Building a home in a 80 series Landcruiser

[Ob1]

Just came back from a weekend reppelling into the Grand Canyon. First night on the way east we got off the freeway into a dirt road in the Mojave. Sunrise was spectacular. The next two nights we camped on the North rim of the Grand Canyon on BLM land.The rig supported 2 more couples as far as supplies, cooking and showers. Each took a shower and we used 1/2 of the total water on board (18 gallons). It was nice coming back after 12 hours going down and back up from the Colorado and taking a hot shower. The vehicle was 5 miles away from camp so driving the 5 miles on a dirt road was enough to heat the 9 gallons to 52C (125F). In the 5 days away from home the only interaction with humanity was the diesel nozzle at the gas stations....

 

[Deleted member 59857]

How did you shatter the bearing?

Your Grand Canyon trip looks great. North rim is on my list!

Spent a weekend with OB in the Mojave cleaning up the deserts just before the chaos began. Shattered one of the front wheel bearings. Did a quick fix, but now, now is a good time to do a full replacement.
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[Ob1]

How did you shatter the bearing?

Your Grand Canyon trip looks great. North rim is on my list!

I let someone else work on my rig. The only time in 10 years. They just did not grease properly. Now I carry a set of OEM bearings and sets of seals with me.

 

[Ob1]

Spent last weekend in the Mojave with the clean crew. What an amazing desert.

Having to deal with a leaky front heater core a few months ago, I found out that 30 year old cars do not have a cabin air filter. Seems like the evaporator was doing the 'job'. After cleaning it up, we had 4 times the air flow in the front heater/AC fan. I decided to add a stainless mesh on the breather grill to capture at least the big stuff. Used magnets to hold while curing. The mesh was glued with aluminum epoxy with added aluminum powder so it becomes a putty. Ideally, I should design a replaceable filter that is water proof, because it will seating with partiall exposure to rain, under the breather grill.

On a side note, this epoxy material has enough metal, that can be powder coated. The epoxy is rated at 450F.

 

[Deleted member 59857]

question: On the water filter box mount (mounts to your spare tire). Does the entire thing cantilever off the center of the spare tire w/ 2 8mm bolts?
I am looking at something similar, but worried about the weight capacity or bouncy effect? If it's not an issue, it gives me some confidence

There are some Aussie fellas that clean out those heater cores while stil on the truck. I'm going to try this

I've looked at trying to add a filter, but no good place to easily do it... the mesh is a great idea

 

[Ob1]

question: On the water filter box mount (mounts to your spare tire). Does the entire thing cantilever off the center of the spare tire w/ 2 8mm bolts?
I am looking at something similar, but worried about the weight capacity or bouncy effect? If it's not an issue, it gives me some confidence

There are some Aussie fellas that clean out those heater cores while stil on the truck. I'm going to try this

I've looked at trying to add a filter, but no good place to easily do it... the mesh is a great idea

Great Video. I had to take the leaky heater out so figured that the amount of hair and crud that was embedded in it, might as well take it to a radiator shop for an immersion cleaning and pressure test at the same time.

As for the rack above the tire... It does not carry much weight. I carry the water filter system (2-3 kg) or some firewood in a mesh bag. There are two 8 mm nuts welded on the back of the tire mount plate. I always weld nuts everywhere. You never know when you will need to mount something... :) I ended up mounting the side ladder to the bumper that way. Still have 4 nuts vacant on the right side.

 

[Deleted member 59857]

Thanks, for the info!
I was wondering what those empty screw holes on the bumper were for :)

 

[Ob1]

Thanks, for the info!
I was wondering what those empty screw holes on the bumper were for :)

Always drill holes and weld stainless nuts. It becomes a habit.

 

[Ob1]

Just came back from Anza Borrego near San Diego. Beautiful desert with lots of off road canyons. Some less traveled then others. We traveled into Fish Creek wash South to North and hit a wall after about 20 miles. Later I found out that it is call "Heart Attack Hill" and is traveled only North to South, so I don't feel that bad. Traveling solo limits you on the chances you want to take. Also found a 2WD Tacoma that was blocking the trail 15 miles deep in the canyon. Had to pull him out and was too lazy to use the winch. Rig got 23 mpg on the highway and 19 off road.

Last picture is of Painted Canyon which is on the North East end of the Salton Sea. Beautiful canyon to camp for the night and explore by foot in th morning. I marked it on the OB map.


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[Ob1]

As per request, I am posting some photos of the frame structure inside the rig with some dimensions in cm. (Inches divide by 2.54 ). The padding was 2" hard foam with leather covering. The countertop was 1/2"Corian. All frames mount to the attachments point of the two rear row of seats and use the same bolts. No other holes were drilled in the vehicle. Another frame was welded to the back padding of the bench, so the padding can slide out and become part of the bed. I will post this later.

 

[Ob1]

Spent the weekend in the Black Rock Desert. No one to be seen. Not even the 70001 people that attend Burning Man. Solitude. Vehicle average was 23 mpg including the 'dirt driving'. And... most important, finally finished my milk steamer, so we can have cappuccinos in the morning.


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[Ob1]

Had the honor to spend the weekend with 50 rigs organized by Overland Bound to clean trash left by squatters in the mid 19 hundred. The staff did amazing job distributing the people among various sites.

 

[Ob1]

Many asked me about the shower system, and I posted it on the camp shower forum, but, I'll add it here as well.

We have solved the shower issue in a relative inexpensive way. It is an outdoor shower and has 2 tanks of 9 gallons each in the location of the spare of the 80 series Land Cruiser. The tanks are made of 8" schedule 40 PVC pipes with caps. There is a pressure reducer from the air tank with a one way valve that pressurizes the tanks. The rear heater was removed from under the passenger seat and the plumbing was used to heat a heat exchanger. It heats up 9 gallons to 125F in 20 minutes when the engine is warm.

The water system looks like this...

The fittings are standard. The exception is the fitting on the bottom right of the pic. It is drilled and tapped so the pipe that goes up feeds the hot water from the pump and the outlet that goes to the left comes from the bottom of the tank to the pump and the shower. I was trying to drill as little number of holes as possible on the PVC.

They tanks support up to 140F. The frame for the tanks was welded from $15 worth of steel.

The circulating pump is a 12VDC, but the key is self priming and sustain 140F. The pump was inserted into a 4” PVC for protection, and mounted inside the rear bumper. It is controlled by a thermostat that costs $5 which is mounted middle right of the panel.

The Shower Head is available on Amazon, but requires fittings from West Marin. We mounted the shower head inside the rig by the rear right sliding window. Some cut the fender and mount it outside.

The Pressure Reducer is also available on Amazon.

The rear heater that resides under the passenger seat was removed, and the two pipes that connect to it were used to connect to the heat exchange unit. If I had to do it again, I would have used this unit which is more compact and will take 40 minutes to heat the water instead of 20 min, but we always have time. :)

—o

 

[Ob1]

Just came back from eastern Oregon this weekend. Figured we needed to wash the bottom of the car after driving the dirt...

 

[Ob1]

We found a simple inexpensive solution for insulating windows... glue disk magnets to the perimeter of the fixed window with RTV silicone on the inside. We tape steel washers with packing take to a precut reflective insulation. It snaps to the magnets when you attach and it rolls easily.

Stay cool!

 

[Ob1]

I've created a few 'animated' videos of the bed set up and the kitchen. The bed takes a bit less then two minutes. We can do this while driving. The kitchen less then a minute. Can NOT do this while driving. ;(

View attachment The bed 1.mov
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[TalesByThomas]

My favorite 80s build I've ever seen. Whenever I want to change something to my car, I keep coming back to see how you did it! Great inspiration.

 

[Ob1]

My favorite 80s build I've ever seen. Whenever I want to change something to my car, I keep coming back to see how you did it! Great inspiration.

thx. are you making any progress with yours? if so, post some pics.

 

[Ob1]

I shot a single shot of the Kitchen, bed room, living room and play room. I wish the view from the rear window was not the garage door. I'm working on that...

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[Ob1]

We just came back from a 25 days 9000 miles trip across the US. 26 states, $1300 for 406 gallons of diesel (22 mpg). One of the switches in the TC dies so we lost 4WD. Still had low range 2WD so did not take extreme chances. We bought food 3 times and filled the 28 gallons 4 times. Hot showered almost every day and cooked like home. My wife, Tali, said she feels 10 years younger. Well, i'm doing 2 more trips soon...