4 Kids + wife = perfect! 5th kid = oh crap, we don't fit!

[Boisedad]

So, all was going great. We had an F-350, a great 5th wheel and life was good. Then our "oops" came along and as much as we love the little guy, our family of 7 does not fit in a truck anymore. So....what to do? The options were a 32 inch sleeper cab in the bed where they could crawl through the window of the truck ($3000.00 but now there is no space left in the bed), stretching the truck and making it a 6 door (pretty awesome but $30,000.00 extra) or getting inventive.

After months on craigslist looking at all the options I found this...it is an F-800 railroad truck. I removed the crane, the welder, and the bed so all there was was the crew cab and truck frame. I purchased an old semi truck sleeper cab and gutted it and attached it to the crew cab with an accordion boot. I found two nice leather bench seats and mounted them in the cab and, presto, I now have a 10 passenger 5th wheel towing truck. I then built a new bed, headache rack and safari rack. It's not all the way done, but it should be in a month or two.

We just purchased (thanks to the advice of others on the forum) a 2014 Keystone Avalanche 360BH and are doing the PDI saturday. Can't wait to give it a tow and try it out. Thanks to everyone on the forum who helped with the decision. Hope to be involved with you all for a long time to come.

[BirchyBoy]

Wow, that is quite the beast. Nice job! How may gallons per mile :)

[Larry1013]

There are still a few 6dr Ford trucks around. You don't see them often and not sure the last year they made them. There is on not far from where I live. Probably a 550 or 650 chassis.

[Boisedad]

Wow, that is quite the beast. Nice job! How may gallons per mile :)

Actually not too bad. When I am not towing I get around 10 to 11, when I am towing around 9. Not great...but way better than I was expecting when I bought it.

[BirchyBoy]

Actually not too bad. When I am not towing I get around 10 to 11, when I am towing around 9. Not great...but way better than I was expecting when I bought it.

Definitely not bad at all. What's the engine?

[GmaPaTime]

Actually not too bad. When I am not towing I get around 10 to 11, when I am towing around 9. Not great...but way better than I was expecting when I bought it.

That's not bad at all. Not much less than a 250/350 would get and I'm sure you'll be using for mostly towing anyway.

[wahoonc]

There are still a few 6dr Ford trucks around. You don't see them often and not sure the last year they made them. There is on not far from where I live. Probably a 550 or 650 chassis.

They are still making them...

A local roofing contractor has a fleet of them. Suspect they may be semi-custom. His are all F250 6 door short beds. Buddy of mine has a 1996 F350 SRW crew cab plus cab, uses it to pull a horse trailer. Takes 45 acres to turn around though...

Aaron:cool:

[PARAPTOR]

Great Job!!! Very innovative :D That gas mileage is not bad at all, I would never had guessed that.

[hdrolling]

Very creative, I think we would have just had to suck it up and take a second vehicle.

[hemisareslow]

More pics!!!!!

[swan2125]

Make sure you do a good PDI; we purchased a 2015 361TG a couple weeks ago (I needed my outdoor kitchen). We actually left it with the dealer on the day of the PDI for them to address some things. One....the sink wasn't mounted correctly. Look between the LP tank area and the basement for any holes....I found a cut-out that was 3 inches by 13 inches, but only found it from getting on the ground and looking up between those areas. Its gone now - fixed. And buy a couple cans of spray foam to fill the rest of the voids....Also - unlatch your master closet doors and make sure they are on the track correctly....looks can be deceiving. :banghead: Lastly, check all of your pipes under the three sinks...make sure they are tight.

Enjoy!

[fred1609]

Necessity is the mother of invention......that's a great looking rig.

[monica4patience]

We just purchased (thanks to the advice of others on the forum) a 2014 Keystone Avalanche 360BH and are doing the PDI saturday. Can't wait to give it a tow and try it out. Thanks to everyone on the forum who helped with the decision. Hope to be involved with you all for a long time to come.

Congratulations on the new kiddo! You're going to love your new bunkhouse too. We had a Keystone Outback for a few years. Our two boys soon outgrew that space with only one slide-out. Add in the 2 dogs and a couple friends and there was no room.

We traded up to a 2014 Keystone Passport with two slides in the bunkhouse like yours. Oh, what a difference that made. It came with 2 twin extra-long futons that fold out to four twin beds on the floor. The overhead bunks are too narrow for our boys, but are great for storing gear.

The great thing about the bunkhouse is that I can have a girls' weekend and everyone is comfortable...no climbing up ladders. There will be room for a porta-crib when babies start arriving. Or I can move a futon and set up a sewing machine if I want. Lots of options.

Enjoy camping with your family!