Expedition Rigs Encountered

[dhackney]

It really helps putting things in perspective and showing that if you really want to go travel, you can use pretty much anything.

We like to think that we need a Unimog U500 to drive around the world.

But the reality is that you can buy a Ford pickup truck and a truck camper off Craigslist and be on your way you tomorrow morning instead of spending the next 10 years trying to make enough money to buy the Unimog...

Jay,

That is the exact reason why I'm posting shots of so many different types of rigs and means of accomplishing the goal.

At some point you've got to face up what it is you are really trying to accomplish: exploring the world or having an über rig.

My friend John Kretschmer said it best when he told me to stop worrying so much about buying and rigging out the perfect blue water boat and to just get something and get going.

He expressed what is now the Kretschmer Maxim: When you talk to people returning from or in the midst of their circumnavigation they never talk about their boat, they talk about their experiences.

Most people, me included, spend huge amounts of money, time and energy worrying about having all the right gear, all the right stuff, all the right everything, and then you get out here and meet people who have been all over the place, including places we were not planning to attempt, in a 2wd van with smaller tires than ours.

With 20/20 hindsight when the sailing dream died we would have either jumped right back on the bike or flown in and bought a used rig, drove it into the ground and bought another one, etc.

We love our rig, but the time we lost is irreplacable and the most valuable commodity of all is time.

Doug

 

[Lynn]

Doug,

Thanks so much for your efforts on this thread. Between this and the interview you have posted, you are really helping to broaden my perspective.

 

[kerry]

I'd like to add my thanks too. This is a great thread

I wonder what chassis is under the sleek fronted Mercedes motorhome? 407 or 508?

EGN:
Do you know much about the bull nosed Mercedes trucks in your pictures? I see a lot of those converted to campers on mobile.de but don't know anything about them? Precursers to the forward control trucks?

 

[oonimog]

Italian Expo Campers

I thought I'd post a few Italian rigs for a change:

I shot these in Tunisia, at the port of Tunis and at a camp ground near Douz.

 

[egn]

It really helps putting things in perspective and showing that if you really want to go travel, you can use pretty much anything.

We like to think that we need a Unimog U500 to drive around the world.

But the reality is that you can buy a Ford pickup truck and a truck camper off Craigslist and be on your way you tomorrow morning instead of spending the next 10 years trying to make enough money to buy the Unimog...

...

At some point you've got to face up what it is you are really trying to accomplish: exploring the world or having an über rig.

That is a very important point!

This always remembers me to the very famous journey around the world done by Peter Backhaus and his fiancee Marlotte more than 50 years ago in the Goggomobil. There is a DVD and book available, in german language of course. But I think you can view the DVD without any german language knowledge and get the point just by looking.

They went through the Sahara and the rest of Afrika, South Amerika, North America and Asia. They looked always great, just if they where on a weekend trip. This trip is no fiction, it was reality. The filmed everything by themselfs, except for some parts at the beginning because they changed the car to the larger Isar model.

Both passed away last year.

Look at the following links to get some impressions:
http://www.amazon.de/Im-Goggo-um-die-Welt/dp/B000U6NY16 (short video)
http://www.motor-klassik.de/auto_U_...oldtimerreisen/hxcms_article_507565_14702.hbs
http://www.glasclub.org/glas/member/gbilia/video/um_die_welt.htm

Enjoy,
Emil

PS: Kerry, this are so called "Rundhauber" or Mercedes 911. I will collect some information and open a separate thread to avoid disturbing this one with the great images to much.

 

[egn]

Some MAN KAT1 6x6 and other campers:

 

[oonimog]

egn,
The last KAT (in the snow) seems to have cast iron wheels, is this the case? I have never seen this before, is it common? Why were these used instead of the steel disc type?

Cheers,
OO

 

[egn]

The last KAT (in the snow) seems to have cast iron wheels, is this the case? I have never seen this before, is it common? Why were these used instead of the steel disc type?

As far as I remember the truck uses Trilex wheel system. The wheel spider is made from cast iron.

This truck itself is a MAN LX, a light version of the MAN KAT1. It has no spring suspension and uses a water-cooled MAN engine. I intended to buy this ready to go truck two years ago but then decided against it because I wanted something larger. The owner and family has driven the truck from South Africa to Germany.

 

[mag232]

trilex wheels

I have the trilex wheel system on my magirus deutz.

Mine is a swiss AF fire truck support vehicle, and as I understand it all the swiss government vehicles use this system. I've seen lots of semis in that area using these wheels as well

It looks to be a good way to go for field strip without breaking the bead, but I have not been able to find super singles from the manufacturer (even had someone go to switzerland to talk to them). That makes it hard because the bud on the end of the axle is much larger in order to accommodate the wheel.

Here is a closeup of how the internal pieces come together
http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.petry/MagirusDeutz232/photo#5052016237033080530

then the wheel slides on the axle, and the collar brackets are bolted on.

not a great picture, but here is the idea
http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.petry/MagirusDeutz232/photo#5052008179674433090

 

[kerry]

My friend John Kretschmer said it best when he told me to stop worrying so much about buying and rigging out the perfect blue water boat and to just get something and get going.



Doug

I second that sentiment. As a teacher, I have a fair amount of free time, but not much money. I wanted my daughter to travel while young and experience more of the world. I bought a 1985 Mercedes 307d motorhome near London on the internet for $1700 in 2001 and we travelled for three summers in Europe. It wasn't an overland rig but it did it's job and my daughter will never forget those experiences. Incidentally, we sold it for $2300 when we were done (gained the benefits of the falling dollar).

Did I read somewhere that John Kretschmer was going to divinity school? If that was him, I thought it was a big change from sailing.

 

[charlieaarons]

As a (sort of old = 58yo) guy who owns a U500 I also agree with that sentiment. I started exploring with a FJ40 Landcruiser and a sleeping bag at age 20. The big camper makes living out of it nice and comfortable but it doesn't get "there" any better than an old VW bus.

Charlie

 

[dhackney]

Fredy & Monika Baumann
Switzerland

Rig

Chassis: Iveco 4x4
Current mileage: 130,000 km / 80,000 miles

Dimensions:
Length: 5.8 m / 19.03 ft
Width: 2.1 m / 6.89 ft
Height: 2.9 m / 9.514 ft
Weight: 4,300 kg / 9,480 lbs

Capacities:
Fuel (diesel): 340 L / 89.82 gal
Water: 260 L / 68.69 gal
LPG / Propane: 30 kg / 66.14 lbs.

See the full interview here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=171024#post171024

 

[dhackney]

 

[dhackney]

Fredy & Monika at dinner with us in Ushuaia

 

[Overland Hadley]

Are the grids over the window just to make it look secure from the outside? Is it a common thing to do on RTW rigs?