Westmicher's New XLT 10 Project Begins!

[westmicher]

Our new truck has arrived! We've changed the wheels, tires, and exhaust to start. The new super-areo box is next. Our goals are no more than 6,000 lbs. empty with a 10,000 lb. GVW. Room for 4 skids plus a small kitchen area and a built in generator box in the side. She weighs 4,510 lbs. as she sits here.

 

[chefdennis]

Cool!! About specs? WB, CA, engine size....Take pictures as you go and fill this thread!!! Looking forward to watching the build!!

 

[Moot]

I'm with Dennis, keep us updated and give us the specs of the chassis.

We've changed the wheels, tires, and exhaust to start.

Why these changes? What did the chassis originally come with? I sure do like the looks of the new Fords, especially in chrome.

 

[Lawrence]

Pictures and updated progress please!

 

[westmicher]

The wheelbase is 176". I changed the wheels & tires because I wanted wheels that were more sexy than the ugly white wheels it came with from the factory and I needed bigger/higher capacity tires to carry the load properly. The tires are now Michelin MTX2 low rolling resistance tires. This was a brand new six wheeler a week ago, now its a four wheeler. I had to change the front hubs as well but I am keeping the rear hubs to get a slightly wider stance at the rear for better stability. We are right at the 80" maximum allowed without clearance lights, which I wanted to maintain to keep a lower profile with the DOT. We are utilizing all the high MPG tricks we can to see how good it can be. The engine is the 5.4 gas/E85 fuel and the transmission is the 4 speed electronic overdrive (the 5 speed weighs 88 lbs. MORE!). The axle ratio is 3.73 and the tires are 10% larger diameter for better fuel highway fuel ecomony (I always use the GPS for speed & miles anyway). The muffler is now a long straight-through model and the tailpipe exits in front of the rear wheels to reduce even more weight.

We'll take & post plenty of pictures along the way!

 

[chefdennis]

Enjoy the build out, While i had the body to work with, you get the added kick of doing that too!! As you add info and pictures, you might want to move this thread to the "Truck" forum and add it to the proper "sticky"....

I am looking forward to following this!!!

 

[Moot]

Thanks Westy. May I call you Westy? Like Dennis, I'm looking forward to following this project.

 

[westmicher]

"Just don't call me late for dinner!"

It will be a couple of weeks until the body pictures are posted.

 

[Rocketman]

Im very interested myself. That is one sharp lookin chasis!

For clarification, is this unit rear wheel drive? I know somebody posted a link to a conversion that would be front wheel drive.

 

[westmicher]

Yeah, definately rear wheel drive. Its identical to the 12,500 chassis except the label says "10,000 lb GVW". However, I bought wheels & tires that are rated 13,680 lbs total so it could physically carry the 12,500 lbs total, though not legally.

 

[westmicher]

Im very interested myself. That is one sharp lookin chasis!

Thanks! I hope its the best looking expeditor truck out there when we're done. I'm hoping to have it at the Expo.

 

[scottm4211]

What are you planning for a box?

 

[Rocketman]

Even for those who abide by the 10,000 gross weight limit, it's still good to be just a bit over built imo.

 

[westmicher]

The box will be all aluminum construction, except for the floor. The frame will be aluminum tube covered by aluminum skin attached with aircraft tape and rivets. The shape will be tapered up from the top of the cab to the top of the box. The side walls tapered both up and down to appoximate the shape of the cab providing the least amount of frontal area to punch through the wind. The side walls will also taper at the back of the box to allow the wind to more smoothly come back together at the rear of the box. The door opening will be 54" wide x 72" high and will have a single door to save weight and complexity. Then, if my plastic experts are as good as they say they are, there will be a super-areo nose at the top of the cab and at the rear door. We probably will have a vucube in the areo tail but that will be the only accessory mounted outside the box. The generator will be in a flush side box (locking door) on the passenger side just in front of the back wheel while the air conditioning while be a portable unit will exhaust and water exits built in. The box will be fully insulated and skined. E-track will be positioned at the side wall floor and at 48" high, maybe one strip near the roof at the front of the box. The box will have at movable bunk sideways allowing 75" of length for our tired bodies to rest comfortably. LED lighting has been purchased for the tail and interior. More details as we go.

 

[fastman_1]

Sounds good so far I always wanted to build something like this, but retired before I got to it.

 

[ebsprintin]

Will you be selling copies of this van when it's finished?

I added this thread to the cargo van setup guide that's in the truck section.

http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/44065-cargo-van-setup-guide.html

eb

 

[LDB]

Good looking van! What is the fuel capacity?

 

[westmicher]

My Ford Dealer has agreed to sell these if my body & frame guys want to build more of them after they build this one (I'm pretty hard on them getting the right body built). If it works out, I would be willing to work with any qualified Ford dealer on the same terms. But we have to get this one done first.

The fuel tank is 40 gallons, which is the only tank size available on the 176" wheelbase model. The 55 gallon tank is only available on the 158" wheelbase, which is too short for this project.

 

[LDB]

Forty gallons should be enough to equal even the most impressive bladders for run time and to time purchases to better fuel prices. One of the downsides of the NV and Sprinter are the smallish fuel tanks. Looking forward to your updates and seeing it as the build progresses. Do you plan to share info on the costs as you go along?

 

[westmicher]

Well, as far as costs go, I'm going to put more into my truck than most people probably would. For instance, the truck itself was about $28,000, including rebates and upfitter credits. But I loaded it with just about every option which added more than $3,000 to the base. I put another $1,700 into wheels, tires, and hubs which could be cheapened up by using steel wheels. I'm putting all LED lighting inside & out, which could pretty much be skipped by someone else. I'm building in a Yamaha 2000 watt generator and air conditioning although someone else might skip it alltogether. I'm guessing someone could build a cheap version of our truck for less than $40,000, but I'll have more than that into this one. I'd rather have a great looking functional truck for years rather than a not-so-nice one that might last just as long, but I'd hate looking at and living in.