Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2002
- Posts
- 11,830
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I thought Gear-Fi would be a cool place to put this! I'm in the process of buying a motorhome so that I can spend more time with friends and family in the US (and Canada too, when it's not cold up there!). I'm hoping to be able to spend 3-4 months per year on the road, but broken up into smaller chunks. It will give me a chance to invite a lot of people along for cheap mini vacations, and of course to do rolling Head-Fi meets!
Here's a video of some of the pics that I had on my laptop:
YouTube - My Powerhouse Coach
The exterior pics in the video aren't very clear, but it gives you an idea. It's a used Powerhouse Coach that was built on a Class 8 semi truck chassis with a Volvo 610 which was a lease return and already has 631k miles on it but is guaranteed for 1 million more by Powerhouse! The truck feels like its on vacation now that it's only carrying 38k pounds (instead of 80k or more).
One of the biggest advantages of this particular company is that they do everything custom and these things are built like tanks. I really like the fact the there is a huge engine compartment in front of me which is designed to break away and end up under the coach rather than in my lap if I decide to shake hands with a concrete wall at speed.
I had looked at zillions of more modern looking Class A diesel pusher motorhomes, but the engine is under your bed in the rear of the truck and there is nothing but a sheet of glass between you and that concrete wall. That, and you can get pushed all over the road in high winds or simply by passing a semi. Driving this beast is a real dream! It feels like its on rails.
The downside is that it's just a 43' (bumper to bumper) single slide out (where the couch and dinette are) and that was a compromise as most new Class A motorhomes have 3 to 4 slides and much bigger bedroom and bathroom areas than this one has. But I can live with that, and there is always an upgrade path to something like these guys which are 52' long with 4 slides:
Custom Motor Coaches by PowerHouse Coach
My coach is pretty much ready now but they're still doing some cosmetic improvements to the interior, especially in the cab area where all of the cloth seats will be recovered in ultra leather (a fake leather that is used in the motorhome industry). They're also going to be rejigging the bookcase (entertainment center looking thing) and putting cabinet doors on it to hide the dinky TV in there. I'm going to put a larger TV in the bedroom area for movies and gaming, then just use the one up front for news and sports.
They're also putting in solar panels, an in motion satellite TV system, and a roaming wifi hotspot system that will provide internet access anywhere. I'll be on the road with it by late March!
Phase two is to have Powerhouse build a matching 40' stacker trailer for my with an interior hydraulic car lift for my Ariel Atom and space underneath it for another one in case I'm traveling with someone from the Atom Club! It will also have room for a bike or two (thinking Ducati, but just thinking at this point) and my Dodge RAM diesel will take up the rear of the trailer along with a small 2 wheel tow dolly in case the Atom ever gives me any trouble and needs to be towed back to the Mother Ship!
The trailer will have 6 fold down bunks, a TV and audio system, a/c and heat, solar panels to operate everything, and a 50 gallon gas tank/pump for 96 octane race gas. The build process on the trailer begins on April 1 and will be complete by late July.
The coolest thing about the trailer is that it will be self propelled and remote controlled! He he... check these videos out!
http://www.powerhousecoach.com/vdt1drive.wmv
http://www.powerhousecoach.com/vdt1ramp.wmv
About all that will be left to do on my part will be to install the various security systems (a couple of floor or wall safes will be welded in for my gadgets; a multi camera video surveillance system that auto streams footage in infra red from every angle to the internet; a two stage alarm system for both the coach and trailer with 160dB of blaring noise when stage two kicks in while also setting off red and blue lights at the top of the entire rig; a gun rack; and maybe some mild electric shock thrown in for good measure for when people touch the door handles when they're not supposed to). Better safe than sorry.
Here's a video of some of the pics that I had on my laptop:
YouTube - My Powerhouse Coach
The exterior pics in the video aren't very clear, but it gives you an idea. It's a used Powerhouse Coach that was built on a Class 8 semi truck chassis with a Volvo 610 which was a lease return and already has 631k miles on it but is guaranteed for 1 million more by Powerhouse! The truck feels like its on vacation now that it's only carrying 38k pounds (instead of 80k or more).
One of the biggest advantages of this particular company is that they do everything custom and these things are built like tanks. I really like the fact the there is a huge engine compartment in front of me which is designed to break away and end up under the coach rather than in my lap if I decide to shake hands with a concrete wall at speed.
I had looked at zillions of more modern looking Class A diesel pusher motorhomes, but the engine is under your bed in the rear of the truck and there is nothing but a sheet of glass between you and that concrete wall. That, and you can get pushed all over the road in high winds or simply by passing a semi. Driving this beast is a real dream! It feels like its on rails.
The downside is that it's just a 43' (bumper to bumper) single slide out (where the couch and dinette are) and that was a compromise as most new Class A motorhomes have 3 to 4 slides and much bigger bedroom and bathroom areas than this one has. But I can live with that, and there is always an upgrade path to something like these guys which are 52' long with 4 slides:
Custom Motor Coaches by PowerHouse Coach
My coach is pretty much ready now but they're still doing some cosmetic improvements to the interior, especially in the cab area where all of the cloth seats will be recovered in ultra leather (a fake leather that is used in the motorhome industry). They're also going to be rejigging the bookcase (entertainment center looking thing) and putting cabinet doors on it to hide the dinky TV in there. I'm going to put a larger TV in the bedroom area for movies and gaming, then just use the one up front for news and sports.
They're also putting in solar panels, an in motion satellite TV system, and a roaming wifi hotspot system that will provide internet access anywhere. I'll be on the road with it by late March!
Phase two is to have Powerhouse build a matching 40' stacker trailer for my with an interior hydraulic car lift for my Ariel Atom and space underneath it for another one in case I'm traveling with someone from the Atom Club! It will also have room for a bike or two (thinking Ducati, but just thinking at this point) and my Dodge RAM diesel will take up the rear of the trailer along with a small 2 wheel tow dolly in case the Atom ever gives me any trouble and needs to be towed back to the Mother Ship!
The trailer will have 6 fold down bunks, a TV and audio system, a/c and heat, solar panels to operate everything, and a 50 gallon gas tank/pump for 96 octane race gas. The build process on the trailer begins on April 1 and will be complete by late July.
The coolest thing about the trailer is that it will be self propelled and remote controlled! He he... check these videos out!
http://www.powerhousecoach.com/vdt1drive.wmv
http://www.powerhousecoach.com/vdt1ramp.wmv
About all that will be left to do on my part will be to install the various security systems (a couple of floor or wall safes will be welded in for my gadgets; a multi camera video surveillance system that auto streams footage in infra red from every angle to the internet; a two stage alarm system for both the coach and trailer with 160dB of blaring noise when stage two kicks in while also setting off red and blue lights at the top of the entire rig; a gun rack; and maybe some mild electric shock thrown in for good measure for when people touch the door handles when they're not supposed to). Better safe than sorry.