Remove body?

[Jenniflow]

Ok, maybe someone has done this and you can direct me to the thread(s)?

Has anyone here ever removed the body of their moho and just installed it as an outbuilding somewhere? Rather than continue to try to keep it on the road?

I’m considering trailering it down to Mexico where their restrictions on incoming motor homes are much tighter than on trailers. They actually require that the motor home leave Mexico within 10 years in the same condition it arrived in! HAHAHAHAHA! But if I bring it in on a trailer, no problem.

So seriously folks: what about gutting the body, then removing it from the chassis on the frame and towing it? Then selling the remainder for parts or to a junk yard? Is that insane?

Thanks!

[bkahler]

Jenni,

I would think it would be much easier to do that with an Airstream trailer than a motorhome. With a trailer all you have to do is remove the axles set it down. Well it's probably not THAT easy but a trailer would definitely be easier than a motorhome.

I'm looking forward to hearing other responses!

Brad

[bobmiller1]

Really?

[martin300662]

Its certainly possible to remove the body from the frame, and the frame from the chassis, that's what happened to Bella.



Who knows there even be a market for a used P-30 chassis!

[Jenniflow]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Its certainly possible to remove the body from the frame, and the frame from the chassis, that's what happened to Bella.

Attachment 310520

Who knows there even be a market for a used P-30 chassis!

Cool!!

How'd you do it? Can you just pick it up with a crane after unbolting the frame and gutting the interior? (I have no idea what I'm talking about.) Did you describe the process on the forum somewhere?

I suspect that a Burner would have plenty of use for a P30 chassis! And it's rolling up on Burning Man 2018 right now.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Jenniflow

Cool!!

How'd you do it? Can you just pick it up with a crane after unbolting the frame and gutting the interior? (I have no idea what I'm talking about.) Did you describe the process on the forum somewhere?

I suspect that a Burner would have plenty of use for a P30 chassis! And it's rolling up on Burning Man 2018 right now.

It was down by the previous owner....actually when I bought Bella she was still in three parts, body, new frame, and chassis and the three parts had to be re-attached to move her. The photos are all near the start of the Bella rebuild thread.

They rented a aircraft hanger with a overhead crane to lift the body, and kept it slung from the crane whilst work was carried out on the frame/chassis.

I guess I have to ask the question.....why not just sell the motorhome and buy a trailer?

[Jenniflow]

Originally Posted by martin300662

It was down by the previous owner....actually when I bought Bella she was still in three parts, body, new frame, and chassis and the three parts had to be re-attached to move her. The photos are all near the start of the Bella rebuild thread.

They rented a aircraft hanger with a overhead crane to lift the body, and kept it slung from the crane whilst work was carried out on the frame/chassis.

I guess I have to ask the question.....why not just sell the motorhome and buy a trailer?

Intewesting. We do have an aircraft hangar around here.

I guess I could just sell and buy. But I seem to be attracted to awkward projects like these and I suspect that another Burner would be interested in the chassis. But then a Burner would probably be interested in the whole motor home!

[mayco]

There has to be more to this story right? People drive Motorhomes in and out of Mexico daily and if you stay in northern Mexico, Sanora (the no hassle zone), the restrictions are pretty minimal. Now you've got us interested! Ive spent a good deal of time in Mexico, up and down the Pacific coast. What is your plan? ( if indeed you care to share cause it's none of my business, just curious). an old friend of mine owns and operates a beautiful RV Park down south of San Blas, right on the ocean.

[Jenniflow]

Originally Posted by mayco

There has to be more to this story right? People drive Motorhomes in and out of Mexico daily and if you stay in northern Mexico, Sanora (the no hassle zone), the restrictions are pretty minimal. Now you've got us interested! Ive spent a good deal of time in Mexico, up and down the Pacific coast. What is your plan? ( if indeed you care to share cause it's none of my business, just curious). an old friend of mine owns and operates a beautiful RV Park down south of San Blas, right on the ocean.

Hey, yes, well, the rules are pretty similar in Baja and mainland for motor homes. They just got tired of Americans bringing down junk and abandoning it in their beautiful country. So there's no restriction that I know of on trailers, but for motor homes, what I said is now true, as of a few years ago. You can't just bring in a motor home and *expect* to keep it there, but who knows? The enforcement may not be very, shall we say, forceful.

This issue is of no concern to people driving motor homes daily, weekly, or monthly in and out of Mexico, they're of concern to people who plan to bring, or end up having brought a motor home into the country to then sink into the sand or the soil, and gradually rot and leak.

I have a motor home that I might take down there and then drive back up again. But I would consider just taking the body down there and installing it as an outbuilding.

[Magnet18]

I'm assuming this motorhome is already unfortunatey in pretty trashed condition based on the way you're talking about it

I would say find the minimum you need to do to it, like if you can just remove the axles/drivetrain and leave the chassis/frame on.
I would think that would be a lot more sturdy to load on a truck, and easier to use as a base when making a building.

[Jenniflow]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

I'm assuming this motorhome is already unfortunatey in pretty trashed condition based on the way you're talking about it

I would say find the minimum you need to do to it, like if you can just remove the axles/drivetrain and leave the chassis/frame on.
I would think that would be a lot more sturdy to load on a truck, and easier to use as a base when making a building.

Hey Rob,

Sorry, I'm not all the clear on where the shell and frame end and where the P30 starts. If I do what you say, then will there still be a truck below it that I can sell? Or would I just be left with the cab?

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by Jenniflow

Hey Rob,

Sorry, I'm not all the clear on where the shell and frame end and where the P30 starts. If I do what you say, then will there still be a truck below it that I can sell? Or would I just be left with the cab?

Cab?
I'm suggesting removing engine/transmission/axles/steering/etc., and leaving just the chassis of the truck

The motorhome frame is a bunch of small (1") tubes welded together on top of the frame. I would be scared to move it without a chassis/truck frame underneath keeping everything from twisting and providing the lift points.
These things are big tin cans.

[Vycan]

May I suggest just getting a bumper pull, and selling your motorhome to someone who wants to work on one?

[martin300662]

The edge of the body has a channel into which the floor is fitted.



The body sits on and is attached to a rectangular section frame, which sits on the chassis. The belly pan is between the frame and the chassis.

[Swillv8]

I’m thinking it would be easier to pull the motorhome body vs a trailer body and in perspective it’s happening every day in the trailer world. I totally get it, you have a motorhome that doesn’t owe you a thing and selling then buying just can add more steps to get to the same end result. Only thing that I will point out is the amount of real estate consumed by the cab is substantial 72x90” Essentially depending on your motorhome length it’s a shame to lose that real estate ( on a 28’ its 20%)

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Swillv8

I’m thinking it would be easier to pull the motorhome body vs a trailer body and in perspective it’s happening every day in the trailer world. I totally get it, you have a motorhome that doesn’t owe you a thing and selling then buying just can add more steps to get to the same end result. Only thing that I will point out is the amount of real estate consumed by the cab is substantial 72x90” Essentially depending on your motorhome length it’s a shame to lose that real estate ( on a 28’ its 20%)

Having dismantled both a 345 motorhome and an Excella 500 trailer, if I had to pull a body I'd much rather deal with a trailer body. The trailer would be pretty straight forward where all the tanks, etc are contained within the volume of the frame (at least they were on the Excella). A motorhome has all of the tanks, etc hanging below the truck chassis.

[Waipio Rim]

This thread has a video showing how your coach was built:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f311...on-124594.html

As Brad points out, a lot of infrastructure as well as the lower foot or so of the exterior body structure is below the frame that Airstream installed on the chassis. I would trade it for a trailer.

[Waipio Rim]

Looks like you are not the first to have this idea:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/airstream-a...QAAOSw7m9a~cM1

[Jenniflow]

OK, so I ran into someone from the Baja who tells me that the restriction on bringing motor homes into Mexico does NOT apply to Baja! So that problem is alleviated.

It could now make sense to just drive the moho down to Baja.

But my interest in separating the body from the chassis persists, although not as strongly, because it smells and feels like a vehicle and I'm concerned about rust. If I remove the body from the chassis, leaving the infrastructure behind, and just put it on a foundation of some kind, I can replumb and rewire some of it more easily, and it will feel more like an installation and less temporary. AND I could have more room for storage inside because it wouldn't be taken up with infrastructure.

On the other hand, it might be good to preserve the option to drive it to some other location.

Vycan does make a good point, in that someone might really want a moho to work on and it would be a shame to disassemble it. And I'm always tempted by trailers for sale.

On the other hand, the rig you have often turns out to be cheaper than some other arrangement. I'm not sure what I could get for the moho; I'm not sure what I would find for a trailer - and I know there's a rabbit hole of investment for adapting one to this use; we don't have anything to tow a trailer with; and there are a lot of transaction costs, including time and attention, for making the swap.

We are in a bit of a holding pattern here right now, because our home, a converted tugboat is for sale and until that goes, we're probably not going to make any decisions like this, we may even travel in the motor home a little while longer after we sell the tug. But I am trying to plan ahead.

[Magnet18]

IMO, the effort to find a suitable trailer, sell the motorhome, and rent/borrow a truck to drive it down, will be WAY less than the effort to gut this, borrow an aircraft hanger with crane, pull the body off, build a custom supporting structure underneath, reinstall the interior, and attempt to get it transported to Mexico and delivered to the site in one piece

Sounds a lot cheaper and easier to sell the motorhome and just tow a trailer down and park it on some cinderblocks.

Added advantages
If you want or need to move the trailer later it will be very easy.
A trailer in the same shape as a motorhome should be cheaper, so put some of the money into interior upgrades

Edit, one more
Separating the body and selling it separate destroys a LOT of value.
You can sell the rolling truck chassis for what, a grand or 2?
And the body itself with no way to transport is probably worth... Nothing? You'd have to find someone willing to transport it
Compare that to what you paid for the motorhome

If you want to sell the trailer, just sell the trailer, no value lost