Pangea

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
I would like to also add my thanks for the thread. I am very interested in this particular model as well. When I saw that beautiful orange I really had hoped you woud continue the color on in the body as well. Very excited to see that you did. There are just way too many ugly expedition vehicles out there. People either want to be perfectly white, or that aweful tan color with what ever goofy photo they can put on the side. Yours looks spectacular.

I love the variopilot as well, a great option for world travel. I told my wife that if I ever got tired I would just pull over, slide the wheel over to her and go to sleep right where I was... ;)

Anywho, thanks again, a very nice build.

Regards,
Brian
 

Deliberate Nomad

New member
Brian,

Thanks for the complements. The original U500 was white and I had it repainted. Most people still seem to like white and to each his own. I like color and my wife wants the truck to be photogenic. I have been traveling in Croatia and Slovenia this month and came across an orange expedition truck on a U1300 and a baby blue expedition truck on a 6x6 MAN KAT.

Of course, I would expect someone who travels with a towel and thinks the dominant life form on earth are cars to enjoy bolder expressions of color.

I will post up some more pictures of the build soon.

Cheers,
Brad

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
That is awesome! I told my wife about it, and she loved the idea of the Orange. Just having some color is wonderful. You may have noticed that right now my towel and I are in Afghanistan, and everything here is tan, with lots of cement gray. It is so drab here I can not believe it. So having a nice bright vehicle sounds good to me. I think I might go with Yellow, as it is my wife's favorite color. We shall see in about twenty years when I am able to build one!

At any rate, it is a wonderful vehicle, and I think many of us would follow in your footsteps if it was monetarily feasible.

Take care, and I do look forward to more photos when you have the chance. This is perhaps my favorite expo body of any of the companies out there, so I look forward to learning more about it!

Cheers
 

Deliberate Nomad

New member
We were able to spend some time at GXV this week and finalize some small details for the completion of the build. At the end of the week we got to pull the truck out into the sun for some pictures. The interior is still a work in process and the doors are not yet on.

The following are with the roof down.
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And some with the roof up when the truck has gone from big to ginormous.
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I will post some interior shots after we get them off another camera that had a wide angle lens.
 

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
Well, it looks absolutely amazing. With the roof up… it has sort of a Japanese feel to it… Still, very very cool! Thank you so much for sharing

Brian
 

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
Well, I guess you have to remember that I have not seen the truck in person, but while I do know how big that mog really is, it has the look of the Japanese fold up truck build several years ago. You can often find the build on Youtube. Anyhow, with the roof up it makes the mog look like a fuso, and the second story just makes it look kind of small but build to give a lot of space. I don't know how better to phrase it. It just looks like something someone in Japan might have come up with.

I still love the truck, what a perfect concept IMHO. I am really looking forward to seeing how you build out the interior and what the layout will be like!

Thanks again for sharing. It is going to look great out in the wild, streams and mountains in the background, oh yeah, very nice!
 

photo_i

Explorer
Oh, I see what you mean. :) Plus, orange color is used a lot in Japan as well (and I really like it being a photographer :) )

P.S. BTW, Hitchhikers Guide is one of my favorite books, read it dozen of times and every time it's getting better and better. :)
 

Deliberate Nomad

New member
I can see the resemblance to the Japanese vehicle referenced. Having spent some time in Japan (which I really enjoy), I can also see some resemblance to some of the housing. With the roof hatch raised and the awning out you may even imagine it as origami.

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Deliberate Nomad

New member
And now time for some interior shots. Counter top, booth seating, bed, some cabinets, and several other items still to be installed.

Facing back with roof down:
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Facing back with roof up:
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Facing forward to cab access:
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Billhilly

Adventurer
Looking great! Love the roof hatch. After all the planning etc it must be a great felling seeing it this close to being finished!
 

Overland Hadley

on a journey
I like the idea of that interior layout! Nice work. (I have often admired pictures of the UniCat that had a similar setup.)

Out of curiosity, what is the headroom under the bed area?
 

Deliberate Nomad

New member
It does feel great seeing it come together. We started conceptualising the layout three years ago after a couple of years looking at all the pictures of Action Mobil, Unicat, and every other builder with a web site. Some original ideas combined with many things done before.

The height under the bed platform is 6'3" (190cm). I am 6'2" and feel very comfortable in the space.

Brad
 

foxhunter

Adventurer
I love the interior. Just a great build all around. two questions. Is that a 100 gallon fuel tank you installed? It doesn't look like a stock 60 gallon tank. Also, where will the spare be mounted?
 

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