Hey Guys,

Thinking of upgrading to a cool toy hauler and a friend of mine told me a late model semi day-camper? can be had for around 15K....anyone ever convert a former semi tractor to a toy hauler? My buddy also said that there is some reposession company in Florida that has over 10,000 tractor/semis sitting in a field and that they've stopped repo'ing them...care to help me out and fill me in with any details?

I've done a few different semi conversions. We have built toterhomes and trucks (Kenworth and Freightliner) used specifically for towing toys and trailers. To sum it up, they are great. Lots of power, lots of room, affordable and they are a blast to drive.

I would expect to pay $20K plus for a good chassis and engine combo to build on. More if you want an automatic transmission, less if you want more of a medium sized truck. For that you will get a a truck with 500K miles but the high miles don't scare me if a good prepurchase evaluation is done on the running gear and engine. Nearly any big truck engine shop can run a dyno, DOT inspection, and evaluation. With good maintenance they will run a lot further than that and parts are easy to get.

Depending on what you want to do with the truck, some are better than others, in my opinion. For getting around in the parking lots turning radius and a short / sloped nose is important to me.

In the cab - the sky is the limit. Take a look at my Freightliner in the classifieds. I need to make the most of business right now so I am going sell it and my Scarab. I am just not using either of them right now and I hate having the shop full of stuff I do not use.

I have no idea who would be sitting on that many repossessed trucks right now. I would think they would be trying to move them on trucktrader.com and a few other web pages though.

Feel free to call or email on the truck ideas. I like them as much as the boats.

Cheers

OTR tractors even a few years old can be had very affordably. Problem is, they're VERY expensive to repair and maintain when they need something. The reason you see so many used ones is that the fleets know when to turn them- right before they start getting expensive. They're also not too marina-neighborhood-launchramp-driveway friendly.

Look for a medium- f650, International, Freightliner, etc. I have a friend who picked up an FL-60 chassis ambulance. Stripped everything and filled in all the exterior lights. Extra seats and a work area in the rear. You will also be seeing a bunch of medium-duty busses- mostly from airport shuttles. many of the companies moved up a few years ago from E350 chassis to the lo-pro mediums.

Here is something if you are looking to finish a project

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-...QQcmdZViewItem

If you are looking to convert one yourself look at thte freightliners, can get a good remaned rig that was fleetowned and upgraded at freightliner and also most of the time freightliner will do another 2yr/200k warrenty on it as well if it passes the inspection they put the truck thru. THere are aftermarket warrentys out there for other rigs as well. For the medium duty rigs your going to get around 285 to 315 hp not much more than a pickup and there are not that many upgradable modules to boost them with on the market. So now you add the weight of the conversion along with water tanks propand and that truck is getting slow.(been there ran one) Hills will kill it. Here are some links to look at for conversions and such. www.racingjunk.com some listed for sale there www.glconversions.com www.racecoaches.com www.kibbi.com www.rvpuller.com www.unitedspecialitiesinc.com www.profabcoaches.com www.westsidemotorcoach.com If you do a search on google or such look for "Toters or RV Toters" Have a few more links as well www.escapees.com "RV site for the differences of a medium to heavy duty" www.truckconversion.net www.powerhousecoach.com and then some nice plush seat to change out the old style www.vehiclespeciality.com

Dave1972...call Mike McCutcheon at WI KW in Madison. We used to both sell Pete's. He is a good guy and will find you one that will work.

Tell him Dave Brown says hi.

Or here is his e/m...

[email protected]

Thanks guys...and keep the ideas coming.

Downtown...I dropped Mike an email and thank you for his info!

When changing the configuration of an interstate commerce designed vehicle,BE AWARE.Those changes may constitute you as the "ultimate vendor".Therefore,in the event of an accident,the liability may pass to you and not the original manufacturer or your insurance company.

Also,if the unit was previously converted,ask for a copy of the converters manufacturing license and a copy of their pertinent manufacturing insurance policy.