4wd RV
 

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.

You may want to check with Sportsmobile to see if they can connect you with latest 4X4 converters for their Ford E-Series van campers. If I recall correctly, years ago they used Quigley for their 4X4, but don’t know what company they use now, or if done in-house.

I would think a 31-foot Class C would be a bit large to go off-road, but if easy terrain it may be OK.

If you want to dream a little, they had some cool 4X4 rigs on display at recent Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf.
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There's something so right about the results that a "Backyard Mechanic" can make happen! :thumb:

I saw this rig in a parking lot in the south of France last year

Attachment 26250

If you’re not aware...
Ducksface (on this Forum) had a 4x4 transfer case and lift installed on his ‘18 Axis 24.1 (which is an E450 chassis)
He calls it a 6X6 :hatw1:

I’ve seen it in person
It’s very cool.

Was it on a Mercedes Vario chassis?

Thank you for that. Honestly. She's 33 nose to tail, 53 pulling the toad. I'd dump the toad for the chance (sorry, no pun intended).

It has my interest. Thanks again.

Dude, this shit was so tight I was absolutely amazed. I'm an old gear head. I checked the welds. This guy laid a nice bead - everywhere. I crawled underneath. That's when I asked for his number. No dice.

I'm not interested in his posts or his sarcasm. Thanks anyway.

BTW, Chevy already labels some of their trucks 6x6 from the factory. Nothing novel there.

Does he have a Daughter that you could "pitch some woo" towards?

Agree!!!!!

They were both so cute, I wouldn't even try. They belong together.

:thumb:

I was just thinking that getting to be part of the family might get you access... :D
Their cuteness is just an extra benefit! :thumb:

I get that. Nice thought, but no, not really.:)

Hope all is well on the home front :)

I'll put it this way: our basic stubbornness is serving us very well right now. :thumb:

I really don't know what it was. It had a logo on the side - "Wodike Offroadmobile" or, maybe, Wodeke. I did not find anything when I searched the web.

The new Omni/Magnitude is on the F550 chassis and is 4X4

Looking at it closer, it looks like a Mercedes Vario chassis, which was unfortunately discontinued years ago in favor of increasing Sprinter size and payload. The Vario had body-on-frame design and came in heavy duty 4WD option, and was also wider, so it made it a popular conversion van, Cutaway or Cab chassis on which to build expedition motorhomes. Many I’ve seen pictures of were Do-It-Yourself, often with great results.

To me the perfect motorhome would be a very large van almost the size of a small Class A and the Mercedes Vario would have fit the bill if only imported to North America. I only saw one in person in US decades ago in California. In Europe I saw quite a few commercial units.
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I've seen some Unimog-based RVs, and they looked very serious! :coolsmiley:

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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:D That's why you only buy a used 'Mog... :thumb:
A lot of Municipalities have them, and you can often pick one of those up fairly cheap...

The latest Compass's are AWD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI0We8QkL3A

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. :rolleyes:

Should I have said. "How much do you pay extra; for the AWD models?" :lol:

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

I'm glad I started this
 

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

Safe Travels.

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.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv6q1n-xl50


I really like the single tires and wheels of equal size so they are interchangeable. :thumb:

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?

Hmmm. Not a lot of ground clearance, yes?

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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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.

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... :rolleyes:)

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.

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!

Good luck with the completion of your project! :thumb:

Dammit - why won’t this forum get updated to include a LIKE / LOVE / THUMBS UP?
:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
That’s a really cool project you have there. Have you documented your build on a forum or blog somewhere???
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BTW - Ducksface’ rig is pretty darned sweet too guys....

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
Aluminum Truss-Structured Roof with One-Piece, Crowned Fiberglass Skin
Dual-Pitch, Armless Awning with Motion-Activated Retraction
10,000 lb Hitch

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.

The Thors don't have the ground clearance for serious 4wd use. Slapping a 4x4 under a Super C with 10-12" of ground clearance is for those with more money than brains?

That's one hell of a man cave :thumb:

I realize this was posted a while ago. Nice work. Good luck. Try to keep us in the loop if you have the time.

Nice :)

Once from Wilmington, DE. Know MD well.

Would not want a large 4WD motorhome, in large part because if it got stuck or broke down recovery would be too much trouble, but think it could be fun to have a small 4WD van camper as a toad. I would feel more comfortable leaving a motorhome at a campground, serving as a base camp, and overnighting off road in a compact camper similar in size to the old VW Vanagon Syncro below.

I’d expect that Jeeps and 4WD pickups could come to the rescue if needed.

I decided to shy away because I'm 11'2". Jumping into 4wd territory, I have to worry about overhead clearance as much as underside. It was nice to dream ;)