Building a Composite Camper on a U1700 w/ 3 Way Tilt Bed

AKAdventureCpl

New member
I remain in limbo...it is correct that the tipper box ball joints lock in pairs...which is the whole basis for it being able to tip in three ways by switching what pairs are locked. However, one could also lock all four ball joints since it is just a large pin and two more are easily purchased or fabricated. Talk of weight and height are of the most concern to me, and toward that end, I have spent more time looking and becoming more an more pulled this way and that. The problem is the Unimog rear suspension which as you can see from the attached pictures sticks up a considerable distance and without replacing it with something less beefy I don't see how you can get a subframe any lower. View attachment 348203View attachment 348204View attachment 348205
 

BunyipBen

New member
How did you go with your tipper camper?
I am looking to modify my U1300L to become a tipper, I could be interested in the subframe and ram if it is suitable for U1300L chassis. I am in Australia but know someone importing a container of parts from Germany.
 

AKAdventureCpl

New member
I'm in Alaska...not quite the beaten path from Germany. Winter now and project is on hold while I build a garage to work on it. My guess is the ram would mount on a u1300L chassis, but not sure the cost of shipping would make it worth it.
 

BunyipBen

New member
I'm in Alaska...not quite the beaten path from Germany. Winter now and project is on hold while I build a garage to work on it. My guess is the ram would mount on a u1300L chassis, but not sure the cost of shipping would make it worth it.

Thanks for the response
I thought you're location to be UK or EU
I am looking at getting a subframe fabricated locally here in Aus, just thought it might might have been an easy option for a factory setup.
Good luck with the build, I am thinking of a similar construction in the future a camper that mounts onto the tipper subframe which could allow for slight adjustments for levelling the body on uneven ground.
here is a link to a design I like, mounts on a custom subframe that gets the body as low as possible to the chassis, they have custom tanks that fit underneath
http://atlas4x4.de/portfolio-item/unimog-kabine/
 

evilfij

Explorer
A U1700L with ten lug axles should have a GVWR of 10,600kg with a unladen weight of around half that (give or take) giving a huge capacity for a camper. Ian's mog is a smaller U1250 one so he had GVWR issues.
 

Wyuna

Observer
Thanks for the response
I thought you're location to be UK or EU
I am looking at getting a subframe fabricated locally here in Aus, just thought it might might have been an easy option for a factory setup.
Good luck with the build, I am thinking of a similar construction in the future a camper that mounts onto the tipper subframe which could allow for slight adjustments for levelling the body on uneven ground.
here is a link to a design I like, mounts on a custom subframe that gets the body as low as possible to the chassis, they have custom tanks that fit underneath
http://atlas4x4.de/portfolio-item/unimog-kabine/

Hey Bunyip Ben,

I noticed on Gumtree that there was a 1300 tray for sale up here in Brisbane, if i recall $2000

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/stafford-heights/truck-parts/u1300l-troop-tray/1139583302

could be cheaper than getting one made up, just thought id put it out there.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
A U1700L with ten lug axles should have a GVWR of 10,600kg with a unladen weight of around half that (give or take) giving a huge capacity for a camper. Ian's mog is a smaller U1250 one so he had GVWR issues.

Mine is a baby mog, but with all the extra kit on it ( working gears, overdrive, bigger tyres, 380lt fuel, 220lt water and all the extra kit we carry, I found that the 7.5 tom GVM was limiting how much stuff we could carry, so I increased the GVM to 8tons, now we carry even more stuff so run close to 8 tons all the time :) It is very easy to add extra weight, keeping it light is difficult.


Hi again.

PM this Ian re weights.. :-

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/37349-Unimog-Camper-under-construction

I know he has had to 'uprate' his Mog as he's over the standard weight limit. It depends how detailed/heavy you are planni g to go. If you want a well set out box with home comforts, the tray will have to go... :)


Mine is a baby mog, but with all the extra kit on it ( working gears, overdrive, bigger tyres), 370lt fuel, 220lt water and all the extra kit we carry, ( the sound system alone weighs 30kg) I found that the 7.5 tom GVM was limiting how much stuff we could carry, so I increased the GVM to 8tons, now we carry even more stuff so run close to 8 tons all the time :) It is very easy to add extra weight, keeping it light is difficult.

We took all the tools and spares out of the mog the other day, and weighed each bag and box, came in at over 280kg, time to think about things like, do I really need two complete socket set, three sets of ring spanner, brass hammer, big ball hammer, various pliers and electrical terminal tools, two multimeters, a grinder, drill, impact driver, two screw driver sets, torx sockets, hex sockets, and an additional "special sockets" circlip pliers, wire cutters, two allen key sets, crows foot spanner set, various punches and drifts, two power bars, shift spanner and load of things I have forgotten. A set of tyre chains, set of truck tyre levers, spare tube and various patches and puncture repair kits, 12kg of nuts, bolts, washers, air line fittings, grommets, screws, set screws, electrical terminals, hose clamps, fuses, switches.

Then we have a full set of brake pads, shift cylinder, long lengths of air line in all sizes, spare hoses in all size, all the radiators hoses, all the fan belts, 10lt oil, 5lt gearbox oil, 2lt portal oil, 6 spare CAV filters, three spare oil filters, spare glass bowels for the CAV filters, lift pump, thermostats, various glues and epoxy puttys, loads of spare electrical wire in various gauges. I have a 10m 6ton lifting strap, various 8ton shackles, spade, rack, 3/4" drive torque wrench for the wheel nuts, three different size hardwood blocks. Three buckets, two long airhoses, tyre pressure gauges, 20m drinking water hose, three extra solar panels and 10m heavy gauge wire, 5m of chain and a few padlocks,


Toys wise, we have an 4.6m inflatable canoes, paddles and and electric outboard, three tables, a lounger, three chairs, two foot stools, 10 tent poles, 10 very large steel tent pegs, 10 smaller ones, 10 sand pegs, and 6 screw pegs, 10 guy ropes, 30m of climbing rope, 2m pole saw, two large ground sheets, three sets of snorkels and flippers, a hula hoops, two yoga mat, and We both have mountain bikes and all the kit that goes with them. All of our food drawers were full ( we had 30lt of long life milk) and both fridge and freezer were full. We also had 80kg of clothes, jackets, shoes, blankets, boots, extra bedding in the truck at the time and all the washing powder / dish soap, furniture and floor polish, toiletries, cameras, computers, drones, and other electronic toys.

We took it to a place and had it weighed on four very accurate loadcells. We found that we were not surprisingly heavy, 8.1tons with both my wife and I in the truck. Over our GVM, so I drained the grey water tank and emptied out half the water so we would be under the limit. We don't need to keep both fuel tanks full, so nowadays we just keep 50lt in the second 180lt tank as a reserve and run off the primary 190lt tank most of the time.

We carry a lot of stuff, and I'm if we had more space we would probably carry more stuff. :)

I plan on switching over to Lithium batteries, which will save us around 100kg and double our battery capacity, and replace the front and rear winch wire rope with Dyneema, which will save another 50kg so that we can be under GVM with every compartment full and still keep all our toys :)

When you live in the truck for months on end, as opposed to go camping in it for a few weeks, your tend to accumulate stuff. I would recommend getting everything a light as possible, so when you add all the extra toys, you are not over your weight limits
 
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Wyuna

Observer
Iain,

Im very disappointed, you don't have a spare sink:wings:

The weight saving on the winch cable is a no brainer with Dyneema, i changed over the cable on my Can Am Commander, much nicer to use, i could never go back to wire cable, 50kg saving is huge, just don't forget to change the guide as well, or your new Dyneema won't last long.

As for the lithium, Prices haven't seemed to move that much over the last 2 years, (well the Winston Cells and the other Cell that i can't recall, i think they are still at $1.74ah) hopefully they will drop over the next 18 months,

Still they aren't that badly priced for the benefits, all the Votronic gear i have for my build is Lithium ready with four different charging lithium profiles.

Once you change over, you can buy a bigger Nespresso machine with the extra Ah, to make coffees for all the people checking out your Mog:coffeedrink:
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
At one stage we had an outside sink / table, but it took too long to set up and we found it easier to use the inside one :)

We will need to change a few things when we move over to lithium, as 6 years ago, there were not that many lithium ready devices around. The big expense ( apart from the cells ) will be the BMS and charging system. We want two separate 300ah batteries, so will need two BMS, and probably a Sterling dual alternator charging system.

The weight saving includes the guides, they are big heavy steel rollers.
 

DanDaMan

New member
same build issues

I also have a 1700L that I am converting to an expedition camper. I have a flat bed on the rear. I would be very interested in sharing ideas with you.
 

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