Feel at Home While on the Job With This Luscious Western Star Custom Sleeper Mod From ARI

Folks, growing up, my mom, dad, and I would trek across the United States from one coast to the other. The way we did this was with an 18-wheeler, as my dad's a driver, and the truck we traveled in was a Western Star with a double-bunk setup.

That said, I've chosen to bring to light a sleeper conversion from none other than America's ARI Legacy Sleepers, a team that we'll be covering a whole lot more of, not just because they craft some of the biggest and most home-living-like rigs out there, but because they also have these babies up for sale, each one packed with so much goodness that it deserves its own article. This is the case with the 2024 Western Star 57X we have here today.

Now, ARI is one of those crews that has been crafting sleepers since before some of us even knew what an 18-wheeler might be or why they're considered the lifeblood of North America; they're going on 23 years. With that in mind, be sure to check out the image gallery to see just what 23 years of know-how can achieve.

All we see starts off with nothing more than a fresh sleeper-less 57X rolling into the ARI lot. From here, the ARI teams go to town crafting the sleeper that will eventually be called someone's home. In this case, we're looking at this manufacturer's beloved Legacy II RBSD (Rear-Bed Side-Door) layout, one we've featured before. It's 156 inches (in length) and 3,096 lbs (1,404 kg) of home-living goodness for the worker cells of this nation.

Just to bring you up to speed, ARI brings these mobile homes to life with nothing more than aluminum and fiberglass, ensuring the habitats are as strong as possible but as light as possible, too. With insulation as thick as 3.5 inches (9 cm) in some places, you can bet your bottom dollar that these babies will be cozy even while trudging across the border to Canada.

But, it's not the shell that is of interest to most of us, but the features placed at our disposal with ARI, and oh, how many we can find. To sum things up as simply as I can, what we're looking at can potentially be considered a motorhome. After all, it's a home on wheels and driven by a motor.

We can enter the living space that awaits inside in two ways. The first is via the side door integrated into the shell, but for the sake of imagery, we'll start our journey from the cab, as there's a walk-through directly from here.

From the first step into the sleeper, we'll find ourselves standing next to two spaces. To the left, this 57X is ready with an entertainment center, fit with a 43 in Smart TV, and a bit of storage and a countertop below. But, to the right, ARI adds a wet bath, accessible by a door that matches the rest of the cabinetry inside.

Heading toward the rear, we begin to encounter features the likes of a massive fridge, more than suitable for one or even two to three people, and to the left, beyond the lowered side entrance, the galley comes to light.

Now, what's important to note about this particular Western Star is that it's chockfull of upgrades. There are two freshwater tanks, a recessed double-burner cooktop, a microwave/convection oven, and solid surface countertops. Access to system buttons and triggers is also integrated into the galley block and can easily be accessed directly from the bed.

Speaking of bedding, it's at the very rear of this sleeper that we find the one place that gives it its name. The neat thing about this area is that it also doubles as a dinette, and only once you're done driving for the day will you drop the Murphy bed into place. Lights out; don't forget the LEDs.

The question is: what's our life going to be like with one of these? Well, let's think about it for a second. Here we are, late in the afternoon, finding ourselves tired from the day's road. We find a truck stop nearby and pull into a spot.

At this stage, my parents and I would typically get out of our truck, head into the shop, pay for fuel, take a shower, wash some clothes, and maybe even have a tad of dinner afterward.

Well, with this here ARI sleeper, you can do all that in the comfort of, well, your own home. Well, almost; I didn't see anything about a washing machine. Nor is there an integrated fuel pump that doesn't let you pay for gas, so pay up.

So, how much can we expect to drop on this beast? At this time, ARI's website doesn't mention anything, but you can always call them up if this blue home on wheels winked at you over the course of this article. But, as a general rule of thumb, used ARI sleepers can fetch as high as $220K, so expect the price for this one to match its abilities and status.