Garbage Truck Conversion

[Bob Moyer]

Saw this on another forum,

[Bob Childress]

Yeah, those are pretty cool. I've seen them before. But I can assure you it is NOT a converted garbage truck. :p :D Just looks like one.:cool:

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Yeah, those are pretty cool. I've seen them before. But I can assure you it is NOT a converted garbage truck. :p :D Just looks like one.:cool:

If it were a garbage truck imagine how much fuel you'd have to consume to push all those tonnes of steel around?

[Brent Dowell]

Supposedly, They can go most anywhere, but they look a little top heavy and wide, for the really interesting places.

I've got a F350 Diesel dually with a Bigfoot camper on the back. It's a little wide in the back end, but I've managed to get it to places where I probably shouldn't have been going.

WooHoo, October vacation coming up. Can wait to do a couple of weeks of desert exploration in Nevada!

[Brent Dowell]

Oh, and If I remember correctly about that truck, I think one of the owners is handicapped, and on the side of it they installed a little elevator to get the wheel chair up and down. It's really an incredible rig.

[John Schreiber]

Yeah, those are pretty cool. I've seen them before. But I can assure you it is NOT a converted garbage truck. :p :D Just looks like one.:cool:
Darn, I was thinking they could have left the forks on the front. Imagine how you could solve parking problems that way.

[Curt Harms]

Boy does that create some fun fantasies:D



Darn, I was thinking they could have left the forks on the front. Imagine how you could solve parking problems that way.

[Ken Werner]

Brent, just curious, what kind of mpg do you get?

[Brent Dowell]

Brent, just curious, what kind of mpg do you get?

The truck alone gets between 18-20mpg.

Loaded with the camper, it drops to about 12-13 depending on how I drive.

What I like about it is loaded or unloaded, it's got the torque to go up hills with no problem. Never have to sit in the slow lane .... :D

[Ken Werner]

Brent 18-20 is pretty amazing. I have a 6 cyl Toyota 4Runner, and that's about what I get in 2wd. Do diesels usually get more mpg than gas engines?

[Brent Dowell]

It is a pretty big truck, but diesel does give you a bigger bang for the buck than gasoline. Drawbacks are that it requires a bigger heavier engine, etc...

There is a reason the over the road heavy haulers use diesel, other than the fact that it's a little less refined than gasoline. The diesel engines have a pretty high compression ratio, which helps as well.

Another drawback is that the diesel engines typically cost more than a comparable gasser. Got to any motor home/RV forum and there are a bunch of folks that talk about payback ratios for mpg versus price per gallon versus estimated life of the vehicle.

Why did I get the diesel? Can't really say. I love the way the torque handles the load on hills and such.

Some peoples dream car is a nice little sports car with lots of acceleration. For me, this is my dream vehicle. If you can spin the wheel, it'll make the turn, just make sure you are buckled in. :eek:

I've got the lower geared rear end. I hear of other guys with the diesel trucks that get much better mileage than I do...

But the funny thing is, I had an f250 SRW diesel on order until I took my wife camper shopping. We started thinking we wanted something small to fit on the back of the truck. Ended up getting a pretty decent sized camper. By no means the largest of the available truck campers.

Started comparing the literature for the truck and the camper, and just decided that I'd rather have the extra wheels in back. Haven't regretted the camper or the truck decision in the last 7 years.

I can't believe the camper fits on the back of the truck. Literally has all the comforts of home. Queen size bed, shower, toilet, oven, stove, decent sized fridge, microwave, stereo, tv, dvd.... Nothing I like better than hunting for cell phone deadspots in the ole camper.

Sorry about the long winded rambling post, but I'm getting really ready for a long road trip....

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[Brent Dowell]

6 wheel drive can come in handy sometimes, as well.....


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[Ken Werner]

Wow! I get it now.

I do my camping out of a canoe. It's good to hear about the way you do it.

Thanks for the explanation and pictures.

Ken