Wait, what?
We’ve seen a lot of unique RVs, but every once in a while, something unexpected happens that confirms one’s limitless imagination. You can do amazing things with little money and a lot of imagination. For example, you could merge an aircraft and a truck to create a giant in the world recreational vehicles.
This unusual combination consists of a fuselage from a Douglas R4D military transport plane paired to the chassis of an International DuraStar 4400. This unusual combination was created by Gino Lucci, a retired US Air Force pilot from Nashville, Michigan. He had dreamed about this contraption since he turned eight years old. He put his dreams into practice several decades later.
One of his sons discovered the fuselage of the aircraft at Rolla, Missouri. It had been abandoned for many decades. This was the beginning of the adventure. It was originally flown in South America by the Navy. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), however, used it as a test aircraft over 30 years before it was destroyed by a tornado. The aircraft was in poor condition.
Despite its poor condition, they bought it immediately. Gino and his sons fused the plane to a chassis from a truck that he had, a process he calls “hillbilly scientific”. Gino and his sons pulled the truck next to the Douglas R4D on a flatbed trailer. Then they started measuring the fuselage. They finally got it right after placing the airframe on the chassis several times to check for any other cuts.
It stands at 12 feet and 6 ins (3.81 meters) high and measures 38 feet (11.6 metres) long. This makes it quite challenging to drive on the roads. The original Navistar DT466 7.6 liter Navistar unit is the motivation. It was available in power ratings of 210 to 300 horsepower (160 kilowatts) and 220 kW (220 kilowatts).
It has to be able to move a maximum of 17,000 pounds (7.771 kilograms) so the engine is not too busy. Although the unusual recreational vehicle can reach speeds of 85 mph (137 km/h), we predict fuel economy to be in the single digits.
The project cost $20,000, and the engine cowlings from the aircraft were used as front fenders for the RV. However, the rear fenders are tip tanks taken from an aircraft. The man behind this wild project claims that an RV with a width of half an inch would make it illegal to drive on the roads. These huge side mirrors are from a 1970s Ford pickup truck. The original emergency on both sides has been preserved from the Douglas R4D.
Although the interior is a typical RV, it has all the amenities you would expect from an RV. However, the aircraft theme has been preserved by using military switchgear and a working intercom, despite the fact that it dates back to the 1940s. Gino and his family took about a year and two additional years to get the RV roadworthy.