Expedition Vehicle selection thoughts?

[mog]

I heard those 41" military tires are a pain in the butt to balance. Beads required and still not enough. Anyone have experience in that real? I know going with 19.5" rims is popular for truck tires, but no tires in that size fits my off-road needs, airing down etc.
.... buying a truck in Germany, a cabin in the Ukraine, merging them together somewhere in Europe, then shipping it over to the US with imports/customs may be too much of a process for me. I have no doubt that that would be the best use of my budget though.

I can't speak for the smaller 41" tires, but the 47" 395/85-20 XML tires (mount on Atlas MRAP wheels) run smooth as silk with no balancing on my 1017AF. There are no balancing weights (and no beads inside).

I will be missing the Overland Expo, as I will be at the Abenteuer Allrad show in Bad Kissengen. If you have any specific information you (or anyone else) would like from European manufacturers, builders, distributors, etc, drop me a PM.

 

[Smileyshaun]

for 250k I would just hire someone to drive me around lol

 

[68camaro]

for 250k I would just hire someone to drive me around lol

I'm available......

 

[charlieaarons]

I can't speak for the smaller 41" tires, but the 47" 395/85-20 XML tires (mount on Atlas MRAP wheels) run smooth as silk with no balancing on my 1017AF. There are no balancing weights (and no beads inside).

I will be missing the Overland Expo, as I will be at the Abenteuer Allrad show in Bad Kissengen. If you have any specific information you (or anyone else) would like from European manufacturers, builders, distributors, etc, drop me a PM.

My experience with the Hutchinson wheels and 395s is identical.

 

[Zybane]

This is an interesting find:

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/...searchId=c295a85c-7dba-32af-2bf7-67417be4bb57

Euro without VAT converted to USD + 2.5% import charge = ~$184K, minus shipping. Looks like that truck has the 2-speed transfer case too. Anyone know if it's even possible to import this to the US?

 

[Joe917]

This is an interesting find:

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/...searchId=c295a85c-7dba-32af-2bf7-67417be4bb57

Euro without VAT converted to USD + 2.5% import charge = ~$184K, minus shipping. Looks like that truck has the 2-speed transfer case too. Anyone know if it's even possible to import this to the US?

2015 not importable.
For that kind of money you could get a real truck, Mercedes, MAN, Unimog

 

[Zybane]

2015 not importable.
For that kind of money you could get a real truck, Mercedes, MAN, Unimog

I've read online that truck may have been imported from the USA, so may have a US VIN. I've got an email out to them.

What do you mean by "real truck"? If you know where to get a expedition camper on a "real truck" for $184K USD let me know!

 

[mog]

If you know where to get a expedition camper on a "real truck" for $184K USD let me know!

PM sent.

 

[Victorian]

I've read online that truck may have been imported from the USA, so may have a US VIN. I've got an email out to them.

What do you mean by "real truck"? If you know where to get a expedition camper on a "real truck" for $184K USD let me know!

You could buy ours in a couple months.... Asking somewhere around US$60.000.

 

[Joe917]

PM sent.

It's not 185k usd it's 225$US
A "real truck" not a pick up or a medium/light duty Fuso or Sprinter.
Heavy duty chassis, Mercedes 917 and up(full lockers on all 3 diffs), MAN,Unimog(Mercedes). Go to Mobile.de campers 7500kg .
The Germans have been building them for decades, indestructible world tourers.

 

[Zybane]

It's not 185k usd it's 225$US
A "real truck" not a pick up or a medium/light duty Fuso or Sprinter.
Heavy duty chassis, Mercedes 917 and up(full lockers on all 3 diffs), MAN,Unimog(Mercedes). Go to Mobile.de campers 7500kg .
The Germans have been building them for decades, indestructible world tourers.

And they have to be 25 years or older eh?

 

[Joe917]

Yes. 25 years may seem old, but it will probably never seen salt and be fully mechanical(no computers). Will run on any diesel, parts available worldwide. Unfortunately the US has the worst parts supply for these vehicles, but parts can still be had.

 

[Questor]

Yes. 25 years may seem old, but it will probably never seen salt and be fully mechanical(no computers). Will run on any diesel, parts available worldwide. Unfortunately the US has the worst parts supply for these vehicles, but parts can still be had.

This is all true. The older Unimogs are very simple machines. Simple brute force technology as opposed to modern electronic wizardry. Most commercial truck repair centers do not have a difficult time doing the work on them. But as the OP stated, getting parts can take time. I would estimate that about %70 of the parts you need can be sourced in the US, the others can take up to two weeks to get.
Q~

 

[Zybane]

It's funny, my friend has been trying to get me to get a sailboat and sail around the world with him (biggest problem is I don't like the ocean). He says for optioned ATW/EC money, one could buy a 24,000 lb 46 foot sailboat new. Kinda puts things into perspective!

 

[Joe917]

A lot of those wide beamed "Tupperware" boats are not ocean worthy. This is a whole different discussion though!