Something old..something new… it’s all coming together! Thats after it all got taken apart, so let’s start there shall we.
Works carried out at RM Metalworks.
Stripping it back.
In our last post, we wrote all about how we ended up with our new project and soon to be new home on wheels. Since then, ‘Rusty’ our 1977 Mercedes 1113 Fire truck has been with our main man Roy at RLM Metalworks in Colchester where he carefully removed the heavy fire truck body and put his expert welding skills into action.
While we the FamiLee were still in France we left Rusty in Roy’s capable hands to extend the chassis just long enough to make it possible to mount what we hope to be the perfect size body that will make up our habitation unit. The overall extension was 605mm to accommodate a box with the overall length 6050mm including an alcove over the cab. We went for this size to create a large living and sleeping area with three fixed beds but not so long that it wasn’t manageable.
As well as adding metal to the truck, Roy also removed a heap. Most notably a large rectangle in the rear of the cab which will eventually become the walkthrough from the cab to the rear habitation unit. We decided to go for this so that we could maximise the huge space in the cab as extra living space as well as passenger seating for the kids and the dogs while driving.
He also cut off some excess metal to help reduce the overall weight as we’re aiming to get this baby’s booty light enough to come in under the 7.5 tonne weight mark – thank you grandad rights and for once it’s actually rather cool being old!
Hello fire truck Rusty
Believe it or not it wasn’t until Jez picked up Rusty from Roy that myself and Remi first set eyes on our new home in real life, It seems like such a long time ago when the wheels started turning on this project so to actually see it for the first time, in real life was amazing. Needless to say both myself and Remi were super stoked! We were in awe of the sheer size of it and I absolutely love every little bit of originality still in him and vowed to re-use every piece as we build the truck in it’s new guise as an overland camper. It’s the small things like the dainty chrome handles, leather door hinges, leather man-bags mounted on the doors and that beautiful classic seventies spot light that seems as big as the moon from the ground looking up!
We cannot wait to get to start designing the floorspace and then decorating and adding our little FamiLee-flavour.
But first…
Taking out the Fire from our Truck
It was kinda sad painstakingly taking off all the fire motifs and signs on the truck but if we’re going to paint this truck in his new getup and overlander colours, it was essential to have him bare and ‘Feuerwehr’ and ‘112’ free.
The next step
So with body, stickers, some of the weight and metal removed it’s time to add the ‘something new’ to this old truck.
Today, we handed Rusty over to Mark at Southern Vehicle Bodies to build and mount the new habitation box onto the extended frame. A big shout out and thanks to Mark and his team for taking on this project. It’s not their normal build so we really appreciate them taking the time and effort to build something new and to our bespoke required specification.
Mark and the team will build a habitation unit made of aluminium frame and gel coated GRP with walls 69mm thick for excellent insulation in all weather extremities. The unit will come over the cab and have a chamfered rear section to accommodate a double motorcycle carrier which Roy is building for us.
The unit build is likely to take around six weeks giving us plenty of time to play with the layout which will need to include three fixed beds, shower, compost loo, kitchen, diner and lounge. Pencils and paper at the ready!
Plus, SVB will be painting the truck in its new colours, which after much family debate we (think) we have settled on. But then again, maybe not
We’ll update again soon.
Love the FamiLee xxx
The Wandering FamiLee 
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