New housetruck in construction

[jslabovitz]

I've been inspired by many of the posts & projects on this forum, so I figured I let you guys know about my housetruck project. I'm building it from scratch, based on an Isuzu NPR truck chassis. The housetruck will serve several purposes:

* A compact and mobile home in which I can hang out and socialize, cook and eat, and retreat and sleep.
* A workspace for my photography and programming projects.
* A vehicle that will transport me & my belongings to points beyond.
* A laboratory for research into alternative and mobile technology.
* An expression of art & creativity.

I've been designing it for about a year, and about a month ago hired a local steel fabricator to build the frame. That's now done, and I'm now onto adding "skin" to the bones.

If you'd like to follow along, I'll be updating my website fairly regularly. You can always find the current status, plus links to longer articles & more images, here:

http://polymecca.com/housetruck

You can also follow me on Twitter at @jslabovitz, or on Facebook. And of course, if you are in or around Silverton, Oregon, I'd love to give you a tour; just contact me for when & where.

[dburt]

Welcome JS- this website that Sharkey has designed is great, we all owe him an enternal debt of gratitude. Here we can share projects and ideas, seek solace when we are down, and cheer others up when we are up and they are down! All in all, a very good housetruck/housebus community with some great and well aged roots going back to "the good old days"! Went to your website and found it very useful and interesting. I am sure we will all follow your project with interest. I have a 14-ft box van with liftgate that I bought from a man in Wilsonville who was parting out a truck like yours for parts for another Isuzu truck he was working on. I thought about making a house truck out of the box by putting it on the back of a miltary Deuce and a half I own, but have decided to go the bus route instead.

[Sharkey]

I was just idling away some time this evening, following referrals from the access logs when I clicked in on a page describing a new construction of a Housetruck. It took me a moment to connect what I was seeing with this topic thread, but now it makes sense.

For those of you who haven't seen it, I'll steal some of John's bandwidth and post an image from his blog:



It should be interesting to follow the progress on this truck. And - it's local, more or less, Silverton is a charming little town a few miles east of Salem which has a, uh, unique mayor who has been in the news a time or two. It's also the gateway to Silver Falls State Park, which is a wonder all it's own.

[jslabovitz]

Thanks, Sharkey, for posting the image!

Yes, Silverton's quite a charming little place. And very accessible: I had lunch with our mayor Stu just today.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Im bettin it's gonna be a great rig. I can't wait to see it come together.

[Caravan Monster]

Excellent site you have there JS. I've just skimmed through a few sections and agree wholeheartedly with the philosophy on living in small spaces - I employed similar (if rather less sophisticated) principles, and have been able to live well in the wagon I built. Will definitely be spending more time reading the site and following progress.

[tamangel]

I'm sure you must be aware of this build site on Fuso's:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/f ... y.php?f=72

Lots of info...

Mike

[GoodClue]

Isn't this an Isuzu? The Isuzu Turbo models I've driven, they'll get 30 MPG or close ... twice I delivered full box van models to the Rosebud reservation in S. Dakota from Colorado Springs and averaged 30 MPG whether loaded or empty, high winds, up hill or down ...
If I build another housetruck it will be with one of these ...
Doug

[Jones'n4chrome]

I just finished reading John's blog titled "the journey begins" here's a quote

{I’ve been noise sensitive my entire life, so detecting these sounds wasn’t a new experience for me. Motors, engines, and fans — those sounds of the modern world — drive me crazy.}
That's the same thing that motivated Sharkey to begin his journey out of the big city.
Really cool blog, I can't wait to see that truck progress.

[Jones'n4chrome]

Isn't this an Isuzu? The Isuzu Turbo models I've driven, they'll get 30 MPG or close ... twice I delivered full box van models to the Rosebud reservation in S. Dakota from Colorado Springs and averaged 30 MPG whether loaded or empty, high winds, up hill or down ...
If I build another housetruck it will be with one of these ...
Doug

Hey Doug,
You could put your bus body on Isuzu frame and running gear, then you would have your cool bus body on updated drivetrain.
Chuck

[GoodClue]

J4c ... Chuck ... you are correct, sir ..
If only that I could, I would ... I'd love to update the drivetrain and hit the road ... jones'en for it, you know?
Road-wise I'm restricted to my Toyota pickup ... bought it for $500 after a friend laid it on its side and the insurance company wrote it off ...
Looks like hell, but a V-6 4x4 ... had 140k when I bought it, 260k now ... got to love those Axis vehicles ... and I've a pop-up camper that fits it, if the mice haven't devoured it ... and my 73 R75/5 with sidehack ... also needs TLC ...
I've gotten too serious and sedentary in this last 12 year relationship ... this new year, I think, deserves a trip ... somewhere.
Maybe if Dennis TBD swings through CO this summer I'd get some encouragement ...
My 46 was lovely on the road, even through the 80s ... and I do want to use it, if I get my lots improved and a studio home built, for local events to a couple of hundred miles radius ... craft fairs, rendezvous, etc ... would have to take winning the lottery to make a major trip with it again ...
... unlesss I could find one of those Isuzu turbo units ... what a sweet ride that would be ...
GoodClue

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Well Doug, Im sooooo over due for a road trip as well. I may just hook the solar trailer to my little van a get out of town for a month come spring. I sooooo need to meet up with some other really folks, road folks. So I wont be going through your way without stoping by to say high.

[tamangel]

any updates? Is the Isuzu on the road yet...very interesting reading and pic's..

Mike

[Sharkey]

Once again I sort of stumbled onto John's housetruck build while cruising referrals in my logs. I looks like he had some travel adventures in the first part of this year, and then moved into the truck about two months ago, writing about it in his blog:

http://polymecca.com/housetruck/first-night

It would be interesting to hear and see more.

[stuartcnz]

http://polymecca.com/housetruck/osbridge.pdf This PDF is a great pictorial of the construction.