No idea. Something to test later.
FG84 Camper Build
- Thread starter Maninga
- Start date
No idea. Something to test later.
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I can see that, makes sense. My only solid mount is going to be forward of the step-down where there is not a lot of movement - so where you have 2 spring and then 2 hard mounts, I'll have one hard mount and then 3 spring mounts.
SkiFreak
Crazy Person
I'm no engineer, and definitely not an expert, but having seen how these chassis flex, I think that setup might be problematic.
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I thought the most standard mounting method when using the spring mounts was captive at one end only but am ready to be educated!
ozzyfishaman
Adventurer
What Material has been used between the chassis and frame ?
SkiFreak
Crazy Person
ATW, who are arguably the most experienced company when it comes to mounting bodies on 4x4 trucks of this size, use a fully spring mounted system. Their R&D is quite extensive, so I chose to use a very similar system on my truck, rather that reinventing the wheel. But, each to their own...
A torsion mount design or a combination of mount types should ensure that the cabin sub frame remains centered on the truck's frame rails so there's no shifting sideways, and/or front-to-back. There should be no shear forces present on the torsion mount spring bolts themselves. You don't want the camper body slamming into the back of the cab under hard braking or roll off the truck driving though a turn.
Last edited:
I got some updated photos of the subframe today. It's all nice, black and shiny now.
Spend several hours talking with an auto-electrician over the weekend too. I've never played with the electronics side of things before, and he's happy for me to stand over his shoulder learning while he does the work, so that's what I intend on doing. Got on really well with him, felt comfortable with what he was saying and how he'd go about doing the job, which I can't say about everyone I've talked to during this process. I'm generating a parts list at the moment so he can get quotes on everything for me (it's a fairly long list).
Expect in the next few weeks I'll be heading up to Brisbane to look over plans and have a look at it in person again. I was thinking about it over the weekend, I've only seen the truck twice in the 6 months or so since I bought it, and only driven it once. Keen to get it down to Melbourne.
Joe
Spend several hours talking with an auto-electrician over the weekend too. I've never played with the electronics side of things before, and he's happy for me to stand over his shoulder learning while he does the work, so that's what I intend on doing. Got on really well with him, felt comfortable with what he was saying and how he'd go about doing the job, which I can't say about everyone I've talked to during this process. I'm generating a parts list at the moment so he can get quotes on everything for me (it's a fairly long list).
Expect in the next few weeks I'll be heading up to Brisbane to look over plans and have a look at it in person again. I was thinking about it over the weekend, I've only seen the truck twice in the 6 months or so since I bought it, and only driven it once. Keen to get it down to Melbourne.
Joe
Interesting day today. I had thought I'd see the body ready for body design, but wasn't to be. Something about wanting me to ok the steps and generally look things over before proceeding any further. Turned out alright though.
I'd been thinking of making a change in layout for a few weeks and talked it over with them today. It helped that they had another FG right next to mine with what I was after. Rather than having spares at the rear, we'll be putting them right behind the cab, building a support structure around them and having a platform built above to hold necessary junk.
Originally I was looking at putting the actuators inside, they'll now be outside, protected at the front by the new support structure.
The body will be moved back now, some internal rearranging happening, and the camper will be angled at the back.
Have also raised the bottom step to be 2ft off the ground, which leads into a trick door setup. The original design had the door exposed regardless of whether roof was up or down. Now, the door will be covered by the roof and be a bit taller. With the stepped panels, this led to 2 problems.
First was the getting a good opening on the door. With it now on the inner portion, would have only been able to open 90 degrees normally, due to the outer section hitting it. They've suggested a trick double hinge, that'll open 180 and give full access.
Second was, what to do about the exposed corner. Moving the door left a 4cm flat piece that'd be perfect for trees to catch on. So a second false door is being installed, giving a smooth outside finish.
Inside, there's some layout changes. Bathroom will be across the front and bigger. Kitchen will move around a bit, and fride layout. That's still be be properly drawn up, sofar only have rough sketches. My computers broken right now too, so now decent drawings for a while.
Really happy with how it's coming along. The guys have been great to work with, coming up with suggestions and solutions along the way. The changes will be done over the next few weeks, their drawings done after that for the body before I come up again to go over it with them.
Joe
I'd been thinking of making a change in layout for a few weeks and talked it over with them today. It helped that they had another FG right next to mine with what I was after. Rather than having spares at the rear, we'll be putting them right behind the cab, building a support structure around them and having a platform built above to hold necessary junk.
Originally I was looking at putting the actuators inside, they'll now be outside, protected at the front by the new support structure.
The body will be moved back now, some internal rearranging happening, and the camper will be angled at the back.
Have also raised the bottom step to be 2ft off the ground, which leads into a trick door setup. The original design had the door exposed regardless of whether roof was up or down. Now, the door will be covered by the roof and be a bit taller. With the stepped panels, this led to 2 problems.
First was the getting a good opening on the door. With it now on the inner portion, would have only been able to open 90 degrees normally, due to the outer section hitting it. They've suggested a trick double hinge, that'll open 180 and give full access.
Second was, what to do about the exposed corner. Moving the door left a 4cm flat piece that'd be perfect for trees to catch on. So a second false door is being installed, giving a smooth outside finish.
Inside, there's some layout changes. Bathroom will be across the front and bigger. Kitchen will move around a bit, and fride layout. That's still be be properly drawn up, sofar only have rough sketches. My computers broken right now too, so now decent drawings for a while.
Really happy with how it's coming along. The guys have been great to work with, coming up with suggestions and solutions along the way. The changes will be done over the next few weeks, their drawings done after that for the body before I come up again to go over it with them.
Joe
4x4coaster
Adventurer
Any progress is good progress!
No, not my surname. Maninga is a misspelling of a high school nickname I was given, in reference to Mal Meninga. Apparently I knocked over/out the high school football captain during a game, I was known to slip thru large groups of people.
My surname is of Anglo/Saxon descent. Taken from a history page in names, "it comes from an early member of the family who was a stubborn or obstinate person". Pretty accurate I think.