Is this a Unimog failure or a GXV failure? (Pic included)

[Marv800]

I recently resumed my search for a towing/travel rig for my boat and still kinda sitting on the fence between an ER and GXV. I saw this update on a blog I follow and was a bit concerned. My question is this: was this a failure of the Unimog or the GXV? If its the Unimog, i'm not overly concerned because im interested only in the Ford based vehicles, and I have very little concern the F-Series platforms for my use.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Wow, that is a major failure. Was there any backstory to what made this happen?

 

[chadlanc]

Cant really tell from the photos but probably the camper, based on that it looks like the rear is on the same angle as the front. Doesn't look like something happened to the truck.

p.s. our unimog is for sale
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/104271-FS-Unimog-1300-Expedition-Camper

 

[dwh]

The broken mount says "LORD" on it, so it's probably made by these guys:

http://www.lord.com/products-and-so...on-control/vibration-isolators-and-mounts.xml

I doubt Mercedes ever used those, so I would guess it was a part sourced by GXV. I would assume they did their homework on the engineering specs for that part, so the failure might just be a dodgy part from the factory.

 

[charlieaarons]

It is the front left camper mount, i.e. a GXV installation. Not a Unimog part.
GXV has used other, seemingly more robust mounting parts in other vehicles.

Charlie

 

[Overland Hadley]

Best thing to do is talk to GXV and see if you feel comfortable with how they are handling this. They should talk over what has happened to this vehicle and not just blow you off. You want to feel comfortable working with the people that are going to be building your rig. Also, it would be good to know all the details, like maybe it was a customer spec part or something along those lines.

 

[mog]

I'll second (or third) that it was not a Unimog 'fault' as the mount was not a Unimog installed part.
Lord mounts are very high quality, they are the go-to mounts in aviation for vibration isolation.
I've never seen them used to ‘isolate' something as heavy as a camper, mainly for avionics, pumps, etc.
Those look like their HDM series, but the highest load rating (HDM10050) is only 50 lb (23 Kg)
Their shipping container mounts get up into the 1310 lb (595 kg) range with the J-1810307, but the pictured mount is not in that series.
In review, that looks like an SE1100-7 Surface Effect Mount, so an Axial Static Load rating of 1570 lb (6984 N)

 

[Marv800]

Wow, that is a major failure. Was there any backstory to what made this happen?

Here is the direct source. Strangely, it seems that they were on a relatively smooth grade when this happened... Odd http://www.whiteacorn.com/post/rtw/130426

Best thing to do is talk to GXV and see if you feel comfortable with how they are handling this. They should talk over what has happened to this vehicle and not just blow you off. You want to feel comfortable working with the people that are going to be building your rig. Also, it would be good to know all the details, like maybe it was a customer spec part or something along those lines.

I tried reaching out to GXV, but haven't been able to reach anyone or get a returned phone call. Maybe they're all at/ headed to overland expo

 

[pugslyyy]

from http://www.whiteacorn.com/post/rtw/130428

The options seem to be; I fly to the US (or maybe Germany) to get parts and tools to do the repair here myself (with local help) or some GXV folks fly here with parts and tools. The complexity in the later option is that the GXV folks would need to get Russian visas - not usually a fast process. So we are still working through the options. I will post on these developments.

Wow, those are not good options. I gotta think that there is some better alternative. Of course, I've been known to fix broken springs by substituting blocks of wood between the frame and axle before (not recommended, decreases ride quality significantly).

I wonder if having straps to prevent overtravel (like you do on some suspensions when the springs will flex more than the shocks) would be a wise precaution? Seems like they got very lucky to have the problem on an easy level road.

 

[Victorian]

**********************! I have seen and talked to several owners of "cheaper" expedition vehicle builders that had the same happening... After those events, they sold their trucks and bought Unicats. Those problems would not happen with that manufacturer.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Sounds like the road killed the mount, and they were lucky not to loose the camper or roll the whole vehicle. Not good at all.

Todays road was the roughest so far. Some really rough potholed sections that forced us down to 5-10 miles per hour and continued for miles, and more "under construction" sections than on the previous days. By early afternoon our average speed was down around 22 mph (35 km/h) and then we were given a reprieve of a long section of good gravel before another long and very rough section of construction.
That's where the road finally KO'd the vehicle.
Fortunately for us, (the future of our trip and the continued existence of our vehicle) we were traveling very slowly and on a rare piece of smoothish road when the drivers side mount that holds the camper box to the truck frame gave way and instantly the camper box tilted to the passengers side threatening to either fall off the truck or pull the truck over with it.
To say that we were stunned by our predicament would be a massive understatement. Frankly I did not know where to start or what to do. But thanks to the friends we have made in Russia we at least had a starting point. Call Vladimir in Vladivostok to get in touch with his friend Alexander who was waiting for us in Haptagay.
The story of the rescue has already been told in brief in the post for April 27th. But it is worth stressing two aspects of the incident and the subsequent rescue.
Nina and I both believe that had the mount broken at a less opportune time we could easily have had the house/camper fall off the truck and probably pull the truck over with it so we felt lucky that the incident did not cause any injuries.
Secondly it is difficult to imagine how we would have moved forward on solving our problem without the tremendous support and assistance from our new Yakutia friend Alexander and his numerous friends and family members (particularly Ivan, pictured with me above who was instrumental in rescuing us from the roadside) that have contributed at one time or another to looking after us.

This, at least, is good to hear.

But our mood has been somewhat lightened by the folks at GXV who have given us an undertaking to essentially "do what ever it takes" to get us moving again.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I just read through the recent posts since the mount broke.

GXV shipped parts and tools to a relative in Germany and they flew out there to pick them up. It was a multi person job to remove the broken mount and replace it with a reinforced new mount. But it sounds like they had things figured out and the work went smoothly.

 

[BAH]

I work on Bell Helicopters and Lord is the exclusive supplier or elastomeric mounts. We do see failures of the rubber portion, they will not last forever, even though they are on a 'On Condition' inspection life schedule (remove when bad). The difference I see in the last pic, is that helicopters will have a added washer under the nut, this washer would be large enough to capture the stud assembly from coming out of the mount. Yes, it would shake like the dickens, but it would not be catastrophic. Maybe something to look at in the future.

 

[FusoFG]

I just read all the posts also and I agree GXV has been very responsive with after the sales customer support and the owners seem to be very understanding, level headed and resourceful in dealing with the problems.
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But as much as I have tried to resist commenting on all the problems the owners had aside from flexible mount, I think they merit discussing.
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I think most of us think about buying or building an 'expedition' camper so we can avoid the problems of using a poorly designed and constructed 'typical' RV in difficult conditions in remote places far from repair facilities.
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The problems with the flexible mount are difficult to criticize without more information, but the problems the owners had with the plumbing, refrigeration, heating and auxiliary fuel tank are perfect examples of problems with a typical RV.
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The use of tubing not rated for the temperature and pressure in a pressure hot water system that caused the water leak in their shower and the fact they had to cut open the interior to diagnose and locate the problem should be unacceptable. The water temperature in an engine heated system can reach over 200F, much higher than a typical home or RV hot water heater reaches. That's the reason for the mechanical mixing thermostat shown in the plumbing pictures.
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In one picture there was a wiring 'rats nest' that wasn't mentioned as a problem now, but will surely become one at some point in the future.
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While not being able to take a shower might be a minor inconvienence, flooding the camper with 50 gallons of water might incapacitate the vehicle by damaging some critical system and without an alternate source of drinking water might prove life threatening in some environments. Ask me why I turn off the pressure pump whenever we leave the camper.
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The disassembly required to service the refrigerator problem and if my assumption is correct, the fact the diesel hydronic furnace wouldn't operate unless the valves to the engine cooling system were open are more examples of poor 'what if' thinking. Many marine quality 12v compressor refrigerators are available with a remote mounted compressor which can be mounted where the most often maintained components can be easily accessed. My own hydronic furnace and hot water storage tank can operate with the valves to the engine open to either provide engine preheat or provide camper heat and hot water from the engine. But they also function with the valve closed to avoid wasting energy heating the engine or allow for heating if the engine cooling system is being repaired.
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Come to think of it, I should add a valve to isolate the hot water storage tank so I can still heat the camper if there is a problem with the storage tank.
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Besides the problems caused by the inadequate tubing and poor maintenance access is the nagging concern about what other problems are hidden from view by the pretty facade and where will the owners be if and when they crop up?
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I'm glad there are companies making expedition campers to purchase and companies making quality components for DIY, but the design still has to be well thought out and the execution has to meet certain standards.
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Food for thought.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I work on Bell Helicopters and Lord is the exclusive supplier or elastomeric mounts. We do see failures of the rubber portion, they will not last forever, even though they are on a 'On Condition' inspection life schedule (remove when bad). The difference I see in the last pic, is that helicopters will have a added washer under the nut, this washer would be large enough to capture the stud assembly from coming out of the mount. Yes, it would shake like the dickens, but it would not be catastrophic. Maybe something to look at in the future.

Thanks for the post. Interesting information.

It sounded like the reinforcement that was done was some sort of washer to the underside.