| Idea for putting rear twins in a standard 26' [message #188692] |
Mon, 29 October 2012 23:13  |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
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My brain never shuts off. Drives me crazy sometimes.
As some of you may remember, I am a metalshaper and fabricator. Having stripped down a 76 Eleganza to her bones for a car hauler project, I understand how she is structured.
Ever since we started considering GMC's we wanted rear twins. This was driven home when we could not sleep in the full size back of the 23' Sequoia. Unfortunately, every coach we looked at with twins was unacceptable for one reason or the other and we decided we could live with the super nice Eleganza II we got this week.
This idea precedes the purchase of the new coach. These three photos in the album are here:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/coach-ideas/p46250-stock.html for the email only folks.
The description and link to the individual images follow.
What if, the rear of the coach was somehow extended enough to provide footroom for twins oriented front to rear I wondered? Then I started noodling about how this could be done on a 'standard' layout coach, that is, side wet bath, rear full size bed. The bath, generator, and water tank are pretty much unmovable without a major effort. Doing a 2 foot add on to the rear was possible but then you run into tail dragging issues as well as having to redo the entire bedroom area.
Here is a line drawing of a standard coach (thanks to Byron Songer). It is to scale and I used 'Kerry Draw' for the design (lol):
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/6221/Stock.jpg
The rear fiberglass cap will come off pretty easily. It is bolted to the vertical ribs.
Being a metalshaper, I wondered what it would be like if I built an aluminum rear cap that replaced the fiberglass one. Some thoughts:
- Aluminum weighs very little so the new larger rear cap would probably weigh less than the existing cap.
- The existing rear window (escape hatch) would be reused but simply slanted to follow the new shape.
- The spare tire would be relocated under the coach using the lifter mechanism that is common to most modern pickup trucks.
- The rear bumper would be moved rearward and slightly upward. It would be slightly lower than the front bumper and follow the line of the old rear bottom. This means that the new rear would not bottom any more than the old one does.
- A 24" extension at the foot area makes for a 76" bed.
- Rear twins was the ultimate goal. We can adapt to the wet bath.
Here is what it might look like. The heavy line is the new aluminum rear cap:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/6221/Stock_0001.jpg
This is straight forward metalshaping. The corners will be curved and a slight crown will exist on the back panels for strength. Some new aluminum beams will be fabricated for additional strength across the back end. Everything will bolt and glue to the existing ribs and spars.
A cutaway view shows how the bed would fit. All new construction would be limited to the bed area with almost all of it limited to the rear cap portion.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/6221/Stock_0002.jpg
No, I'm not planning on cutting up the new coach before we even use it. This is just something to think about. I do have the stripped parts coach. I could pull the rear cap off, and prototype the aluminum cap. If I got energetic enough...and found enough time. My wife likes the idea though. She doesn't like the idea of her in the back and me in the front of the coach.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions, discussion welcome. Just noodling at this point.
Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama
Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
[Updated on: Mon, 29 October 2012 23:14] Report message to a moderator |
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