Redoing the inside of my 2015 Freightliner Cascadia sleeper

So I'm starting this thread for a couple reasons. First, to document the process I went through to make the sleeper in my truck more like home and usable for me.

Second, to hear ideas, opinions, and stories of what you've done with the inside of your truck.

Here's the back story of why I'm starting down this path. Almost 3 years ago I got into this industry mainly to pay off debt that was preventing me from pursuing opportunities in my life. By Christmas, I'll be debt free (all my personal debt, still have business debt)! In that time I've realized for how I run out here, the conventional sleeper setup just doesn't do it for me. My mind sees how the basic 70"sleeper has so much potential for a real home away from home.

I know companies buy trucks in bulk and want them at the least cost possible. I also know I could go and get one of those extended cab sleeps from ari, but with my current business operation, that isn't doable (more on this in a bit). So my next option is to come up with a really good plan that uses the space in this truck more effectively.

Right now I am partnered with a reefer company pulling there trailers. I have my own authority and can run brokered freight at any time, but In order to keep pulling there trailers I'll need to keep my truck around 20k lbs so I don't run into weight issues. That is why the extended sleeper by ari is out, there 108" sleeper weighs empty with no fuel or water at 24k lbs.

Ari did offer to do a remodel of the inside of my sleeper, they just wanted $25k to do it. Downside, that only included a single burner cook top, a microwave/convection oven, removing the upper bunk and making it into cabinets, and adding a 35" shower with toilet, hot water and 37gal water tank. The couldn't give any designs, pictures out specifications about what they'll do for $25k. They did say to go look at there Facebook page for pictures .

So I started researching and designing my own setup. Here is my first draft of a floor plan. The bed will be the upper bunk, that's why there is none showing on this plan. Eveything is drawn to scale from the back of the seats to the back wall of the sleeper. As I flush out my plans more I'll post the updated drawings and info I find.



You'll notice the stove says diesel, I found a nice 2 burner stove that runs off #2 diesel and weighs 19lbs. This'll help with keeping costs down since it only uses up to 6.5oz of diesel an hour and I don't need to worry about a second fuel source on the truck. See attached pdf about the stove.

I'm still working on what to do for a water heater, but I've got a few options.

I think I can do all this and put a shower in for half the cost of ari and have the layout be how I want it in my truck!

I'm planning on doing the conversion by March so this will be a slow and long thread by that point.

My list of wants in this conversion:
1. Shower and toilet! (I'm tired of these dirty truck stop showers.
2. A real cooking area with stove and some kind of oven.
3. A place to sit and run my business from that isn't the front seat!
4. A full or queen size bed. I want to stretch out and not hit the #### wall every time .

That's the major stuff for now. Please share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences if you've done something like this before.

 

Thanks for watching and the ideas. It's been interesting the innovations that I've seen the PNW come up for small spaces, yachts, boats and stuff like that. I know I can find what I'll need plus keep within my specs for the truck.

I've been researching many conversions and the most popular one is sprinter vans being turned into rv's.
http://vandogtraveller.com

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/youll-want-copy-australian-sprinter-van-conversion-get-notebook/

https://tinycamper.wordpress.com/from-cargo-to-camper-van/



These are just a few things I've found and have giving me some amazing ideas of what I can do.

 

Found my solution for the hot water heater Simplest thing in the world and it won't really use any power unless I use the auxiliary heating element. The water heater will use the coolant from my APU to heat the water tank in a heat exchanger system. I just can't figure out if I want a 6 gallon or 11 gallon tank.

With regards to dimensions both tanks are 14" high, it's only the length that changes. The 6 gallon tank is 23 1/2" and the 11 gallon tank is 33".

Here is a link to the hot water tank I am looking at

http://www.marinetec-us.com/solaris-6-gallon-2/
http://www.marinetec-us.com/solaris-6-gallon/

 

I was originally thinking of something like that but having to carry a propane tank in the truck plus cutting a vent hole for it to vent outside made me look for something else. I also want hot water for more than just a shower.

It's still a possibility I'll go that route, but by using items that keep me to one fuel source, I simplify many aspects of this project, and it stays inconspicuous. I don't want people to guess I have that kind of setup in my truck

 

Plus it's all probably over kill for my application. I tend to over spec and engineer the sheetz out of everything, lol. Best part is, the marine products are designed to take a much worse beating than we can give them in our trucks.