Mercedes 1222A Torsion an issue?

[Carolina4x4]

Am considering buying the Mercedes 1222A currently listed on the forum. In good nick, it appears, and unusual in that it has a factory-mounted box already on it. Would like to keep it that way, but my question is, do I have to worry about torsion and therefore, lifting and placing the whole box onto some sort of torsion points? Not planning hugely aggressive overlanding, but we are talking Africa and some remote places in S. America. It's a 12-ton truck.

 

[Sitec]

There's two trains of thought here.. The 'bolt the body direct to the chassis' option, and the 'three or four point mount' option. I'm going down the 4 point mount option with mine, as I have the time and tooling to make up my own. I plan to do some remote stuff in Australia and then Africa, which will involve desert and creek crossings with reasonable body twist. If I can allow the chassis to twist as it should then I believe that's better. Just my opinion. That said, in a previous job I crossed Africa several times driving Tourist Trucks based on Merc 1617's and 2421's. Aminah (pictured below) is an ex Drago truck with rigid bolted body.
The 1617's had a rigid body construction which was bolted hard on the chassis at the rear and used long bolts and springs at the front. The only dampening was a piece of 25mm thick timber between the body and chassis. These never gave problems. The 2421's however employed the same system, but being 6x4's the longer bodies all cracked through directly above the dual rear axles. All the original 6x4's are now 4x2's.... Neil (Cloud 9) who is on here is currently on an epic trip here there and everywhere in his Merc 1017. His body is bolted direct and he says he's never had any problems. This does point to the fact that 99% of anything we'll ever do will be fine with a rigid body, (and he's certainly tested this theory). His blog is worth following. I think it really depends on what you plan to do with it.. I know what I'm like, and will end up on tracks where trucks are on their limit. In Africa we found a few spots where the flex was tested, but we were aware of the rigid bodies and never pushed it.. By the time I get to modifying my body to fit the 1222, it might have all got too hard and I too might just bolt the body direct!!

 

[Carolina4x4]

Thanks, Sitec, appreciate your thoughts and love the pic!. Since we will be travelling with two kids, chances are we will not get too rough. On the other hand, the box on this 1222 stands pretty tall at 6 foot interior height, so I imagine the sway could get substantial with relatively modest cambers.

 

[Sitec]

I just went and found the 1222A you spoke of... It's pretty well identical to mine. A few things to bear in mind with that truck...

1. It has a snow plough mount on the front so has been in cold salty conditions.. The chassis looks pretty good as its low KMs, but check it out in person.
2. It has the hub reduction axle on the rear. Bullet Proof and good for 500hp! A good + point.
3. Gearing... If its like mine, it's flat out (touching red line at 95kmh). I'm addressing that issue.
4. It should have the later OM441 V6. 220hp +/- in this truck, which is also used in 340hp applications.. Mechanical and fixable. Another +.
5. Wheels... You'll want bigger wheels. I've found some 315/80 R22.5's for mine.
6. Wheelbase... It looks to be 3.5 m... A little short for a big body.. Depends on what you are planning. I was lucky with mine at 4.2m...

Not sure of the pricing as I'm not there, but that's similar to what I paid for mine, and I didn't have the drama's of import... If you are contemplating that truck, take the road trip or get on a plane and go view it as you won't find a better platform at that price for world travel. Good luck, and remember.. a wad of cash has power!!

 

[Britboaters]

Looks like an interesting project vehicle. Diplostrat on here has something similar.
One thought tho, before you go too far, do some layouts to see how you would get seats for your kids. I'm guessing no "pass-thru" now due to tilt cab - something you'll need. So you'll need propper seats in the box with seat belts, etc. This may take up a surprising amount of space in the box.
By the way, where in NC are you based ?
Bob

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Hey, if Neil on Cloud9 does not see this post his box is not hard bolted but uses a 3rd option not mentioned in this post. He is using a rail on torsion free subframe, which is what i am in the process in using. Joe (joe917 here) has a hard bolted box. If going the hard bolted route make sure the box is sufficiently strong to resist the twist. As with everythinng each optiin has strenghts and weaknesses. Hard bolted is simple but is likely leads to a heavier truck due to the needed stronger box. A rail on is not much more work, allows for some flex, lighter box, possibly better for vibration than 3/4 point, but less capable in true offroad use. The 3/4 point systems are best offroad but are more complicated and likely more costly and concentrate vibration impact to 3/4 points.

 

[Joe917]

Looks like an interesting project vehicle. Diplostrat on here has something similar.
One thought tho, before you go too far, do some layouts to see how you would get seats for your kids. I'm guessing no "pass-thru" now due to tilt cab - something you'll need. So you'll need propper seats in the box with seat belts, etc. This may take up a surprising amount of space in the box.
By the way, where in NC are you based ?
Bob

Why no pass through? We have a "walk through" in our 917, one of its best selling points.

 

[Britboaters]

Joe, I meant the truck probably doesn't have a pass-thru now, but it is something he'll need ....