Tiny House On A Steel Soldier…………….Expedition Notes.

[BrandonBellrose]

Bellrose family of five complete a 19 day build out in April 2017 to travel the country in their M931a2 5Ton 6x6 hauling a classic m109a3 shop van pulling a m1101 trailer for a cross country overland adventure. Currently the expedition is in its 134th day covering over 6124 miles. The following log will cover current and prior events noting vehicle improvements, cool trail finds, tasty food stops, break downs, accidents, people encounters, and family morale.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

M931a2 6x6 Expedition Vehicle

We bought a M923a2 beginning of 2013 pulling our RV through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana ending up in Philipsburg, Mt.. The family fell in love with our big green truck on 53" tires making it our everyday driver. The only problem with the M923a2 is that it only seats three people, we have five and a big dog. During our stay in Wyoming late 2014 we also purchased a M931a2 tractor with 1800 miles on it in nearly mint condition. Having two trucks was cool, but not practical to travel the west pulling our RV. After tirelessly searching the web for options using our 5ton trucks we came across a M109a3 shop van that use to fit on a half ton. The M109a3 shop van was the perfect match for our smaller M931a2 chassis. Now we had a empty, rusty, dented, and moldy project on our hands with a two week window to convert the shop van into a Tiny House On A Steel Soldier expedition type overland rv. Investing two weeks of work, and fabricating the living quarters with things we already had lying around we new our Tiny House On A Steel Soldier would be less then perfect. The adventure and challenge was to build as we went, knowing if we waited for the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier to be finished the ultimate trip might never take place.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

First Day

April 24, 2017
Philipsburg, Montana to Post Falls, Idaho
First night on the adventure Post Falls, Idaho Walmart parking lot. Cold! Honda generator came in handy keeping the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier warm with a ceramic heater.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

The Team

The team!
1. Alisa Bellrose. 34
2. Brandon Bellrose 52
3. Alayah. 13
4. Trinity. 7
5. Brailen. 5
6. Smokey. 10

 

[BrandonBellrose]

April 25, 2017
Post Falls, Idaho to Multnomah Falls, Oregon
Truck ran flawlessly, made it from Missoula to Portland on one fuel stop.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

April 26, 2017
Sand Lake, Oregon
Sand Lake Recreation Area
We arrived to Sand Lake, Oregon early morning in a bad storm. We parked on the dunes not really knowing where we were. Upon waking up we were treated to a endless sand and storm driven surf. The adventure was on!!

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Tillamook

April 27, 2017
After spending the morning in Sand Lake, Oregon the weather started degrading quickly, we decided to head into the Tillamook Forest. The Wilson River in the Tillamook forest seemed like a good whitewater kayaking river to scout along Hwy 6, and we really didn't want to be on the beach during a storm. While navigating the extremely curvy Hwy 6 we witness a vehicle accident involving a rented U-Haul type moving van. While helping out the accident passengers it was decided by other helpers and us that we would drive further up Hwy 6 to find help. In doing so we found the Tillamook Forest Center not to far from the crash site and reported the accident to sheriff using the Centers landline due to no cell service. After meeting the local sheriff and giving what little information we new about the wreck, it was decided that we would enjoy the Center and tryout the areas new dispersed camping. The kids learned quite a lot about the Tillamook Forest with a local Center guide. According to the guide the Tillamook Forest burned to the ground and was replanted, hence all the trees are close to being the same height. The kids really found the exhibits at the center very educational and entertaining. After leaving the Center we found our camping site and was visited by a different sheriff and was told that the victims driving the van that wrecked most likely were criminals on a stealing spree. That knowledge gave the family a dirty feeling that we helped people that were possibly committing or running from a crime. That night it rained all night, all of us had a uneasy feeling about the area causing us not to enjoy our stay. Explaining to the kids about bad people and how they can influence our way of life and the out come of our journey became a topic over popcorn and a movie. You want your kids to soak up natures hidden secrets, but we live in a very human world. Sadly the lessons learned of the Tillamook were drowned out by fears of a unknown boogie man that might jump out and get us.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

April 28, 2017
We found a campsite four miles from the Tillamook Forest Center along a rapid fill stream next to a bridge. Rained all night, campsite was quite muddy but we still enjoyed some outdoor grilling on the stove. I wished we could have white water kayaked, but after talking with the sheriff about the crash that we had witnessed. The family decided dry up and head into Portland for supplies and showers.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

April 29, 2017
Camping downtown Portland was quite interesting and highlighted what is so special about our "Tiny House On A Steel Soldier". We were approached by a very eclectic arrangement of people, from the police, club, business, kids, elderly, hip hop, city works, homeless, tourists, foreigners, and construction. Never did we have any trouble or negative comments, which gave us the confidence to camp four different nights in the heart of the city. I don't feel any other type of camping setup RV or tent would have been so well received. Plus when things got a touch Wild early morning when the party people were at their craziest, the "Tiny House On A Steel Soldier" felt quite safe. Looking out the windows of our "Tiny House On A Steel Soldier" at city life in the wee hours of the morning. People sleeping in door ways, others kissing after a nights drinking, and city workers hurrying to clean the streets for the next days act. We had a ground floor view you couldn't get from a hotel room, apartment, or condo, feeling all most like a urban human exhibit.

 

[mel]

Thanks a million for all the pictures and write-ups.
We are following along with you. Happy trails.
What is the big round white thing in the trailer?

 

[BrandonBellrose]

That is a 250 gallon collapsible military fresh water tank.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Water Tank Pictures

 

[BrandonBellrose]

The Back Story

There is a back story for why I felt a rush to hit the road with my family with a rig that was built not much more then tent living.
I started a family late in life being at the age of 52 now having child as young as 5 years old. A year ago I had heart surgery in Missoula, Montana which was a big scare for the whole family. I decided I didn’t want to waste time for the perfect build as I have done so many times in my past. I figured that I would bring most of the tools required for a remodel on the road, knowing the life experience with my family was greater then a perfectly built truck. That being said the beginning weeks on the road were tough, we didn’t have a shower, sink, cabinets, or much of anything. Owning a cabinet/counter fabrication business in my past, being educated in Auto Design, and knowing my way around a shop. The first few weeks seemed like I was torturing my family, we were living just a step above what felt like homelessness.
The good thing is my family understands and gets it, and with their enthusiasm I have stopped along the way making some crucial improvements. Increasingly the family is getting to enjoy the art of adventure travel instead of the grind of how we will survive living through the day. Plus since the improvements are so in their face, the kids are learning first hand what in the past they took for granted. Examples:
1. Where does water come from, where does it go when your done with it.
2. Electricity must come from somewhere. Inverter, generator, shore power.
3. Food storage.
4. How fast a small space gets dirty.
5. How to have privacy when there is no privacy.
And the list goes on and on. What this has caused is the entire family is to challenge themselves to over come goals in sometimes extreme discomfort to gain comfort. Such as in the case of surviving brutish heat until we mounted a air conditioner while still traveling, and not making the install look horrible.
In the end I hope I will give my kids memories that will excite them for future adventures on their own later in life. I’m learning that life is short and I don’t want to miss a second of it.
From my family’s point of view they might be plotting to burn, sell, or let the truck roll off the cliff so we could all go home to Montana and play on the Play Station’s VR watching others people crazy life instead of having to live it ourselves. Only time will tell if they are enjoying this as much as me.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Break Down in a Expensive Tow Zone Area

After spending several days in downtown Portland we headed towards the nearby town of Beaverton to have closer access to the zoo, museums, and parks nearer that area. Upon arriving and topping off with fuel I noticed when I turned on the battery switch nothing happen for a bit. Thinking I was crazy I tried flipped on and off the battery switch finding it harder and harder for it to turn on the truck. Quickly knowing this would be a really bad situation if for some reason I couldn’t start the truck being stalled on somebody’s private property, I jumped on SteelSoldier.com to research possible issues. With out to much trouble I found several post talking about Protective Control Box issues. After a quick read I knew I needed a PCB box, and while I waited to find/receive a box I couldn’t turn off the truck. I found a UPS store with out any issues and OshKosh military supply had the part, we just had to find a place to hangout and wait. Without thinking much about people seeing us as a nuisance parts were ordered and the waiting commenced. After getting permission from a business owner to park in his lot, not to long into the first night while parked a Beaverton police officer knocks on the side truck stating the truck is way to noisy and that complaints were being made. I explained to the officer my situation of not being able to turn off the truck, and his response was that Beaverton had a no idle law in place and if I didn’t turn the truck off or leave he would have to ticket me. The police officer stated the best place for us to stay was a truck stop some thirty miles away. He said that boondocking in Beaverton was frowned upon and if for some reason I were to stall the truck that the tow bill and storage would be devastating large. Being towed away and stranded with three kids and a dog was not a option and I had instant fears that this could snowball into a end of the adventure issue. At a truck stop if the truck were to stop running at least I could hang for awhile without the worry of a instant tow. So we headed for the truck stop to wait for the ordered parts, then that’s when I noticed that I was over charging. The gauge was way beyond the over charge side and I wasn’t quite sure why or what happening. The thought of boiling the batteries while waiting for the PCB stranded at a truck stop miles from where the UPS store was started feeling bleak. Not knowing what to do I started turning on everything electrical that I could to create some sort of drain on the batteries and jumped back on Steelsoldiers.com to trouble shoot. After hours passing and more reading I came across a post that said hit the PCB with a hammer, so I tried it. To my surprise the battery charging gauge went to the normal green. Thinking I had this issue beat we tried to have normal days waiting for the part. I taped the on/off switch with duck tape so I wouldn’t accidentally turn the truck off, and left the lights and heater on 24/7. While driving to get groceries at a not so nearby Walmart I hit several bumps in the road and quickly noticed that the battery charging gauge was back in the red. This time when I hit the PCB box with a hammer it wasn’t going back to the green. Not knowing if I was really over charging or if I was having a gauge issue caused by a PCB anomaly I decided just deal with it and let the truck run. I had shipped the PCB box for next day mail but with the weekend it was going to be 4 in total by the time I would get my hands on one. By the second day I started noticing a smell coming out of the heater vents, that’s when I realized that the heater fan was spinning to fast and was burning up. Before I could decide what my options were the heater filled the cab with smoke and abruptly seised up. Then the engine turned off. I had left my wife at a mall shopping center in Beaverton and the kids and I had gone to hangout at a local park some 10 miles away. Panic quickly set in as I jumped out of the smoked filled cab with hammer in hand to ********** that PCB one last time hoping to get out of the park before closing and pickup my wife. After hitting the PCB several times with no results, I got up on the drivers side tire so I could really get a wack at it. Upon hitting the hardest I had done thus far the top lid flew off and the bottom fell down. With the innards exposed I figured this was the end of the road. When I turned on the battery switch the gauges came alive and the truck started. What a close call. So I duck taped PCB back together, picked up my wife feeling that not much more could go wrong before the package arrived. When UPS called and said the box was waiting the relief was astronomical. Install took about a half hour in the Beaverton Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot and we were back to normal. Batteries seemed to have survived with the only casualty being the PCB box and the heater motor.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

The other round white object in the pictures would be a temporary electric hot water tank. To answer your question Mel.