UhaulToter (scratch that) '92 International Dt466 Build

[Lil' Rich]

The redneck in me has been druling over the Uhaul Toterhome build for quite some time. So like anyone else, I did my homework, saw a bunch of cool and unique builds and came up with the conclusion that this was the best option for me.

In the process of doing so, I found that the 26ft box option was perfect for me due to the size of my buggy and the fact that I want full living quarters in the front half of the hauler. Unfortunately, through MANY calls to Donna from Uhaul, I found that in Northern California there is a lack of 26ft uhauls that are running. Most have motor and tranny issues and all the good ones are literally already sold or lost in the system and honestly cannot be found. There was a 4 star rated 26fter but they could find the location, a 3 star rated one had lost keys so they couldn't even start it to see how it was for the last 3 years, and pretty much everything else was crap.

So about a month ago I saw a 4 door, '92 International with a 28ft box that my buddy in Utah had for sale. At the time I told him it was too big and he originally wanted $6,500 for it. Eventhough I felt it was worth it, it was still a bit out of my price range.

Today I called him up and it was still for sale. The oversized-ness of it doesn't matter anymore because I had some trees fall on the property and now I have the room to park it plus the price dropped to $5000 which was my budget for buying something like this.

Anyway, here are the pics, it has a lift gate that works in the back as well and my 14ft (end-end) buggy will fit just fine...

[Master-Pull]

What motor and trans are in that? Its a big rig but that will make a sweet toter, are you planning on pulling a trailer behind it ever or just driving that?

-Alex

[Lil' Rich]

It will be housing my buggy, which was built for dualsport of crawling and desert racing. I wanted something I could possibly tow two vehicles with, one inside and one outside on the trailer.







The end result was needing something that could house my race truck, house my fiancee' without being too costly or too much of a pain in the ass...

I will post up more pics as I get them, I am picking up the truck in Salt Lake City after the W.E.ROCK event at Miller Motorsports Park on June 11-12. Layout plans to come soon...

Discuss

[Harold Phipps]

That cab the size of a schoolbus would hold a fold out camper on top of it if you really wanted some sleeping room!
Nice buy.
Seems like a value.

[surveyboy]

yup, i think i hate you just a little bit more every day 'lil.


nice looking rig though. the crew cab part of it is friggen the best imho.

get some nice seats in there, you're gonna wanna be comfy. if you can find em cheep the big rig air ride seats are good..... you should already know all that having been driving back and forth accross the country the last few dozen years

i'd plan on either working that front of the box down so it sloped or get a good air damn on the roof to help with the aerodynamics... it needs all the help it can get! LOL

how tall is it inside? looks pretty tall. also, what's the height of the floor from the ground?

getting steps up to the 'living quarters is gonna be a project. you will prolly want to do something like those grocery vans do that have the steps built into them. you don't want a ladder or a huge set of steps to set on the ground to get in that thing.

[RoosterBooster]

nice score !!!

$5000 for a DT466 crew with bostrom air seats and lift is a bargain
does it have the 6 speed RoadRanger?

crew and 28' box ... how long is it total? must be right ~ 40' ?!?

i used to have a MDT just like that (except it was a sleeper and not a crew);


IMHO the (somewhat underpowered) MDT`s are all about aerodynamics; i would seriously consider to cut the box down to the minimum you need (i would shoot for 80" after insulation) that will help your top speed and MPG.
reducing the height on a aluminum composite box is not very hard to do and by cutting a slice off you also get rid of some of the lower box damage (pallet jack damage)

[MT4Runner]

Originally Posted by surveyboy

yup, i think i hate you just a little bit more every day 'lil.

x2!

Originally Posted by surveyboy

nice looking rig though. the crew cab part of it is friggen the best imho.

I'd plan on either working that front of the box down so it sloped or get a good air damn on the roof to help with the aerodynamics... it needs all the help it can get! LOL

Love the crewcab!

x2 on box aerodynamics. Either cut it like RoosterBooster said, or add a fairing. There's no reason you couldn't make an enclosed fiberglass fairing up top with outside access to store lightweight/bulky camp/pit gear (camp chairs, ladder, tarps, EZ-up) or connect it to the inside and have a sleeping quarters.

What's it got for a trans?

..and....subscribed!

[87manche]

Originally Posted by surveyboy

yup, i think i hate you just a little bit more every day 'lil.


nice looking rig though. the crew cab part of it is friggen the best imho.

x3

I'm jealous of the crewcab.

[85blue4runner]

a Crew Cab 4700 for five grand is bad fucking ass....

Not a big International engine fan but the early 90s DT466 motors are bulletproof and can easily be turned up for TONS of power if desired..


sub'd

[Lil' Rich]

Believe it or not, I still think that cutting down the box is a little out of my league. I will be building a sub floorsimilar to this thread that I can place all water tanks and heaters inside, as well as some storage. http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=uhaul

Instead of cutting it, I was thinking of building an air damn or something to move air over the box a little easier.

The tranny is a 5 speed with a splitter so 10 gears altogether.

Also, it was a typo, it's a 24ft box. I am not sure why I put 28ft...

[Robert]

Originally Posted by MT4Runner

What's it got for a trans?

I see a range shifter on the front of the shift knob.
Nine or ten speed.

[Lil' Rich]

This is what I was thinking about layout. After looking at the side door, it's a bit big for what I need. So I think I will be looking into covering that door hole up with regular siding and building a smaller, more RV style door so I can get more wall space to place big ticket items... The vehicle pic in the side view is a little out of proportion with the box, but you get the idea...

[Harold Phipps]

Will shitter and shower fit in ther with the side door still in? Or are you going to just access living area thru cab and box? (not a big deal with the box access and gives more room for amenities.
Good call using the area over the hood of the crawler for bed! With the head space, you could hang cabinets accessed from sleeping bed area into hauling area also.
May even be able to "hang" a bed hinged to a wall over the crawl thru for extra sleeping space, or same with a side wall. You have gobs of space up with the tall box!

[87manche]

is it FRP?

I have been doing research on getting some FRP panels to do repair on a badly water damaged section of my hauler. I was pointed in the direction of commercial kitchen builders, I guess they use FRP for the walls and stuff now.
My plan, if I cna't fix the damage, is to section out the bad bits, then use some aluminum T-channel to splice new FRP into place. Sandwich it on each side with T, bolt through both pieces to form "C" channel.

[Lil' Rich]

Originally Posted by 87manche

is it FRP?

I have been doing research on getting some FRP panels to do repair on a badly water damaged section of my hauler. I was pointed in the direction of commercial kitchen builders, I guess they use FRP for the walls and stuff now.
My plan, if I cna't fix the damage, is to section out the bad bits, then use some aluminum T-channel to splice new FRP into place. Sandwich it on each side with T, bolt through both pieces to form "C" channel.

I actually don't remember what the box is made of. I am guessing Aluminum by looking at the beams and supports inside the box. Either way I was looking at changing it. Not sure if I will panel over it and build a new door opening or if I will trim the current door flat the the box and weld the door in place. When I get to that point I will make a decision. If it's FRP I will most likely try to vacuum seal it closed...

[yager]

FRP on trucks = Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood. Heavy glass mat, epoxied/gel coated on both sides of heavy duty high grade plywood.
FRP in bathrooms = Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic. Chopped Fiberglass imbedded in a plastic with pattern molded on one side.

I've considered building a box from FRP (plywood) but never could source it locally, other than buying a truck body to use for materials. I'm now back to sleeper cab v4.0 (no build thread yet )

To add - My old Uhaul had a small 2x4' area that had been repaired. They did a shit job but the outside was ok.. You would use standard plywood and epoxy repair procedures. (Research boat building, tons of how to videos etc..)

[surveyboy]

if you park the front of the rig under the bed like you've got it... gotta remember to give yourself room to get in there and get to the straps.

you're not a midget that just jump in the nooks and crannies to strap it down.

its gonna suck to have to crawl over the tire and under the bed to only have to squeeze in to that corner for the rachet strap... then crawl across the hood to get to the other side.

[MT4Runner]

Originally Posted by surveyboy

if you park the front of the rig under the bed like you've got it... gotta remember to give yourself room to get in there and get to the straps.

you're not a midget that just jump in the nooks and crannies to strap it down.

its gonna suck to have to crawl over the tire and under the bed to only have to squeeze in to that corner for the rachet strap... then crawl across the hood to get to the other side.

Maybe make the bed fold-down over the hood of the rig? Wouldn't have to be watertight, just semi-airtight to keep fuel/oil odors out of the sleeping section and heat/AC in. If you needed to wrench on the rig out of the weather, you could get to the engine. When you're in camp (or sleeping in a truck stop on the way somewhere), it would be easy to fold down over the hood.

x2 on the idea for a fold-out bunk in back. if you've got a semi-warm, dry, out of the wind space, you could always find someone who will pay beer for rent...especially at KOH! ...or at least a free amenity for your pit crew. I'd recommend a small pass-through door there.

I like that you're planning a pass-through. Not only can your fiancee climb in back to nap during the late night drives, she can also make you a sammich while you're driving somewhere!!

[KCJ401]

Originally Posted by surveyboy

if you park the front of the rig under the bed like you've got it... gotta remember to give yourself room to get in there and get to the straps.

you're not a midget that just jump in the nooks and crannies to strap it down.

its gonna suck to have to crawl over the tire and under the bed to only have to squeeze in to that corner for the rachet strap... then crawl across the hood to get to the other side.

Doesnt matter he has Josh to do it ! Ive seen the truck considered buying it myself. In fact look in the 2nd photo and you can see my dodge in the background !

[surveyboy]

Originally Posted by KCJ401

Doesnt matter he has Josh to do it ! Ive seen the truck considered buying it myself. In fact look in the 2nd photo and you can see my dodge in the background !

then he's gonna need more room

I know in my trailer it was tight for me getting in there and i had a door on that end.

the crew cab is pimpin.

[hadfield4wd]

I dig the crew cab. Nice score.

[angryblack]

Looks like a good build..Definately gonna be pimp

[TachedOutOffRoad]

Nice find at a great price

[87manche]

Originally Posted by TachedOutOffRoad

Nice find at a great price

good to see you around.

[Lil' Rich]

I definitely dig the idea of the bed folding out of the way, and i already have the HD piano hinge and latches for it. Should work out great. There will also be fold out beds for hammertown hobos in the garage area.

I have other ideas, but it's hard to type out on the phone. Some include tarped outdoor garage, spare tire mounts under the box, and a few other details...