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Outcast Kustoms now is a show that transforms big rigs and RV’s into custom rigs. It’s hosted by Discovery’s Velocity Channel.

Even though the custom shop is that… a custom shop… and they put up some photos of their truck, they didn’t put any details about it. I’ve messaged them and I’ll update this when I have more information on this custom Kenworth. If you know more about it, let us know that too!

Big Yellow Motorcoach

This big yellow RV is team JEGS, a race team’s vehicle. It belongs to Team JEGS, out of Delaware, Ohio. The team has 2 rigs. This one and a semi tractor-trailer unit. The semi is a Peterbilt and transporter trailer and the colors match the team, just as this one does.

This truck is a 2008 Volvo Conversion, and it’s used as a kitchen on wheels. The crew of the racing team eats in this custom RV. (See UPDATE at bottom.) I know that’s probably not the dream of most of the readers here, so I’ll post some photos of nice interiors of custom motorcoaches — motorcoaches very similar to this model, newer coaches with multiple slides — rather than a room full of fold out tables and a race crew eating. The truck previously carried cars though. It’s outfitted with cabinets and generators. And, when it’s not being used as a kitchen, it’s used as a storage vehicle. It also tows a trailer which I assume hauls a car or is used as storage for equipment and supplies.

Specs of this motorcoach:
Length: 37 feet
weight: 57,000 pounds

The exterior coach photo at the top of the page is all over the internet now, but originally it came from Melissa Spiering at Truck Trend. Visit Truck Trend.

So, while that RV isn’t exactly a luxury coach, these ones, which look similar outside, are. These interior photos are from a coach done by Powerhouse Coach. We’ve done write ups on a couple of their motor homes. This one is a new “Ultra Coach line” they did. It’s got 378 square feet.

UPDATE: Spencer Fisher from the Plains, Trains page provided some futher, good information about this race / RV: “The RV itself is in fact as nice inside as the pics posted above. It is the trailer that was converted to a gourmet kitchen in front and dining area in the rear(yes I have been in both) to accommodate two separate race crews at a time as well as sponsors and associates. Team Jegs has at least two of these set ups, maybe three and multiple semi trucks to house their other race teams. They have a personal chef that travels with them to cook healthy meals so the crews aren’t resorting to greasy track food.” Thanks, Spencer.

Luxury Motorhome Interior

The interiors of the Equine motorcoaches start from the entry on the side of the vehicle. There’s the fold-out stairs and bus-like door and you go up into the living / dining area. They use a lot of wood and leather, but they say they can do the interiors to suit the requirements provided. There’s a dinette that folds into a bed, a couch that converts into an air mattress bed, and a bunk up above (seats 5 total). There’s also a shower area with a larger-than-average-for-an-RV shower and a bathroom with a sink and toilette.

main area:
couch is a hidden queen air mattress bed
bunk that is 7 by 4 feet that goes across the interior
dinette seats 4
dinette folds out into 3/4 bed
can build interior fixings however customer wants it
flatscreen TV
cabinets finished inside as well as out
roller drawers
heated floor
4-door refrigerator
2 satellite receivers (inside and outside monitors)
control center by door with inverter, awning controls, floor heating, diesel generator control, water tanks, lights
sliding partition to separate the driving area from the living area

bathroom:
large shower unlike most RVs (girth and height) with stool and custom glass shower doors that you’d never expect to see in a motorhome.
convertible cabinets (shelves or open space for hanging)
sink
cabinet and mirror
maserator toilet (easier to take care of waste more sanitaryily)

Details on the outside of click here

Luxury Motorhome Interior

This is pretty much around the top of the line for new motorhome — or motorcoach — and horse carrier. In this vehicle, made by Equine, its not a trailer but all built into the motor home. The vehicle sleeps 5 and carries 2 horses. And it has a lot of expensive and quality features. I’ll list them in several sections in two parts (it links to details on the inside of the vehicle at the bottom), to give an idea of what’s involved.

Truck:
Freightliner Cascadian chassis
56,000 pound gross weight
engine: 560 horsepower
transmission: Allison 4000 TRV automatic transmission
tow capacity: 30,000 pounds
air suspension
air brakes

Outside:
storage underneith all the way
entertainment
paint colors can be any you like
automatic steps
bus style entrance
closes off so no one falls in the hole
tack compartments
built-in pressure washer system
power cord area
12.5 KW Onen quiet generator
pull-out horse bars
awnings on both sides
compete water bay system that controls everything from one place
coach and house batteries
coach batteries are solar batteries (can stay 3 or 4 days without having to hook up, the designer and co-owner Tom Stinnet of the company says)

Ramp:
hydraulic
strong enough for a little car

Horse area
number of horses:2
saddle-matic system to take care of up to 6 saddles and pivots out 180 degree to the side of the vehicle
ladder inside to get to the roof
sturdy, spring-loaded gates (don’t clang)
reverse slant load horse area (so horse’s rear is more to the front in case you hit the breaks and face is to the passenger side so its more comforable a ride for the horse
hay-rack built into ceiling that comes down from ceiling with push of a button
climate controlled
very well insulated

Another one of these vehicles click here

  

House on Wheels… and Garage on Wheels Too

This home on wheels plus garage on wheels came up on Hemmings, the website for the collector car marketplace, a while back, and was blogged about by the car selling company themselves. It’s a 1967 Peterbilt that’s converted into an RV unit and tows a trailer that is a garage. With such great stuff in the garage, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to Garage Door Repair Charlotte or someone similar at hand just in case the worst were to happen. It’s pretty much one of a kind, and it cost about as much as a house according to Hemmings (though the sale page is no longer available and I don’t know what that amount was).

So, motor home and towable garage (car hauler trailer), both with custom paint that matches.

The vehicle:
1967 Peterbilt cabover (chassis)
engine: Cummins NTC 350/400 upgraded to have 400 horsepower
Transmission: RTO125-13 Road ranger transmission

Interior:
custom
custom dark oak cabinets
bedding and cushions
built in wall safe
carpet and tile flooring
custom draperies
china toilet
built-in microwave

amenities:
140 gallon fresh water tank
70 gallon gray water tank
new gas stove and oven
Combination bathtub and shower
Dual propane 25000 BTU furnaces
70 gallon black water tank
Dometic gas/electric refrigerator
7500 watt Kabota generator
3 cylinder Dual roof mounted air conditioners

Trailer:
25? length
8? wide
8.5? inside height
“5th Airborne” 5th wheel dolly hitch
70 gallon gas tank with pump and hose for exterior filling for cars and toys
Custom built 1994
8,000 lbs. tandem axles
air bags suspension
electric brakes
Hydraulic lift gate and outriggers

Visit Hemmings blog.

Semi Facts. How Many Don’t You Know?

The economy of most nations depends on the semi tractor-trailer.

Number of trailers: 5.6 million in the US (registered).

Number of tractors in the US: 1/3 of that. 1,900,000.

Number of tractors in California, Florida and Texas: 1/3 of that.

Number of truck drivers in the US: 3.2 million.

Number of trucks owned by most trucking companies and owner operators: less than 6.

Number of miles driven by semis every year in the US: 140 billion miles.

Maximum weight for a US semi truck with a full trailer: 80,000 pounds over 18 wheels.

(Max weight in Australia for a semi: 300,000 in road trains.)

The trucking companies have to look at all of the different commercial truck insurance companies to find the cheapest option for their insurance. If they don’t do this then it could cost them a lot of money.

Top selling truck (for new trucks) in the US: Freightliner, which sells 190,000 new semis each year. Second: Navistar International. Third: PACCAR. Fourth: Volvo. Peterbilt and Kenworth are owned by PACCAR. Mack is owned by Volvo.

Most dangerous truck accident these days: rollover. How it happens: semi goes over loose surface ground, driver overcorrects to try to get it back onto pavement, rollover. If you are involved in an accident with a semi truck then you may want to consider contacting a Georgia semi truck accident attorney.

To prevent drivers from going over the hours of service they’re allowed to work and becoming fatigued, ELD devices are used to keep track of their hours. Companies often use the best eld devices to make sure their drivers are less likely to be involved in crashes.

Percent of goods transported by the semis in the US: 68%. Weight of that amount: 60,000 pounds per American every year (most of that is agricultural and building materials).

Average distance driven by a semi per year: 45,000 miles.

Average distance driven for a long-haul driver per year: 100,000 miles.

Average fuel milage for a semi: 6.5 miles per gallon of diesel. Different trucks get different fuel milage, between 4 and 8 miles per gallon. 2014 laws require semi trucks with sleepers to get 7.2 miles per gallon on level roads (milage varies a lot based on the pitch of the road).

The word “semi”: A trailer isn’t a whole vehicle, so it’s a semi. It can’t fun on itself because it doesn’t have front wheels and has to be connected to a truck.

“Semi trucks” is a term that came along with calling trailers “semis”. A semi truck is a truck that pulls a semi trailer.

Typical trailer length: 53 feet.

When the trailer isn’t connected to a truck, trailer brakes are on automatically. It takes pressure rom the truck’s engine-powered air pump to make the breaks release.

The great photo at the top is by vehicle photo specialist (we think, anyway), Jack Byrnes Hill (click here).

Tractor-Reefer Semi Combo

This truck is a 1999 Peterbilt 379 flattop / reefer combo done to be both a functional work truck and draw some attention by owner Paul Voight of Night Train Trucking.

The truck is basically a Peterbilt 379 with some work-friendly customizations and a 359 dash and that Great Dane reefer you see there. So to look at the breakdown of this custom semi:

Model: Peterbilt 379
Engine: 475 horsepower Cat 3406 that currently has 825 horsepower with bigger turbo, different manifold
(Engine may upgrade to a C18)
Sleeper: 63 inch cut down to 48 inch flattop, also has a skylight (called by them a “moon roof”) with new Peterbilt caps
Wheelbase: 325 inch
Wheels: Accuride aluminum wheels
Exhaust: jet coated to prevent rust

Custom features:
Lots of LED lights and remote light color change system
Acrylic signs that say the name of the trucking company and the custom builders
Lighted sponsor ad space below licence plate
fuel tanks with acrylic backends with LED lights above, which act as turn signals as well
custom steering wheel
custom shifter
IssPro one-off gauges with colors matching to the trucks custom paint job
backlit pedals
custom interior (359 dash) — woodgrain panels, matching blue paint interior, white/cream leather seats and door panel covers, lights above that go around the skylight, Rockwood floor

Trailer:
48-foot Great Dane reefer

Note: the acrylic on the fuel tanks may not be legal, so you might not want to consider this yourself.

These photos, now available widely on the internet, originally come from James Jaillet at Overdrive Online. Visit their trucking site.

Project 351

This custom big rig was built with being a good working truck in mind while also aiming for a standout custom job. It’s a Kenworth W900L and it’s called “Project 351” by its owner, Richie Acosta.

The truck is a 2009 W900 KW and it was created in part out of wanting to make a great driving / showing truck, but also part of it was a competition with a friend of the owner, who did a custom Peterbilt called by him “Project 350.” The wheelbase of that truck, as you might guess, is 350 inches, while Acosta’s is… you can guess right?

The sleeper on this rig is a 72 inch. It had originally been planned to have a 42 inch flattop, but the owner changed to the 72 inch bigger sleeper last minute. He said he wanted to inspire other Aerocab owners who enjoy working on their trucks.

custom rig specs:

Model: 2009 Kenworth W900L
Engine: 700-hp Cummins ISX
Transmission: Eaton-Fuller 18
Wheelbase: 351 inches
Location: Warehouse, Moonachie, N.J.
Sleeper: Aerocab 72 inch sleeper

inside the custom rig:
ceiling and cab sides
painted dash
custom inserts supplied by 4 State Trucks
Stainless floor

custom:
air drop suspension lowers the bumper to about an inch
from the ground
fiberglass deckplate
one-piece steps designed with 4 State Trucks
HID headlights
fiberglass rear fenders
air-ride w/ 12Ga Customs suspension drop kit
custom window shades
eight-inch exhaustCustom cab/sleeper panels
12Ga visor
custom hidden hood latches
custom grille
20-inch bumpe
custom axle covers and tank covers in rear

Pictures, now famous on Pinterest and elsewhere, originally come from Over Drive Online. Visit OverDriveOnline. Social media photo by Jack Byrnes Hill — see some of his great photography (click here).