needing advice

[leftlaner]

i'm trying to decide what would be my best home,transpiration I have owned a class c a pickup camper and a airstream in the past I have lived in them all for the last 25 years when not driving truck over the road now i'm retired and want to hit the road full time I would like to get as close to 20 miles per gallon as possible i like winter and cold weather so need something with good r value also don't like to pay camping fees very often so need something small enough to park anywhere but want as much room as possible does anyone here know anything about the fuso type trucks and if i bought one who i could hire to build the box into the type of housetruck i would need thanks in advance for your help scott

[Rudy]

A Mitsubishi/Fuso truck with a 14 foot reefer box would be a good start. Just put some skylights in and some interior systems and furniture. It could still look like a commercial vehicle and you could park just about anywhere.

[leftlaner]

thats kind of what i was thinking rudy do you have any idea what kind of milage i could get with one of these, and how well there built

[Rudy]

I am by no means an expert on those trucks. I see many of them on the road used as furniture store delivery trucks.

Mark Obtinario is our resident diesel guru. Hopefully he gives us some info.

MPG? I'll guess 13. It's just a guess based on a 24 foot UHaul diesel truck I once hauled full of furniture when I moved some people's stuff 300 miles. That truck got the same mileage empty or full of furniture.

[Stealth Camper]

Some of those Sprinter (Freightliner) vans get 20+ mpg on a little 6 cyl diesel. (Up from a 5 cyl).

They are being commercially made into a class c. Some look pretty good. Home conversion shouldn't be too bad.

[Rudy]

I have seen some Sprinter class C motorhomes for sale. Very Pricey

[Stealth Camper]

Yeah, they are. Even just a shell to start with is kind of high, but they seem to be good trucks.

I still prefer to use a pickup with trailer for short camping type events - pull with the riding around town vehicle. Use the bus for longer trips and long term living.

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Leftlaner, if you are wanting something that will get 20 MPG you are going to have to get out of the left lane for sure!

All of the small Japanese diesels are pretty stout and pretty fuel efficient.

I have a friend who has had a GMC badged Isuzu 1-ton for many years and he gets close to 20 MPG. The cab is designed and built for Japanese. For a fat boy like me it is a pretty tight fit.

I have a couple of other friends who have UD diesel trucks in the next size up from the 1-ton. The cabs are a little more roomy but are still a little on the small side. Mid-teens for fuel economy.

You may want to look at a bread van with the Cummins 4BT. Those get pretty close to 20 MPG and already have a box.

The Sprinter is one of the best deals out there. Most of them will see 500K miles with little or no work needed. All while turning in 20+ MPG.

The advantage of the bread vans over the Sprinter is most of the bread vans have a larger cube than any of the Sprinters. They will also be much less expensive in the short term.

There is no one perfect vehicle out there for everyone. Everyone has their own idea as to what is best.

When it comes to making a house that is able to move down the road the end result will almost always be the result of a lot of compromises. The larger the vehicle gets the more fuel it will take to move it down the road.

I don't recall where the chart is on the 'net but someone has figured out the power requirements for gradability for specific sizes of vehicles. The power (and of course fuel use) goes up exponentially the faster you want to go up a hill. Add some more weight and you can add a 2X or 3X factor on top of the exponential.

Having said that, all of the light and medium duty foreign built trucks do a great job around town but get a little short legged out on the highway, particularly in the mountains of the west. In order to get great fuel mileage they are a little on the small size for blasting down the hammer lane with a full load.

If you don't already have your heart set on a particular vehicle now would be the time to start making your list with all of the things your rig has to have. Good fuel mileage, size of the rig, highway driveability, etc. are all important issues you need to determine before you spend any $$$. Fixing some of the major issues after purchase will require spending $$$ that could have been spent better.

There was a recent posting about a gas powered bus that had a hard time doing highway speed but the conversion was great. The cost of updating the power package on something like that could cost much more than purchasing a different conversion that can comfortably travel at highway speeds already.

In the final analysis, only you need to determine what will work the best for you.

Good luck.

[leftlaner]

i didn't know bread trucks had cummins engines in them i have put over 1.2 million miles on a n14 cummins do the bread trucks have high enough gears to run 60 to 65 on flat ground i think a bread truck would be a little small for full timing though i'm leaning towards something 14 to 18 foot long and hopefully 102 wide but mpg is the biggest issue i'm thinking that i would be driving about 15000 miles a year i dent want to tow a car so ill be using this for all my driving expect a 50cc scooter i will be hauling with me i'm hoping i can buy a good low milage truck and set everything up for 30000 i'm hoping i can get it set up where i can go 2 weeks before having to charge batteries refill water tanks and lp tank i've built this thing in my head for the last 10 years or more now i'm retired and and its time to do it i wish there was somebody that build these type of housetrucks store bought campers are just built to cheaply to live in fulltime in colder parts of the country

[Mark R. Obtinario]

The bread trucks I have seen that were powered by the 4Bt could move right along. But like the little Japanese trucks the 4Bt starts to lose steam when you get to the big hills.

If you are wanting something 102" wide I doubt you will be able to find anything that will get 20 MPG. I think it will present too big of a frontal area by the time you get something tall enough as well.

Part of the reason why the Sprinters get such good fuel economy is they are relatively narrow.

I think you will need to lower your expectations in regards to fuel economy. If you expect 10 MPG and get 15 MPG you will be pleasantly surprised. If you expect 20 MPG and get 15 MPG you will be greatly disappointed.

You also need to consider how much it will cost you to move from the 15 MPG to 20 MPG. And how many miles it will take to recoup the difference in cost.

As another off the wall suggestion, Blue Bird and Thomas have made thousands of Type 'D' school buses with the Cummins 5.9L 'B' and 8.3L 'C' engines--both front and rear versions. Most of the 5.9L school buses get 10 MPG on route. Most are geared to be able to cruise at 60+ MPH. Converted to a housecar they would still get about the same fuel economy. And they are available for retail at less than $5K and from auction a lot less than that.

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Another possibility popped into my head you might want to consider. Particularly if you really want something 102" wide.

Gillig has made many short wheelbase transit buses that were 102" wide. Some had the Cummins 5.9L, some had the DD Series 40, and some had the DD Series 50. Any of them would turn in better than 10 MPG when used as an RV if they were geared for highway work. Since most were put into urban transit work the usual gearing favored lower top speeds in order to get better low end response.

[leftlaner]

what length are these buses did gillig make any of thease around 20 feet long do they have much headroom in them the main reason i want 102 wide is so i can frame the walls with 2by4s for better insulation and still have 94 inch wall to wall i went and looked at a isuzu npr with a 16 foot van box 4 cylinder diesel moter and auto trans if the box would have been 102 wide i would have bought it but i also want to put a bunk out over the cab that leads me to the next problem these small trucks have tilt cabs on them so not sure what to do now

[Mark R. Obtinario]

I don't think any transit bus has been built that was as short as 20'. Even most mini-buses are more than 20'. I think 30' is about as short as the full size transit buses ever get.

You should be able to build a cabover portion after you figure out what sort of arc the cab will make when tilting.