Replacing Class c motorhome body for touring act

[H-Man]

I would kick around the idea of converting the engine to EFI, some of the first gen systems put the injectors where the carburetor is, I recon that that kind of system could be chipped to run the engine right and in lean burn when possible. My dad has a suburban with a 3 speed automatic (no lockup torque converter,) a 4:10 rear end, a 454 that dynos at 350 hp to the tires, and knobby tires that gets 10 MPG because the engine runs in lean burn mode most of the time.
The 454 has a 8.something:1 compression ratio too, so it wasn't the most efficient.

[wmjinman]

Looks good!!

I'll bet it helps. Dunno if you'll get your 10 mpg, but I bet it helps. Driving a little slower will help too, but I guess that depends on your patience (and the patience of those following you!!!)

[slowmover]

I'm likin' your DIY work. Good redneckin' there, Californio! (seriously)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I'm favorable to a Cummins 4BT swap.

Originally Posted by capturedbyrobots

If I wanted it to come together easy, I could do the teardrop trailer type of construction, bent plywood on rounded wood or metal ribs then skin it in galvanized.

I've already considered to make a teardrop trailer, altough I'd want to get the rear hatch to feature a pop-up extention similar to the pop-tops from those Volkswagen-based Westfalia conversion vans...

[capturedbyrobots]

I've climbed that damn motorhome so many times in the last week. The support braces I had welded onto the frame for the old sleeper came in very handy while balancing on the hood, wedging my foot against the base of the pipe. When the project is done, I will chop those pipes off and grind the steel back to normal.

Next project is grill blockage where airflow is not needed. Then I have to find more coroplast....

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

What about an underbody pan? Some folks make it out of Coroplast, altough I'm more favorable to the usage of plywood for that matter.

[capturedbyrobots]

I'm going to try and avoid a pan and just do a front dam and skirts along the outside.

[Varn]

Using your same chassis you might consider building a structure similar to light aircraft using a tubular frame work and covering it with heavy dacron fabric.

I have seen a trailer made using a coroplast skin over a metal frame. A friend made a fairly good shaped box that fit on a flat bed trailer he covered it with aluminum panels from semi truck trailers but that is more expensive and heavier.

Steel tubing can be easily bent on a wooden deck using blocks screwed into the deck to hold one end.

My econoline gets 17 mpg on the road I can pull a 4 wheel 3000 pound trailer and get 13.

[freebeard]

Your modification looks well done. For the back consider the open tapered box. Reference materials at:

Effect of rear body taper on a simple body

http://bioage.typepad.com/greencarco...on-Project.pdf

Fuel Savings by Means of Flaps Attached to the Base of a Trailer: Field Test Results

Simpler construction than a boattail and you add 1/4 the vehicle's width or less in length.

[capturedbyrobots]

Freebeard, great study there....
Ill do an adjustable style like they did so I can fool with it.

Now a few more q's....
For the corners of the front section above the front doors, should I run an angled taper from the top of the door to the outside bottom of the sleeper? Or should I just run a straight taper from the front to the back on the sleeper and button it up flat on the bottom?

As for the pop up roof vents, should I make a quick n dirty ramp up/ramp down from them?

Now that I did the big job, all other aero jobs on this will seem easy in comparison.

Overall, ill probably just use this camper for one more tour, then get a diesel of some sort. Or just go crazy nuts and strip this down to the frame and start from scratch. That will take awhile to do though... Not enough time now...
Btw, here's one of my robots showing off its kick drum superiority.
DRMBOT0110 300bpm, 32nd notes, kick drum fun - YouTube