Sleepers

[guido4475]

You are correct, Greg.I still entertain the idea of a built-in box sleeper or buying a shell of a box of whatever size to do the inside myself.Alot cheaper, and the quality will be there, depending on how far a person is willing to go.A 30' box with a 10' sleeper built in would make for a nice setup, but there are some carriers that dont recognize them as a DOT approved sleeper, even though it is not that hard to follow and stay within their guidelines when building one, as I have done in the past.Or another idea is to have a cargo box built,and then another smaller box built, not as high, but sloped upwards towards the cargo box to look somewhat aerodynamic.a shell of this type with the cut-out for cab acess and a side door put in with a inside stepwell was around 3,800.00

 

[RoadKing]

You have a point regarding financial security of the company you will be doing buisness with. i know everyone is struggling so you have to be careful. With an ARI do you miss the large condo style boot opening that i see on the Bentz sleepers?

 

[wellarmed]

Rumor has it that many companies may be a victim or becoming a victim of financial hardships. Such rumors are worthless. It is a disservice to readers and unwise to say such things unless you have factual information to back it up and that you can publicly share.

Roadking was wanting info on sleepers. The "Fact" that there is a rumor about Bentz is something he should look into and it would be a disservice not to point out that "Fact"so he can get the real "Facts".

 

[Streakn1]

With an ARI do you miss the large condo style boot opening that i see on the Bentz sleepers?

That in part is true. But with a well engineered truck such as our KW T-600, you can get a "large" boot opening and not be forced to bend over to pass from the cab to sleeper area and visa-versa.

Case in point: Take Ateam's 132" ARI Legacy sleeper (which is a nice build for their needs) with the double aero roof verses our same ARI without the double aero, unlike in their boot opening, we are not required to bend over to pass thru. The boot opening in our sleeper is 60" tall by 58" wide and the stepover at the floor is 5" tall. I stand 5' -10" tall. As you can see in the photo below there is no problem for me to pass through in the standing position. The privacy curtains that you see hanging on either side of me do narrow the 58" wide opening down to 24" (size of standard household bathroom door) and can easily be pushed out of the way or removed. ARI is obviously able to come up with large openings if requested.

The pass through in our ARI is much more accommadating than our Freightliner Century Class Condo was, and comparable to the Columbia/ Bentz combo friends of our own.Our truck easily can be converted ( or a simular one built new) into a C or CR-unit if desired.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

When buying a sleeper be sure to keep a couple of more things in mind. DON"T buy AlumiBunk. DON'T buy Alumibunk. DON'T buy Alumibunk.

Very good advice,Joe. And I would like to second that.

 

[ATeam]

You have a point regarding financial security of the company you will be doing buisness with. i know everyone is struggling so you have to be careful. With an ARI do you miss the large condo style boot opening that i see on the Bentz sleepers?

We thought about it when we designed a sleeper with ARI and then realized that we don't spend much time standing up in the cab. With 132" of sleeper behind us, if there is standing to do, we can do it there. We are shorter and thinner than many drivers. We have to duck a little to enter or exit the sleeper but that is something we got quickly accustomed to.

Diane is short enough to stand upright in the Volvo day cab we have. I can stand almost upright but need to duck my head just a little. But again, how much time do you spend standing up in your truck cab? Keep in mind that our sleeper is connected to a day cab, not a mid-roof or condo cab.

One thing we like about the smaller entry space between the cab and sleeper is that it is easier to isolate the two. We can play the iPod or radio at normal volume without disturbing the co-driver in the sleeper. For whatever reason, the CB radio noise blasts through but the radio does not.

Never having driven a truck with a huge opening between the sleeper and cab, I will have to leave it to those who do to comment on the effect that opening has on cab noise, and sleeper heating and cooling.

 

[ATeam]

Roadking was wanting info on sleepers. The "Fact" that there is a rumor about Bentz is something he should look into and it would be a disservice not to point out that "Fact"so he can get the real "Facts".

I recently attended a one-day class sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists in which these issues were discussed. I learned that it does not matter if your words are packaged as a rumor or opinion. If a statement is untrue and defamatory to a business or person's reputation, you place yourself at risk by making it.

This is a large and complex topic that I do not wish to get deeply into. All I'm saying is be careful when repeating rumors, especially when the rumors defame others.

Basic info here and here.

 

[harleynana9302]

MY husband and i purchased a 2007 columbia with a AA Sleeper already built....the layout was not perfect, but after a while we were able to make it to FT Worth and had the sleeper redone for our needs...Alex (shop foreman) and his crew were right on the truck and had all the revamping done in one day.....they take PRIDE in their work and we r very happy with AA Sleeper. the sleeper curtains were made too narrow and they also made them right with NO CHARGE...we then had them recently add cab curtains and they have made a difference with the blocking of sun/heat....I will find out about the curtains, shortly as I hope to be back in the truck as soon as the doctor releases me.....getting really bored with not being able to work...

 

[Streakn1]

One thing we like about the smaller entry space between the cab and sleeper is that it is easier to isolate the two. We can play the iPod or radio at normal volume without disturbing the co-driver in the sleeper. For whatever reason, the CB radio noise blasts through but the radio does not.

Never having driven a truck with a huge opening between the sleeper and cab, I will have to leave it to those who do to comment on the effect that opening has on cab noise, and sleeper heating and cooling.

If in the cab area we are usually seated either in the office chair or the cab seats thus not requiring the need for the ability to standup in the cab area. Yet we do enjoy having the headroom to do so. I think its a plus and good selling point.

For those that do DDPS,etc which requires a driver to be visible at all times in the driver's seat (cab area), the larger opening is definately a plus as it greatly affects air flow when one is on watch duty. The shorter opening blocks the air flow from the roof air system which makes it harder to keep the cab area cool or warm without having to place a fan at the opening to move the air from the sleeper into the cab. I remember one such owner complaining to me about this very thing with his 132" ARI sleeper.

Our taller opening let the air flow unobstructed into our cab to the point that it will blow papers off of the dash. Even though we no longer do DDPS,etc I like to sit up front in comfort from time to time and enjoy the view out the front windows.

Just a thought when considering an ARI.

 

[moose]

Unrelated , but this is the Sleepers thread on hand ...

i have met a Panther team ,
one was with a broken ribs ,
do to falling in the sleeper ,
while the driver was breaking .

on another occasion,i herd the same story from an H/W team.
dose any of you teams had this happened ?
when specking a sleeper , will you consider a solution ?
what can be done ?

 

[Slo-Ride]

Not to argue with a few of the folks here,,but in all fairness I just wanted to say,,,I havnt had 1 dimes worth of proplems with my Alunmibunk,,it stays cool on the hottest days,,warm on the coldest,,wiring is good and in conveint spots,,,switches and plugs well placed,,pleanty of lighting...I think its a faily clean looking sleeper...I am sure there are better but this one works fine for me.. To me its a well built and tight lil box for an aftermarket sleeper..

 

[layoutshooter]

You are VERY lucky. It cost me almost $900 to stop mine from leaking when it rained. Did you order yours from scratch? If so, did you put in extra insulation? Ours has little to none. I guess their biggest problem is lack of consistancy. Oh yeah, the paint is pealing off of the bottome of the sleeper too.

 

[FIS53]

Some Alumibunks are fine and others seem to have problems. After the fire at the plant in Dundalk there seemed to be a flurry of get it done and out fast which I guess made for some oversights by different people. I knew some of the workers there and they seemed to take pride in their jobs but unfortunately they didn't do the build from start to finish just their particular part. I think for many manufacturers we'll see some units are great and a few with problems due to whatever lack of quality control happened at the time. It's unfortunate that such happens and it is incumbent upon the purchaser to do or have done an inspection prior to acceptance. I know it can be hard to checkout everything as these things are supposed to be sealed and tight etc. I agree checkout the warranties prior to purchase but something else you might want to do is go to the service dept and ask some questions with regards to a problem and see if you get answers or decent suggestions. I do this with dealers every now and then prior to a truck purchase and if I have a problem getting answers out of service then I buy elsewhere as I know I'm in for potential probs with the service dept later.
Rob

 

[layoutshooter]

It is easier if you buy new. I have problems with wiring, little or no insulation. The typical Alumibunk paint flaking. Leaking. The original Alumibunk reefer box was terrible. Shoddy work, bad insulation, cheap door seals. My new box is like night and day. I get down to temps 5 times faster than the old box, hold temps better and use WAY less fuel. In fact, with the old box I struggled to get down to -20C, I can now get all the way down to -30C with this box.

 

[Slo-Ride]

No Layout,,,Mine wasn't a spec truck,,,it came off a lot from a freight liner dealer in ohio...Its starting its 3rd year now and and no problems to speak of yet..I do see a lil paint along the bottom of the tool boxes showing wear, but its a piece of equip and I know it will show signs of wear by now...Plus I think alumn is one of the hardest metals to get paint to stick to???? I also agree the paint shops should have it down pat by now tho.
As far as the freight box goes,,,I doubt I would get another one from the same builder,,,I seen much better built boxes out here and will really look around when it comes time for another one..

Sorry so slo to respond: but Friday was my 54th Bday,,today is my 31st anniversary,, so me and the wife spend some time & got lost in the bottles for a few days before I had to head out again

 

[Jefferson3000]

Hey Roadking. I've looked over all of the posts, but still haven't seen this mentioned:

If you get a class 8 truck with the integrated factory sleeper, such as a Freightliner w/ a 70" condo, you won't have near the problems of leaking, because the sleeper and cab are all one piece. Plus, you won't need to worry about 3rd party schematics, should you ever have a wiring issue. More places can work on it in the long run. Unless, you MUST have a super sleeper, will all of the gadgets. But with a 72 inch sleeper or so, you will have more length for a box, which should translate into more load ops.

 

[greg334]

Plus I think alumn is one of the hardest metals to get paint to stick to????

Happy Birthday....

Nah, AL is easy to paint, it is all in the prep.....

 

[layoutshooter]

No problem Slo-Ride, I remember what is was like to be THAT young!! Most AlumiBunk sleepers I have seen that are more than 2-3 years old have paint flaking off, and it is a LOT of paint. from the bottom of the sleeper. At first I thought is was due to dis-similar metals touching but then I saw that it was happening in other areas higher up. I scraped a bit of paint off and low and behold, NO PRIMER!! I have painte MANY aluminum boats myself, beat the SNOT out of them duck hunting and they did NOT lose paint like this sleeper does. Proper prep and a GOOD aluminum primer is all it takes. How old is yours sleeper?

 

[Slo-Ride]

Thanks Greg,your the second trucker to say that

Everything is an 2007 layout,,starting its 3rd year in service,,
I can see its all starting inside the tool box doors where the paint is coming off,,you guys are right no primer under the paint and its working its way out to the edges...No warranty now all I can do now is let the wind blow it off..

Actually I proplely should get on it before winter sets in...

 

[layoutshooter]

It might help to get at it BUT it is more likely that re-painting the entire sleeper is the only fix. I don't have the funds for that. I WOULD take it to someone who KNOWS how to paint, NOT, AlumiBunk.