One of the main reasons that we decided to make a new habitat for our truck was that we really wanted to incorporate a passthrough into the cab of the truck from the living area. Honestly, we’ve been a little overwhelmed by the logistics of designing and building a passthrough for a while. We figured that now would be the best time to finish the passthrough details before we start assembling the habitat box.
We designed our passthrough to have a frame assembly on the cab side and a frame assembly with door opening into the habitat side. The frames are connected with a water tight EPDM rubber bellows / accordion seal. The cab side assembly is made of 3 steel frames and can be disassembled to disconnect the bellows from the cab if future engine or transmission work requires that the cab be tipped up. The primary cab side frame is welded to the back of the cab.
Wabi-Sabi Expedition Truck Passthrough
Wabi-Sabi Expedition Truck Passthrough Section
The habitat side frame is made of 2 steel frames and 1 aluminum frame. The aluminum frame incorporates the door hinge and lock strike plate. The door opens inwards into the shower/bathroom/entry area of the habitat. The door is made from a 1 1/2″ thick insulated RV door panel. The hab side steel frame is bonded to the forward wall of the habitat prior to habitat box assembly.
Talked with vendors about passthrough bellows material
Finished design of passthrough
Cut steel for passthrough frames
Cut aluminum RV door frame extrusion material for passthrough door frame
Welded habitat and cab side steel pasthrough frame
Milled slots for passthrough door hinges in aluminum frame
Milled steel corner fillets for bellows connection
Another big day for the project: we received all of our windows and doors from Tern Overland today. We got everything but the roof hatch, and it should get here in a little over a week (and certainly before we need it!). We spent some time inventorying everything we received, and it all looks very good.
We are especially excited that everything is double glazed so our habitat should stay nice and cozy. All the windows have integrated blackout blinds and screens, too.
It’s a big day for the new habitat: our custom habitat kit from Total Composites arrived today! More details coming soon as we get into inventorying everything, but here are a few photos from the day.
We had 2 hours to unload the container, but with the 2 of us and a friend it took less than an hour to unload. Most of the panels are quite light and can be carried by 2 people. The floor panel weighs a bit and required all of us (including the truck driver) to carry it.
The container had a tamper free lock from U.S. customs on it. The truck driver didn’t have a bolt cutter and seemed concerned when he showed up. It took just a second to cut the lock off with an abrasive disc on a grinder.
Sea Container ArrivesPanels After Removing Small BoxesPanels After InspectionFloor Panel on Subframe
We are really happy that our new habitat box is on its way from Total Composites. We received notification that the shipping process started last week. The box should get here around the end of the month / beginning of next month. Total Composites sent us a picture of our habitat ready to ship!
Total Composites Expedition Habitat Ready to Ship
Now that our old habitat box is removed, it is time to get going on our subframe modifications. Our subframe is in great shape, and we are really happy with its layout. Our plan is to remove some unneeded material, make a new perimeter frame, create a habitat ladder mount, add understorage box and jerry can mounts, and add new fender mounts. Unrelated to the subframe but before our new habitat box goes on, we’d like to remove the old spare tire mount and possibly install a new fuel tank if time and availability permits.
U1300L Expedition Truck Subframe
To get our subframe work going, we went by a local steel supplier and picked up 138 pounds of steel for the subframe modifications.
We have been working over the last few weeks to get the old habitat ready to be transferred to the new owner. A crane came this morning and lifted the habitat from our truck to the new owner’s truck. Everything went smoothly. We’ll be ready to start subframe work soon.
Ready to LiftStart of LiftMercedes 435 with Habitat Box Removed
Wabi-sabi Overland 