Foamie motorhome

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: Foamie motorhome

Postby redveloce » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:31 pm

I mean that the 'powers that be' won't care, or know enough about them to care. I think it would be cool as heck 8-)8-)
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Re: Foamie motorhome

Postby Wobbly Wheels » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:45 pm

Bogo wrote:Starting from a bus chassis gives you an already existing vehicle that meets crash and other specs.


Not a rolling chassis, it doesn't. If you start with a bus for your build, you have a body, lights, restraints, safety glass, etc.
A 73 Winnie with a 318 will be a rolling chassis from a 1 ton Dodge B series van. Though they typically had either the 360 or 440 (mine was a 360), a manufacturer like Winnie could likely order enough units to spec whatever they wanted.

Most standards are available free online for the automotive systems. These are the two I use most:
1 2

RV systems have no mandatory standards (RVIA is voluntary). If you're going to buy one and would rather overbuild, you might want to look at ABYC instead - that's the de facto marine standard. Depends on your experience level though as to whether you can judge what to adjust and how to achieve the same in an RV.
There will have been an initial certification for the propane as well, but that's for motive power only and is good for life unless you change it substantially.
We all come from different experiences, but I'd rather not rely on ignorance as a defense when it comes to the road safety since I'm not the only one out there.

redveloce wrote:I've never heard of anyone going through a motorhome to make sure things are 'approved'.


It's not so much a matter of somebody proactively inspecting your rig or requiring it to be inspected after you're done building it unless your state has mandatory vehicle inspection (apparently WA doesn't). Your local vehicle inspection authority has done plenty of RVs and knows what to look for: give them a shout. No, they aren't checking to see if the windows leak or if the breaker panel is accessible. Another call I'd suggest is to actually call your insurance co and tell them you want to alter a Class A moho's body configuration to a U built - they'll tell you exactly what hoops you need to jump through.
And definitely run the idea by your inspector/in-law - that's a resource I wish I'd had when I started !
Jut because there's a rattletrap rolling down the road doesn't mean it's been inspected.

Should something happen and your rig be subjected to a VI (Vehicle Inspection), you'll need to have your Ts crossed and your Is dotted because your insurance carrier insured a roadworthy vehicle as itemized in your policy: that includes whether or not it's still a "1973 Winnebago motorhome" or however it's described on your paperwork. If you modified the vehicle substantially from what it was and don't have the certification for it, they absolutely will refuse to cover an accident claim. In my case, it was two weeks after the 3 month address change requirement after moving to a new region. The region I was living in wasn't the same as the region the vehicle was licensed to. A surreptitious call to my employer to describe what I usually drove and I was busted. I'm pretty proactive about that sort of thing now. :lol:

The triggers for a VI can be as little as the other driver's statement, or the discretion of an investigating officer.
Happens all the time to owners of heavily modded 4X4s - they'll do it here if your tires stick out past the flares. That can happen if the officer is driving behind you or as you're going through a road check. You can be driving a brand new truck off the lot and potentially get nailed: I've seen some pretty sweet rigs with recent VI stickers on the windshield. I once got a warning (but no VI) that way at a sobriety check late one Saturday night. I was in the middle of a move so I hadn't been drinking - I figured he just wanted to check the load...
Once that bell has been rung, the ENTIRE vehicle is subject to inspection, it isn't confined to the offending component(s). That's when they'll discover that your passenger restraints aren't up to code, your lighting isn't to spec, etc. Anything that would require fixing before licensing would be enough for the insurance co to deny you coverage because you are in breach.

Again though, that's how it works here where our one insurer has no competition - other jurisdictions may be more strict or more lax. Being required to submit the vehicle to an inspector or having it inspected while impounded is the wrong time to learn what could have been done better.
In my digging for standards before building my first trailer, I found nothing beyond lights, tires and glass for Ubuilt trailers under 1500lbs gross....which explains a lot of the sketchy utility trailers you see at the dump on a Saturday morning !

That said, there will likely be some information available from your state's DOT for Ubuilt vehicles. They don't expect you to build a demo model for crash testing for example, but there will definitely be minimum requirements. Once you put 'amateur built', 'homebuilt' or 'U built' onto something, you enter bit of a different realm. Look at what happened with the foamie Mardi Gras float a year ago....(Glen ? Rosie ?)

It's definitely not a reason to avoid the build, it's just a bit different than the freedom you have in building a trailer. I think most of us tend to overbuild anyway, so problems aren't too likely and it's not as though most commercial RVs are anything great !
I'm not being preachy about it: it's not my build so it's not my call. I'd genuinely like to see you move forward on this - it absolutely would be cool as heck.

I'd look for a good cab-and-chassis rather than a Class A myself, but that's JMHO.

It’s just not our “Thing”

Just think of it: a foamiehome towing a foamie and the whole combination weighing less than a pickup and camper.
Maybe on a turbodiesel platform like the Sprinter/Navion...only lighter.

Just to make this post a little longer, here's something that I haven't posted in a while but is arguable the best Top Gear ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkAxbeMxVo
Quote: "This plan has the stench of genius about it"....
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Re: Foamie motorhome

Postby swampjeep » Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:07 pm

GPW wrote:Come to think of it , there’s probably No one on this site who would want a motorhome , foamie or not ... It’s just not our “Thing” ... :roll:


I don't think this is true, I came here and have stuck around for the building techniques, to apply to either a truck camper or a motor home, someone else mentioned converting a bus, plus the OP of this thread, there's 3 off the top of my head, and I'm not even on here enough to know much about the site...

It may not fit the TNTT, but it still may be useful info for some.
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