Creating a RV from scratch is perhaps the ultimate DIY RV project. It takes a level of skill, patience, and organization that is nearly unmatched across all do-it-yourself disciplines. We have covered total fifth wheel trailer, housetruck, and motorhome builds over the past year. One item we haven’t seen is a fully custom box truck RV conversion. When you consider the number of out of work box trucks around the world, it is surprising that we don’t see more. Vans seems to be preferred vehicles to convert. But, today we are pleased to show off a great expedition ready box truck RV conversion from Germany.
This great example comes from Swoesh who is a user at Reddit. His father took a beat up MAN FAE 8.136 truck and spent 2 years turning it into an impressive one of a kind custom box truck RV ready for the desert, mountains, or nearly any other environment. If you are not familiar with the MAN FAE 8.136, it was a joint venture between MAN and Volkswagen in Germany. It was in production from 1986 to 1993 before production was closed. Interestingly there were more than 100 vehicles of this type (not converted!) donated to the Iraqi security forces in 2005. Needless to say a very rugged vehicle.
Before and During Build Out
-
- MAN FAE 8.136 Truck
-
- Heated Floors
-
- Water Tanks
-
- Custom Walls
After 2 years with this battered truck, it had been transformed through a tremendous amount of custom work. This box truck RV has many of the amenities of a traditional motorhome such as water tanks, kitchen, bathroom, sleeping areas and dining area. It offers 4 wheel drive and even a rear garage for storage. What sets it apart is the features it contains that are more untraditional. To start, the floors of the living area are outfitted with heating coils to warm the floor. Then came custom walls and windows along with a custom elevator to hoist a quad or motorcycle. Our favorite feature is the way the living space and the cabin are actually connected by an automated shutter door that turns up to allow access between the driving cab and living area.
Completed Box Truck RV
-
- Cab to Living Area Door
Video Walkthrough of the Box Truck RV
Additional videos regarding this box truck RV.
This box truck RV conversion has since been put up for sale at a price of approximately $160,000 (118,000 EUR). The mastermind behind this creation worked for a vehicle repair shop. After the interest in this RV conversion, they expanded and created Outbound Expedition Vehicles, an organization dedicated to providing custom high end expedition vehicles.
