The Krawler Hauler

[Donkey]

Well i have made mention of a possible new tow rig in my Donkey build thread, now here it is.

This was originally built by a member of a club here in tampa and documented on Pirate 4x4. It then switched hands to a friend of mine that used it for a couple of years. He began tearing it apart to build it in a way that better fitted him but got burnt out on it and has decided to go with a actaul motorhome. Worked out perfect for me i told him if he ever sold it i wanted first dibs, when he first was thinking about selling it i had an opportunity to trade my tow rig 06 Dodge Ram for a streetable TJ. Being that i was going to get this gem i did the trade and have been with out a tow rig for a few months. Well finally he sold it and is now mine to start working on.

Here the original build on pirate-http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=480067

Heres a recent pictures of when my friend owned it last year at Chocco

Since the last update on pirate it has two roof top a/c's and nothing in the box. A few things i have for it include a ac/dc converter to run all my 12 volt stuff when plugged in to shore power, i still have the water tank and pump, i have a nice size fridge (can be seen in pictures below), and some building materials.

The plan
First get layout finalized
insulate, put up wall studs and run wiring
more insulation
put up walls
put in lights and anything else electronic
put in cabinets
wall paper
put down floor im raising it up to put insulation in the floor
front will be laminated flooring back will be carpet
rear doors to close off living space

The goal is to make the living area look like something you would find in a nice toy hauler minus all the exspense. Im hoping to have it done by end of december so i can start working on the buggy, hopefully if i find some sponsors i can run a full 2013 ECORS season with a toterhome and a rig that will give the big boys a run for their money.

 

[Donkey]

Heres the day i got it

My daily driver in the back after picking it up

And some progress made. The previous owner made the sleeping area above the cab larger to fit a queen mattress, since im planning on walling that off so i can utilize that space for cabinets, i first got rid of the extra pieces added. And before anyone ask yes i will have an opening so i can sleep up there.
First pictures still have the extra piece in place the second shows it removed.

If you notice in the pictures you can see the sharpie on the walls where i have started to outline where everything is going to go that whole driver side corner is going to be kitchen cabinets and counters from the fridge around the bend till about 2 ft off the passenger wall. A total of 12ft of counter space and cabinets. I will try to get a drawing of the set up.

heres the kitchen cabinets im looking at, they are unfinished but already put together. So far they are the nicest and best priced ones i have found, if anyone knows of cheaper cabinets let me know i want to keep the same look though where all edges are finished out.

 

[frankenyoter]

Cool. Give them big boys a run for their money! I like the ambition and goal. Good luck with the build.

 

[Yay!Gurrr]

Sweet !!!

 

[shagy9888]

Thats sweet. How dose the floor do under weight? Did u do anything to it? How does it ride with the weight that far back?

 

[sparkn89]

X2

 

[Donkey]

Thats sweet. How dose the floor do under weight? Did u do anything to it? How does it ride with the weight that far back?

It does fine, the previous owner had 1/2 plywood down where the tires went and theres no caving in of the floor, i have removed the plywood while building it and whenever i go to put the rig in it i never see any movement of the floor. I am building the floor up though , i am using 2x4s running wall to wall then laying 3/8s plywood on top of thatm, where the tires will be driving over i will be running 2x4s front to back to give the plywood more support.

With a vehicle in there it doesnt effect the ride much at all, with a vehicle in the back and a trailer behind it, you can tell it is really giving the motor a work out but doesnt seem to have an effect on the suspension or drive.

 

[shawn]

What is the floor made up of now? Usually box trucks like that are short lengths of oak laminated together, usually like 1-1.5" thick.

The floor in most enclosed car trailers is only 3/4" plywood, screwed to Z-channels on 16" centers.

 

[Donkey]

Its aluminum strips about 8in seem to be about 3/16 but am not possitive.

Well heres some updatse finally got some work done. The roof already had insulation and faring strips, couple weeks ago i finished putting in the last of the faring strips. This weekend i began putting up the walls in the sleeping area, i plan to have the sleeping area done and walled off before gray rock in october.

Well heres some pictures

This box will be a 110 outlet (just realized i still need to run 12 volt for a reading/bed light) but it will be run just a little over to the right and down a bit from the outlet

This is a run incase i decide to run an outside halogen

First walls up

Here you can see how the walls are layered

 

[shagy9888]

Any updates?

 

[buzzsaw 1995]

nice setup

 

[cardudenc]

I have been thinking about going this route. what kind of fuel mileage are you getting with a rig in tow? I have heard anywhere from 5 to 10 mpg.