Concept Design

Whether you are designing shuttlecraft for space stations or shuttlecocks for badminton, the process is the same. One just has a lot more details to work out than the other. Of course, the more technical projects demand a higher level of knowledge and experience than the simple one. After all, no one can be seriously injured or killed from a defective shuttlecock.

In our situation, the design process started with us. Our past provided certain advantages that most people wouldn't necessarily have, and this allowed us to develop the design of our truck ahead of any serious discussions with a body builder. But this didn't mean that we worked in a vacuum.

Determining the Truck Characteristics

In the early days, when we were thinking about the kind of truck we wanted to build, we spoke at length with different builders to get their opinions on the best truck chassis to use. A builder based here in North America was very hot on Unimogs, a specialty off road vehicle manufactured by Mercedes in Germany. It's very capable off road, made in Europe, and oddly enough, available here in North America. But the supply is limited because the truck was only sold here for a few years. So like the NAS Defender 90 that we own, the Unimogs were selling for near, or over new vehicle prices. We even bought one of these vehicles, thinking that it was the right way to go. But we soon learned otherwise.

Our visits to the European builders provided a wealth of information about the use of Unimogs, and why they weren't the right way to go for our build. Both companies had built many Unimog based expedition trucks over the years, but said that Unimogs were only appropriate for a build with a box length of five metres or less. The reason, based on their experience, was that Unimog suspensions are too supple, and a large box would make them unstable. They also questioned the logic behind building a large box on a Unimog, since the box itself would prevent the Unimog from getting to the extreme locations they are capable of reaching. So if a larger box is desired, they recommended taking advantage of the more stable, more comfortable platform of a proper heavy truck. Needless to say, we sold the Unimog for more than we paid for it, and went with a Volvo.

our concept drawing for the build

Over a period of months, we used 3D CAD software to work out all of the parameters for the build. The size of the cabin was determined by the floor layout and the amenities we wanted in the finished living quarters.

The largest single use area in the cabin was the bed chamber. We wanted a king size mattress, and for it to be positioned front to back rather than side to side. This was so one person didn't have to climb over the other if they had to get up in the middle of the night. That added an extra 18" to the length of the body compared to a transverse queen size bed. We also wanted a dry bathroom and separate shower stall. Finally, we wanted a decent sized living area so two people could work in the kitchen at the same time, and four people could easily sit around the dining table if desired. To accomplish all of this we ended up with an overall box length of 22 feet.

Our 3D CAD Interior Layout Drawings

Once we had the layout sorted, we needed to determine what size the truck chassis had to be in order to accommodate not only the length of the box, but also the combined weight of everything associated with the build.