I'm not talking "Kommando Spezialkräfte", but pretty darn close, how would you build your next RIG?

Deleted Member 183

Well-known member
8.1 engine with Raylar cylinder heads (stage 1 or 2

I am inclined to stick with Cummins. Maybe a "C" motor (8.2L), but honestly the 5.9 12 valve that I put in Casa has plenty of power ( with a "slightly" built pump) and I am getting 15~18 MPG.

Porsche 356 grafted to the roof

I was thinking of using a Porsche 928 because I like the "flip-up" headlights and by swapping the canopy around the rear hatch would make a great master bedroom that could be left open on warm evenings ( with a custom fitted mosquito net).
 

Deleted Member 183

Well-known member
Thanks Mog! Honestly i was thinking that there were others like you and Charley out there that would want to engage with others about how to build the top shelf "4x4 Condominium"! Sadly, I guess "that ship has sailed"!
 
The big problem in North America, and especially the US, is the chassis; combined with the 25 year rule and the chicken tax.
Do the readers know, for instance, that you can buy, brand new, a Euro 6/registerable anywhere in the EU, a MAN or MB medium chassis, 12-18 mt GVW, 4wd with actual low range, difflocks both ends, either automatic or 6, 9 or 16 speed full synchro (even automated manual), “CTIS ready” (add a few external pieces, left out for liability reasons).
Either “off the lot” or orderable from factory.
Forward control/COE to make best use of wheelbase. Choice of single, 1.5 or double cab.
Choice of the 2 German makes, Scania, Volvo, Iveco, Renault.
Impossible with a 550/5500, F650, even Acela FMTV to get all this stuff from the factory. And so it’s not on the secondary market either.
 

Deleted Member 183

Well-known member
I know Charlie, kind of ridicules huh!
But, I'd like to think us "Mericans" make up for our short comings with creativity, because we can't just go buy the good "crack" off the shelf! I miss the old days when there were "hand fulls" of folks here in NA that were designing and building their own rigs.
Granted A LOT of them couldn't engineer their way out of a paper bag with a headlamp and a map... But they tried!
Some of them even thought they had so much money that they could "defy gravity", AND you have to admit... It was QUITE entertaining to watch!
I personally am of the opinion that the way to go ( for me at least) is to go find a vehicle ( honestly just a VIN number) old enough to avoid all the EPA "drama" (especially here in California), build a POS plywood box on the back, fit in a bed, sink and porta-potty in it... Then RUN ( don't walk) to the DMV and get it registered as an RV! At that point "the world is your oyster".
Then, pick and choose your favorite running gear and amenities ( Casa is all mechanical, only the stereo and electrical monitoring are electronic).
And that is why I feel no need to have to carry a hair "blow dryer" while traveling! ;)
 
What’s wrong with Casa Azul?
Maybe swap out the 5 speed for a Roadranger RTO-11909ALL. Or better the older MLL, lower (25:1) lo-low reverse. It can be used with an SAE#2 pattern on the back of the Cummins.
11 speed, 0.73 overdrive, 26:1 Lo-low.
 

Deleted Member 183

Well-known member
What’s wrong with Casa Azul?

Nothing Charlie!
I just have been a little "out of the loop" regarding what people are using or thinking of using for hardware these days. It has become pretty obvious to me now that there are very few "old gearheads" tinkering with 4x4 condominiums anymore ( I use that term because I spent several years living in an apartment about the same floor space as Casa when i was in my 20's).

When I remotored Casa, I fitted an Allison MT653 (mechanical automatic) behind the Cummins 12 valve 6B. It has a 8.04:1 first gear. Granted the transmission is rated for only 250 HP and my motor with the slightly built pump is putting out a little more than 300 HP. But I'm not so concerned because the trans is also rated for a 73,000 lb truck and Casa is right around 20k lbs fully wet and loaded! Then paired with a Rockwell T-223H transfer case with 2.25:1 low ( If i remember correctly), I feel that I have "enough" low range. Then you add in the torque converter... I'm more than happy! Now of course these are not "working gears" like can be found on a Mog, but "so far so good"!
 

simple

Adventurer
AT-AT. All Terrain Armoured Transport. What's not to like? Looks like a pretty good living area too. What?


View attachment 800358
It will only achieve it's full "bad self" potential when there is imagery of it smashing though a river or some other delicate ecosystem. Oh wait... Imperials are so honey badger,,, running it through an old growth rain forest.

medium-na-nt-video-games-atat-speeder-bike-battle-of-endor-original-imagzdpuhdbxp2rs.jpeg
 

Todd780

OverCamper
It will only achieve it's full "bad self" potential when there is imagery of it smashing though a river or some other delicate ecosystem. Oh wait... Imperials are so honey badger,,, running it through an old growth rain forest.

medium-na-nt-video-games-atat-speeder-bike-battle-of-endor-original-imagzdpuhdbxp2rs.jpeg
I wonder if when not in use the speeder bike is hauled on the back of the AT-AT Overland style?

header-photo-overland-vehicle-desert-e1640201498971.jpg
 

NevadaLover

Forking Icehole
As you like the upstairs living space, and have said you would like an open air top deck, how about going from the Blue House,

View attachment 811006

to something with more room upstairs, reliable and powerful Ruskie drivetrain, with easy to access shipping containers, single material non-composite prefabbed living units.

View attachment 811007
View attachment 811008

That is one interesting build, I just wonder how tipsy it gets, lots of off-camber roads around here, not to mention the highway sidewinds, might be a rodeo getting that rig to camp.
 
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mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
That is one interesting build, I just wonder how tipsy it gets, lots of off-camber roads around here, not to mention the highway sidewinds, might be a rodeo getting that rig to camp.
Agreed. Certainly a no trees, no overpasses, no overhead powerlines kind of rig, in addition to the above list. There is no way I could handle a rig like that, but I'm sure Joaquin Suave Deleted Member 183 could rodeo that rig to the best remote surf spot in Baja (after the Federales spent mucho horas 'inspecting' it)

And don't forget to have the front upper container doors open with a drop out deck

hy.jpg
 
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