Guests!

[JohnBoyToo]

fascinating !!!

keep it coming !

[BigBaron]

I'm in heaven.... Henry, you designed all of this, or does Spacecraft do this quality of electrical installs on all of their trailers?
The car lift cracks me up! So simple it's mind boggling.
Thank you for posting these pics.
Baron

[hjsdds]

Originally Posted by BigBaron

I'm in heaven.... Henry, you designed all of this, or does Spacecraft do this quality of electrical installs on all of their trailers?
The car lift cracks me up! So simple it's mind boggling.
Thank you for posting these pics.
Baron

I designed and built the car lift. By the way there is a company that is planning to produce more of them, send me a PM if you are curious. I can't take credit for the SpaceCraft work or the design.
What is remarkable that they can execute to a T "other peoples' dreams".
Both of the trailers I showed in this thread were "conceived" and designed by two very fine engineers and friends of mine. One has PhD in mechanical engineering and the other an advanced degree in mathematics. SpaceCraft seems to attract folks like this and they don't throw roadblocks when they are asked "can we do this", they just figure out how to do it.

hjs

[Jack Mayer]

Spacecraft, New Horizons and Forks RV (Continental Coach) will all build custom coaches for you. They all do pretty much anything you want. They will all use the materials and components you want....so there is a responsibility on YOUR part to be able to specify certain things. It is not as simple as going to a dealer and ordering a trailer.

New Horizons does very fine electrical work. If you look at their coaches all electrical runs are accessible. Proper components are used, and everything is laid out "right". Spacecraft does comparable work, although their "standard" components are perhaps not as advanced as what you see in New Horizons. But they do not cost as much, either. Continental Coach costs the most, in general, and they produce very nice coaches that are quite heavy. They also have a line that is a little lighter.

In each case, these coaches are far heavier and far better built - with better basic materials - than a "production" coach. You pretty much get what you pay for. And you should not be pulling most of them with a pickup, although there are models of each that "could" be pulled with an F450/550 or the new Dodge 3500 with the 37,000 GCWR.

[12 Tires]

Originally Posted by Jack Mayer

Spacecraft, New Horizons and Forks RV (Continental Coach) will all build custom coaches for you. They all do pretty much anything you want. They will all use the materials and components you want....so there is a responsibility on YOUR part to be able to specify certain things. It is not as simple as going to a dealer and ordering a trailer. New Horizons does very fine electrical work. If you look at their coaches all electrical runs are accessible. Proper components are used, and everything is laid out "right". Spacecraft does comparable work, although their "standard" components are perhaps not as advanced as what you see in New Horizons. But they do not cost as much, either. Continental Coach costs the most, in general, and they produce very nice coaches that are quite heavy. They also have a line that is a little lighter. In each case, these coaches are far heavier and far better built - with better basic materials - than a "production" coach. You pretty much get what you pay for. And you should not be pulling most of them with a pickup, although there are models of each that "could" be pulled with an F450/550 or the new Dodge 3500 with the 37,000 GCWR.

Jack is totally right. These three brands stand out as the very best. Make sure you talk with several others who have ordered a custom coach or two before--that will save you a load of regret!

Thanks, Jack, for your wise comments.

Tim

[Gemstone]

Gorgeous floor....been thinking of the Acacia and I would love to see detail photo's on the flooring if you have time...'specially where the slide transitions to the main floor. I'm hoping to find time this winter to rip out the carpet in our rig, and replace it with wall to wall plank style laminate. My understanding is that the flooring floats, so I see the transition as the critical point in the process.

TIA
Gemstone

[hjsdds]

Originally Posted by Gemstone

Gorgeous floor....been thinking of the Acacia and I would love to see detail photo's on the flooring if you have time...'specially where the slide transitions to the main floor. I'm hoping to find time this winter to rip out the carpet in our rig, and replace it with wall to wall plank style laminate. My understanding is that the flooring floats, so I see the transition as the critical point in the process.

TIA
Gemstone

Gemstone, this floor is a "real deal". This was another SpaceCraft built custom for a good friend of mine, another "engineer" who designed it from ground up.

Mark is very good at pretty much anything he undertakes, from engineering, to competitive bicycle racing, to high end wood working, campground development (he owns one), etc, etc.
I give him big Kudos. He didn't fool around and waste money on "interim steps" like many of us have done first. No, there was no pickup phase for Mark, no there was no MDT phase for Mark, no there was no used or new short fifth phase for Mark. Mark ordered a 42 footer 27,000 pound custom from Marsha at SpaceCraft. He wanted it fully custom and didn't rush the process (took about a year). In the interim he purchased an HDT and had it all customized.
Both were his first RVing rigs, like I said, no "pickup phase" for Mark. I went with him to ferry the finished rig from Missouri to Massachusetts. He had the HDT which he drove but he never pulled anything that long with it, so Saturday before, we hooked up my 40 footer to my HDT and I took him into the Walmart parking lot (on Saturday) and showed him that indeed one can maneuver such a rig in that environment. He drove it out of the parking lot and two hours later he was actually backing my rig from a narrow street into a driveway. Like I said Mark is a quick study.
The floor is another example of Marks superb skills as a high end wood worker. He pre-fabricated all the pieces (maple and exotics) in his shop in Massachusetts, carted it to SpaceCraft in Missouri and installed it at SpaceCraft, over a period of two weeks. This was done over the plywood sub-flooring and before the slide rooms went in.
He not only did it in the living room but continued up the stairs into the front kitchen.





Note that the wall in the rig are solid and then painted. Mark wanted an ability
to change the "decor" if he got tired of any particular color in the future.
The rest of the rig was done in solid cherry. We were harassing Mark telling him that there was going to be cherry shortage so many cherry trees were cut down to finish his rig.
That door in the back of the rig leads to his "garage" where he carries his and wife's competitive bikes.
By the way Marsha has that floor in her catalog and Mark "under contract" if any one else would like a floor like that. So depending on the size you can have one for between $10K-13K.

hjs

[Gemstone]

"you can have one for between $10K-13K"....Thanks, I am more of a DYI'er...and while the inlay floor is a masterpiece and something Mark should be proud of, it is not what I was referring to....I was more interested in the floor in the first rig you showed. Both rigs are quite the showpieces and demonstrates what can be accomplished with a little extra time, a lot of money and some quality craftsmanship.

Regards
Gemstone

[Jack Mayer]

On Flooring:

The reality is, you can put down any residential flooring in an RV. Assuming you are building from scratch. Now, some may be better for the RV lifestyle than others, but it is no big deal to put in anything you want. Including underfloor heat, assuming you use a compatible flooring. The Shaw engineered hand scraped Hickory in my coach can have heat directly under it. It is glued down - no nails. And it stands up to abuse better than any floor I have seen.

[hjsdds]

The acacia in the first rig runs throughout the rig, from the front to the back.
All the pictures of the floor I have are on page #1 of this thread.
As Jack said, the big rigs are getting more and more like houses. Hardwood floors, underfloor heating, residential fridges, granite counters, etc., etc.
Which means that pickup salesmen have to invent new lies, when they tell you "you can pull it with a pickup".

hjs

[12 Tires]

Hjs,

Your floor is indeed beautiful!

[12 Tires]

Jack,

We opted for underfloor heat as well. Decided on a full tile floor, then went back and fourth between electric heat mats v.s. plumbing it into the Oasis system. We decided on the second option--and it works very well, but have always wondered how well the electric systems work. Our current setup takes about 2 hours to get fully fired up; was wondering if the electric systems warmed up faster.

Didnt know if you had any experience with the electric mats.

Tim

[BigBaron]

The rigs are getting more like houses? They're nicer than my house!

[hjsdds]

Starting the Guests Tradition in our new domicile in Florida.






Yes, this thing has real commercial air brakes.


hjs