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me and a freind were thinking about trying something like this but are unsure yet wether it can be accomplished with local laws, insurance, and regulations. pretty sure we couldnt get historic tags on it and would have to get it inspected(maryland) there are 2 rvs for sale that we have thought about buying with less then 80,000 for less then 1000$..... a dual wheel flatbed truck with less then 80,000 miles for less then 1,000 seems like a steal
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/2847387699.html
Down underneath there is a truck frame, strip the front half and add a nice cab of some sort.
There's a circus nearby that travels everywhere, and even 20 years ago I've seen them modify things like that. One that your post brings to mind is a school bus that someone converted into a giant pickup truck, by taking the back half off along the window line, putting a up wall to close up the front, and leaving the back open for hauling, didn't look too bad either, like a big pickup, with an RV up front
If that RV already has the back closed off properly (you can buy aftermarket panels that do it, just need to be riveted or welded in place, or someone with some skill may have fabricated something), then about all you would need to do would be to rip off the existing "deck" and put a proper flatdeck on it. If it hasn't been properly closed off, then you would have to do it, and it wouldn't be cheap. My brother built a few of those conversions over the years, and so I got to know those, as well as other people's with the same idea. The badly done ones have problems with sagging or tearing roofs, doors not opening or closing properly, all kinds of wind noise, the remaining body ripping out of the body-to-frame mounts, etc etc. If they are done properly, they are nice as they're a bit more maneuverable in tight spaces over a pickup with the same length deck. However, lots less interior room obviously.
If you do go with a pickup cab on that frame, it's a bit of screwing around, because of where the motor sits in relation to the front wheels. Unless you're good at fabricating things like body/radiator mounts, steering shafts, linkages etc. yourself, or have a friend or family or someone who will do it very reasonably for you, it'll cost you a bunch if you have to have it done by a shop.
Seems like a school bus would be easier to convert. Thinking the frame would be heavier as well. That could just be me though.
If you could keep the bathroom, a small place to cook up a fast meal/put on a pot of coffee, and keep the generator you'd be set for just about any job that came along.
Not a bad idea but a few things that will complicate the conversion -
wiring - lots of extra circuits to remove or at least cap-off
rear overhang - if you're hauling heavy it will be easy to overload a bed this big. The springs are set up for large, bulky but relatively light loads. It won't be sprung like an F550 for sure.
But properly done you could end up with a good truck cheap.
Do you have a goodwill auction nearby? I passed on a number of good RV chassis that were donated because of interior leaks, etc, for a few hundred bucks a pop.
I saw a flat bed econoline van for sale a while back it's was cool.
Be careful with putting historic tags on it. Almost every state has limits on what you can use a historic tagged vehicle for. they are even busting people for using them to drive to work and back as they are intended as "pleasure vehicles" and are limited to a certian number of miles per year they can be driven.
If the cops see you driving around in a hacked up camper with historic tags on it hauling scrap they are probably gonna get you especially since you are using it for commercial use.......
ive beewn pulled over hauling scrap in a pickup with historic tags and didnt get any greif i guess it depends on the cop and the state