M109a3

[jfnemt1ff1]

Looking into picking up one and changing it in to a offroad camper. Has anyone did this yet, or is it a bad idea. Just thought it would be cool.
John

 

[WillWagner]

I saw one that was bobbed and had air suspension at the last SCMVCC meeting. Looked sweet.

 

[timberline]

John...I guess it depends on who you talk to! My wife and I lived in one for over three years...took it all over the country ( over 58,000 miles ) and it was our only home! We used it on the beach, the desert, the mountains of Colorado..Wyoming...New Mexico and lots of river sides! It was completely self contained. We learned a few things and now are preparing to build our second one! It too will be our only home and we will take it everywhere from the city to the back country! My wife loves to drive the Deuce and it works great for our wildlife rescue work!
So, for my part I think it is a great idea! It is an excellent platform and you are only limited by your imagination! I kept the first one basically original but the next one will be purpose built!
Clint

 

[Opie]

Timberline,

Have you got any pictures of your first van's interior for the rest of us who can use some inspiration?

 

[timberline]

Wish we did...we have more than 10,000 digital photographs but almost all of them are of animals and trash! We do have a few of the outside but it looks like a typical shop van. Just for information purposes as I do not have pics ...
I installed an elevated bed up front...storage below! I had a a kitchen counter top with sink, two burner stove and 12 volt/propane fridge below the counter. Oposite side was the booth. The rear was the bath with small shower area and Port a Potty. Opposite the bath was a closet area. the very back was small mud room!
Everything was 12 volt or propane! I had a propane tank installed beneath the van body at the rear. I had it installed at a propane shop and it met all codes! It fed the heater, hot water heater and stove and fridge!
Fresh water was inside below the bed with fill and vent to the outside!
I used solar and a high capacity gas driven battery charger to keep the four 12 volt batteries charged.
The 8 ft. 12 ft. box allowed better use of space than the best camper out there...more floor room as you do not have the limitation of the wheel wells.
I used an m105 trailer to carry extra supplies...fuel, water, and trail bike!
It is a good feeling to be at the near edge of a tornado and have the blackout panels up and hear the hail and junk hitting the outside. It is also a good feeling to wake up in Colorado in October at 10,000ft to 3 feet of new snow and be able to drive out!
We live full time in our truck and travel anywhere we need to go...55 to 58 mph. and have never had any problems in any state!
Just our way of doing things!
I hope you guys will build out your shop vans and enjoy them as much as we have!
Clint

 

[jesusgatos]

Wish we did...we have more than 10,000 digital photographs but almost all of them are of animals and trash! We do have a few of the outside but it looks like a typical shop van. Just for information purposes as I do not have pics ...
I installed an elevated bed up front...storage below! I had a a kitchen counter top with sink, two burner stove and 12 volt/propane fridge below the counter. Oposite side was the booth. The rear was the bath with small shower area and Port a Potty. Opposite the bath was a closet area. the very back was small mud room!
Everything was 12 volt or propane! I had a propane tank installed beneath the van body at the rear. I had it installed at a propane shop and it met all codes! It fed the heater, hot water heater and stove and fridge!
Fresh water was inside below the bed with fill and vent to the outside!
I used solar and a high capacity gas driven battery charger to keep the four 12 volt batteries charged.
The 8 ft. 12 ft. box allowed better use of space than the best camper out there...more floor room as you do not have the limitation of the wheel wells.
I used an m105 trailer to carry extra supplies...fuel, water, and trail bike!
It is a good feeling to be at the near edge of a tornado and have the blackout panels up and hear the hail and junk hitting the outside. It is also a good feeling to wake up in Colorado in October at 10,000ft to 3 feet of new snow and be able to drive out!
We live full time in our truck and travel anywhere we need to go...55 to 58 mph. and have never had any problems in any state!
Just our way of doing things!
I hope you guys will build out your shop vans and enjoy them as much as we have!
Clint

Would LOVE to hear what you have planned for round two. I just bought a 109 that I'm planning on living in full-time for the next few years.

 

[timberline]

"Fred"

Yes, we do have the second truck and have already started using it as our home. I am only on line for a minute or two but will fill in more details and try to get a couple of pics up soon! Thanks for asking...the M109 makes a fantastic RV.
Best thing so far is the walk-thru between the cab and the box!

 

[tamangel]

m715 m109 camper

Clint, do you still have any pics of your M715 w/ the Alaskan Camper and any mods/build threads? Always thought that would be the best of both worlds..

Any build threads and/or pic's of your converted M109 campers? edit: just read above, so maybe no pic's..

Mike

 

[timberline]

You're right. the M715 and the Alaskan was a great combination. We miss it a lot but wanted a bigger house. I have photos of the truck with the camper and some pictures when it was all apart and going back together but haven't looked at them in years. I will dig them up and if you have an pm address I will send them to you along with what we did. ( the 366 transplant was the greatest addition of all ).
I will get some pics up of the current shop van and try to build a list of who what and where for RV parts. It is still in the build state...just already using it as a home!

 

[Michael]

Here is a link to his website:

http://www.timberlinewildlife.org/

Interesting reading but he needs more full sized pictures. there is only one proper picture on the site, the brown pelican.

 

[jesusgatos]

I've actually got an old 10ft non-cabover Alaskan camper that I was going to use, but that was before I was planning to live in the Deuce full-time. If anybody wants it, I'd let it go cheap.

You're right. the M715 and the Alaskan was a great combination. We miss it a lot but wanted a bigger house. I have photos of the truck with the camper and some pictures when it was all apart and going back together but haven't looked at them in years. I will dig them up and if you have an pm address I will send them to you along with what we did. ( the 366 transplant was the greatest addition of all ).
I will get some pics up of the current shop van and try to build a list of who what and where for RV parts. It is still in the build state...just already using it as a home!

Please do let us know what you're up to. I've been out kicking tires at RV dealerships all day looking at floorplans (those guys are HUNGRY right now) and I'm trying to figure out what shower / bathroom enclosures and appliances and all to use. I would be awesome to get input from someone in the same boat (and with a little more experience living out of one of these beasts).

 

[timberline]

Michael, we had a site crash and still rebuilding. Plus we are seldom connected right now. I am reading SS on the iPhone but can't add photos to the site! If interested you can check back later. I hope to have some photos of the M109 up soon and posted here in photos! The crawl through is great and fairly straight forward project!
Time to be on the Internet is just not as much fun as outside! The site give the grand kids something to think about besides video games.

 

[jesusgatos]

Pics would be great, but a list of equipment you're using and any build notes would be REALLY helpful. I spent about an hour last night sourcing a boot to fit between the cab and the box, and it sounds like you could have just told me exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Michael]

Sorry to hear about the crash. After a couple of hard drive crashes I back my pics up to multiple computers, an external HD and DVD-Rs. Perhaps you can get one of your kids to mirror the site to a portable hard drive when you get it back the way you want it.

Details on how you dealt with the flexing of the cab in relation to the box would be great.

 

[Opie]

Hey Timberline! Hope your computer problems are resolved. Any time you want to put up pics of "Fred", we're anxious to see what's possible with a shop van.

Best regards,
Opie

 

[BAZYRKYR]

I'm glad I stumbled upon this forum and this thread because I just bought (Well...am buying. In two payments. I pay the 2nd part when I go pick it up...its 5 states away) my very 1st 1967 Kaiser M109A3 and my intention is to do the same thing. They're like the ultimate Camper/Bug Out Vehicle. I just love this vehicle. I'm new to Deuces in general so any tips or advice would be awesome....but info specifically about Camper/RV construction and cross country living would be the best.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Driving from where to Maryland? Posting your route would help a bunch.

 

[BAZYRKYR]

Driving from where to Maryland? Posting your route would help a bunch.

Yes Sir....I'm either flying or taking a bus from MD to Florida and then driving it back. I'm not going down until the end of March. Its going to cost like $500 in Diesel just to get home and between bills and this second half of the truck cost plus the trip money is gonna be tight, I can certainly post the route I take but I was kinda hoping you guys might have a better idea than me since all the Steel Soldier meets seem to be in Florida. I was just gonna hit 95 and take it all the way home. Which reminds me....I need money for tolls too

 

[SCSG-G4]

If you stay on 95, there aren't many tolls to pay. Take the loop around Richmond to avoid that one, take the loop around Jacksonville to avoid traffic congestion. That puts you into the DC area with only food and fuel expenses (unless Murphy decides to ride along). Be collecting phone numbers and scanning the member maps for FL, GA, SC and NC to see who might be available to do a rescue if you break down.

 

[zout]

Looking into picking up one and changing it in to a offroad camper. Has anyone did this yet, or is it a bad idea. Just thought it would be cool.
John


Lots of us here have built these into RV style off road self sufficient units