New Build for Full Time old duffers.

[MOAK]

We may have already discussed this but have you been in contact with Mike and Deb Lee aka IronhorseOverland. @Magic Mike & @Firemom.
They are a great full time resource, currently doing a LMTV build.

Yes, we’ve had a conversation about Mexico, I look forward to meeting them one day.

 

[Magic Mike]

We’ll be at Sierra Foothills meetup tonight

 

[Magic Mike]

Well say hello to our new full time rig; 1994 Stewart & Stevenson M1079 LMTV. Appears to be in good shape, with 11,000 miles on the Odometer.

The gentleman that we purchased it took care of us, like 7K worth of 12 volt gear came with it.

We are currently working on it, trying to get a lot of the stuff done before EXPO West.

 

[Boucher]

I like it

 

[MOAK]

Now is the tough part. Couch surfing at my Brotherinlaw's. The custom build on the flatbed met a snag yesterday and the rear boxes must be re-built. It will be ready next week, then we're headed to RI for week before the installation of MeeShell begins on the 7th. Chomping at the bit would be an understatement. I expected as much as the flatbed is a one off custom/prototype build. The pop up? I'm assuming, because it was completed in less than 10 weeks, that sales are a bit off and it took two weeks to come up with a truckload headed east instead of the usual 1 week window. It's odd for me as this is the first time in my life that I'm not DIYing anything on an overland/whateveryouwannacallit build.

 

[tyndall]

Looking forward to seeing this come together and congratulations on your change of lifestyle

 

[MOAK]

The flat bed is completed and we’ll pick it up tomorrow AM. Spend another night couch surfing, then on to New England for the installation of Me-Shell on the 7th.

 

[Blu12T]

Well say hello to our new full time rig; 1994 Stewart & Stevenson M1079 LMTV. Appears to be in good shape, with 11,000 miles on the Odometer.

The gentleman that we purchased it took care of us, like 7K worth of 12 volt gear came with it.

We are currently working on it, trying to get a lot of the stuff done before EXPO West.

That’s an awesome vehicle, please keep posting pictures of your progress. Love to see how it all turns out. Best

 

[MOAK]

The 4WC is being installed this week. Before we dropped the truck off I took care of the inevitable mudflap problem. This solution will keep them from wrapping up while on washboard roads or getting pinched while reversing on any technical roads. I’m pleased with how the bed looks.

 

[John and Mandi]

Looking good. I'm wondering why the spare isn't underneath?

-J

 

[MOAK]

Looking good. I'm wondering why the spare isn't underneath?

-J

Good question; witnessing others struggling with getting a tire out from underneath a heavy vehicle in an off camper situation and having to jack the vehicle up to get the tire out is one reason. Another is that we now have a huge amount of room for an additional water tank.

 

[John and Mandi]

We cut our tire winch out and installed a skid plate that also held our 4D battery. Now that we changed to lithium the skid plate is empty. Doing over I would have installed the battery inside and kept the spare underneath. Once it's your only home you don't tackle unnecessary trails and will opt for the path of least resistance. I suggest if you add the additional water tank you keep the option of adding/re-adding the spare underneath if you decide you don't need the tank and would like your rig be a bit shorter. You should also carry at least one jack stand. I've seen rear attachments break off in Mexico from the "hidden" speed bumps (Topes). Friends had their rear bumper break off twice from their Scania in Mexico, it had to be extended to the back of the rig per Swiss law. It's the regular roads that pose the greatest hazards since we all take care off pavement. I can't tell you how many times we've come around a corner to a Tope that was the same color as the road, also entirely in the shade, that created a Dukes of Hazard situation. We do prefer to be off of the toll roads so that does make it more "adventurous".

All that said I love your build. We're in the process of fixing all of the little things we've been putting up with and are considering re-building our interior to be a more weekend/multi-week long configuration over a full-time setup. We have been looking at diesel 3500s so a truck and camper combo might be in our future.

 

[Sockettrousers]

I know this is rude, but what’s the budget for this build?

The whole thing looks great BTW :-)

 

[MOAK]

Finally, Me-Shell is installed. We are headed back to Pennsylvania to stock our new home. All the details are now falling into place.

 

[MOAK]

I know this is rude, but what’s the budget for this build?

The whole thing looks great BTW :-)

Well, new F-350 crew cab long bed with 4XL package, dual batteries, and a 110 inverter, Fourwheelcamper Grandby with a lot of extras, including three expion lifepo batteries providing 486ah, solar array, bamboo countertops, king size bed, indorr/outdoor shower with cassette toilet, etc etc- I will say that the custom made flatbed cost 13,500 total. That is roughly half what the Aussies are getting for theirs including installation costs. The rear bumper is from Trailready, and the rear storage box is from Buckstop. When you get right down to it, compared to a lot of expo rigs, this is a poor man’s expedition truck.

 

[MOAK]

We are almost ready to go, I must install a power inverter, ( short story on that debacle later, dependent upon how Mainline Overland rectifies their mistake ) and move all of our interior gear into it today & tomorrow, as we are heading out Monday morning.

 

[Blu12T]

We are almost ready to go, I must install a power inverter, ( short story on that debacle later, dependent upon how Mainline Overland rectifies their mistake ) and move all of our interior gear into it today & tomorrow, as we are heading out Monday morning. View attachment 292879

It looks awesome! Like how the tire carrier and the storage box connect on each side of the bumper. You still have the tow hitch, nice!

 

[MOAK]

It looks awesome! Like how the tire carrier and the storage box connect on each side of the bumper. You still have the tow hitch, nice!

Ya, we considered a bicycle rack in the rear but we are already a little over 23 ft long