At this point I am not going to be towing anything or mounting anything on the roof. I am shooting for the best possible milage and either of those would instantly suck at least 1 extra mpg out of the tank and when on a 4,800mi trip that one mpg adds up. If I decide I need extra storage I would consider roof mounted storage but would rather do the hitch/tray style which would keep everything behind the vehicle for the best possible economy. But at this point I don't think I'll be needing any extra storage space.

Something like this...

 

Are you planning on venting the Aux Battery?

 

I've already turn mine into an RV by removing the 3rd seat and folding the 2nd seats down. I have everything you planned except the Aux battery. My bins are portable. When I stop to sleep, I just pile up everything to one side. Then roll out my mattress and bag. Very simple. I have a portable potty, but never had to use it. Mostly overnite at rest stops or turck stops and shooting ranges. Everything is 12v. My oven, thermos, portable light, Engle fridge which can also run on 110 if I hookup.

 

post some pics

 

Hello,
Awesome! What sort of suspension work have you done? How does the ex handle the extra weight? Instead of going the air setup I think might save my $$ and put it elsewhere and just get the HD Bilstein shocks and a hilwig (spell?) anti-sway bar. I also heard that it is possible to get two optima batteries and mount them together in the place of one OEM battery. This would leave the other battery bay for a compressor and there is plenty of room underneath for the tanks so I think I will put that off for later unless you tell me otherwise

Fords4you,
I am planning on venting the aux battery, in my new design it puts it in its own compartment which will help and I will also make sure to put plenty of ventilation in there so it will be able to breathe as well. Do you think it will be getting enough the way it is now? I will only be using the battery when at camp and will be able to open the compartment door and will only be using it when "shore power" isn't available so I'm pretty confident it will do fine. Plus I'm probably going to be going with an optima Deep-Cycle so it should be able to hold up correct? Please let me know if you think otherwise. I'm pretty new at this so I'm all ears!!

Ok, so here is my new design idea...



In an effort to keep all my camera chargers in one place I decided to make a box to be a dedicated charging station that will hold all the chargers (I have 3 despite all 3 cameras being Sony ) and I will have both "shore" and inverter power available inside "charging station" with a power strip and a pass-through for the cables so the cameras can sit on top of the door while they charge.

 

ALL the gasses from the battery need to be vented out, you don't want to breath them and the are igniteable. ?sp? Using a Gel Cell might resolve this issue, but I'm not sure.

What about using the other batt tray and moving the compressor? You didn't mention it, but are you adding an alt. or using a battery isolator? Moving the batt will also save on wire guage.

I haven't had good luck with isolators, but other have.

 

I would think an Optima would be ideal here...

Also...bumper dumper...D'OH...we have one...world's funniest name. Not good for off the side of the highway use! LOL

 

Don't we call that a mother-in-law seat?

 

1 mpg will likely only cost you $60-$80 in fuel for the whole trip though...you may burn that up in materials for the custom box set up in the truck. however, sounds like a fun project and an adventure! good luck!

 

I have the hellwig which helps a lot in the wandering and sway, bilsteins, Optima yellowtops 34/78 which install like OEM with the group 65 adapters. They crank over faster than a starter battery and peace of mind after all using power for cooking, lighting, music and maybe DVD watching at night. The only thing I keep tied down is my Engle 65 Fridge which is top heavy and will tip over. The rest of the stuff I just put where ever I got room.
The way you have your bed, you may have a hard time sitting up. That's why I have everything in bins so I can pile them up to one side. When you can sit up, then you can cook inside, dress, brush you teeth, do your thing etc without getting out of the X.
I suggest making a screen for your windows so you can keep them open at night when the night is hot especially in the desert in the summer.

 

Update:

The construction of the box is complete. We ended up constructing two separate boxes. We chose this because I will be able to keep the rear section in place when the third row is in place. When I need the extra storage and a bed I will be able to put the 2nd box in convert from people hauling mode to RV mode.
I now have room for two coolers, a big suitcase, a Pellican 160 camera case, five of the “under bed” style storage boxes as well as two standing drawer containers. I was able to fit 30 mini boxes of cereal, 20 packages of ramen, 50 packages of oatmeal and 26 cans of veggies/soup into one of the drawer containers so I’d say I have plenty of room.
Other things I have added while installing the box are a single bed, a three burner camping stove, 1200w inverter with two house outlets, a SUV tent and dual aux deep cycle golf cart batteries to keep everything powered up while away from civilization. Up front I have added a RAM Laptop mount which will allow me to use the laptop for music and mapping while I drive and also as a DvD/movie player while at camp. I'll post pics soon.
The first modification I did to my truck was to add a DPTuner chip and 4” exhaust. This not only makes the truck much easier to drive around town, but it also adds fuel economy. When going on a 4,800mi trip 2-3mpg really makes a difference! I have also added a 2nd transmission cooler to help keep the transmission temperatures in check while in AZ/NM august heat.
You can never have too much information about what is going on with your engine. I am adding boost, EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) as well as transmission temperature gauges to make sure everything is within good working condition. To help keep the added weight under control, I added a Helwig anti-sway bar and will be adding Bilstein HD shocks.
While I am getting close to finishing the project there are still a few things that need to be done. The biggest part that is missing is the battery switch. It came in today so it will be in tonight or tomorrow. I also will be carpeting both boxes for a cleaner more finished look. It will also help keep noises down from little jiggles etc.

Picture Gallery:Click Here

 

Thats looking COOL

 

nice

 

Jeez seeing all these plans gets me itching to drop my letter of resignation on my bosses desk, loading up the truck, and hitting the hills!

Keep us updated on how the build, and how the trip goes!!

 

A note on batteries:

All lead acid type batteries (gell cell and regular) produce gas when they discharge. The gas is Hydrogen. If you are discharging the battery at a high rate (at a rate that will flatten it in minutes), then you have to be very cautious about venting --- the Hydrogen is explosive in concentration.

But in general, for most battery applications, the venting only needs be sufficient that air can mix in the battery compartment. Positive venting is not required.