and getting better solar gain.</div>

 

[Wild_E]

Man, that's AWESOME fuel economy. My F-250 4x4 (302, 5spd, highway gears) only gets 10-12 MPG with the camper on.. and there's less room! ..Willy. <br />

<br />Willy my buddy just told me a story from the past;<br /><br />He had a Brother with 5 Dump trucks all running Gas Engines in the 80s.<br />Well the brother asked him to put in a diesel in one of the trucks.<br /><br />Each Gas Dump Truck used $50 of gas per day to work<br />The Diesel Truck with the used diesel engine, once changed over used $50 of diesel per week!&nbsp;<br /><br />The engines were of&nbsp;comparable&nbsp;sizes in the same vehicles with no other modifications. Diesel is just that much more efficient, and found everywhere!&nbsp;

 

[yesican]

My 4x4 2500 dodge pickup&nbsp;with a&nbsp;Cummins&nbsp;diesel, extended cab, and 8 ft box gets minimum 20mpg.&nbsp; Empty with no camper gets about 23 mpg if you don't drive over 55 mph.&nbsp; Best of all its got power to spare.<br />Rae

 

[Wild_E]

Rae, that is very good mpg and a 4x4 to boot.&nbsp;<br />You have the best of both worlds then, on and off road. Thanks for the info and take care.

 

[Seraphim]

Wilderness

Diesel USED to be cheaper than gas.

Our truck gets about 16mpg unloaded, 12 with the camper in place (additional 4000 lbs loaded up). Our TC is quite a bit taller, and wind resistance may be a major factor. Similar to Rae's rig, a GMC 3500, but we have duallies.

 

[WanderingRain]

I like the bunk beds behind the driver's seats. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> The wood makes it all feel homey. That's a nice sized rig.

 

[Wild_E]

Heater update:<br><br>Heater is run from a 100 lb propane tank now using a special adapter rubber hose, available from Coleman or from Mr. Heater, etc.<br>This has saved me much time, anxiety and MONEY $$$$<br>Filling the 100 lb tank 3 times since November instead of the filling the 20 lb tanks every 4-5 days!&nbsp;<br><br>Here are two pics for visuals<br><br>This one shows how close plastic is and not being melted. Now it is a much larger area than a car, so .. test if a few times yourself, please. At first I had the heater standing up inside there, this way with it down, I get the added&nbsp;benefit&nbsp;of the full design of the old Kero cabinet, so full energy not just frontal radiant dispersal.&nbsp;<br><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://wildernessreturn.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/small-heater-002b.jpg" class="bbc_img"><br><br>This one Shows, how close the bed is (base is metal skinned outside door) and that the mass (inside the roast pan) stops the heat from going straight up, so not as hot as it is dispersed. Never a problem and it was been in almost constant use since End Nov.<br>There was thermometer and no touch Temp taken as well during testing time, safety !!!.<br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://wildernessreturn.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/small-heater-004b.jpg" class="bbc_img">&nbsp;<br><br>This is also a heater that I use in my living area. Note the size difference as well as the fact that it runs on Veggy oil ! This will run all night long by the way.<br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://wildernessreturn.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/veglamps-132b.jpg" class="bbc_img"><br><br>or this setup, put the can on top of the jar, it runs all night as well. This is what I use for heat until it goes below 6/7&nbsp;Celsius. (aprox 40-44 deg far)<br><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://wildernessreturn.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/veglamps-104b.jpg" class="bbc_img">

 

[Ballenxj]

Wild_E, That looks like a cozy set up you have. I was looking into Step Vans, but cannot seem to find any descent ones, so I'm also now looking a Box Trucks.&nbsp; I'd like to see more of yours. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>Seems like barn doors on them are pretty rare though.<br>Phantom Blooper, Thanks for the heads up on styrofoam.&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>-Bruce

 

[Ballenxj]

PS, How do you like your 7.3 Diesel? I may have found myself a deal on a 1990 similar to yours, and with that same engine. I understand its an International engine?<br>-Bruce

 

[Wild_E]

yes it is an&nbsp;international&nbsp;engine. 7.3 idi not powerstroke.<br>same as all the school busses so you have options for parts.<br><br>.. replace the hoses in the front!<br>mine has another used&nbsp;vacuum&nbsp;pump sitting here to install as well.&nbsp;<br>mine pulls quite nicely, gets the same fuel&nbsp;efficiency&nbsp;as the Astro van did so about 15mpg-18mpg<br>I thought mine had an electrical short and for the first year had to remove the battery cables every time I was parked or it would leach the batteries.<br><br>Three weeks ago, I took off the quick&nbsp;disconnect&nbsp;which the backyard wonder&nbsp;mechanic&nbsp;had put on backwards so it was not working at all. Guess what still fully charged, working great and have started it only every 5 days since, no issues!&nbsp;<br><br>Now all I have to do it put the dash fully back together that he had undid as well, looking for the power short!&nbsp;<br><br>Rear door.. I am starting the conversion of the rear door and the setup today, the rear door will either be removed, but most likely put up permanently on the top rail. I can use it for some foam storage and stuff like that.&nbsp;<br><br>Will be making an internal as wall, with a temp outer wall right now, as an external wall it will be waterproof and bug screened. I might just use the roll up door in the future, so the inside wall might move back or be modified in one corner so that a&nbsp;100 lbs&nbsp;propane bottle can go there then slide the door down while driving.&nbsp;<br><br>Some do have barn doors if&nbsp;you're&nbsp;lucky you might be able to get one for yourself, or modify it for your needs.&nbsp;<br><br>Today I am working on removing the bed as it went across the back and was a pain. Originally I had thought to put it on chains so that it could be moved upwards out of the way but due to the rails for the sliding door it was harder to do than I thought it would be. The bed will now do down the walls and have a proper walkway to the rear again, not just the little crawl under door I had before.<br><br>This week I will be plugging away on the rear setup, since it is now warm, less issues with heating and freezing at nights, I have the time to do it slower now.&nbsp;<br><br>For the sliding door behind the drivers door, I kept it simple, used the Durofoam board as a slider door, dropped a tarp down behind it and it kept the wind out.&nbsp;<br><br><a href="http://www.dieselhub.com/idi.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.dieselhub.com/idi.html</a>&nbsp;<br><br><a href="http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum117/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum117/<br><br></a><a href="http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f30/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f30/</a><br><br><a href="http://www.dieselhub.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.dieselhub.com/</a>

 

[Ballenxj]

Thank you for the links. I will peruse them as I get the time. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>-Bruce