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Road To Off Grid
United Kingdom
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
Welcome to the Road To Off Grid! 🌿
We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. With a dream to live sustainably and independently, they're starting from scratch and documenting every step of our adventure.
We are currently tackling our first big project: converting a 7.5 tonne Mercedes 814 truck into a cosy tiny home. This mobile haven will serve as our temporary residence while we work on our ultimate goal - establishing a successful business on our own piece of land and inviting people to join us in creating a thriving off-grid community.
Follow our story and be inspired to pursue your own dreams of sustainability and independence. Let's embark on this journey together, learning, growing, and building a better future, one step at a time. 🌱🔧
We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. With a dream to live sustainably and independently, they're starting from scratch and documenting every step of our adventure.
We are currently tackling our first big project: converting a 7.5 tonne Mercedes 814 truck into a cosy tiny home. This mobile haven will serve as our temporary residence while we work on our ultimate goal - establishing a successful business on our own piece of land and inviting people to join us in creating a thriving off-grid community.
Follow our story and be inspired to pursue your own dreams of sustainability and independence. Let's embark on this journey together, learning, growing, and building a better future, one step at a time. 🌱🔧
Designing The Perfect CAMPER HABITAT | Going OFF GRID In A 7.5 Tonne Truck
S01E08
We’ve kept it from you long enough, it’s time to finally reveal our wild plans for the new custom living space! But first, let’s pull up the rest of that old rotten floor. Thank you to Tudor and Ana for lending us a hand this week 🙏
👫 ABOUT US
We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. Our first project is to convert our old Mercedes 7.5 tonne truck into a cosy live-in camper.
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Join our Patreon for FREE: patreon.com/RoadToOffGrid?
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Watch the series from the very beginning:
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roadtooffgrid
#offgridcamper #campertruck #truckconversion #truckcamper
We’ve kept it from you long enough, it’s time to finally reveal our wild plans for the new custom living space! But first, let’s pull up the rest of that old rotten floor. Thank you to Tudor and Ana for lending us a hand this week 🙏
👫 ABOUT US
We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. Our first project is to convert our old Mercedes 7.5 tonne truck into a cosy live-in camper.
💚 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
Join our Patreon for FREE: patreon.com/RoadToOffGrid?
Buy us some welding lessons: buymeacoffee.com/roadtooffgrid
🚚 JUST JOINING US?
Watch the series from the very beginning:
th-cam.com/play/PLyyxzz4QCsdMYu6WE_xyZ8UrCTElRvykI.html
🙏 SUBSCRIBE
Please consider subscribing to follow along and help us grow our channel!
www.youtube.com/@RoadToOffGrid?sub_confirmation=1
💯 PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
Our Amazon shop earns us a small commission on products that we recommend. We only list items that work!
www.amazon.co.uk/shop/roadtooffgrid
👋 FOLLOW
tiktok.com/@roadtooffgrid
roadtooffgrid
roadtooffgrid
#offgridcamper #campertruck #truckconversion #truckcamper
มุมมอง: 26 105
วีดีโอ
7.5 Tonne Truck to TINY HOUSE | Flatten That Box | TRUCK CAMPER Build Project
มุมมอง 25Kวันที่ผ่านมา
S01E07 There’s no turning back now - It’s the second week of box demolition and we are getting closer and closer to finding out the state of the truck beneath. But before we can lift the floor and uncover the chassis, we first need to figure out how to deconstruct the heavy steel frame. Some bigger tools are in order, we think! 👫 ABOUT US We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the s...
Horsebox to OFF GRID Tiny House | The Walls Are Coming Down | 7.5 Tonne TRUCK CAMPER Conversion
มุมมอง 14K14 วันที่ผ่านมา
S01E06 With cab renovations a distant memory, we are now fully focused on the demolition of the old horsebox but its heavy steel construction is no joke! In this episode, we try to figure out how on earth we’re going to dismantle the box down to the truck chassis, and show you why we absolutely do not want to reuse the frame 😬 👫 ABOUT US We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the so...
Going OFF GRID In A 7.5 Tonne Truck | WE’RE DONE (with step one) | Horsebox Conversion Project
มุมมอง 18K21 วันที่ผ่านมา
S01E05 We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. Our first project is to convert our rotten, old Mercedes 7.5 tonne Horse box truck into our dream tiny home. In this episode, we unveil our beautifully restored, clean and FRESH-SMELLING cab and officially move on to phase two of our truck camper c...
DEMOLITION BEGINS | Box Truck to TINY HOME | OFF-GRID Horsebox Camper Project
มุมมอง 16Kหลายเดือนก่อน
S01E04 With the cab renovations drawing to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to step 2 of our truck camper project - box removal! As much as we would love to take a wrecking ball to the whole structure, the rear ramp door, with its tensioned springs and crushing weight HAS to be removed with care. 👫 ABOUT US We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our e...
OFF-GRID Camper Conversion Project | Pete Learns To Patch Weld | Horsebox CAMPER TRUCK
มุมมอง 23Kหลายเดือนก่อน
S01E03 Renovations to the truck are underway and going well but before we can continue, we HAVE to deal with the rusty cab floor. In this episode, we make the first cuts to the cab and replace the crumbling, old metal with shiny new steel patches. Having never worked with such thin sheet metal before, Pete is in for a steep learning curve! 👫 ABOUT US We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife du...
Converting Our Mercedes 814 Horsebox | Cleaning The Cab | Off Grid TRUCK CAMPER Project
มุมมอง 29Kหลายเดือนก่อน
S01E02 It's here!! Now that our 1997 Mercedes 814 Horsebox has been delivered to the yard, we can finally make a start cleaning the cab interior and working our way through decades of dirt and grime. What will we uncover under all that mud?? Rust, probably 😅 👫 ABOUT US We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and of...
Choosing The Perfect TRUCK CAMPER Base Vehicle | OFF GRID Camper Truck Project
มุมมอง 57Kหลายเดือนก่อน
S01E01 We're Pete and Hayley, a husband and wife duo from the south of the UK, on our exciting journey towards self-sufficiency and off-grid living. Our first project is to convert a truck into a cosy tiny home… But which box truck makes the best base for a live-in camper conversion? In this video we give you the rundown of our 5 main contenders before revealing which truck we chose, and discus...
WORKING TILL IT WON'T
Should have sanded the base material
Dont run wiring through the insulation, run it on top of the insulation
One idea is to extend the rear bed to add a drops system, and/or a hiab. Drops would be great for your plans of swapping roles for the truck and a hiab will help with tyre changing, lifting the truck as well as getting the tyre and can be used as a tool to earn money. If you don't use drops, add the hiab anyway especially as you would be adding hydraulics for the demountable idea. GOOD LUCK 🎉
Dude that’s such a cool idea. I would really consider either but I think weight it an issue. We’ve only got around 3.5t of payload and I think this would take up too much of it. How much do you think a drops or crane weighs?
Hiab is about 665kg (smallest on market) drops needs a bigger truck. It was a nice idea, learn on this truck maybe upgrade later.
Ah yeah that’s a bit too heavy. But a great idea. Next project for sure 😁
This will work as long as it doesnt get wet. Water breaks down super glue.
That's a neat little trick, but you'll both need to learn to weld quick time. You need to do proper repairs, not McGiver nonsense. Congrats on getting the horse box BTW.
We’re working on it 😂
A new box is not a deal breaker. Just some basic fabrication. 420K Km is nothing for one of those lorries I saw Mercedes trucks with millions of Km in Africa. Seems like a great deal!
Amazing!
The green horse box was perfect ..u had the most amazing place for a bed x
1, find a coach builder ( a person who does custom vehicles as a trade ) 2, buy or receive a free static caravan 3, get said coach builder to marry them Most of your money will be spent on the coach builder but they are worth every penny
It’s a good idea but we want to build it ourselves 😁
@@RoadToOffGrid my sister and her husband converted a merc coach so it can be done . He’s a chippy so it’s all done really well and they about 6-7 years in and still loving living the freedom.
I bet it looked great. No ikea kitchen in their build 😂
Absolutely do not impede the cab tilt, it will leave you stranded. I am still only 80% complete on my 1120AF but Ive already done 2 roadside repairs where i had to tilt the cab roadside to access the fuel pump and compressor.
Not sure if you’ve watched the full video but I explain that the habitat is de mountable and can lift it self up to come off or lift up just enough for the cab to tilt 👍
Bet their friends nights out are riveting !!
😂
Great content again
Strong couple you 2 enjoy your time together
That’s so sweet thank you!
Good quality videos very much enjoying them making progress
That’s great thanks for watching ! 😁
Yeah I'd be watching that weight limit on that licence.
Fixed is fixed 👏
Indeed 😁
Learn to weld. A rotted out screw hole is the start of something bigger. Make a new piece for all the scew holes, weld in and start afresh. Otherwise it will just come back, grow bigger and before long you put your foot through a rotted out step
It’s on the list of things to learn! 😁👊
Don't forget to change the V5c to camper van. Not sure of the costs or VED changes?
We’re not changing it to a camper, we changing it to a flatbed commercial vehicle. The dvla are so strict now on what they change to motor home and there’s no way they would classify a flatbed with a demountable habitat as one.
Hi guys love the video you are doing a good job have a lovely week 😊😊😊
Thanks so much! You too 😁😁
Ouch
I like you thinking outside the box and doing what you want. Everybody just copys and pastes comments about what you can and cannot do. Keep grinding!
Thank you dude I appreciate that! We really want to make this unique and have some character. I know a box would be easier and cheap but not as fun or interesting to watch! 👊
Looks a right old pile of shite 😂
She’s a fixer upper 😂
I hope it doesnt corrode as baking soda is alkaline and alkalines are corrosive
Just one more thing. The soundtrack! Your so talented to be a song writer and musician and right on topic .... whats your secret? 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Haha thank you ! We do write the songs but we use an AI software called Suno.com which makes them for us. We can only take 50% of the credit. But thank you !
Great work. I'm really enjoying your journey over my morning cuppa. Glad to see the PPE and all the new skills you're learning. Maybe Haylie (sorry if I misspely that) could learn spray painting! A day or two in a friendly spray shop will teach you sooo much about prep and painting. Now hope you find a sponsorship deal to ease the costs. Best wishes - Paul ( the armchair advisor! )😃😃
Hey Paul. glad you enjoyed it!! Hayley would be great at spray painting. Better than me, she has more patience and a steady hand. Yes we got all the ppe now after we got told off 😂
"Hit it with a hammer" - Christmas number 1?
That’s a great idea!! Need to figure out how to get it on Spotify first.
The daf 45 is a good lorry you can get longer
Be prepared to become smelly they all are
Way too much yap yap,try more work work.
Hi guys keep up the good work u seem to be dealing with the usual problems of these projects well,just a word of warning on the electric extension real if using equipment that pulls a lot of power plasma cutters or welders etc make sure the extension real is fully unwound as heat builds up in the cable over time and can melt the insulation which then leads to short circuit or even fire tools like grinders etc not as critical.look forward to seeing the end result
Thank you and thanks for the tip!
windows are bad. hot in summer. cold in winter. have as few as possible. I've lived in my van and can tell you most of the time you end up covering the windows
That’s interesting. I wonder if the fancy triple glazed ones would be better at preventing that.
Three things: 1) I built my own camper box on a Sprinter chassis cab out of GRP-XPS sandwich panels. One comment I would have is that the point of building it yourself is you get to design it exactly as you want it, funky angles and all. The thing is that each and every angle makes is that much more complicated to build, compounding angles especially. I built a cab-over design with a couple of angles front and back to make it less boxy, fix the departure angle and to give the appearance of aerodynamics (hah, lol, the thing has the aerodynamic coefficient of a sideways brick). Angles are fun, but things like finding someone to make you aluminium profiles at a specific angle is not, so unless you're equipped to bend your own stuff, I'd probably reconsider some of the more advanced stuff. Also one of the best things about a box is that it's a box, you get an enormous amount of space compared to a similar size van purely thanks to having square corners. 2) Just order the panels from a company that makes panels for trucks, there's a reason pre-built house panels are cheap. They will cut it to shape, or you can just order a pile of big rectangles and take it from there. Regardless, make sure you panels are made of closed-cell insulation like XPS, none of that urethane crap that soaks up water. Your box WILL leak at some point. I used 40mm for roof and walls and 60mm for the floor. Should have gone with 60mm all around. It's very stiff, easily sturdy enough to drive on and not fail, but if the floor is unsupported it will move, chafe and slowly develop cracks, so do make a subframe that supports it fully. And 3) You imagine it's a lot of work, but just go ahead and take your worst case scenario and double it. On that note: I would consider building the camper with a bit of standardization in mind - it will outlast your truck, so maybe consider the size and subframe stuff to be at least sort of compatible with other model trucks (like not building the alcove part too low for the next obvious truck it could live on or similar things that will make it completely impossible to switch). Oh and a bonus: if you go the glue and rivets way: just cry all the way to the hardware store and buy an electric rivet gun and electric glue gun and you will thank me later. I didn't, and I regretted it all along. You'll go through thousands of rivets and hundreds of cartridges of glue, I'm not joking. Also, buy good-quality rivets with the right specs IN BULK, you get 1000 rivets for the same price as 100 rivets at the hardware store.
What a helpful comment thank you for all the tips. We are lucky enough to know someone that will cut and bend aluminium for us (which we’ll show in a later video). We know our design is nuts and like I said it’s a concept so it’s not 100% but we will make something fun from our imagination regardless of how hard it is to do… maybe ignorance is bliss at this point 😂 but either way it’s going to be a fun journey with lots of learning.
The problem with the lift off design is that when the body's off it will be considered a commercial HGV by the DVSA as you can move goods with it. I would mount the box permeant to the chassis so there's no question to the vehicle's use.
We aren’t planning on classifying the vehicle as a motorhome. We’re going to keep it as a flatbed. I will have a chat with the dvla and see what they have to say. Because while it’s moving it’s technically just a come vehicle transporting a ‘cargo’
hi try copart uk
We actually bought a truck already 😁 it’s in our recent videos 😁
Great choice of truck I have the same vehicle super easy to work on and maintain and service
That’s great to know thanks!!
2 drips don’t bother
A £30k+ box on an untried and tested £1.5k chassis that won't be able to venture off black top!
Don’t worry we’ll get test it next and restore the truck before we start building the habitat. £30k!!?? I wish! 😂😅
choosing a truck makes the web
Ye you put anything over that cab you aint getting to the engine when something happens to it
Not sure if you’ve watched the full video but the box has legs and is de mountable so will lift up to allow the cab to tilt
if the cab tilts forward to get to the engine then the over the cab bed idea will have to be re thought out. because when you tilt the cab forward it will hit the underside of the box your building for where the bed goes., unless you make enough space for it to tilt.
Not sure if you’ve watched the full video but the box has legs and is de mountable so will lift up to allow the cab to tilt
A luton bodied 7.5t removal truck I converted some years ago had a simple system for tipping the cab, fold up /fold out hinged panels in the floor & front of the luton that allow the cab to tip. Most luton bodies do this. Far simpler that lifting the body or whole of the luton off!
That is a good idea. I wonder how hard it would be to hinge that hole section and keep it water tight etc. my design allows for the box to lift up just enough to allow the cab to tilt without having to take the box off. Maybe that’ll be fine.
@@RoadToOffGrid It had thick rubber seals round the front, never a problem with leaks. I'd caution against getting too technical or relying on anything complicated, as there's much more to go wrong, and it will invariably break at the most inconvenient moment... Same with the slide out - they can be problematic. Could create a nice covered space on the side with a wind out awning instead, for living partly outdoors Good choice on the 814, I worked for Mercedes when they were current, it won truck of the year numerous times
I think I’m ok with the risk to build it and see what happens. Most things are fixable 😅
A chap called Dan Campion produced some youtube videos 4 years ago on how he diy'd a slide out for his expedition truck - well worth a watch.
Oh yeah I watched that guy for a while. He had loads of slide outs and pop tops! Thanks
New watcher, great work, love the new tool, I am going to buy a flat bed and I also love your design, what program did you use ? some kind of CAD?
Hey thanks for joining us! Yes it’s a car software called fusion 360. Pretty good and easy to get used to but the free version is limited to only a few saved projects at once.
Ambitious plan for the accommodation, but i think the weight is going to be an issue. Your truck maximum weight capacity is 7.5 ton, including the cab and chassis, wont leave alot to play with, perhaps 4 or 3.5 ton roughly for the box and all fittings etc. Theres a channel i watch called Travelling with the kids, where they converted an existing truck to live in and they just about kept it under 7.5tons and that was using the existing box that was already light weight design. Lots of calculations needed, good luck!
Yes definitely going to do some weight calculations before we start! Thanks for watching 😁
@RoadToOffGrid really enjoy watching what you do. Keep up the great work!
Great video guys I would try and keep the living area as low a possible so you can access more areas of where you travel to keep up the great work.
Yeah finding that balance between living space and being too big will be tricky!
Buy cheap buy twice…
Yep 😂
Don't forget you need to tilt the cab
Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough in the video but the design I have in mind is for box to be demountable and will be able to jack itself up enough for the cab to tilt.
also when building the box over your cab remember any mechanical engine work that needs the cab tilted wont be an easy task trust me i know doing a clutch on a lorry this size with the cab unable to tilt isn't nice tbh id rather have a windbreaker on the cabs roof than sacrifice the cab not tilting
Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough in the video but the design I have in mind is for box to be demountable and will be able to jack itself up enough for the cab to tilt.
Insurance: im afraid thats a write off 😂
😂😂
2 n a half grant for the truck n 35K for the lifinbox....... seems like a good idea........😁
1 and a half grand thank you 😂 if it’s under £35k by the end I’ll be very happy! 😅