holy shit...i wish i owned enough crap to sell, so i could buy this beast. it would take care of my every need->
"The storage ‘garage’ is home to a pair of 8D batteries that power the 1kw inverter. Recharging is done with a second engine driven alternator while driving or by a battery charger I built when the generator is running. I designed the electrical system so that we run the generator at night (yes it is quiet) and the inverter during the day. The rest of the garage is, like most garages, full of junk that isn’t being used on a day-to-day basis."
i guess the only thing i would do is swap the engine back out to the original hercules, which was a multi-fuel that can burn anything. who cares how fast you go when you are running on used motor oil and cat piss? oh, to dream.
copied from craigslist->>
"Expedition Truck RV 6x6 - $19000 (Central Arizona)
This is a 1967 US Military Kaiser M35A2 “Deuce and a half” with about 40,000 miles on the base truck and only 10,000 miles on the new engine, transmission & tires. The truck is registered as a 1967 Kaiser and does not require a CDL to operate on US or Canadian highways.
We (my wife Cathy & I) wanted a vehicle that could take us into the boonies for a month at a time and get us back out again. This truck has met the challenge in spades! However, we did make a few modifications.
The original loud smelly diesel engine got 8-9 mpg at 54 mph max. speed, not good enough. We replaced the diesel with a new gas 8.1L (496 cid) fuel injected computer controlled Chevy Vortec engine and a ZF manual 6 sp with overdrive purchased from Engines Direct in Phoenix Az. Mandrel bent exhaust headers were added as well as a heavy duty 3 row radiator with dual electric cooling fans. A K&N air filter with custom air intake keeps the engine breathing clean. The gas engine actually improves the off road ‘crawl ability’ since it produces the same torque as the diesel but twice the horsepower at lower RPMs!
Programming for the engine computer was done by Leland Wester at Westers Garage in Alberta Canada. Leland is a great guy & knows his stuff. I don’t have enough space to get into the problems I had with my original vendor, Fuel Injection Specialties of San Antonio, but Leland bailed me out. We now average 9.5 mpg with less expensive fuel and cruise at 65 mph with the engine turning a relaxing 2200 rpm. At those sustained speeds the old military tires would shred so we had 22.5” wheels made in order to run standard tubeless heavy truck tires. Fixing a flat is no longer an ordeal - I broke down those old 200 pound split rim wheels and patched the old tube type tires 14 times in one year! I’m too old for that crap!
I removed the troublesome Sprague gears from the transfer case and replaced them with a manual lockup gear set I got from Memphis Equipment. While I was at it I installed locking hubs on the front axles and an air assist to the manual steering. 120 psi compressed air is provided by a continuous duty 12v compressor controlled by an adjustable pressure switch. The compressed air is stored in two decent sized tanks. A manual override switch is available to fill the tires if necessary or if higher psi is needed.
The cab was raised 6” and moved forward 20” to provide space for the storage area seen between the cab and the habitat. While we were at it we tilted the bottom of the windshield out to provide the interior space for a dash - I think it also added a bit of style too (forget aerodynamics). The seats are an aftermarket off road style mounted to stock suspension bases. Between the seats is an electric cooler. We use a laptop wired to a GPS receiver to get us un-lost. The cab is now quiet enough to enjoy the Cambridge Labs sound system. - oohrah! On top of the cab sit’s a 500,000 candle power fully articulating remote control spot light - handy.
The storage ‘garage’ is home to a pair of 8D batteries that power the 1kw inverter. Recharging is done with a second engine driven alternator while driving or by a battery charger I built when the generator is running. I designed the electrical system so that we run the generator at night (yes it is quiet) and the inverter during the day. The rest of the garage is, like most garages, full of junk that isn’t being used on a day-to-day basis.
We added a second 50 gallon saddle fuel tank giving us a total of 100 gallons. That is over 900 miles of driving between gas stations - handy in the boonies.
I fabricated a stainless steel water tank which is located between the frame rails and holds about 100 gallons. We also have several filters and an ozone system. We can circulate the water thru the filters/ozone to keep the tank clean.
The rear deck can be lowered by an electric winch to off load the Yamaha XT600 motorcycle. The bike was an idea that wasn’t all that great. We thought we might want to use it to run to a store or check out a questionable road - we didn’t. Sold the bike in the Carolinas.
There are three cross frame storage boxes that drop down from under the bed. They are mostly filled with canned goods and a couple dozen bottles of wine - there should be at least some modicum of civility in the wilderness!
The habitat is is similar to the Alaskan Campers. The outer lid is raised 3’ by 4) 2.5” dia. hydraulic cylinders with 1.125” dia. chrome steel rods using air pressure to provide for 6’6” standing headroom in the camper. The shell of the habitat is a welded steel frame with inset panels made from laminated aluminum sheet, EPS foam, and ¼” Luan plywood bolted into the frame. The camper has a queen bed that can be tilted up to access storage underneath. There are two 3.5 cubic foot refrigerators, stereo, 26” LCD TV, DVD player, two burner propane stove, toilet, shower, love seat, and plenty of storage for food and clothing. The flooring is Pergo on top of ¾ ply on top of 1” EPS foam on top of the steel truck bed. All the cabinets are screwed and glued to take the abuse of off road travel. The exposed portions of the cabinetry is made of varnished tongue and groove knotty Pine.
Fully loaded and with full bellies the truck tips the scales at a reasonable 17,000 lbs. giving us an extra 7,000 lbs. before we reach the conservative max. rated GVW - hmm, more wine storage?
We are selling the truck to help finance our next adventure - that big hole in the water into which you pour lots of money!"
