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Old 09-23-2020, 04:53 PM   #21
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Unimog have great off-road capabilities, but are less than ideal for highway cruising; and they are very expensive.

It seems that the Iveco Daily van and Cutaway chassis is a good middle ground, and has taken over where Mercedes Vario left off. The Iveco Daily is also body-on-frame and can be ordered with factory 4WD like the Vario. It’s just not quite as wide or heavy duty, but is far more modern and seems to make a great off-road camper, albeit smaller, based on popularity.
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Old 09-23-2020, 04:59 PM   #22
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That's why you only buy a used 'Mog...
A lot of Municipalities have them, and you can often pick one of those up fairly cheap...
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Old 09-23-2020, 05:05 PM   #23
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The latest Compass's are AWD:
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Old 09-23-2020, 05:24 PM   #24
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Interesting... Fulltime AWD...
I wonder how much you pay extra for the AWD option?
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Old 09-23-2020, 06:09 PM   #25
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Interesting... Fulltime AWD...
I wonder how much you pay extra for the AWD option?

I believe buyers don’t get an option on AWD so cost to them is zero; it’s baked in. Thor obviously has to pay Ford for AWD, but unless buyers have RWD option, it doesn’t matter.

Similar to a slide — you have no option and pay for it whether you want it or not.
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Old 09-23-2020, 06:38 PM   #26
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Should I have said. "How much do you pay extra; for the AWD models?"
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Old 09-23-2020, 06:42 PM   #27
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There are a couple of companies around that will do 4wd conversions. There are times when 4x4 would be nice. Once had to help a 40ft Class A that was stuck in the mud after some heavy rain.

Check out

https://www.ujointoffroad.com/4x4-rvs/
4x4 Motorhome Conversion - Advanced 4X4 Vans
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Old 09-24-2020, 01:29 AM   #28
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I'm glad I started this

Thanks for all the info. Now I have more options at hand. Tracking this thread.

Safe Travels.
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Old 09-25-2020, 08:40 PM   #29
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For serious off-road camping, I can’t imagine that they make much cooler toys than the Torsus bus-conversion motorhome. It’s very large and very expensive, and probably not great on the highway, but otherwise an incredible design.

Apparently these buses are built on Man truck chassis to transport miners and other workers to remote locations. It obviously didn’t take long for various companies to start building extreme off-road campers out of them.






I really like the single tires and wheels of equal size so they are interchangeable.
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Old 09-25-2020, 09:00 PM   #30
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For serious off-road camping, I can’t imagine that they make much cooler toys than the Torsus bus-conversion motorhome. It’s very large and very expensive, and probably not great on the highway, but otherwise an incredible design.

Apparently these buses are built on Man truck chassis to transport miners and other workers to remote locations. It obviously didn’t take long for various companies to start building extreme off-road campers out of them.



cut...


I really like the single tires and wheels of equal size so they are interchangeable.
That just plain rocks! I would have liked to have seen how it handled itself in true off-road though. The metal grates on the downslope weren't very impressive. Makes me wonder why they were there?
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Old 09-25-2020, 09:19 PM   #31
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The latest Compass's are AWD:
Hmmm. Not a lot of ground clearance, yes?
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Old 09-25-2020, 09:58 PM   #32
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That just plain rocks! I would have liked to have seen how it handled itself in true off-road though. The metal grates on the downslope weren't very impressive. Makes me wonder why they were there?

Yeah, the ground clearance and approach/departure angles are much better than most RVs, but I think it’s too large, too heavy, and center of gravity too high for the width to do serious off-roading. See specs below.

The same company also does the smaller VW-Crafter upgraded van for more serious off-road driving than standard Crafter. Even that is probably less practical or capable than an old-design Ford E-350 converted to 4X4 like many Sportsmobile.
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Old 09-30-2020, 06:47 PM   #33
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I've owned 2 of them. One a 4x4 79 Winnie, we converted (it used a divorced tranfercase and was a beast rolling on 35's) and a 2002 Class C converted by Quigley. We did a lot of camping on the beach on the shore of MD. A lot of great times sleeping on the beach.
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Old 09-30-2020, 07:13 PM   #34
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You probably suckered a lot of other RVers to sink to their frame-rails; after seeing that you could do it. (They didn't know about the modifications... )
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Old 09-30-2020, 07:45 PM   #35
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Cool! That person did a lot of work to build that rv. You know that Thor and Dynamax and maybe others make a 4x4 rv.
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Old 09-30-2020, 08:10 PM   #36
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I'm about half way through my conversion. Mostly I wanted heavier front suspension, brakes, tires, axles, etc. and decided on swapping axles from a F550 and why not go 4x4 while I was at it???

I've put about 2k miles on it as it sits now and still have a few bugs to work out. Then I'll bolt up the transfer case and get a front driveshaft made. I certainly don't plan on doing any significant trails, but the motorcycle races we do have us parking in big open fields that get soft when it rains. Plus we do a fair bit of boondocking in Colorado, and the extra traction and ground clearance will help us get to some nicer spots further from the road.

It's been a lot of work, hopefully it'll be worth the effort in the end!
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Old 09-30-2020, 10:13 PM   #37
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Good luck with the completion of your project!
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Old 09-30-2020, 10:39 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by Jason977 View Post
I'm about half way through my conversion. Mostly I wanted heavier front suspension, brakes, tires, axles, etc. and decided on swapping axles from a F550 and why not go 4x4 while I was at it???

I've put about 2k miles on it as it sits now and still have a few bugs to work out. Then I'll bolt up the transfer case and get a front driveshaft made. I certainly don't plan on doing any significant trails, but the motorcycle races we do have us parking in big open fields that get soft when it rains. Plus we do a fair bit of boondocking in Colorado, and the extra traction and ground clearance will help us get to some nicer spots further from the road.

It's been a lot of work, hopefully it'll be worth the effort in the end!
Dammit - why won’t this forum get updated to include a LIKE / LOVE / THUMBS UP?

That’s a really cool project you have there. Have you documented your build on a forum or blog somewhere???

BTW - Ducksface’ rig is pretty darned sweet too guys....
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Old 10-01-2020, 01:53 AM   #39
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This isn't mine but it pulled into a truck stop while I was getting gas. I went bonkers over it.

The ladies father built all of it from a 1992 donor truck. He fabricated anything that wasn't readily available. Nothing was farmed out and it took him 2 years.

I tried to get his number from her so he could do mine, but no dice. She wouldn't give it up. She said he likes to 'tinker'. I just laughed.
Isata 5 Series Class C Motorhome 4x4The Isata 5 Series Class C Motorhome pairs luxury living with a powerful Cummins diesel and best in class towing. You no longer have to choose who or what gets left behind. Behind the wheel of the Isata 5 Series, you'll enjoy familiar and extremely comfortable truck cab and you'll find yourself making up reasons for just one more trip. Extra insulation, heated everthing.
Xplorer Package - includes Dual-Pane, Dark-Tinted Frameless Windows; Insulated Cab Curtain; Four Lithium House Batteries; 800W Solar Package; and Insulated Utility Bay with Secondary Tank Heater and Temperature Sensor

SPECIAL FEATURES
6.7L I6 Cummins Turbo Diesel
Multiplex® Wiring with Touch Screen Command Center, Back-Lit Switch Panels, and Bluetooth® Smart Phone App Control
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Old 10-01-2020, 12:59 PM   #40
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I got a lot of inspiration from the Sportsmobile Forum, since a lot of folks there do E-Series 4x4 conversions. Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to get any parts from the vendors since I used the wider F450/550 front axle. I would have liked to use someone else's control arm mounts, but that wasn't in the cards.
I thought about doing a build thread, but it I was spending time in the shop on nights and weekends away from my family and I didn't want to take the extra time.
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