Gut the body off, try and salvage the tailgate ramp to sell on. Use lorry inner tube rubber to cover, wrap and protect all of the electricals and air lines and call in a mobile glass bead blasting specialist to strip the chassis down to bare metal but get them to spray it immediately with an epoxy sealant. This will save you a whole heap of grief further down the line and when its due to be tested. Oh and never work under a tilt cab without a secure prop to stop it falling back on you. Good luck and all the best. 😊
I saw this on flea bay and thought that it would save you both a lot of stress, time and trouble going forward but it would depend on your budget if you type this into their search it should bring them up. overlander habitation box camper exepdition bodies built
Great choice the 814,just discovered your channel,in the late 90s i owned a 40ft 8l4 it was a1986 " C" reg flatbed i carried 2 brand new touring caravans & towed a third for a caravan manufacturer in the north east of england i delivered new caravans all over the uk to dealerships, it was the most reliable truck i ever owned,regular servicing & 6 week inspections for my operators licence kept it up to scratch & it paid me back in reliability,you wont need an op licence as its for personal use,but keep on top of maintenence & it will take you far with reliability,cant wait for more posts from you both,best wishes ❤👍🏻
Thank you so much for following along! It's a relief to hear that your 814 served you so well. Once we've given it it's proper service, Pete is looking forward to drawing up an in-depth maintenance schedule to keep it mint. ❤️
No that was a bad choice Mercedes will ho,d in workshop 90% of the time they will own it and i know what i talking about i have been truck driver for over 25 years and have drive every brand truck on market
How is this the first video? the production value is insane, the intro, the music throughout and to top it off you got yourself a beautiful old mer! Great stuff, dont be scared to add some humour and less serious moments! Brilliant all the same! Do you have an upload schedule yet? looking forward to watching the journey! Congratulation on this new adventure together
You're so kind! Thank you 😁 We are still getting used to being on camera so maybe the humour/silliness will come with comfort! We are aiming for weekly (Friday) uploads for now, see how it goes ❤️
01:31 The foundation vehicle for our ExpeditionVehicle had a roll-up rear door. I removed it, then fabricated a steel wall and steel door. . We tossed in some car-camping gear, and headed out for some fun. . On skoolie and other home-built forums, we suggest: * acquire a suitable candidate * allow the conversion to evolve organically. . Avoid thinking 'this rig is my forever rig'. You change and grow, your vehicle needs evolve.
I came across you guys on TikTok, and jumped on here for a look. You have definitely made the right choice. And the good thing about removing the box is you can clean and treat the chassis. I’m so excited for this build. 💯💯💯
Hi guys best of luck with your build with that lever you pulled at the end of the video lift the bonnet and try tilting the cab again should tilt more than that usually all the best .
Solid choice guys! When it comes too welding the cab on those take those metal wings/ steps off if there rotten you can buy new ones not too expensive apart from that should be good!
Great intro video - and you made it fun to watch! I've subscribed - it looks you have quite a challenge ahead! For ideas, the true blue travellers sprinter (sainsbury's delivery van) used a layout quite similar to Lydia and Wehan (doing a lap of Australia) - having a seating area / table on one side with a separate bed makes a lot of sense ... Though both of those were conversions of a smaller van. Touring with the kids have converted a 7.5 tonne lorry for their family of 5 - though their base vehicle was almost as long as the removal van you looked at, so they did have way more space than you! Ric also talked about the C1 test too, around the time they got the lorry. Will you both learn? They are a little bigger, but are not that difficult to drive - honest! I mean when I moved house with everything I owned in one it was only mildly concerning! ;-) I'm not sure what you have in mind to build the box out of - low weight is your key requirement, but I guess you want it to look OK too! From insulating buildings, PIR insulation (e.g. Celotex) has higher thermal resistance than either fibreglass or the nicer to work with PET (recycled soft drink bottles) for the thickness. I'm not sure if you can get sheets with suitable cladding bonded to both sides. Good luck with the 4 steps - great start!
You're so kind! Thank you for the sub 🙏❤ Thanks for all of the tips too! We watch True Blue Travellers and Touring With The Kids in the past. Not seen Lydia and Wehan though, we'll take a look. Pete will be taking his C1 eventually. We are renting space in a yard and had the truck delivered, so we have a bit of time to sort the license... I might do mine as well but it's all just a bit big for my liking 😅 It doesn't phase Pete though! We should have around 3.5t to play with for the box and are initially thinking aluminium frame with composite panels for the construction. Much research to be done though. It's going to be a lot of fun 😁 ~ Hayley
Thank you TH-cam algorithm for the recommendation; love the video, great production values - who does the music ? May I suggest you get the class 7 MOT before building the new box on the back, just to check if the existing drive train and emissions will pass before all that work goes in? If this engine is less than a Euro 4 emissions it can get very expensive in many zones in Europe. e.g. Greater London is £300 per day, some parts of France 200 Euro
Thank you for watching! If you like the music, you might like to play with an app called Suno 👌 The MOT only ran out in April I think so we aren't too concerned. We will be restoring and servicing everything mechanically before we build the box anyway. It's step 3 🙂
@@RoadToOffGrid I am a welder fabricatior and worked on alot of lorries, and drove a 814 for sometime there under powered boring rusty,I would have picked a MAN,DAF, money is key in life i get that but going back in time is not the answer,
Part of being self-sufficient for us is understanding how to repair our own vehicles and equipment. That's why we decided older was better, it wasn't all about the money although it did help. It just feels more manageable for us. Maybe you'll catch up with us once we finish restoring the truck and start looking for land. All the best 💚
Thats a great little truck! One of my old favourites.. Personally i would source a decent grp box from another truck and then turn it into what you want. There two great you tube channels that may give you some ideas on this, if you haven't seen them yet that is. They are, True Blue Travelers and Touring With The Kids. The later has converted a more modern Mercedes truck!
Glad you like it! For the box, we'll have to do a bit of a price/ease/fun comparison between building something from scratch and framing out a ready made grp box. Thank you for the tips :)
Just fell into this video and enjoyed it. Not sure where your previous videos are. I personally would have gone for a 4x4 truck. Ex army become available every now and then and are reasonably affordable. It's very easy to get a 2x4 truck stuck even on a damp grassy field and, for me, part of the fun is going off road. That said, I have no idea what your future plans are, but the best of luck with them and I look forward to your progress.
Thanks for watching! We had only released shorts up to this first full video. We found ex-army trucks are no longer affordable. If we'd done this 10 years ago, we would have gotten a great deal on one but now that overlanding is getting really popular, the prices have shot up. There are literally hundreds of vehicles perfect for this, just sitting there because they are so overpriced compared to what they were. We won't be off-roading so should get along fine, pootling about in our slow little old Merc 😁
@@RoadToOffGrid 2003, after a devastating diagnosis, we acquired a 1996 Ford CF8000 commercial truck to convert to our concept of an ExpeditionVehicle. . In one week -- while selling everything -- we completed our conversion and hit the road from Oregon with the vague goal of 'south'. . Twenty-four months twenty-four thousand miles around South America. Alaska, Panama, all over North and Central America. Summers up rough logger tracks to remote mountain lakes. Winters on isolated Baja beaches. . A stand-still house? Not interested.
You pick a great truck,as we all know rust in horse boxes due from horse’s pee and pooping,love the song,next video tell us who sings it,thank you,good video.
Thank you! We're very fond of her 🥰 The song is made with an app called Suno, it's a lot of fun to play with. We have mostly made songs about our cat so it's nice to branch out into truck songs 😂
Thats my dream.convert a luton van .i used drive a old b reg 814 there great lorries .drove a j regd one to.just stummbled on your channel cant wait see more
@@RoadToOffGrid not really but the clutch went on the b regd one in bout 2003 garage couldn't believe how long it been on original clutch.get it checked .get a full service on it .
I would have found an Atego to build on.. It's the 814's younger brother and it drives a lot better, It's more safe and can be found with a 6cyl engine. They have been used for delivering goods for supermarkets, have been run by fleet operators which often had them on full maintenance contracts @ MB. So you would get a well maintained truck with easy spares access, this could be problematic with 814 down the line...
I think Man truck from that era would also be good competitor. I been thinking towards doing lorry/on chassis camper build as it always gives you option to move the camper box onto another truck if you want to change truck into newer model. As in van all the interior will become part of that vehicle and it has tons of curves that will make use of space harder than just having square box to build in.
00:59 2003, after a half-century of make-do camping in lesser rigs, we built our ExpeditionVehicle. 1996 Ford CF8000, Cummins and Allison automatic. Over two decades full-time live-aboard. . Our interior is three paces across by seven paces long. "But but but LM!, how do you live in such a tiny space!" We do not live in our rig. We live out of it.
Oh man! We have spent many hours looking at your website and eBay 😅 We were gonna come up and see you but then we found this. We love the Youth Bus you have 👌 Thanks for the sub ❤️
06:25 Our latest conversion is a firetruck. 2006 Autocar crew-cab, mid-engine so little-to-none engine noise in the cab. . Cummins 8.3, Allison 3060 push-button automatic. Factory air-locker in the drive axle (rear).
06:01 In America, a standard sedan license all you need to operate any RecreateVehicle of any size. A 40'/13m BillionBuxBus motorhome with a GVWR of thirty ton? No problem!
07:26 One reason we engineered our ExpeditionVehicle with a rear entry: * some areas have traffic in the left lane (Right-Hand Drive (RHD)). Opening a side entry could put the steps out into traffic. . The other reason for a rear entry: * we like the sight-lines, * we prefer the visual and visceral sense of openness. We also have zero cabinets above eye-level... that visual and visceral sense of openness, plus it reduces weight aloft. . A side entry immediately slams the eye into a cabinet or toilet.
No less. The first one so cheap could build. And now the build. At auction can just buy the panel for cooling. Anyway no I no agree. Pray it works out. God bless mick Australia 🇦🇺
Your mad.... But I'm going to watch everyone of these..... If only to tell you your mad until it looks great.. Good luck and we're watching you, lol....x
Please be aware that as it will have a low Euro emissions catagory and there will be many places on the European mainland that you simply cannot take it . Please also check in advance that you will be allowed to take it through the longer European road tunnels , for example you CANNOT use the frejus tunnel ( France into Italy) with a Euro 0 vehicle . Good luck with your conversion and be careful NOT to overload the front axle , so use an experienced engineer to advise you where to site the water tanks etc , bear in mind that the front axle already has the weight of the engine and gearbox on it , so 500 to 1000 kgs (500 to 1000 litres) of water will not work close to the front axle , and leave yourselves a good space accessible from the back for storage of dirty stuff and a garage for tools , make SURE that you have a spare wheel ( tyres can be ridiculously expensive in EU) and also , if you plan to use the vehicle on the continent in winter you MUST have rated snow tyres , Mud & Snow tyres that are legal in UK may not be legal in Germany Austria or Switzerland.....tyres with a mountain symbol on them might be more expensive to but initially BUT much cheaper to fit in UK than buying 6 brand new tyres elsewhere on the road , make sure that your spare tyre ALSO conforms ( I have 40 years experience of driving trucks up to 44 tons and double dekker buses in Europe )
Thanks for your question 🙏 Over the years we have developed income streams that we can work on remotely. Videography, graphic design, web development.... Our long-term goal is to buy land and grow businesses and a community on it. The businesses will mainly consist of hospitality/camping, off-grid related workshops and selling surplus produce. We don't have all the answers yet, but figured if we just start, things will fall into place. Do you have something you can do remotely, or anywhere, like a trade?
01:43 Our latest conversion is a 40'/13m reefer semi-trailer. . Unfortunately, the insulation was saturated with moisture and odors. We removed all that insulation. . As our ExpeditionVehicle, we insulated with: * adhesive-back acoustic against the wall and ceiling, a gap, then * one-inch pink-board, another air-gap, then * two-inch foil-side poly.
Regardless of how YOU are using the vehicle , if the V5 registration document classes it as a commercial vehicle the the police in Europe will ALSO regard it as a commercial vehicle , therefore you WILL require a C1 license and you WILL be required to use Tachograph discs and abide by the drivers regulations . Don't believe those people who say....oh it's a camper and you'll be fine , make sure that the DVSA in the UK also agree that it is a large camper and have the vehicle re-registered as such , but the fact that it is 7.5 tonnes means that you WILL require the correct license to drive it and if it is fitted with a tachograph then you MUST use it and abide by the drivers hours regulations
Hi John thanks for the comments! Yea I will be getting my c1 when the truck is closer the completion. We aren’t planning on changing the truck to a camper, but we don’t need to use a tacho. The latest rules from the dvsa say that if it’s bellow 7.5t you don’t need a tacho as long as it’s not for commercial use. If it’s over 7.5t you need one regardless of use. Also if it’s over 25years old you don’t need to use a tacho for private use. 👍👍
Before you junk the box think about how much work would be required to bring it up to a decent standard versus the cost to build a replacement box from scratch. Unless you are a competent DIY’er it may be financially prohibitive or beyond your skill set to make a replacement. Not putting a dampener on things but I am following someone else on Insta who is converting a horse box into a camper and it looks fantastic and the things he’s incorporated are very good. You could do the same as the base vehicle seems solid
Not yet, no rush as we had the truck delivered to the yard and it will be a while before we hit the road. Pete will get his C1… not sure if I will yet! ~ Hayley
814 is a nobrainer. no power, no computers, no DEF, no turbo, no problems. just in case: any garage all over the world can fix it. and it is thy 4 cyl engine which has a lot better fuel efficency than the 6 cyl
How do you intend to use this camper? Will you boondock overnight in shopping centers? Will you go exploring offroad in search of the perfect camp spot in nature? Do you intend to OVERLAND in it? Offroad you will want a 4X4. To boondock without raising the suspicion of the cops your camper need to look like it belongs and is not a converted truck into a camper. !
Thanks for your question! Our long term plan for the truck is for it to have many uses. Once we've done some research, travelling to stay with other off-grid communities and projects, we will be settling on some land of our own at which point the box will come off and we'll turn the truck into a flat bed and/or use it to move tools and machinery. We'll still live in the box while we build up our business and community on the land until we finally build a permanent home there ❤
@RoadToOffGrid make sure nothing in the cab can move or anything behind the seats because when u jack cab over something can fly forward and smash the screen. This is coming from a lorry driver who made the same mistake lol
It's a great idea and would certainly save a lot of time! We're keen to build something from scratch though. You never know what issues are lurking behind the walls in a caravan 😨
Why did you not consider a vario chassis? Easier to get to the engine and a bit more metal between you and that thing i hope you never will hit. I went for a MAN … big mistake for spare parts … mercedes is much wiser … but 140hp on the highway or in hilly regions … be gentle on loading it to the max allowed
Thanks for your question! We want to build something modular. Our long term plan for the truck is for it to have many uses. Once we've done some research, travelling to visit other off-grid communities and projects, we will be settling on some land of our own at which point the box will come off and we'll turn the truck into a flat bed and/or use it to move tools and machinery. We'll still live in the box while we build up our business and community on the land until we finally build a permanent home there ❤
@@RoadToOffGrid fyi with vario chassis I meant a 814 Vario with nose truck rather than a 814 flat front truck. No need to move the cabin to get to the engine. And if ever you crash it the distance between you and let's say the tree is more and thougher. Good luck, nice investigation you will be doing. Best of luck and happy to learn from your insights
Ah, I've looked it up, I was thinking of the van/bus type. The Vario 814 didn't come up for us in our search for trucks. I think these old Mercs are getting rarer and rarer unfortunately. I'm sure we definitely would have considered it if one had presented itself to us!
It's a great idea, but with the container weighing around 2 tonne, it wouldn't leave enough payload for insulation, furniture and all our stuff. We have about 3.5 tonne to play with once the box is off 👌
You will be sad about ur choice of truck Mercedes will be in workshop 90% of the time you will have it and cost you a lot of money to repair and i know what i talking about i have been truck driver for over 25 years you should have bought the DAF of the truck you have looked at that will have been ur best choice
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Gut the body off, try and salvage the tailgate ramp to sell on.
Use lorry inner tube rubber to cover, wrap and protect all of the electricals and air lines and call in a mobile glass bead blasting specialist to strip the chassis down to bare metal but get them to spray it immediately with an epoxy sealant. This will save you a whole heap of grief further down the line and when its due to be tested.
Oh and never work under a tilt cab without a secure prop to stop it falling back on you.
Good luck and all the best. 😊
That's a lot of really useful information! 🤩 Thank you so much 🙏
I saw this on flea bay and thought that it would save you both a lot of stress, time and trouble going forward but it would depend on your budget if you type this into their search it should bring them up.
overlander habitation box camper exepdition bodies built
Phwoar! Beautifully built and very inspirational. Thank you for sharing 🙏
Great choice the 814,just discovered your channel,in the late 90s i owned a 40ft 8l4 it was a1986 " C" reg flatbed i carried 2 brand new touring caravans & towed a third for a caravan manufacturer in the north east of england i delivered new caravans all over the uk to dealerships, it was the most reliable truck i ever owned,regular servicing & 6 week inspections for my operators licence kept it up to scratch & it paid me back in reliability,you wont need an op licence as its for personal use,but keep on top of maintenence & it will take you far with reliability,cant wait for more posts from you both,best wishes ❤👍🏻
Thank you so much for following along! It's a relief to hear that your 814 served you so well. Once we've given it it's proper service, Pete is looking forward to drawing up an in-depth maintenance schedule to keep it mint. ❤️
No that was a bad choice Mercedes will ho,d in workshop 90% of the time they will own it and i know what i talking about i have been truck driver for over 25 years and have drive every brand truck on market
How is this the first video? the production value is insane, the intro, the music throughout and to top it off you got yourself a beautiful old mer! Great stuff, dont be scared to add some humour and less serious moments! Brilliant all the same! Do you have an upload schedule yet? looking forward to watching the journey! Congratulation on this new adventure together
You're so kind! Thank you 😁 We are still getting used to being on camera so maybe the humour/silliness will come with comfort! We are aiming for weekly (Friday) uploads for now, see how it goes ❤️
@@RoadToOffGrid great news I'll be here on Friday waiting to see the next part of the adventure! Have a good week 🤟🏻
01:31
The foundation vehicle for our ExpeditionVehicle had a roll-up rear door.
I removed it, then fabricated a steel wall and steel door.
.
We tossed in some car-camping gear, and headed out for some fun.
.
On skoolie and other home-built forums, we suggest:
* acquire a suitable candidate
* allow the conversion to evolve organically.
.
Avoid thinking 'this rig is my forever rig'.
You change and grow, your vehicle needs evolve.
That is one cranky looking vehicle! I can't wait to see how you develop this project. Subbed. More videos please! 😁
Thanks for joining us, Cranky! 😁
I came across you guys on TikTok, and jumped on here for a look. You have definitely made the right choice. And the good thing about removing the box is you can clean and treat the chassis. I’m so excited for this build. 💯💯💯
Thank you so much for following along! We're excited too 😁
When Hayley said "I kinda love it" I knew it was the truck.
I was very happy when she did because secretly I really wanted it too!
Nice one! we have a 1120 AF and love it, so nice to drive and easy to maintain!
Oooh nice! Was it a fire engine?
Came because of the algorithm stayed because of the music. ❤ 🎶 Horsebox Camper truck🎶 😊
Hehe, glad you enjoyed it 😆 🎶 Horsebox human hoooome 🎶
Hi guys best of luck with your build with that lever you pulled at the end of the video lift the bonnet and try tilting the cab again should tilt more than that usually all the best .
Thank you so much! Yes, the cab is tilting much better now. Bloomin' amateurs 😂😅
new subscriber, found your account in facebook.. i love watching content like this.
Awesome! I'm glad you found us 😁 Thank you for following along 🙏
Solid choice guys! When it comes too welding the cab on those take those metal wings/ steps off if there rotten you can buy new ones not too expensive apart from that should be good!
Thank you for the tip! 🙏
Great intro video - and you made it fun to watch! I've subscribed - it looks you have quite a challenge ahead!
For ideas, the true blue travellers sprinter (sainsbury's delivery van) used a layout quite similar to Lydia and Wehan (doing a lap of Australia) - having a seating area / table on one side with a separate bed makes a lot of sense ... Though both of those were conversions of a smaller van.
Touring with the kids have converted a 7.5 tonne lorry for their family of 5 - though their base vehicle was almost as long as the removal van you looked at, so they did have way more space than you! Ric also talked about the C1 test too, around the time they got the lorry. Will you both learn? They are a little bigger, but are not that difficult to drive - honest! I mean when I moved house with everything I owned in one it was only mildly concerning! ;-)
I'm not sure what you have in mind to build the box out of - low weight is your key requirement, but I guess you want it to look OK too!
From insulating buildings, PIR insulation (e.g. Celotex) has higher thermal resistance than either fibreglass or the nicer to work with PET (recycled soft drink bottles) for the thickness. I'm not sure if you can get sheets with suitable cladding bonded to both sides.
Good luck with the 4 steps - great start!
You're so kind! Thank you for the sub 🙏❤
Thanks for all of the tips too! We watch True Blue Travellers and Touring With The Kids in the past. Not seen Lydia and Wehan though, we'll take a look.
Pete will be taking his C1 eventually. We are renting space in a yard and had the truck delivered, so we have a bit of time to sort the license... I might do mine as well but it's all just a bit big for my liking 😅 It doesn't phase Pete though!
We should have around 3.5t to play with for the box and are initially thinking aluminium frame with composite panels for the construction. Much research to be done though. It's going to be a lot of fun 😁
~ Hayley
Hi enjoyed your video good luck
Thank you for following along! 🙏
Thank you TH-cam algorithm for the recommendation; love the video, great production values - who does the music ?
May I suggest you get the class 7 MOT before building the new box on the back, just to check if the existing drive train and emissions will pass before all that work goes in? If this engine is less than a Euro 4 emissions it can get very expensive in many zones in Europe. e.g. Greater London is £300 per day, some parts of France 200 Euro
Thank you for watching! If you like the music, you might like to play with an app called Suno 👌
The MOT only ran out in April I think so we aren't too concerned. We will be restoring and servicing everything mechanically before we build the box anyway. It's step 3 🙂
Am glad you got your dream build and hope all works out.I was going to follow yous until you bought that Mercedes 814.
That's a shame! Which truck were you hoping for?
@@RoadToOffGrid I am a welder fabricatior and worked on alot of lorries, and drove a 814 for sometime there under powered boring rusty,I would have picked a MAN,DAF, money is key in life i get that but going back in time is not the answer,
Part of being self-sufficient for us is understanding how to repair our own vehicles and equipment. That's why we decided older was better, it wasn't all about the money although it did help. It just feels more manageable for us. Maybe you'll catch up with us once we finish restoring the truck and start looking for land. All the best 💚
Thats a great little truck! One of my old favourites..
Personally i would source a decent grp box from another truck and then turn it into what you want. There two great you tube channels that may give you some ideas on this, if you haven't seen them yet that is. They are, True Blue Travelers and Touring With The Kids. The later has converted a more modern Mercedes truck!
Glad you like it! For the box, we'll have to do a bit of a price/ease/fun comparison between building something from scratch and framing out a ready made grp box. Thank you for the tips :)
Wow, that’s quite a project you’ve taken on. All the best for it!! 😊
It sure is! Thank you 😁
Just fell into this video and enjoyed it. Not sure where your previous videos are. I personally would have gone for a 4x4 truck. Ex army become available every now and then and are reasonably affordable. It's very easy to get a 2x4 truck stuck even on a damp grassy field and, for me, part of the fun is going off road. That said, I have no idea what your future plans are, but the best of luck with them and I look forward to your progress.
Thanks for watching! We had only released shorts up to this first full video.
We found ex-army trucks are no longer affordable. If we'd done this 10 years ago, we would have gotten a great deal on one but now that overlanding is getting really popular, the prices have shot up. There are literally hundreds of vehicles perfect for this, just sitting there because they are so overpriced compared to what they were.
We won't be off-roading so should get along fine, pootling about in our slow little old Merc 😁
@@RoadToOffGrid Thanks for your reply and let's see the journey you take to do some pootling!
Wow you’ve got a job on there. Good luck 👍.
Thank you so much! 🙏
Not a chuffing clue how I've ended up here but I'm hitting that subscribe button with gusto!
😂 Welcome! Thank you for joining us 🙏❤
Good luck guys....excited to see the 4 steps.
Thank you for joining us! It's gonna be good fun 😁
Good luck with conversion , can’t wait for next one 👍👍👍
Thank you for following along! ❤️
I love watching you two on your journey!
@@allisonbanks1559 Thank you! ☺️ ❤️
I can see these videos becoming addictive.excellent.
Glad you like them! 🙏
Looking forward to follow your rebuild journey.
Thanks so much for following along!
@@RoadToOffGrid
2003, after a devastating diagnosis, we acquired a 1996 Ford CF8000 commercial truck to convert to our concept of an ExpeditionVehicle.
.
In one week -- while selling everything -- we completed our conversion and hit the road from Oregon with the vague goal of 'south'.
.
Twenty-four months twenty-four thousand miles around South America.
Alaska, Panama, all over North and Central America.
Summers up rough logger tracks to remote mountain lakes.
Winters on isolated Baja beaches.
.
A stand-still house?
Not interested.
U have a new follower from Africa..love your music
Thank you! We like to make very literal songs :D
You pick a great truck,as we all know rust in horse boxes due from horse’s pee and pooping,love the song,next video tell us who sings it,thank you,good video.
Thank you! We're very fond of her 🥰 The song is made with an app called Suno, it's a lot of fun to play with. We have mostly made songs about our cat so it's nice to branch out into truck songs 😂
Loved the video. Will subscribe and follow your progress. Good Luck!
Welcome! Thank you so much ☺️ 🥳
Thats my dream.convert a luton van .i used drive a old b reg 814 there great lorries .drove a j regd one to.just stummbled on your channel cant wait see more
Thanks for following along! 🙏 Did your 814 have a ridiculously heavy clutch pedal?
@@RoadToOffGrid not really but the clutch went on the b regd one in bout 2003 garage couldn't believe how long it been on original clutch.get it checked .get a full service on it .
I think you made the right choice there, good old basic mechanical lorry.
Thank you! Yes, it feels a lot less overwhelming and manageable this way 😅
@@RoadToOffGrid but that fire engine...❤🔥
@@CrankyAlexanderOfficial
Firetruck?
Agreed!
Usually, that would be an excellent foundation for a TinyHomeOnWheels ('THOW').
@@largemarge1603 true. Though I am sure they will turn that Horse Box into a fine Human home! 🚚🐎
I would have found an Atego to build on..
It's the 814's younger brother and it drives a lot better, It's more safe and can be found with a 6cyl engine.
They have been used for delivering goods for supermarkets, have been run by fleet operators which often had them on full maintenance contracts @ MB.
So you would get a well maintained truck with easy spares access, this could be problematic with 814 down the line...
All true! But the sensible option isn't always the one we want 😅
I think Man truck from that era would also be good competitor. I been thinking towards doing lorry/on chassis camper build as it always gives you option to move the camper box onto another truck if you want to change truck into newer model. As in van all the interior will become part of that vehicle and it has tons of curves that will make use of space harder than just having square box to build in.
I agree, modular is the way to go. You can move the box to a new truck, or you can park the box and give the truck another use!
you'll need to open the grill to get the cab fully over, good luck with your project
It worked!! 🙏
You should definitely swing by Project Kamp in Portugal if you get the chance.
Yeah, we follow those guys! If we can't get off grid land in the UK, we'll be looking at Portugal next 👍
Looking forward to next installment
Thank you for following along!
First video and iv subscribed . Looking forward to the future . You made the best choice !!
Thank you so much for following along! It's gonna be a lot of fun 😁
Great job, good video.
Thank you! Glad you liked it 😁
Found you via Facebook videos!
Amazing! Welcome :)
Glad you went pre AD-BLUE!!! Saved a lot of heart ache and headache 😂
Until they are banned
@@neilmick6778 what have they payed for that truck tho!? Could have easily sunk 15k into one with AD-BLUE and had repairs easily within the 5K mark!
@@neilmick6778never get banned just lucky they are
Our 1996 Ford CF8000 ExpeditionVehicle is pre-emissions, zero computers.
Can’t wait to see this build ❤
Thank you so much! 💚
Great frist video! Really looking forward to the rest.
Thank you for coming along for the ride! It's gonna be fun 😁
00:59
2003, after a half-century of make-do camping in lesser rigs, we built our ExpeditionVehicle.
1996 Ford CF8000, Cummins and Allison automatic.
Over two decades full-time live-aboard.
.
Our interior is three paces across by seven paces long.
"But but but LM!, how do you live in such a tiny space!"
We do not live in our rig.
We live out of it.
Great video, shame I didn’t get to meet you guys on your base hunting mission. SUBBED! Rupert
Oh man! We have spent many hours looking at your website and eBay 😅 We were gonna come up and see you but then we found this. We love the Youth Bus you have 👌 Thanks for the sub ❤️
06:25
Our latest conversion is a firetruck.
2006 Autocar crew-cab, mid-engine so little-to-none engine noise in the cab.
.
Cummins 8.3, Allison 3060 push-button automatic.
Factory air-locker in the drive axle (rear).
Very cool. We had a look at a fire engine but it was too much work in the end.
06:01
In America, a standard sedan license all you need to operate any RecreateVehicle of any size.
A 40'/13m BillionBuxBus motorhome with a GVWR of thirty ton?
No problem!
But they're not in America so believe it or not American rules don't apply
That’s very cool but we are in the uk so I’ll need a license for up to 7.5tonnes
I'd recommend a copy of "Build your own Overland Camper" as a part of your research.
Good Luck 😊
Thank you for the tip!
Subscribed! Future TH-cam stars 👌🏼
Thank you so much 🙏
I suno if it would be able it do it but i think getting a touring caravan and remove the wheels and put that on the back would look awesome
That would be very cool!
@@anthonythomas9456
How about an old US streamliner on the back 🤔
Good luck guys, I think you've chosen well 🤩
Thank you! 🙏 ❤️ It’s gonna be fun!
Airport bus! Should of looked at one, there fitted with ultra big cats and there low mileage and well maintained
That would have cool too! Maybe next time 😉
07:26
One reason we engineered our ExpeditionVehicle with a rear entry:
* some areas have traffic in the left lane (Right-Hand Drive (RHD)).
Opening a side entry could put the steps out into traffic.
.
The other reason for a rear entry:
* we like the sight-lines,
* we prefer the visual and visceral sense of openness.
We also have zero cabinets above eye-level... that visual and visceral sense of openness, plus it reduces weight aloft.
.
A side entry immediately slams the eye into a cabinet or toilet.
Interestingly, we’ve not thought about interior design yet so will keep that in mind!
No less. The first one so cheap could build. And now the build.
At auction can just buy the panel for cooling. Anyway no I no agree.
Pray it works out. God bless mick Australia 🇦🇺
Exactkley!
Thank you Mick from Australia!
Your mad.... But I'm going to watch everyone of these..... If only to tell you your mad until it looks great..
Good luck and we're watching you, lol....x
It's fine... we might be mad 😅 Thank you for following along !🙏
@@RoadToOffGrid you'll do it..x
Please be aware that as it will have a low Euro emissions catagory and there will be many places on the European mainland that you simply cannot take it . Please also check in advance that you will be allowed to take it through the longer European road tunnels , for example you CANNOT use the frejus tunnel ( France into Italy) with a Euro 0 vehicle . Good luck with your conversion and be careful NOT to overload the front axle , so use an experienced engineer to advise you where to site the water tanks etc , bear in mind that the front axle already has the weight of the engine and gearbox on it , so 500 to 1000 kgs (500 to 1000 litres) of water will not work close to the front axle , and leave yourselves a good space accessible from the back for storage of dirty stuff and a garage for tools , make SURE that you have a spare wheel ( tyres can be ridiculously expensive in EU) and also , if you plan to use the vehicle on the continent in winter you MUST have rated snow tyres , Mud & Snow tyres that are legal in UK may not be legal in Germany Austria or Switzerland.....tyres with a mountain symbol on them might be more expensive to but initially BUT much cheaper to fit in UK than buying 6 brand new tyres elsewhere on the road , make sure that your spare tyre ALSO conforms ( I have 40 years experience of driving trucks up to 44 tons and double dekker buses in Europe )
A lot of great pointers there thanks!
You brought a Puddle Jumper!
I've never heard it called that before... and I love it. 🥰
Ok...i Wil wait next video...
The next video is already out 😁
@@RoadToOffGrid realy...oooh sory i don't know that...thanks,
Hello, to tilt the cab to open the front grill so that it's not getting in the way while you tilt the cab
Thank you :)
@@RoadToOffGrid you're welcome!😁
what will you guys do for work/income. I really want to do this myself and have been looking at mercedes actros 7.5 tonne.
Thanks for your question 🙏 Over the years we have developed income streams that we can work on remotely. Videography, graphic design, web development.... Our long-term goal is to buy land and grow businesses and a community on it. The businesses will mainly consist of hospitality/camping, off-grid related workshops and selling surplus produce.
We don't have all the answers yet, but figured if we just start, things will fall into place. Do you have something you can do remotely, or anywhere, like a trade?
Mercedes Unimog every time 👍👍
They're so cool but out of our budget this time!
Let’s go guys ❤
Woohoooo 😁
Good luck with the massive build ahead of you. How do you create the music relevant to the vehicles on screen? Is it AI created?
Maybe with the help of AI 🤫
Great choice guys. Where have you found to store/work on it??
A friend of a friend has a yard not far from us and he is giving us a great deal to park up and build there. He's a good dude.
@@RoadToOffGrid would he let you build a boat?🛥
Cool looking truck and avoiding adblue is a great move! Excited to see how you guys get on. Good luck.
Thank you so much!
Bought a horsebox in 1999 and stopped paying rent and bills. That changed my life, however, do not buy a boat. Trust me on that one.
We trust you! 😅🙏
@@RoadToOffGrid Awww man I was just thinking how awesome their boat would be!
You should have gone to Chris Hodge, he has about the best quality vans on offer, if it's not good enough for him he will not sell it.
Did y'all use SUNO
Maaaybee 😂 Pete is limited to one suno song per video from now on! They're just so much fun to make 😁
01:43
Our latest conversion is a 40'/13m reefer semi-trailer.
.
Unfortunately, the insulation was saturated with moisture and odors.
We removed all that insulation.
.
As our ExpeditionVehicle, we insulated with:
* adhesive-back acoustic against the wall and ceiling, a gap, then
* one-inch pink-board, another air-gap, then
* two-inch foil-side poly.
Yeah a similar thing happened to the caravan. Good insulation is a must!
Some of the cheapest things can be your best thing.
08:12
Another reason for a cheap vehicle:
* if it breaks or is vandalized, it is less painful to abandon at the dealer or dismantlers.
True!
Flat bed and then a decent used caravan on top of that.
Nice van :)
Thank you 🤩 🙏
Subbed looking forward to updates
Thank you so much for joining us! 😁
Sorry if I missed it but where did you get the truck from?
It was listed on eBay and was at a scrapyard
Check in with Project Kamp and/or with Project Amber for some ideas...
Regardless of how YOU are using the vehicle , if the V5 registration document classes it as a commercial vehicle the the police in Europe will ALSO regard it as a commercial vehicle , therefore you WILL require a C1 license and you WILL be required to use Tachograph discs and abide by the drivers regulations . Don't believe those people who say....oh it's a camper and you'll be fine , make sure that the DVSA in the UK also agree that it is a large camper and have the vehicle re-registered as such , but the fact that it is 7.5 tonnes means that you WILL require the correct license to drive it and if it is fitted with a tachograph then you MUST use it and abide by the drivers hours regulations
Hi John thanks for the comments! Yea I will be getting my c1 when the truck is closer the completion. We aren’t planning on changing the truck to a camper, but we don’t need to use a tacho. The latest rules from the dvsa say that if it’s bellow 7.5t you don’t need a tacho as long as it’s not for commercial use. If it’s over 7.5t you need one regardless of use. Also if it’s over 25years old you don’t need to use a tacho for private use.
👍👍
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Someone else has mentioned it.....dont scrap the box....you might find it is can be salvaged into a great base for what you need.
We'll do an in-depth video on the box. When you see it close up, you may think differently 🙈
@@RoadToOffGrid could we get a song called Horse P!ss for that episode?
Probably, yeah 😂
Do u need to use the tacho machine to drive this?
It's over 25 years old, less than 7.5ton and private use, so it's exempt from tacho regs.
@@RoadToOffGrid that’s handy lol
Open the front before you tip the cab or you will crack the front grill off it
Before you junk the box think about how much work would be required to bring it up to a decent standard versus the cost to build a replacement box from scratch. Unless you are a competent DIY’er it may be financially prohibitive or beyond your skill set to make a replacement. Not putting a dampener on things but I am following someone else on Insta who is converting a horse box into a camper and it looks fantastic and the things he’s incorporated are very good. You could do the same as the base vehicle seems solid
We are up for the challenge! We'll do an in-depth video on the box. When you see it close up, you may think differently 🙈
Have you both got hgv licence to drive or C1 licence have fun steve
Not yet, no rush as we had the truck delivered to the yard and it will be a while before we hit the road. Pete will get his C1… not sure if I will yet!
~ Hayley
814 is a nobrainer. no power, no computers, no DEF, no turbo, no problems. just in case: any garage all over the world can fix it. and it is thy 4 cyl engine which has a lot better fuel efficency than the 6 cyl
How do you intend to use this camper? Will you boondock overnight in shopping centers? Will you go exploring offroad
in search of the perfect camp spot in nature? Do you intend to OVERLAND in it? Offroad you will want a 4X4. To
boondock without raising the suspicion of the cops your camper need to look like it belongs and is not a converted
truck into a camper.
!
Thanks for your question! Our long term plan for the truck is for it to have many uses. Once we've done some research, travelling to stay with other off-grid communities and projects, we will be settling on some land of our own at which point the box will come off and we'll turn the truck into a flat bed and/or use it to move tools and machinery. We'll still live in the box while we build up our business and community on the land until we finally build a permanent home there ❤
Lift the front grill before you jack the cab over its the grill stoping it going fully over
We’ll try this today, thank you! 🙏
@RoadToOffGrid make sure nothing in the cab can move or anything behind the seats because when u jack cab over something can fly forward and smash the screen. This is coming from a lorry driver who made the same mistake lol
@@keltthomas8476 Oh no! 😖 We’ll be sure to secure or remove anything loose first. Thank you 🙏
It worked!! Thank you 🤩
@RoadToOffGrid wonderful glad it worked for you if you want any more help just ask I spent 10 years driving 1 of these beasts
Why don't you put a caravan on the back
It's a great idea and would certainly save a lot of time! We're keen to build something from scratch though. You never know what issues are lurking behind the walls in a caravan 😨
Why not a transit Luton
Not enough payload. We got a lot of stuff 😁
@RoadToOffGrid make sure you get something rust free anything with rust is expensive to repair
Why did you not consider a vario chassis? Easier to get to the engine and a bit more metal between you and that thing i hope you never will hit. I went for a MAN … big mistake for spare parts … mercedes is much wiser … but 140hp on the highway or in hilly regions … be gentle on loading it to the max allowed
Thanks for your question! We want to build something modular. Our long term plan for the truck is for it to have many uses. Once we've done some research, travelling to visit other off-grid communities and projects, we will be settling on some land of our own at which point the box will come off and we'll turn the truck into a flat bed and/or use it to move tools and machinery. We'll still live in the box while we build up our business and community on the land until we finally build a permanent home there ❤
@@RoadToOffGrid fyi with vario chassis I meant a 814 Vario with nose truck rather than a 814 flat front truck. No need to move the cabin to get to the engine. And if ever you crash it the distance between you and let's say the tree is more and thougher. Good luck, nice investigation you will be doing. Best of luck and happy to learn from your insights
Ah, I've looked it up, I was thinking of the van/bus type. The Vario 814 didn't come up for us in our search for trucks. I think these old Mercs are getting rarer and rarer unfortunately. I'm sure we definitely would have considered it if one had presented itself to us!
Gee guys, I hope it was very cheap🥴🥴🥴🥴 if not you will have to Rob a bank😂😂. And what ever you do don’t take it to Cornwall 😢😢Jon
It was! £1500. What happens in Cornwall??
@@RoadToOffGrid 6’0 wide roads😩😩🚚🚚
Oh gosh! OK 🙏😅
Will never get rid of they smell
Challenge accepted 😁
Might as well just take the rotten box off it and put on a shipping container
It's a great idea, but with the container weighing around 2 tonne, it wouldn't leave enough payload for insulation, furniture and all our stuff. We have about 3.5 tonne to play with once the box is off 👌
Has your boyfriend got his 7.5 t license
Husband 😊 And no, not yet. But the truck was delivered to us, so no rush.
Suggestion: Go for a full C license. No harder to get than C1 and you might want a bigger truck in the future.
You will be sad about ur choice of truck Mercedes will be in workshop 90% of the time you will have it and cost you a lot of money to repair and i know what i talking about i have been truck driver for over 25 years you should have bought the DAF of the truck you have looked at that will have been ur best choice
Controversial opinion! But thanks for the comment 😁👍
Why have you listed your videos made for children I cannot recieve notifications from your channel
Our videos are listed as “not made for kids”
Horsebox no, you mean rotbox
You’re not wrong 😑
oh dear, a Uni mog would have being better
@@royjennison3916 A uni mog is just a touch out of our budget 😅
No one likes a rotten box
😂 do true! Although it made deciding whether to convert it or build something new an easy decision!
The horrific AI music puts me off your videos.
Is 'horrific' a bit strong? We think they're funny.
Old school easier to do mechanical repairs and no stupid unreliable electronics and that shit add blue crap thats a farst , Australia