Swiss Army, our 1985 Saurer 6DM build.

[Grenadiers]

Wife and I spent some time in Mexico this past winter in our 2004 Winnebago Vectra diesel pusher. We had a great time, and can't wait to go back (we are, Baja then mainland this winter), but the roads shook not only the RV, but my wife~! With large buses narrowly missing the side mirrors, two inch wide road shoulders, massive ditches waiting for one wrong move, well, the RV is not traveling with us any longer to Mexico! While at Lake Chapala, Roca Azul campground, we met two sets of German Overlanders in their big expedition vehicles. One on a late-model turbo-charged MAN and the other, a Deutz air-cooled five cylinder powered MAN 8.136. The latter was under-powered, and mostly a home-built camper.


And the 8.136


So, we got hooked on off-road camping! Which fits in more with our lifestyle in Arizona than an RV. We do a lot of Jeeping, have a built 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. And the other thing we found out about RVing, the fuel mileage, and RV Park expenses!
After pouring over the European expedition vehicle websites for a few months, and of course the ads on the Portal, we found this unit. A Swiss couple were in the States, and they sold it to us via Swiss Army Vehicles, in Fayetteville, AR. Swiss Army specializes in importing Pinzgauer vehicles and parts, plus others as well. Here is their website for more information: https://www.pinzgauer.com/index.php

We have the vehicle, and are getting 30" added to the front of the cabin, the front bulkhead has been removed, by myself, and we located an RV repair and fabrication place near where we live. I could fab up the addition myself, but don't have the patience to do so. Here it is:


Plus pics from the original ad: https://www.pinzgauer.com/shpics.php?table=vehicles&idnum=163

We've removed the stuff up front, a 100 gallon diesel locking tank (which is for sale), and a 100 gallon water tank (which is for sale).
Here is what the front bulkhead looks like right now.


I'll be updating this posting as we make progress. If you have any questions, let me know. Dave and Pam, Prescott, AZ.

 

[OVRLND]

That is a great looking truck. Good luck with your build.
Pinzgauer.com ... they never seem to have vehicles for sale ... only sold vehicles in their listings ...

 

[Grenadiers]

Really? I was there last month and looking at their site right now, looks like they have stuff for sale. Willy did say that they sell more parts now than vehicles.

 

[Haf-E]

Nice truck - they are bigger than they look! Expedition Imports in CA also just brought a few of these Saurers into the USA also:

Here is a link: https://expedition-imports.com/Saurer-6DM-10DM_c_748.html

 

[Sixinarow]

I saw that for sale and was wondering when someone would pick it up! Sweet!

 

[rossvtaylor]

Nice! We're in Flag, just up the hill. So, let us know if you're ever up this way. We'd love to see it and would trade a bit of welding for a tour.

I'd be interesting in learning more about the tank dimensions, too. I'm getting to the "add tankage to our rig" stage. ross at rossvtaylor dot com

 

[Victorian]

This is cool! Bigger expedition trucks certainly gaining momentum in North America.

 

[Grenadiers]

Thanks all, we're aiming for a big sweep of CO, UT, MT, this fall, including a week in Moab with my wheeling buddies in October. Then down Baja peninsula to the mainland for the winter. There are electrical issues at hand, with the 230/24 volt system running the heat/water heater system, fridge, water pump, etc., that includes a need for 110/12 at some point. There is a convertor in back for the generator, converting the 110 to 230. I'm thinking of adding a separate circuit for the Splendide my wife had to have, and a microwave; both to just run off the generator. Otherwise, it's good to go, in German~! My wife speaks and reads German though, very helpful!



Gratuitous 'poser' shot of our Jeep last fall:

 

[Grenadiers]

Slowly moving ahead with our expansion plans. Our fabricator has built and attached the new internal frame, and has bent the aluminum skins for the exterior. Should have the truck back by this next week. Then it's our turn to add rigid foam insulation, interior wall, lights, one manual fantastic fan, reposition the electrical panels, install the toilet, shower wall, etc.

 

[Grenadiers]

I don't know much about the driveline, outside of the 12L, 320hp diesel engine (upgraded from 250hp, with 10dm fuel injection pump). Here's cool video of the workings underneath, pretty stout, one of the big reasons for getting it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqelekFJti4&t=25s

 

[Grenadiers]

Got the beast back from the fabricator. Now it's our turn to finish off the inside.

 

[-joz-]

hi !

cool to see the 6dm in the usa !:Wow1::Wow1::Wow1: it's a very good choise ! i'm excited to see more of your project !

i'm from switzerland and i have also a saurer truck ! a 2dm from 1968 and my buddy also has a 6dm for offroad camping

when i finished my project i will ship my truck to the usa to travel around and exploring the nature

i have good connections to a saurer dealer ! he has all the parts on stock for the 6 and 10dms ! He also sold parts from the saurer to the swiss army

his web site are http://www.saurer-berna.ch/

but i think you don't need this ... it will never break a part from a saurer ;-)

now the swiss army sold all the 6 and 10dm and buy new trucks

greetings from switzerland ! and sorry about my englisch its not the best

jonas

 

[Grenadiers]

Hi Jonas, thanks for the link to the dealer! We have a dealer here as well, Swiss Army Vehicles, Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I bought my Saurer. https://www.pinzgauer.com/index.php
The Swiss couple that owned it, traveled the US, and basically, sold it to me through this dealer. He was able to get an Arkansas title for it, I picked it up and drove it home to Arizona.
We are still prepping the new section of the cabin, tore out the flooring in the older section, figuring out how to 'piggy-back' a 110 volt inverter to the 24v/230v solar/battery original setup. I think I have
figured it out. Hope to finished in a couple weeks! No pics for now, just boring non-photogenic stuff we're doing~!

Yeah, the beefiness of the truck is one of the reasons we bought it. Had to tighten up a few coolant leaks after driving it back. Quite a few rubber couplers holding the system together, so took a screwdriver around to get it done.
Have an oil leak out the back of the transfer case, I think it's for the tachometer, have the part number somewhere. Most of the oil in the picture is from a hose that detached on top, I think it is a breather hose. After cleaning it up
I still have a small leak out of the tach signal device.

 

[Grenadiers]

More progress! Wifey painted the interior floor joists and wall studs, they're steel, and I laid in the first layer of plywood, will be another one, and then flooring. And she got started on the 2" inch polystyrene foam insulation. And I installed a 4000w generac generator, a bit loud, but hope not to have to use it much.
Have to booger up an aluminum door to cover it. Also added a shelf to the right for a 5 gallon jug of fuel.

 

[Grenadiers]

Got the generator done, recycling sheet metal, the original military box door as a base, and the 'L' brackets that supported the extra fuel tank was not fun. But, it's ugly but works for us.






And, my wife glued in the insulation in the new section. Here's a shot of the cassette toilet atop of the final flooring we're installing.



Just getting started!