Another expedition truck on portals...

Ash@Geared

Member
Its been a while since I had a good build thread, or build that really warranted one in my eyes. The 'luxury' LS powered ground-ups are fun, but they have a much more formulaic approach these days without much requirement for abstract thought or problem solving. This is the kind of stuff that winds my watch, and this thread should serve as a great outlet for putting ideas down and drawing from the collective wisdom here.

Back in 2014 I was tasked with building a truck that could function as an 'overland' capable rig, but with off-road requirements that called for more than just bolt-on parts. The end result was a 2.8 powered '97 90 with a custom 3-link, 14" travel ORI struts, full storage system in the rear with on-board water, auxiliary fuel storage and fridge/stove combo.

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The same client now has a family, and thus a need for more seating and in-truck sleeping arrangements. The same off-road requirements apply, although to a slightly lesser extent. We'll be taking a lot of ideas and lessons learned from the first truck and using them on this one. For a quick breakdown, here's what's currently planned:

-LHD conversion
-Full respray to Corris Grey
-Pop-top roof conversion
-Portal axles, 37" tires
-30 to 35 gallons of fuel before external storage
-20 to 25 gallons of water before external storage
-Full interior storage solution
-Fridge and cook top

So let's meet the donor truck. Overall it's a pretty simple 5 door ROW truck, previously owned and modified by Keith from Rovertracks. He'd already made some nice additions to the fitted 300Tdi including a variable geometry turbocharger, full size intercooler and some tuning, so as far as the engine goes we'll likely be leaving it untouched aside from some simple maintenance.

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Ash@Geared

Member
To try and keep any individual posts from getting too long-winded I'll keep things broken up.

In addition to the LHD conversion, the truck needed to come apart for paint. This thing got the Puma treatment, so five new doors, bonnet, extended grille and a complete Puma bulkhead replaced their original counterparts. The tub, T-posts, floors, seat box and wings were in great shape and we were fortunate to be able to re-use them. Paint color is Corris Grey with ceramic clear coat for a little extra scratch resistance.

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Ash@Geared

Member
While everything has been off at paint (and now currently the bedliner) I've been able to give some attention to the frame and axles....

Due to the weaker break-over and departure angles of the 110 we knew that ground clearance was going to be key to the truck's capability off-road. Initially the plan was to use the same Tibus portal boxes as seen on Oilworker's killer 130, but after discussion with Tibus and learning that he was working on a new version of the boxes with no anticipated completion date, we started to consider alternative routes.

After seeing a few builds across the web using Dynatrac portals I gave them a call, and after a few exchanges they agreed to work with me on developing a set of drop-in Dana based portals, which is awesome. In addition to being notably stronger than the Rover components they're replacing, the equipped AxleTech portal boxes run a giant Wilwood brake and we get to run a non-rover wheel pattern, which opens the door for a lot of options in size and backspacing.

Combination is going to be a high-pinion reverse cut Dana 44 front, and a high pinion Dana 60 rear. Should be plenty of beef!

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So with the new direction it was time to huck the old axles. Here they are packed up and off to a new home...

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Ash@Geared

Member
This truck will definitely be seeing some highway action, so getting the gearing right has been an interesting hurdle. Initially the truck came fitted with an R380 and 1.4 case with a RoverDrive hanging off the back. With the Tibus portals and their 1.16:1 reduction we were in a good spot, but the Dynatracs have a 1.5:1 reduction which doesn't play nicely with anything we had planned, so it was back to the drawing board.

After some number crunching it became apparent that the new Puma MT82 six speed was a superior option, and paired with an Ashcroft 1:1 LT230 we'd have enough gear to run reasonable speeds on the interstate without spinning the Tdi super fast.

First table is the original configuration with overdrive, second table is current:

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Fortunately M&D makes a great adapter that fits the MT82 right up to the 300Tdi, so no major feats of engineering were required to get where we needed to be. Here's the new transmission and transfer case mocked up in the frame. This is where the project currently sits -- tomorrow I'll touch on the ongoing design process for under-truck fuel and water storage. Ultimately it'll all get torn down so that the frame can go to galvanizing, but there are a ton of brackets and tabs that I'll be welding on first.

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Kgh

Let’s go already!
Ash,

Was good chatting 200Tdi stuff with you last week, and I am pleasantly surprised to see this build thread. The portal axles are pretty cool stuff.

To my inexperienced mind, the numbers appear only a little better for MT85 vs. R380. But it will work better with the Puma bulkhead. Is 200-300 RPM difference that significant?

What lining product do you plan to use?
Will the truck see Northern climates, and if so will the water tank be heated?

Really looking forward to watching this progress.
 

Ash@Geared

Member
Ash,

Was good chatting 200Tdi stuff with you last week, and I am pleasantly surprised to see this build thread. The portal axles are pretty cool stuff.

To my inexperienced mind, the numbers appear only a little better for MT85 vs. R380. But it will work better with the Puma bulkhead. Is 200-300 RPM difference that significant?

What lining product do you plan to use?
Will the truck see Northern climates, and if so will the water tank be heated?

Really looking forward to watching this progress.


You as well!

The Tdi's seem to have a sweet spot around 2500-2600 where the motors run nice and smooth, and up around 3,000 they start to feel a little buzzy. Ashcroft calls for 2700 revs at 70mph as their target, so the MT82 is just right based on their recommendations. You have to consider that on a diesel with a fairly low rev ceiling, a few hundred RPM can constitute a pretty significant percentage of the usable power range.

For linings, Line-X is really the only brand I'll use. Over the years I've tried a lot of different 'low pressure' types, both polyurethane and polyurea based, but they're always either too soft or too brittle for any serious use. Line-X is a high pressure coating that gets sprayed at ~150 degrees and is a polyurethane/polyurea blend that's damn near indestructible. No rock chips, no gouges from dragging stuff across it. It's one of those products that really warrants the additional expense.

As for the tanks, the water will be passed across the engine coolant through a heat exchanger for hot drinking, cleaning or bathing requirements. That coolant will also be heated by a Webasto when the truck isn't running, so there will be a means to keep the tanks from freezing over if the need arises.
 

Ash@Geared

Member
So on the topic of water tanks, here's what I'm currently working on.

We're shooting for a week of sustainability with fuel and water, so following the 'gallon per person per day' rule we're at 21 gallons of water before any extracurricular use. This build is already asking a lot of the interior on this truck and there's really no way to package that much water without major space penalties, so it's going to need to go underneath. Normally that'd be a simple undertaking, but the off-road requirements of this truck put a tricky spin on the task. That means packaging everything above the lowest point on the frame so that nothing can get hung up.

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Looking at the frame from above, I'll be designing a saddle tank for either side to occupy the space between the frame and rock slider that tapers upward in the same fashion as the outriggers. The outriggers will get cut off and replaced with 1x3 tubing to maximize usable space along the frame rail.

Tanks will be built from stainless, with the bottoms being 1/4" or 5/16" with plenty of internal bracing and baffling to keep them from getting mangled if the weight of the truck ends up on them. With some quick measurements I think I can get around 12 gallons per side while keeping their shape pretty simple.
 

Kgh

Let’s go already!
You might just be building my dream 110 here, lol. Forgive the 3rd degree, but always looking for new or better ways to do things.

You going AluCab, Ex-Tec, or something else?
 

sturgillk

Observer
Having the weight of those tanks down low will be great. Will you have a way to equalize the tanks so you don't end up lopsided?

Also, quick thought... would this rig benefit from a high volume water filtering system? Perhaps designed with a smaller interior tank that won't be as susceptible to temperature extremes? 24 gallons of water left in the sun for a week could get funky, and chlorine and stainless don't play well together.
 

Ash@Geared

Member
That's a neat idea for a sort of 'staging' tank inside the truck. On the last truck we pulled all of the water through a ceramic filter mounted just before the pump in an effort to avoid fussing with chlorine or treatment tablets. I don't think this configuration will be any different since it seems to work well as long as you don't plan on filling the tanks with pond water.

I've been playing around with the idea of a crossover tube to equalize the two tanks, but I haven't come to any conclusions yet, and there are a few problems that come to mind. I'd have to punch through the frame with a couple of sleeves to keep the tube from being subject to getting pinched, and even then it'd be vulnerable in the void between the two frame rails. Seems like things could also get sketchy if you found yourself in an already hairy off-camber situation, only to then have all of the water in the 'high' tank move across and load your downhill side (this is assuming the tanks aren't both completely full).

I'm curious if running the pickup tubes from each tank into a Y that the pump draws from will work consistently enough to keep both tanks at equal, or at least similar levels. Assuming tube lengths, diameters and fittings are identical on either side it seems like it ought to work well enough. I'd definitely run a three-way valve in case one tank dried up before the other, to keep the pump from sucking air.
 

Kgh

Let’s go already!
X-Vision-X. They make the one of the sleeker designs I've seen.

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That’s the name that was on tip of my tongue. They have a pretty cool FB feed, and their 130SW roof is amazing. We used to live near them and I always meant to head there but never did.

Tom’s Camel is a German based Toyo overland rig builder. May check their stuff for a water balancing solution? Between the Germans and their engineered solutions, and the Aussies with their “That’ll do” solutions, there is some really cool stuff outside our borders. Maybe shoot an email to Peter at Nakatanenga (that shop is Rover Candyland!) At 8lbs/gal, you are correct in wanting to keep weight shift to a minimum.

RPM - I ran torque/HP curves on Turner’s site at your suggestion. Good stuff. Will probably be coming up to see you in a few weeks.

Bed Liner - My 130 needs something. Thanks for thoughts on Line-X. Will maybe see if they have something less than 80 grit! And in reading up on it, I will ensure the bed paint and surface prep is spot on.
 

sturgillk

Observer
Three way valve would work great, and keep the water from transferring until you want it to. Or a very small line plumbed into the bottom of each so that it will slowly equalize automatically, without needing to have a fluid level gauge.

And regarding the filter, sometimes pond water is all you've got!
 

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