box truck conversion

[somewhereinusa]

Welcome, Nice Blog, looks like you are well on your way.

[GreyEagle]

One word........... Insulation.... top / bottom / sides...... and door!!!
Vent fan on low will keep a lot of the condensation down....

best of luck on your convert......

[Stuff]

while its empty SEAL the inside!! then insulate it like GreyEagle said!

[stonestatue]

How long is the box truck?

[Accordion]

On your blog, you mentioned putting the insulation and then "drywall". Do you mean sheet rock?

Drywall (sheet rock) is very heavy. It will most likely break because of the flexing of the vehicle while in motion.

Viable options are 4X8 sheets of paneling which would not be my first choice,or thin plywood (3/, and my first choice would be pine tongue and groove boards.

Being that you do not have a whole bunch of leaky bus windows, you should be able to have good results with the insulation plans that you have.

By the way, if you intend to live in your truck (park on city streets) you would do well to make your truck appear to be a work truck.

I had a friend who lived in his step van. He painted "Acme Plumbing" on the sides of it.

Remember, stealth is the key.

I have lived in vehicles for over 30 years. The important things to adhere to are blackout curtains, no loud music at night, and move your vehicle to another spot at least every two days.

[schoolmarm]

I am not trying to start an argument but there was a post about sheet rock in a motorhome cracking due to shifting and movement etc. I have a motorhome that has sheetrock interior and it has not shown any sign of distress after about 5 thousand miles that I have driven it. Not at home and am on my small laptop but when I get home I will post some pictures. It belonged to Anne Arundel, Maryland State Police and was their Command Center. It is Barth brand built in Milford, Indiana in 1985.

[lornaschinske]

They make a sheet rock/gypsum board for installation in mobile homes (you know, the "double wide trailers" type). This type of sheet rock/gypsum board is full of fiberglass. We remodeled a doublewide (our own) and I had planned to use the gypsum to loosen up the hard-as-a-rock SC clay that our yard consisted of. After realizing the huge amount of fiberglass mixed in to the gypsum, I changed my mind and bought several bags of gypsum instead. The fiberglass will allow the sheet rock/gypsum board to be much thinner (about 1/4") and flex a little. If you are near a mobile home factory then you may be able to buy some off of them. I personally don't care for sheet rock. But if you insist on using sheet rock then look for the kind with fiberglass embedded in it. You may want to do a search for "Mobile home gypsum panel".

Here's two:
USG
National Gyp

[Defjr333]

Have widened my vehicle search to now include box trucks. Thought I would raise this post from the dead and gauge peoples responses
I see a few benefits as well as a few drawbacks. Hoping others can help enlighten what I am not seeing myself.
Pros:
More squared interior makes for easier constuction
Any windows wanted can be put where you want them
Available in a wider choice of drivetrains
More stealth
Easier to install roof items
Blank slate

Cons:
Its a box
No windows, have to install any wanted
No "cool" website/ forums to steel ideas
Not a schoolie
Doug

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Defjr333

Have widened my vehicle search to now include box trucks. Thought I would raise this post from the dead and gauge peoples responses
I see a few benefits as well as a few drawbacks. Hoping others can help enlighten what I am not seeing myself.
Pros:
More squared interior makes for easier constuction
Any windows wanted can be put where you want them
Available in a wider choice of drivetrains
More stealth
Easier to install roof items
Blank slate

Cons:
Its a box
No windows, have to install any wanted
No "cool" website/ forums to steel ideas
Not a schoolie
Doug

One of the great advantages of a Skoolie is the strength of the basic chassis and body shell.

I'm not sure a box truck comes close ... Just add it to the "cons".

[Defjr333]

Steve, I thought the same, but some of these box trucks use the same chassis and drivetrains as conventional buses. The BOX however is a different matter. I am sure they dont even get tested in crash/ roll over tests due to not being used to haul passengers. I think that one is a wash, as I am single and cant drive and be in the back at the same time. Thnx for bringing up tho, thats what I am looking for
Doug

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

The only door from the factory is the entire end of the box but hey most come with lift gates and if any minimum lights and wiring in the box but you might be able to find an older milk truck that is already insulated with a damn good AC unit?

[joeblack5]

Just looked yesterday at a 4x4 F350 1998 econoline powerstroke box truck. ( ex fedex) Had a great drive train but a little to much rust for me. ( still have a econoline 4x4 ambulance that we outfitted like that)
For stealth , living in the middle of the city it is the only thing. So the cool factor is just from another perspective. It would be super easy to insulate and use small house windows om the inside in such a way that outer wall would fold open for the window to be visible.

I think for a single person going stealth that would be a way better setup then a skoolie.

Good luck
later J

[Ronnie]

One other con,

Most cities consider them commercail vehicles, so parking laws can be a problem. And if you paint a company name on it even if a fake name then DOT looks at you.

The RV status of a schoolie has a lot of value....

[o1marc]

Ceilings are taller aren't they?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Ceilings are taller aren't they?

yep 11 foot 8 dot com proves that!!

and at how flimsy the boxes are..

-Christopher

[Tango]

Absolutely no comparison as far as the bodies go. Skoolies are built with multiple ribs (roll bars) while the box trucks have even less structural integrity than your cheapest stix & staples rig.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Tango

Absolutely no comparison as far as the bodies go. Skoolies are built with multiple ribs (roll bars) while the box trucks have even less structural integrity than your cheapest stix & staples rig.

Yeah. Many even have a see-through fabric roof.

[leadsled01]

My old box truck was pretty well built. I used it for 2 years for a swapmeet hauler/camper until the engine died. My family thought I was crazy camping in a box truck. They thought I was moving up in the world when I bought my shuttle bus. lol

[joeblack5]

The OP stated already that structural strength as in safety it is not critical for him.
We had a very lightweight travel trailer build out of sandwich insulation panel that traveled 20 yrs 5000 Km / yr and had no structural problems. So besides for safety of other occupants I think the structural strength factor is way overrated.
The sticks and staple RV's and trailers have plenty of structural engineers to make full use of the interior design.
From a safety perspective it would be better to talk about the weight since that effects the stopping distance. It really does not matter that much anymore to sit in your safe little tank if you skid over the edge into opposite traffic.

Ronnie, I did not think about the commercial vehicle parking laws but converted skoolies stand out like a red flag and a bull. There is a group of people who love the skoolies for all kinds of reasons, in general because they think it is cheap and cute Then there is the mainstream , including government / police / that looks at oddball vehicles very careful. Parking / living in open view , in a city, with an occupied skoolie will attract the officials and neighbours in very short time.
A box truck / van will be much more stealth.

Good luck
Later j

[Ronnie]

I had trouble when I lived in the city with parking my trucks, so that is why my comments. City life does not agree with me anyway....