1998 FL 70 Toterhome Build (Poor Man's Toter)

5onrocks · Nov 2, 2015

I picked up a 1998 Freightliner FL70 28' box truck last week to build a cheap Toterhome. It will be registered as a motor home and go on a few 6-8 hour trips before heading to KOH at the end of January. It made the 3 1/2 hour trip home with no problems, rides like a Cadillac and mechanically is very clean and tight. It's no speed demon but should work out good for my budget. The last picture is roughly what I will be going for.

98 Freightliner FL70 33K gvw
5.9 12 valve cummins w/ an Eaton Fuller 6 speed
Air Ride with dump
Truck only has 112k miles.

Plans are for a 5' sleeping area above the cab with a 45* slope to improve aerodynamics. Roughly a 13' living area with a 8' bed to pull my gooseneck. Full size shower and full size RV toilet. The work will be slow for the next few weeks then hit it hard during Thanksgiving,

ecoast · Nov 2, 2015

GONOVRIT · Nov 2, 2015

Jealous, looking forward to watching this

wizzo · Nov 2, 2015

why not do a nosecone instead of 45ing the front of the box?

5onrocks · Nov 2, 2015

wizzo said:
why not do a nosecone instead of 45ing the front of the box?

It has crossed my mind but two reasons...

1. It already sticks out farther forward than I would like.

2. I'm a Project Manager for an Industrial Construction and fabrication company... Metal comes cheap or free and it is fairly simple to build the structure for the front. It will still be roughly 16'' of flat before the 45 starts. The new piece will cover the entire front face and up the angle to the roof to minimize construction joints. It will look somewhat like this picture.

wizzo · Nov 2, 2015

Given your access to metal, that definitely makes sense.

5onrocks · Nov 2, 2015

I wish I was good at photoshop. This is a quick paint version of what I plan on doing. The main thing that I am trying to decide now is black out the wheels and bottom skirts, grill etc or try to make/ keep it shiny. If I go blacked out, I'm thinking of building a very large, menacing front bumper. Fast and Furious style.

Eddyj · Nov 2, 2015

paradisepwoffrd · Nov 2, 2015

Re:

I'll be watching for sure.

Looks like you're cutting the rear 7' of the truck off? You could make it removable instead. Take it off to tow the goose, put it on to haul 1 rig on the back of the truck.

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Cracksrubi · Nov 2, 2015

Why cut the back off? You just like wet seats or something

5onrocks · Nov 3, 2015

Cracksrubi said:
Why cut the back off? You just like wet seats or something

I haul more than one rig, or my buggy and two Rzr's. Also I hate pulling a trailer with a truck that would have a huge tail swing. We had a motorhome that took up two lanes to make a turn because the ass end would go into the other lane. I also plan on buying a large enclosed gooseneck down the road. In the mean time, my seat savers work great.

Cracksrubi · Nov 3, 2015

Either way good score for sure I'd love to find something similar

B.DRAKE · Nov 5, 2015

Poor Man......Bahahaha now that's funny right there! We all know your a baller :****:

5onrocks · Dec 12, 2015

Well work has been hell and life has been beyond busy. I just got around to cutting the old sleeper area out and gutting the rest of the box. It's ready to start cutting on next week.

Eddyj · Jan 15, 2016

And...

5onrocks · Jan 16, 2016

Eddyj said:
And...

Life...aka work has smacked me in the face. I'm working 6 days a week right now on a huge job that should start winding down in the next three weeks. I've gathered most parts needed for the interior and exterior. Due to work, I'm not going to KOH so there's not such a huge time crunch. I promise to update as soon as I chop it up.