Lift my Ride, bus type storage for AS?

[JimGolden]

Well, I will admit I was a little confused by some of the sketches. Sure, 3x6 box tubing would be stout, and you could build a heck of a frame with it. You are correct that the point of maximum stress will be right around where the axles connect, and you'll want to beef that area up no matter how you go about it.

Personally, I'd ditch the OEM frame altogether. With an Airstream the shell bolts to the floor. So there's really no reason to save any of the original stuff from the floor down. I'd use the original floor as a template to shape the new floor and frame, but then bolt the shell directly to my new beefy frame, rather than trying to jury rig the OEM frame to the new one.

Now that I recall, there is a picture somewhere on these forums of a guy who did something similar to what you're talking about. He built a real beast. I think he had a triple axle utility trailer; like a bull dozer hauler or something, and he set the Airstream shell on top of it. He had diamond tread plate on the front, and it was set up to haul a motorcycle up front, just like you showed in your sketch. Like others on here have said, the resale of something like that would be about fifty cents, but it was cool in its own right. I'm not sure what to tell you to search under, but it's on here.

On your water tanks, I'd recommend you put the freshwater tank ahead of the axles and the gray between them. You'll likely tow with the fresh tank full and the others empty. You want the water weight forward of the axles for stability. i can't see you pulling it much with the gray tank full and the fresh empty. I've never done much of that. But anyway, you don't want a hulking big tank aft of the axles full of water with nothing forward to balance it out. Remember the CG rule; 10-15% ahead of the center of the axles.

You may have said it earlier and I missed it, but what is your tow vehicle? You're going to need at least a 3/4 ton heavy duty to pull this thing. Not a big deal, but just hate to see you go to all this work and try to pull it with a 150. You're gonna need more beef than that

[nomader]

It's a 94 GMC 2500 6.5 turbo diesel extended cab, regular bed.
I really need to stop drawing in pen. I was just trying to convey the gist of things. I plan to use CAD once I have a more definite plan.

I'm going to try to draw another one, a bit more clearly. Altered.

[JimGolden]

Hey Eddie, where's that sketch?

Sounds like you've got enough truck. Those weren't the most powerful horse on the track, but they were powerful enough. And, more importantly, you've got enough chassis to handle this rig.

Time to start welding

[nomader]

It took me a few days to confirm that this route is possible. What do you think of 3x6 bottom and top rails, 4x6 tounge triangle, cut chunks of 3x6 6" long for between top and bottom rail and space them about 3' from each other. The cross members would be mostly 2x3 with a few 3x6 and a 4x5. Outriggers would be 2x2, or 2x3 on top and either the same size or smaller rail running down to the lower main beam. I had thought of using angle iron under the c-channel, maybe that would be good? The shop didn't have any 2"x2" -1/4". I do have 8 20' 2"x2"-1/8ish". I planned on using them for the tool hauler but I might have extra.
The PO of the trailer shop told me the tool hauler was called a "slide box", so I guess it's a common thing. I've have seen custom removable rigs, they either didn't have the jacks on or they rarely use a loading dock/tree.

[nomader]

[/IMG]

[nomader]

Most of the solid black goes to the other side, the wavey lines are 2" foam panels. The 3x6 is 24' long, and the tanks are different sizes from what I first thought.

[nomader]

I would tow it more often if I knew the bath wasn't going to fall off, and I have been working on this one home. Now I'm done and have no clue where I will end up. I could go day to day or work on jobs that take months.
I guess, I believe options are exponential. Being stuck is no fun and expensive.

[fltlevel510]

I was at a rally a couple of years ago where someone had recently purchased one of the round-the-world airstreams. Apparently many of the airstreams had the frame beefed up by placing an additional channel iron frame the length of the trailer. As I recall it was 6" channel. Here is the only photo I had of this trailer but you can see the additional frame welded to the tongue.

[nomader]

That would do it, but somewhere along the way i got the "bright?" idea to add 500 gallons.

The center tanks support, slides out the back not the side, as pictured.

When it's all said and done, i don't think most people would notice the difference at first glance. I'm adding 14" to the frame not 24"

It's funny, I think the original stairs might fold down enough to still work. I could always use a foot stool.

[Foiled Again]

Just buy an AVION that already HAS the bus frame and garages.

Paula

[Dave Park]

500 gallons weighs 4175 lbs. 8.35 lbs per gallon... I don't know about you, but I'm a bit wary of towing 4000 lbs or more of moving liquid, AND a trailer that looks close to 10,000 lbs unladen weight. The average HOUSE only has a 30 gallon hot water tank.

You might want to change things a little so the water is around 10% of the trailer weight or less.

[nomader]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Just buy an AVION that already HAS the bus frame and garages.

Paula

Well that's not as fun.


Dave-
I don't plan to travel with a ton of water. I would get close and fill up in town, then park it for a month. I could also make short hops, to each pull off, like highway 1 along the west coast.
If there is too much fresh water, I'll convert some in to gray water tanks.
I have been debating the configuration, I will either, have the tanks run side to side or length wise, or a set of both. I think side to side will win out, as I doubt this thing will flip easily. This s would give me more control of the tongue weight.

I made a diagram of a very efficient (as far as piping) way of moving water from any tank to any tank. I plan to travel with tanks empty or completely full, starting from the center out. This should cut down on the "liquid effect".

I've heard AS tanks are expensive, I might sell my original ones and buy a bigger black tank. The biggest tanks, I saw, on ebay were 40 gallon, I think mine is 20. It would be easier to install a new tank then making the old one work.
The original tank is shallow and the pitch isn't great. That means more water wasted to empty the tank, especially when using a macerate pump. It also means more black to move when using the blue rolling waste tote.

[JimGolden]

Just buy an AVION that already HAS the bus frame and garages.

Paula
__________________
VA-6 yah!

Today is a gift,
that's why they call it the present.


HAHA, that is exactly what I did and I've been a "Happy Camper" ever since!

Eddie, your diagrams look like a B-52 bomber's fuel tanks, where you need a full time on-board flight engineer to keep transferring fuel around to keep the thing within CG limits. Very complex. You want to keep it more like a Stearman biplane where the fuel is either ON or OFF. I really think you should keep your fresh tanks center-to-ahead of the axles.

Your idea of the two 3x6 frames with the vertical pieces would work fine. What you're essentially building is a version of an I-beam, where the 3x6 horizontal pieces form the "Flanges" of the beam and the vertical portions create the "web". It will be very labor intensive to build, but if you've got the time, it'll make you a Titanic of a frame.

Personally, I think you might be getting a wee bit wild with your tank capacities. But, you should certainly have enough water with them

Seriously though, can you come up with a gallon figure that you want for fresh, gray, and black tanks. Give me a definite basement height that you want. Give me a definitive list of the steel you have available, and I think we can design you a frame.

This baby will be a monster. Heck, it will be beyond the MonStream that I wanted to build a few years ago. But, it's doable. Just need to nail down the specifics and get the balance right. Balance is everything. Get that right and we're good. Strength is no big deal. Balance is what will make or break this project. You have to keep it nose heavy. Tail heavy and you're sunk.

I take it you can weld good?

[nomader]

Ahhh!! I just deleted a my post. lollol. I'll try this again.

Sorry If you started drawing with my bad measurements. I was told the 24' were 20' and I assumed the tanks were "nice whole numbers", like an idiot.

I like the idea of an on board engineer, but it will be me. lol, nah.. I just can't figure a way to keep EVERY thing above the wheels. I like the idea of the gray above the wheels, it's much easier to pull from two tanks than it is to drain into two tanks evenly.
This is why I like the bag idea, but they were too expensive and the thought of them "wearing out" wasn't good. I also came to the conclusion that they would be very hard to know they are clean and dry.

Although, I will be hauling fresh water a lot more often than gray. I'm also starting to think, it's more important to get the water there, than it is to get it out. I think a 60 gallon gray tank will do. I can only stay at walmart for three days, and I would use and evaporator in the desert, and everywhere else I can drain the shower on to the ground or into a drain.
I plan to have a valve that will divert the shower water away from the tank and out a gray only drain.

I'm also thinking of spraying the water. lol. In true "Uncle Eddie" fashion I would shoot a stream of water out the side and over the guard rail, or maybe on to the car riding my bumper. Actually the macerator could take care of that already, just turn up the hose and wire a switch in the car.

I will head to my friend's place tomorrow and get absolute measurements.


When I first thought of using the 3x6 on the top, I thought I would just lay it on the bottom rail and stitch weld in together. I just couldn't get what I wanted to fit in 12"-14". I still think the 3"x6"x6" chunk will be much easier then measuring and welding each 2x2 cross diagonal brace. I could pretty much lay this stuff of a level ground and start welding. I think the 2x2 would require an army of clamps. Yet again, what do I know, my welding experience ended after 2".

I wanted to learn how to drive a stick shift, so I bought a stick shift. Same thing, I want to know how to weld.

[nomader]

[nomader]

ha,, you can kinda see rodger rabbit's head on that last picture. He's my guarantee that nobody will get knocked up and this project will be completed.

Seriously, I hear that story ten times a day. The guy that owned the Prevost, had to stop building and sell the bus. I mean, I'm a "loner" lol but I'm going to have to be sure to stay that way.... lol, and all so I can live at walmart.

[nomader]

Anybody know how to edit that last post?

[cclarkego]

I believe you have a set amount of time after posting to put edits in. After that, they are set in stone....

Perhaps you could just decode for us what you were trying to say for us and post again because a) I don't see a rabbit's head and b) since when did a rabbit keep anyone from getting knocked up?

[Mike Leary]

Never gonna attract the chickies with that lash-up.

[nomader]

Lash up?
Officially stumped.


More pictures loaded after I posted the comment. You can see his head under the radio.
Rodger rabbit would push away a good percentage. Of course that group wouldn't be there if the first place.


I was just going to delete the whole post. oh well.