quote:

Originally posted by Gary Atsma:
I would say that, when an overhang is built over the cab of a COE, the most common thought would be,"OOOOPS!!". Either that or the genius in question has a real brainstorm on how to do the most basic (like say, oil & filter changes) maintenance items, like cutting a huge gaping hole in the doghouse (engine cover for you non-trucker types out there). Just remember, "original ideas" don't always mean "smart ideas". But I'm sure most of us knew that already....
Gary

Gary,

It looks like and from the best I can gather from thier website that the Argosy has a flip up hood under the windshield that allows the driver to access all the things necessary on a daily basis. Check oil, filters, electrical buses, etc. The only need to flip the cab would be for overhauls and rebuilds.

Bill [from] Elburn THANK YOU I'm an idiot, I even have the Argosy brochure and never noticed the picture in it showing the service panel. This is going to make doing what I want to try a lot easier I'm sure. So cool, now I can start looking for a late used Argosy for real. I wonder if Freightliner has used Argosys in their Select Used truck offerings.

The access panel does allow one to CHECK stuff, but to do actual maintenance, like changing oil and filters and other PM stuff, the cab's gotta tilt, and in the normal RV situation that includes the necessary level of clutter that a family situation seems to dictate, that can be a real PITA. BUT, if you really want one that bad.....

I agree with Gary. That is just a access panel for checking Oil,Radiator,Blue-Juice and maybe some minor adjustments. The way that truck drives and rides is fantastic. It is well engineered,thought-out and built tough. The only problem is
that model Argosy is very recent and finding one used could be a little tough. A new one with the huge 110" Hi-top and all
the goodies is around 125K. I also feel you would have a rough time getting them to give you 25'+ of Double Frame behind the Cab. Not to mention it being a single axle. You guys should have pictures I sent each of you of COE trucks with add-ons. Really though on any COE all the fluids can be checked without tilting the cab, And in all seriousness how many time is the cab going to go tilt anyway. Not
much at all using the truck as a Conversion. That is unless you just wanna take it out and play with it, But then again there are plenty of other things that are a whole lot more fun to play with that I can think of.

Marc - Would you elaborate on the issue of how much frame rail "they" will give you? Are you talking about Freightliner if you buy a new one from them or are you talking about the practical limitation of stretching an existing frame?

Gary, you make a valid point in average situations as you mention with a family; I'm single and a neat freak. I'm also very careful about what loose items I allow in a vehicle to be loose and floating around. The issue of flying missles in an emergency situation is not one that I take likely. I don't eat or drink in a vehicle and I don't talk on a cell phone. Plus I'm not sire which cab configuration I'd elect to have as I don't have my heart set on any specific style. A day cab style might make more sense, I don't know yet. The fact that I have yet to even find a builder who had indicated an interested in tackling a COE build and who can demonstrate any experience doing so may well preclude a COE altogether. Just don't know yet.

But in reality how much family stuff is going to be in the cab? In our 780 all we had up there was the electronics and they were all installed very securely. We also had a bunch of folders (reg, insurance, etc) but they were in the upper storage cabinet. IMHO there would not be much, if anything, to secure prior to tilting the cab forward. I don't see that as a reason to abandon the idea. My biggest concern, assuming we are going to keep the tilting cab design functional, is how to seal the cab to the box? Will cutting lout the back of the cab weaken it too much to allow the tilting operation? What size opening would we be able to do (i.e. would it even be functional)? Looking at some of those horse lorries, it looked like it was more akin to a crawl thru vs a duck thru (ShowHauler and the like) much less a walk thru (Kingsley and PowerHouse).

I have a call with the engineer up at Kingsley tomorrow about a possible new coach so I'll talk to him and see what he thinks.

I'll keep you posted.

quote:

Originally posted by Chevy57PkUp:
Marc - Would you elaborate on the issue of how much frame rail "they" will give you? Are you talking about Freightliner if you buy a new one from them or are you talking about the practical limitation of stretching an existing frame?

I know when I was trying to order a new Volvo for my Kingsley back in '04, Volvo would only let you order up to a certain length of frame rail from the factory. We needed more. They agreed to let me order it but the Volvo engineers wanted to do extensive testing on it AT MY EXPENSE and it was going to take 6-8 months to complete. It was just easier to buy existing and stretch.

In looking at some of the setups on the different European truck sites, it looks like they will allow a pretty long wheelbase to be ordered. But who knows, it could be completely different here in the good ole USA.