Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread

Lynn

Expedition Leader
Love this thread.

I really don't care much about aesthetics, but I have to admit I've never been a real fan of the boxy 1250 cab.

Your bumper and bar work really hide it nicely!

Great job. Looking forward to the cabin build. That's where I want to steal ideas from :ylsmoke:.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
More progress

This week I started to work full time on the Unimog - with luck, I may just have the next three months off work, I'll have a bit of a break, but I hope to spend a lot of time working on the Mog.


The major progress this week has been fitting the seats. These are full electric luxury Range Rover Vogue leather seats, and they need special bases to fit in a Unimog. Now there are a number of important rules regarding seat bases over here in Australia if you want to get your truck registered, and the most important one is Technical Bulletin VSB5B which more or less tells you how you have to build your seat bases. If you don't follow the rules, chances are you won't get the necessary certification and you can't register the truck. This is the result of much planning and consulting VSB5B.

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This is how you have to bolt them down according to the specs - and have a 50x50mm washer on the other side. - although the specs call for 25x25mm RHS, but I used 40x40mm for the legs and 65x35mm for the cross members because it looked a bit weak in 25x25mm. I'll clean up the welds and the edges when I get them ready for painting.

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An this the result - a Range Rover leather seat in a Unimog. This is in the fully down and back position - plenty of space for even the "larger" driver or those with short little legs.

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And this is in the full up position and forward - even the headrests are electric. There is about 2" of movement up and down, and you can angle the seat base flat or tilted back as well. Once adjusted, the are really comfortable.
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Building the second one took half the time, and now I have two seats in the truck at last - first time in over two years - and yes, I have sat in them just to see what it's like - and they are comfortable. The seat come with full memory computers, butI don't think I will spend the time making it work - it's easier just to make it manual like the passenger seat.

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I also started on the air conditioning this week. I've given up on the Land Rover unit in the centre console, and have decided to fit am fitting 2 x 18,000btu units into the roof. Still a lot of work to sort it all out, but this is how the evaporator unit fits. The condensation drain pipes will run down inside the "A" pillar there is just enough room for them, then behind the dash into the engine bay, I thought about using it to top up the windscreen wiper bottle, then overflow to the ground - we will see if that works out or not.

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The main reason for the "sun visor" type extension to the roof was for the ducting, for the original version, but this has worked out well - I can fit the a/c evaporator as far forward as possible. Once I get the brackets fitted, it will sit level.

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There is quite a bit of ducting to do. Out the front will be some bends, the once closest to the console get a 45degree bend and some ducting to go up the centre console and be directed out the back to provide a bit of cool air comfort to the back seat people. The two centre ones get 90 degree bends and will be fitted with nozzles the can direct the cold air straight down, or to the front and to the back - to cool body and legs etc. The outside one gets a 45 degree and ducting goes into the above the door, with a vent that can blow forward or back to my face if required. The passenger side one will be the same. All the vents can be independently shut off. The A/C units also have variable cooling - so it can be set to "deep freeze" or just cool. The are completely independent of each other so my wife can switch hers off, and I can put mine into deep freeze mode. The two together should have enough cooling for most situations

Back on the camper box, I have also finished all the bracing for the "tropical roof/roof rack. The main cross members are over the seams in the roof sheeting, so that should help ensure it remains water tight. These will get a series of nutserts in them, so I can mount the plywood roof. I've just finished priming all the brackets, then I'll paint them and Sikflex them into position. I ended up using 1.6mm steel, as the various fibreglass/plastic bracket were just to big to fit with my roof profile. Once I have all the brackets in place, then it time to get on with the roof rack/ branch protection on the roof. Then I can get it ready for the paint on RV insulation.

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I also finished the rain gutters as well - they cover the seams between the roof sheet and the side sheets, and help keep the water off the windows. I made then for so 3mm aluminium box section, cut down the middle and then finished off with the router - makes quite a mess, but gives a good finish. I glued it on oversize, then trimmed it back to the right angles. I plan on having some high level indicator and brake lights up there as well. I've found so nice surface mount led units, that will be white when not lit up, and orange/red when lit. I was going to recess them into the roof, but that's a lot of work and it might lead to a leak - better to minimise things that cause leaks.

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Next was to make the bulkheads for the two storage compartments. After a fair bit of folding by our friendly sheet metal shop in Springwood and some Sikaflexing, they were in. This creates two independent boxes, so that the interior is completely sealed from the compartments. I will have to route some air ducting and a few water pipes through the bulkheads, but the can be properly sealed as well. Later this week the bed base panel arrives, and that will be glued onto the bed.

DSC03873.jpg


There are a few other things I've done on the interior but that is the main progress.
 
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HumphreyBear

Adventurer
Great thread, Iain - I wish I had your fabrication skill. Hopefully one day I'll see it (and you) as you pass my way.
Humphrey.
 

mervifwdc

Adventurer
Awesome work! I've not been as "in depth". I went with original 1300L seats but got them recovered. Lets hope I dont regret it! :) I'll be thinking of your seats if I get uncomfortable!

Merv.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
After sitting in the original seats, I decided that something more comfortable was required if we were going to drive round the world in it. The whole purpose of my mog is to be able to travel in style and comfort.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
Just a quick progress report before the end of the year.

First off is the air conditioning units are mounted and I've sorted out most of the system. I certainly learnt a lot about automotive a/c systems of the past few weeks, all about compressor sizing, btu's condensers, and all the various option for hoses and fittings.

The a/c evaporator fit great, and there is sufficient space for the hose work. I am running each unit independently, with solenoids on the liquid lines to shut off flow. I'll sort out the logic in the wiring such that the compressor can't run if the solenoids are closed. A few diodes and a relay will sort this out. I've run the liquid and gas lines down the back of the cab, and the drains from the evaporators in the "A Pillars", then out through the floor.

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The other progress has been mounting the solar panels. I've use stainless steel rivnuts on the panel frames, and made brackets that stick onto the roof. They are 250mmx90mm and there are four per panel. I've stuck the upper brackets on using the same template I used to drill the holes - hopefully everything lines up right, or the holes will have to be slotted to fit. I'll use the solar panels to ensure the lower brackets are stuck in the right place.

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I have also fitted the bed base and the panels within the boot area. The next thing is to prepare the truck for painting.

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Lots of sanding, filling and more sanding later

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and its time for the etch primer

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and even more sanding, filling and re-sanding.

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and it's time for the top coat.

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and this is the final result.

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The paint I used - an industrial two pack polyurethane is not a normal car paint- but it is very tough. The paint "flashes off" with a few seconds of hitting the surface, and is touch dry in less than 5 minutes, which is what you need when you are spraying without a proper spray booth. It gets full strength overnight.

I have used it in the past to paint industrial buildings and machinery. It does give a high gloss finish, but it is not as smooth as a car paint, although I could spend some time and effort to wet sand and polish if I wanted. It did a bit of that on the truck cab, and it sure takes a lot of sanding to get rid of some orange peel - way more than car paint.

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Next year, we will paint the cab doors and bonnet. Then re-paint the cab itself to match the finish on the rest of the truck.

All the best to everyone for 2012, and hopefully I'll get this truck on the road next year.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
Almost finsihed painting

Just a quick update - painting is almost finished. The front doors and bonnet needed a bit of work, we had to remove some rust, and that was done with an angle grinder.

New pieces were welded in around the mirror mount point.

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The lower section of the drivers door was cut off.

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and a new piece fabricated.

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Then welded in

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The door reinforcing bars had a foam backing, and had the start of a rust problem. These were removed, epoxy coated and a mastic tape used in place of the foam.

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Lots of sand and filling occurred

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Then the door and the bonnet were painted. At last , no more "Safety Orange" was left on the truck. :wings:

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The rolled edges were also sealed with a mastic backed 3M sealing tape before painting.

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All going well - by tomorrow the cab with be repainted, and I can get back to fabricating the camper box.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
Another update with a major milestone being reached.

First the truck cab got resprayed - it was clear that the cab was not up to the same standard as the camper box, door and bonnet. So after a quick sand down, new paint was applied.

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with the whole truck painted, I got to work on the cab, modifying the gear levers, fitting the seat bases and fitting the A/C hose under the cab. The camper box also got it's insulation - first the layers of bubble wrap foil,

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then the polyester wool bats.

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The panel on the left side are away getting then laminex finish, but I have a few modifications to the right panel before I can send that out for final finishing.

After that, it was time to jack up the camper part - first I made some jacks using the old legs and a high lift jack. I had one of these each side, and the forklift at the back.

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It needed to be jacked up about a meter or so that the truck and fit underneath. The front face of the camper box has a 2mm layer of HDPE to act as the wearing/sliding surface for the insulation that will be between the camper and the cab.

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After much pushing and manoeuvring, the camper was on the chassis.

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It was then obvious that the texture/finish on the cab was better than on the camper - so my spray painter was given the job of "cutting and polishing" then whole truck.

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He has done a great job - the finish is way better than I expected.

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After much hard labour - luckily not mine, the truck is nice and shiny.

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Whilst all this was going on, I jacked up the rear right wheel as high as my jack would go, this shows how much flex there is in the chassis - see how the camper box is offset from the cab, and I still have another 75mm of travel left before the axle reaches the bump stops

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There was a lot more thing done as well - exhaust system, electric windows, snorkel and snorkel guard, mudguards etc. All in all, an nice bit of progress.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
More fabrication and reassembly.

More progress this week - I fitted all the latches and hinges to the bonnet. The bonnet and grill can be removed easily but all the fittings are in place.

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I also worked on the rear storage compartments.

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The lower section is likely to get a bit of a hammering on rock ledges etc, so I made them out of 5mm plate. They are strong enough so I can jack up the rear wheel - so should be able to take the load of the truck sliding over a rock or something.

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The tubes that run the full length of the sub-frame will be accessible from behind another lid that folds down - great for storing long items like fishing rods, tent poles, shovels etc.


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I also shortened the mirror arms, so that the inner edge of the mirror lines up with the edge of camper box - no point having mirror sticking out any more than necessary. I took 125mm off the standard U1300/U1700 arms.

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Finally, the front passenger side windows are installed - I had the glass tinting film applied to maximise heat rejection.

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Next week I will continue on the interior, as I have received the laminex panels.
 

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