Iveco Eurocargo ML150E24 4x4 RV Expedition Truck, new custom build!

[Family Friendly 4x4]

Our box is sealed finally. The edging strips will be sprayed matching white for now but in the end we will probably have the truck wrapped in some personal decals.

Large storage boxes are still to be fitted between the box and the cab on either side of the crawl-thru. The shape of these boxes will be angled in towards the cab adding some aerodynamics for what it is worth.




The storage boxes look great too. Just need to install locks & seals still but off to the spray booth first.



The box nearest in the photo below will contain the slide-out exterior kitchen which will be under cover of an awning.



With the door cut and the stairs fitted the truck is starting to look like our home on wheels. Once the 6x windows are cut it will complete the picture.

 

[Arjan]

Really, really good those storage boxes - make a huge difference visually. Not to mention the outside kitchen...

Coming together very nicely !


I really don't want to be rude, and stating the most obvious, but I have seen it done before, pls. make sure you have a double safety on that bike lift on the back.. I almost lost a friend who drove behind a camper and the bike come off when the lift cable broke.

The roll cage on the LR took the impact and they survived, just, the 220 kgs. bike that came flying in doing 110 km/h on the motorway...

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

Really, really good those storage boxes - make a huge difference visually. Not to mention the outside kitchen...

Coming together very nicely !


I really don't want to be rude, and stating the most obvious, but I have seen it done before, pls. make sure you have a double safety on that bike lift on the back.. I almost lost a friend who drove behind a camper and the bike come off when the lift cable broke.

The roll cage on the LR took the impact and they survived, just, the 220 kgs. bike that came flying in doing 110 km/h on the motorway...

Thank you. We have learned a few lessons on our previous home build so making a lot of improvements this time. And it helps to have so much more space to work with!

Dually noted on the bike-lift scenario, and you are not rude at all, any advice based on knowledge or experience is appreciated. Something like a broke cable could be really disasterous.... and fatal!

Our lift will not rely on the cable at all when traveling. Our current plan is to have 4x heavy duty hitch pins (two on each side of the sliding mechanism), we are confident this should be enough to avoid such a disaster.

I may even consider putting padlocks through the pins rather than R-clips (that could get lost) based on your suggestion.

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

The pivot mount between our box and chassis located behind the cab to allow chassis flex. Simple design and proven effective over the years.

I just find the sway a bit of an unnerving feeling to drive, something to get used to.

I heard the story that it was a design first introduced by Mercedes on the Unimog. Story goes that when the Unimog was first made available to the public many years ago (having come from military applications), Mercedes was made aware of some cases of chassis issues on these Unimogs then in use in the private sector for the first time. It was discovered that some truck body builders were hardmounting their load bodies onto the Unimog chassis, something which the chassis was not designed for, and so to counter it Mercedes introduced the pivot mount.

Anybody out there know if there is any truth to this story? My next question would be that if this is true then what method were the military boys using to mount their truck bodies on the Mog to allow chassis flex, spring mounts?

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

Really, really good those storage boxes - make a huge difference visually. Not to mention the outside kitchen...

Coming together very nicely !


I really don't want to be rude, and stating the most obvious, but I have seen it done before, pls. make sure you have a double safety on that bike lift on the back.. I almost lost a friend who drove behind a camper and the bike come off when the lift cable broke.

The roll cage on the LR took the impact and they survived, just, the 220 kgs. bike that came flying in doing 110 km/h on the motorway...

As you commented on the outside kitchen I thought you might appreciate a photo of the slide-out kitchen we build for our previous truck, check it out

It all collapses and slides back neatly into the storage box.

 

[Arjan]

Outdoor kitchen are both awesome and not.
You obviously have a lot more sun than we do - cooking in the rain is no fun.
Very well done !

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

Outdoor kitchen are both awesome and not.
You obviously have a lot more sun than we do - cooking in the rain is no fun.
Very well done !

Merci

Haha look up South African climate and you will find an average of 8hrs of sunshine 365 days a year!

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

So we finally got around to cutting the windows, two of them on the RHD side of the truck and four windows on the LHD side to suit the interior layout.

The white line in the photo below indicates the position of the awning to be fitted.



The interior is starting to look a bit like we had imagined it. But there is still a ton of work to be done.

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

The parts for the Motorcycle and MTB Lift have now been coated and are ready to be assembled.

We must have measured correctly because the Lifting Posts slid into the chassis rails nice and snug.



We had some hinges put on the platform so that we can fold it up and bolt it down vertically when not in use.



When assembled the platform will slide up & down utilizing the double purpose rear mounted winch and it look like this completed unit:

 

[Arjan]

Very nice !

Will be interesting to see what the rear axle load is going to be eventually....

Layout of the container looks very practical.

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

Very nice !

Will be interesting to see what the rear axle load is going to be eventually....

Layout of the container looks very practical.

Merci. We kept the rear overhang as short as possible and well within legal spec. There is a side-on view of the truck further up on one of the previous pages in this feed (the one taken before we had cut any windows or the door) which should demonstrate just how short the overhang is.

Not sure what the exact rear axle load will be at this stage, but we should be a good 4 ton under overall when fully loaded. We estimate 11,000kg loaded on a 15,000kg GVM.

 

[Family Friendly 4x4]

The steel work is starting to tie everything together in terms of the esthetic value of our truck. And it is all functional.

Branch deflectors still to be added to the front of the cab.



Branch deflectors should save our body when needed.





The Motorcyle Lift turned out great. One of the two spare wheels will also be mounted here, above the motorcycle's seat height.



The spare wheel that will be easiest to access will live on the roofrack above the cab with a clever lever out and winch system that will make getting it down childsplay.

I am a symetric guy so we will position the gas bottles one on either side of the spare wheel and not both on one side as in this photo LOL.

 

[Pollowake]

The steel work is starting to tie everything together in terms of the esthetic value of our truck. And it is all functional.

Branch deflectors still to be added to the front of the cab.

View attachment 553903

Branch deflectors should save our body when needed.

View attachment 553904

View attachment 553905

The Motorcyle Lift turned out great. One of the two spare wheels will also be mounted here, above the motorcycle's seat height.

View attachment 553908

The spare wheel that will be easiest to access will live on the roofrack above the cab with a clever lever out and winch system that will make getting it down childsplay.

I am a symetric guy so we will position the gas bottles one on either side of the spare wheel and not one one side as in this photo LOL.

View attachment 553906

Very nice Gustav, I like how everything is turning out
Saludos


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

 

[Arjan]

Staring to get together VERY nicely - well done.

TBH- I'm not a great fan of gas bottles on a roof for several reasons.

They need a cover to stop them getting too hot, they are easily stolen, easily damaged when a branch decides it doesn't like them and the weigh up there needs lifting to get there and in the dark when you run out of it while cooking and you've had a drink.
Just my 2cthough.

Awesome truck

 

[Tronix]

As you commented on the outside kitchen I thought you might appreciate a photo of the slide-out kitchen we build for our previous truck, check it out

It all collapses and slides back neatly into the storage box.

View attachment 539385

Do you have any pictures/video showing how it all packs up? I like this alot!!!