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1951 Federal Housetruck For Sale


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I had to share this 1951 Federal Housetruck Motorhome with you that’s for sale ($69500) and currently listed on Craigslist in the Milton, Washington area which is about 3 hours away from Portland, Oregon.

The truck cab was completely restored beginning around 2003, then the tiny home was built onto it and it was completed in 2008. It’s a 5 ton truck.

The overall length of the motorhome is 30′ and it has a width of 8’3″. When parked and the pop outs are out it’s 14′ wide which is nice because you get all that extra valuable space inside. Overall height is about 11′ tall so you won’t need any special permits to drive it. In total it weighs about 24,000 pounds. Enjoy the tour and full description below. If you’re interested, and it’s still available, use the Craigslist ad to contact the owner. Thank you and enjoy!

Our biggest thanks to Debbie Gannon for sharing this one with us!

1951 Federal Housetruck Motorhome Conversion For Sale

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Images © Craigslist

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Images © Craigslist

1951 Federal Housetruck Specifications

No Trades, No Contracts, Serious Offers only Please.

General Information – Truck cab restoration and house constructed between 2003 and 2008 on a 1951 Federal Five Ton Truck
Overall length 30 feet, width 8′ 3″ with the slides in, 14 feet wide with the slides out, height approximately 11 feet.
GVW 26,000 pounds, actual weight about 24,000 pounds. No special license endorsements required.
Modern CAT Engine, Allison 6 speed transmission, power steering and updated air brakes. 9.5 to 10 mpg.
Free delivery within 150 miles of Milton Washington.
One to two day orientation included that covers all systems and power train.

Cab and Chassis

1951 Federal 5 Ton Truck powered by a CAT diesel (3126B), Allison automatic transmission (MB3060) and power steering.
Modern air brakes added when engine was swapped.
Highway speeds, 55 to 60 mph. Plenty of power for the hills. We have towed a small car, dingy, with no problems.
Six 10 X 20 tires with tubes. Three tires are new, all the tubes are new.
When the running gear was swapped out every effort was made to preserve the exterior look of the 1951 cab and wheels. The only indication that anything has been changed is when you turn the key and hear the rumble of the CAT diesel.

Engine and Transmission
In 2007 installed CAT 3126B diesel engine (from 2000 FL70 freightliner, only 100,000 miles on a 500,000 mile engine) approximately 250 horsepower and Alison HD3060 six speed automatic transmission from a 1995 school bus. Converted from a gas engine to diesel, two new custom made 35 gallon tanks and all related diesel engine parts. All new gauges to support diesel engine.
Stock two speed rear end and wheels, to keep the original look.
Pac Brake (engine exhaust brake)

Cab
Seating for two
All new glass in the cab.
Complete new set of gauges to support new power train
Walnut and leather steering wheel.
Center console with transmission computer, air brake valve and two speed rear end lever.
Running boards and bullet headlights for that classic look.
Access from the cab to the house portion, if you’re kind of skinny.

House – Exterior
10 foot slide outs on each side, when extended the exterior width is 14 feet. Manually operated, no motors or gears to give out at the wrong time. We updated the slide mechanism two years ago and now they move so freely that I have to block them open because the wind will blow them in when parked.
Beveled Mahogany siding on the sides, sculpted cedar shakes on the front and cedar board and batten siding on the rear.
50 year cedar shake roof
13 handmade dual pane stained glass windows, exterior pane is safety glass, the two windows in front have laminated windshield type glass for those occasional tree branches. All widows in the main salon have blinds. Custom made window screens for all windows and skylights.
9 skylights, all will open, tinted laminated glass, like car windshields
3 exterior storage bays on the passenger side
Custom made arch top entry door with brass and glass entry handle. Residential deadbolt for security.
Exterior bays for batteries, propane, water heater and hookups on the driver’s side.
Dual Air horns
Exterior lighting: hook up lights, engine service flood lights, porch light, rear flood light.
Custom entry grab handle and aluminum entry stairs
Custom supports for the bedroom extension over the cab and front rearview mirror brackets.

Interior
Queen bed over the cab with access ladder, reading lights, opening side windows and skylights, it’s like sleeping outside. There is room for a third person to sleep on the ‘booth’ cushions, if needed.
Antique wood parlor stove for heating. Very efficient, a small fire will keep the interior nice and warm.
Cedar ceilings and knotty pine interior walls, it feels like a cabin in the woods.
Solid hardwood floors made of Australian Cypress
Kitchen island with large residential Kohler cast iron sink and premium grade fixtures. Above the sink is a microwave cabinet with custom dish storage.
Two door refrigerator with ice maker. Powered by 120 volt electric or propane.
Four burner propane stove and oven with vent hood.
Main cabin seating for 8 with a large pedestal dining table. Can be setup to accommodate a few or a large group.
Over the main entry door is the audio cabinet that contains full surround sound equipment, DVD/VHS player, room for Blue ray player, DVD storage area. Speakers are located around in main salon.
Solid 6 panel pine doors in the full bath. Residential cast iron bath sink, 32 by 32 standard shower, porcelain RV toilet and lots of storage.
Lots of interior lighting, handmade fixture in main salon.
Smoke and propane detectors
Complete with bedding, bed spread and pillows.
Lots of 120 volt outlets, a 12 volt outlet in the bathroom, residential style electric switches.
When in the ‘travel mode’ you still have access to the stove, kitchen sink, refrigerator and complete rear bath.
All counter tops and table tops are matching Formica laminate with vertical Douglas fir edges.

RV Stuff
Fully self contained
Four deep cycle Trojan house batteries and two 12 volt engine batteries. All batteries are charged while driving and when attached to shore power.
Three propane tanks (one is a spare) plumbed into a manifold so items can be individually shut off, if required.
Eight gallon hot water tank, propane and 120 volt.
Standard RV water hookups, RV waste tank flush system. 35 gallon waste tank, 30 gallon fresh water tank.
On demand 12 volt water pump.
Completely separate 12 volt and 120 volt systems.
All plumbed fixtures (sinks, ice maker, hot water tank) have individual hot and cold shutoff valves in the supply lines.

Source: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rvs/4677772427.html

VIDEO: 1951 Federal Housetruck Video

Our biggest thanks to Debbie Gannon for sharing this one with us!

If you’re seriously interested in purchasing this one of a kind housetruck get in touch via this ad: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rvs/4677772427.html

Update: Asking price is $45,000 OBO. Contact ericswoodentoys AT yahoo DOT com for more information.

If you enjoyed this housetruck for sale you’ll absolutely LOVE our free daily tiny house newsletter with even more! Thank you!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 4 comments… add one }
  • alice h
    September 30, 2014, 10:09 am

    Wow. Looks like somebody finally figured out how to do slide outs. Would be interesting to see how he makes them leak proof.

  • Barbara
    December 28, 2014, 10:32 pm

    Must have sold, the craigslist link is no longer active. Luv the details!

  • Trish
    December 28, 2014, 11:09 pm

    I have always thought slide outs would be great in tiny houses. It would be interesting to see exactly how those work.

  • Gary A Anderson
    December 29, 2015, 2:11 am

    I toured this in 2008 all handbuilt the whole unit is very high quality.Fine wood working.The skylights are positioned in a way that in october when I saw it at 430 pm at a campground no interior lights were needed.All windows handmade very cool truck.

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