BajaSportsmobile
Baja Ironman
Someone really blew it!
Building Mercedes Sprinter "box" as a overland camper
- Thread starter HannesM
- Start date
Someone really blew it!
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Good grief. I'd have thought Mercedes Formula One to be one of the least likely groups to totally, absolutely, catastrophically foul up. Maybe that engineering team that used English instead of metric units when they lost the Marian orbiter fifteen years ago finally found a new line of work. :sombrero:
have been lost in France
Sorry guys that it has been too long since I last updated our thread here. All that traveling is a full time "job" and has not had any time to do so.
Our little truck has been good to us and hasn't broken down once. We have been having some small problems with our furniture but nothing serious. Taking Italian roundabouts in 4th gear, as I would to in normal car, ended up throwing some of our stuff out from the cupboards. Some 10+kilogram magnets on the doors solved that problem and also I'm taking roundabouts now on 3th gear. You live, you learn.
Big thanks from us to the Garmin GPS company guys who have made our Euro trip so amazing. Those roads what it has led us on our search small villages away from highways have been just brilliant. Some one lane 20% incline zig zag trough mountain roads, hairpins so tight that we have had to reverse twice to make them et cetera et cetera. We only have had once to reverse our way back to bigger road because our truck was/is too high for some old tunnels. Luckily there are signs everywhere warning us from low hanging bridge, petrol station roof or something alike.
Now we have managed to book our truck on to Ro/Ro type ship. Ship will sail on 16th or 17th of July. We should meet our “home” again in Halifax latest on 30th of July. My darling and me are flying to New York at the same time I think and then will fly to Halifax from there.
So we will be soon starting stage 2 of our trip. Argentina here we come, in a year or two ☺
We have had so little time (in reality we are lazy) to work on our website but here it is: www.globetrotters.ee
It's a work in progress project, so don't be too critical id you decide and have a look. We will try to make it better and of course update it with our stories/pictures.
Sorry guys that it has been too long since I last updated our thread here. All that traveling is a full time "job" and has not had any time to do so.
Our little truck has been good to us and hasn't broken down once. We have been having some small problems with our furniture but nothing serious. Taking Italian roundabouts in 4th gear, as I would to in normal car, ended up throwing some of our stuff out from the cupboards. Some 10+kilogram magnets on the doors solved that problem and also I'm taking roundabouts now on 3th gear. You live, you learn.
Big thanks from us to the Garmin GPS company guys who have made our Euro trip so amazing. Those roads what it has led us on our search small villages away from highways have been just brilliant. Some one lane 20% incline zig zag trough mountain roads, hairpins so tight that we have had to reverse twice to make them et cetera et cetera. We only have had once to reverse our way back to bigger road because our truck was/is too high for some old tunnels. Luckily there are signs everywhere warning us from low hanging bridge, petrol station roof or something alike.
Now we have managed to book our truck on to Ro/Ro type ship. Ship will sail on 16th or 17th of July. We should meet our “home” again in Halifax latest on 30th of July. My darling and me are flying to New York at the same time I think and then will fly to Halifax from there.
So we will be soon starting stage 2 of our trip. Argentina here we come, in a year or two ☺
We have had so little time (in reality we are lazy) to work on our website but here it is: www.globetrotters.ee
It's a work in progress project, so don't be too critical id you decide and have a look. We will try to make it better and of course update it with our stories/pictures.
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You have done an excellent job building this truck and your English is quite good.
I have often wondered why more builders don't use the "cargo box" configuration instead of the factory "wagon" body. Unless you are going to be traveling on really tight trails, the box holds all of the advantages in my opinion.
I have often wondered why more builders don't use the "cargo box" configuration instead of the factory "wagon" body. Unless you are going to be traveling on really tight trails, the box holds all of the advantages in my opinion.
Have been in Canada now for a week. Went to local Halifax Mercedes dealer and got our rear suspension units re-tightened. Wanted to get fuel return line (where is all our Webasto units connected) extended inside the fuel tank, but was advices not to do that. They say that hot diesel from return line will blow too much junk up from the bottom of the tank when the return line is too close to the bottom and then the fuel filter will be jammed in 2 weeks time. I guess now we have a joyce to trill a hole for extra line inside the fuel tank or buy extra tank just for our house equipment. Thinking then to fix the intake of that extra fuel tank to the main refueling hose. Want to make the system as hassle free as possible.
Does anybody have some better ideas what we should do or have some experience of doing those things what we are planning?
Does anybody have some better ideas what we should do or have some experience of doing those things what we are planning?
calicamper
Expedition Leader
This fuel debri can be an issue on sailboats that have sat around for a long time most of the older diesels all have a fuel return line I think the modern engines do also. I can't see this being an issue with a road vehicle given your cycling through your fuel at a much higher rate than we do on the sailboats where we might be burning a 1/4 gallon or little more an hour and typically the debri in the tanks get stirred up and start to foul filters in heavy weather which would be like driving through a car park full of speed bumps at 45mph for hours on end. LOL I would talk to a few more mechanics about your idea I can't imagine it causing any more fouling risk to the filters than the stock set up.
Paddy
Adventurer
Sorry if this was mentioned, but why do you want to extend the fuel return line? I was under the impression that most diesel equipment onboard was fed from a "standpipe" that is rigidly drawing from near the bottom of the tank, but will not empty the tank and leave you stranded. My webasto does not have a return line.
Our on-board systems take the diesel from the truck engine diesel return line. That's why we where looking for extending that line inside the main tank. Our webasto systems dont have return also.
We have been asking around and easiest options would be just to add extra tank or to drop another line inside the main tank.
Looking now where to buy small metal fuel tank with intake hose large enough for refueling nozzle. If i cant find anything then 20 liters jerrycan would fit under the body nicely.
At the moment we are in Toronto area so maybe some Canadians here can point me in the right direction where to buy that kind of new small metal tank for that?
There is some more pictures on our trip instagram account @travelingamericas
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guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Very nice :sombrero:
Just adding the roof aero fairing really cleaned up the look and probably improved fuel efficiency MPG/ Liters/100km too.
Just adding the roof aero fairing really cleaned up the look and probably improved fuel efficiency MPG/ Liters/100km too.
Thank you!
We are now in Alaska (Anchorage) allready and looking for a good (cheap) shop where to buy 230v to 110v "step down" (or 12v to 110v AC and some 40Amp fuses(with box) what can handle 90mm wire. Anybody here knows where we should go looking?
Hey guys.
Here is quick update hows everything has holding up.
We have yet to hook up pur truck to shore power and everything still runs on solar power. 600W of solar is sufficient for this kind of setup. Would be maybe better to have lets say 150-200W more solar. Have had to use normal houshold fan couple of times to save some power. Dont whant to use more then 40% of total capacity of our 660ampH batterie pack.
We have had to modify our drawers that they wount open when we are making hard left turns. Simple 10kg magnets and problem solved.
Now we are staying in Big White ski resort in BC, Canada and after season ends we will be back on the road and heading southbound again.
Here is quick update hows everything has holding up.
We have yet to hook up pur truck to shore power and everything still runs on solar power. 600W of solar is sufficient for this kind of setup. Would be maybe better to have lets say 150-200W more solar. Have had to use normal houshold fan couple of times to save some power. Dont whant to use more then 40% of total capacity of our 660ampH batterie pack.
We have had to modify our drawers that they wount open when we are making hard left turns. Simple 10kg magnets and problem solved.
Now we are staying in Big White ski resort in BC, Canada and after season ends we will be back on the road and heading southbound again.
