Last winter was very long, cold and snowy here in the Midwest.  My brother-in-law, Mark, put his time to good use by building this motorhome.  He started by purchasing a used 2000 Volvo straight truck.  It was a typical rig; large non-integrated cab sleeper and a good-sized cargo box.  He removed the cargo box and sleeper, added 7 feet to the rear of the rigs frame and then went about custom-designing and building the living quarters.        

Inside it has all the stuff you'd expect to find: big bedroom, large bathroom, huge living room and fully-equipped kitchen.  The rigs unusual features include a massive 16-foot slideout in the living room, a powerful 11-kilowatt Kubota diesel generator and a pair of 13.5 Btu Coleman A/C units that also act at heat pumps.

The rig weighs approximately 34,000 pounds and is powered by a 12.0L Volvo diesel.  It has a 10-speed transmission.  It's almost always towing a large dual-axle cargo trailer loaded with 5 dirt bikes, a Geo Tracker and a slew of parts and gear.

What's impressive, and thought provoking, is that this massive, heavy rig (with trailer) consistently gets between 8.5 and 9 mpg rolling about 70-75 mph.  Not bad.