Last week an air pressure sensor stopped working in my Mercedes.
BTW it works now.
I found a Fuso/Mercedes dealer 10km from where the vehicle was
stored. There are dozens of dealers that service Mercs just
in Queensland. In 8000km I haven't seen a single Ford dealer.
Not to hijack the thread, but the subject pertains to a decision for or against an Earthroamer or GXV based upon its platform.
You had to go 10 Km to find a Fuso/Merceds dealer to get a Mercedes air pressure sensor. That is 10Km
further than you needed to go to get a Ford or International or Cummins air pressure sensor. Or Mercedes. You can get all of that stuff sitting in your pajamas in your house. Or in my house in Colorado. Or in Sub Saharan Africa, providing you have an internet connection.
Please, do not think I am in any way being insulting as we are all different and have different mindsets, but I personally would have tried to diagnosis the air pressure sensor myself. And if there were gaps in my knowledge and I was having problems in the diagnosis, I have the internet. INFORMATION at my finger tips. Don't discount that or the fact that you, instead of seeking out a a dealership 10 Km away, could have diagnosed your bad air pressure sensor yourself, with the help of the internet. And, quite frankly, I bet I can get in touch with a factory trained mechanic hanging out on a site like this faster than a Mitsi Fuso trained one.
(EDIT):
Maybe you did diagnosis it and were just referring to the ability to get parts quickly, off the shelf, instead of having them shipped, in which case you have a point. But, if I am overlanding and after 3 years of overlanding, I lose a sensor and have to have it shipped, oh well. I have to stay put for a few days, maybe, instead of being back on the road immediately. I'll take that.
Considering the price of a Unimog, that is a real, real, real expensive option. Suppose over the course of 3 years I am held up for a total 2 weeks waiting for parts to be shipped whereas with a Mercedes, I would have been able to avoid that downtime. How much does a brand new Unimog cost? How about a F550 chasis. Probably a $20,000 - $30,000 difference. That's $2000/day, at least, you would pay with a Unimog. If I am out traveling the world, I am not willing to pay $2000 to avoid being stranded for one day. I'll keep the $2000, enjoy my foreign surroundings and make camp. Just like I was planning to do - travel and hang out for days on end in certain spots. If a couple of those spots I hang out for a few days I don't get to choose, oh well.
My 28 y.o. 4x4 E350 Class 3 chassis, complete with ambulance body, I got for a p/u worth about $3500. A 28 y.o. Unimog chassis, with alot of miles is going to run me $35,000.
On top of that, something tells me that in 5 years, you will not have to drive 8000 Km. Maybe it will only be 4000 Km in 5 years. The world continues to shrink and Ford continues to establish itself globally. My rig won't hit South America for another 3 years. Any big jump across the pond would be 5 - 10 years out. How much more will Ford's global reach increase in the next 10 years?
Are you really going to take a non stock homemade truck
overseas?
I wouldn't have it any other way. I understand that automotive companies spend millions on engineering, but that engineering is dominated by a different focus than I have. The best of that engineering, we do not have access to. You do not have access to the engineering in the UNiMogs Mercedes sends to the Paris-Dakkar Rally. Furhter, on huge governing factor on their engineering is not doing things
the best possible way, but the way that will just get the job done with the least amount of material and cost.
I don't think anyone should shy away from an EarthRoamer or GXV because of the F550 platform. In fact, at this point, there is a lot of good words about the new Ford Diesel powerplant. Nor should anyone shy away from what I am doing - looking at a 25 year old Class 3 E350 dually chassis and saying, 'Well, it's a start. First, I'll take it all apart, beef up the frame, fit SWR F550 gear (6X6 IF I find competent engineering), and the best powerplant and tranny to suit my needs.
These are not rocket ships and manufacturers engineer to the lower limits for cost effectiveness. There is not a single mass produced chassis anywhere that cannot be improved upon for overlanding by a knucklehead such as myself.