FG buildup

[VikingVince]

Awesome Doug!

I am like a school kid waiting to see this thing in person. :victory:

DITTO, DITTO:bowdown:
Will we get a chance?:wings:

 

[dhackney]

And a little bit bigger than a Land Cruiser too.

Yes, a size or two bigger!

It is strange how you go from one decision to another and where you end up. I was telling a friend how I started with a vision of a completely 12VDC vehicle with a tiny, relatively light and very fuel miserly 12VDC genset and ended up with a 7,500 watt, three cylinder, 500 lb. (albeit still fuel miserly) Onan genset. Each little decision along the way made sense, but it sure was a big (no pun intended) move from the initial design and concept to the end result.

We'll find out this week how the base package aligns with our needs and requirements that drove us down the path to end up with a vehicle this big.

 

[dhackney]

DITTO, DITTO:bowdown:
Will we get a chance?:wings:

Our fabricator is having an open house on 2 December. If we don't rip the thing up or roll it down a mountain doing our 4x4 training with Bill Burke the week before we will try to have it there. Location will be Riverside, CA.

That would probably be the best chance to see the rig in the U.S.

We're doing some training with Scott the following week, so he will get to see it for sure. He may be interested in putting together an ExPo thing around that, but I haven't talked to him about it. You all will need to negotiate directly with Scott on that one... :sombrero:

We plan to depart for Mexico, Central & South America, SE Asia and back to the Himalayas in January.

No plans for central coast or points north prior to then.

Thanks for the support, greatly appreciated. We're all running low on energy right now. I hope we can recharge with a few days when we can think about something else other than the next thing on the buildup list...:camping:

 

[VikingVince]

Our fabricator is having an open house on 2 December. If we don't rip the thing up or roll it down a mountain doing our 4x4 training with Bill Burke the week before we will try to have it there. Location will be Riverside, CA.

That would probably be the best chance to see the rig in the U.S.
:

Riverside on 2 December...FANTASTICO:exclaim: :exclaim: I'll be there...will love seeing your rig, hopefully get to meet you as well, plus make a contact with your fabricator for possible future project of my own. MUCHO GRACIAS.

PS - just got "Two Wheels Through Terror" from Amazon yesterday.

 

[dhackney]

Our Alpha Test is complete.

# Days: 6
Miles: 1,138
Fuel used: ~100 gallons
Tank capacities used:
...Black water: ~85%
...Gray water: ~30%
...Fresh water: ~85%

Conclusions:
1. Rig is suitable for our intended purpose.
2. You could take the rig out as it is configured here, with the addition of driving lights, paint/powdercoating of the components, raw water filtration system, additional house batteries, solar cells & a small genset (Honda 2k), and do very well.
3. Power is minimal for US highway use, but more than adequate for developing economies where speed is not a big factor.

Purpose:
Pit support for solo motorcycle competitor in 2006 Baja 1000. See more at:
http://www.hackneys.com/video/2006-10x-baja-1k.wmv

Additional photos of the Alpha Test are in album twelve at:
http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/index-buildup-photos.htm

 

[Scott Brady]

Great photo's and video Doug, glad to see you and the truck back in the US.

 

[blupaddler]

Doug,

thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
Great pics and videos too. Now I want to go back to baja, I just need a " " swell for that beach...




I would love to come up to your fabricators on Dec. 2. It would be great to meet you guys and check out your rig!

 

[Gear]

Hello Doug,
Miles and I captured these two photographs of 10x just north of check point 3. I have be reading up on your new camper. If you decided to give a expo tour. Please keep me in mind. I would love to see it in person.

 

[dhackney]

Miles,

Thanks for the shots! Greatly appeciated.

BTW, I found out that Jimmy was held at the last pit for 50 minutes to get warmed up. He was soaked and well into 1st stage hypothermia when he came in. If the kid hadn't thrown the roll of barbed wire into him 12 miles into the race he would have finished an hour earlier.

As it is, we believe he beat every class 50 multi-team entry (he's 52).

Doug

 

[dhackney]

The open house is:
2 December, 2006
5pm - 8pm
Riverside, CA

PM me for address & directions if you are interested in attending.

The rig will NOT be complete, but you can meet Mark, our fabricator, and inspect the chassis, pivot frame, etc. We will not be doing tours of the camper interior, as it will be packed for depature the next day for training.

 

[VikingVince]

Thanks for posting the open house info, Doug. I have emailed (found address online...could be outdated...it was a juno.com) Mark Johnson and left messages for him twice this week asking him to confirm the open house, would like to meet him, that I might be interested in a project like yours in the future, etc etc...NO RESPONSE...so typical of some owner-operators in the offroad/fabrication business!

The hours of the open house don't work so well for me...have a 7pm conflict...so may or may not make it. Thanks again, though. I found the address online, assuming it hasn't changed recently and looked it up on Yahoo maps.

 

[BajaTaco]

Hi Doug, I have been super busy so not able to drop in here for awhile. But I saw some of your alpha testing pics and it is looking awesome! Good luck with your sessions next week (don't let Scott actually drive it - unless you want to see what it looks like on 3 wheels... LOL). Sorry I won't be able to make the exPo "open house", wish I could.

 

[dhackney]

left messages for him twice this week ...NO RESPONSE...so typical of some owner-operators in the offroad/fabrication business!

That's because I paid the phone company to dead-end all phone calls to him until he finishes our project... Just kidding.

Mark is super busy right now on our truck, plus has all the stuff he's got stacking up behind our project, plus he's a hard guy to get ahold of even when he's working on your project, so don't feel bad. He doesn't do email much and doesn't have very good cell coverage at the fabrication shop. He's a super, super guy. Couldn't ask for a better person as a supplier. He will have availability starting in Jan/Feb assuming we are out of his hair by then.

 

[dhackney]

(don't let Scott actually drive it - unless you want to see what it looks like on 3 wheels... LOL). Sorry I won't be able to make the exPo "open house", wish I could.

Hey, thanks for the tip on Scott! (pun intended)

We may try to put an "open rig/house/something" together for late Jan or Feb when we're back from training in Moab, or do something out there in late Jan. The truck should be done then and it will be more representative of what we'll actually be going out in anyway.

This is a very short notice deal, and the open house is really more for the other businesses here anyway. We'll just have the rig parked in the parking lot as representative of what Mark can do.

 

[dhackney]

We have electrons:

Updated photos in album thirteen at:
http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/index-buildup-photos.htm