VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Thanks for the link. Using the description I was able to find it locally.
MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!
- Thread starter VerMonsterRV
- Start date
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Just a few glamour shots, we have temporarily moved in for the trip to the Expo. Still lots left to do, luckily most of it is on the outside. Never got to doing the interior cushions, wish I could have gotten to those as it would have been way more comfortable. But, I did get the freshwater system in, the hot water heater is working on 12v, solar array is charging away, gray water system is close (just missing the shower pump which should show up tomorrow).
Remaining TODO's for when we return
Remaining TODO's for when we return
- mount ARB awning
- install rooftop cab A/C
- install Webasto furnace
- install mount for Billet4x4 sand tracks
- change out alternator and belts for higher output
- wire DC to DC battery charger
- make seating area cushions
- and I am sure I am missing other things
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
We had a great time at Overland Expo East. There was a good bunch in the DIY Showcase area and also got to meetup with several overlanders that were camped out. We ended up heading up a day early as there is a National Forest near by that had a hike we wanted to do and just our luck they allow dispersed camping on 4WD roads. Really, the road was pretty good and did not think it was much of a test for the truck. We did manage to bring out a few branches though. Nice peaceful night.
One of the requirements for participating in the DIY Showcase was that you would give a 50 minute presentation on the build. You do this right at the truck. One thing I have to say though is most of the people at the Expo were interested in pickup/jeep/van accessories. Trucks like ours are still a bit uncommon and people crazy enough to do a DIY build are even rarer. We did get a few people though who seemed genuinely interested and maybe one of them might start a build.
I took it as a compliment when both a Global Expedition truck owner and a UniCat owner came by to check out the build. They both had some beautiful trucks and the GXV is currently for sale if anyone is interested. Also got to meet the owners of Bliss Mobile, they are really nice people and make some great trucks. Was neat to finally see some of these trucks in person. Along with these professionally built trucks I was able to take a look at the Mog and trailer next to us, very nice setup. Also, a guy from Canada came down in his DIY Fuso truck. He was camped in the normal camping area but spent most of his time around our area. When he was leaving on Sunday his drove his truck down so we could all take a look. Great truck with a lot of work put into it as he built the entire shell from scratch.
And lastly, got to meet a bunch of great people and learn a bit about this new lifestyle we will be pursuing. Also got to meet the guys behind Expo Portal and Overland Journal, nice guys willing to share as much info as could be crammed into a short period of time.
One of the requirements for participating in the DIY Showcase was that you would give a 50 minute presentation on the build. You do this right at the truck. One thing I have to say though is most of the people at the Expo were interested in pickup/jeep/van accessories. Trucks like ours are still a bit uncommon and people crazy enough to do a DIY build are even rarer. We did get a few people though who seemed genuinely interested and maybe one of them might start a build.
I took it as a compliment when both a Global Expedition truck owner and a UniCat owner came by to check out the build. They both had some beautiful trucks and the GXV is currently for sale if anyone is interested. Also got to meet the owners of Bliss Mobile, they are really nice people and make some great trucks. Was neat to finally see some of these trucks in person. Along with these professionally built trucks I was able to take a look at the Mog and trailer next to us, very nice setup. Also, a guy from Canada came down in his DIY Fuso truck. He was camped in the normal camping area but spent most of his time around our area. When he was leaving on Sunday his drove his truck down so we could all take a look. Great truck with a lot of work put into it as he built the entire shell from scratch.
And lastly, got to meet a bunch of great people and learn a bit about this new lifestyle we will be pursuing. Also got to meet the guys behind Expo Portal and Overland Journal, nice guys willing to share as much info as could be crammed into a short period of time.
That's hilarious we are also looking for a MB or Tatra to do a Total Composites build. Can you share with me the process you went through? I am really concerned about getting screwed on the deal. Did you fly there or did you buy sight unseen? Did you hire someone?
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Well, our process would likely be a bit strange (and risky). We had decided we wanted a MB truck for our build while sitting in Spain on our sailboat. I searched for months while we were in mainland Europe. After having no luck finding the "right" one we needed to leave Europe to sail across the Atlantic (like the Game of Thrones. "winter was coming"). I kept looking while in the Canaries. Wouldn't you know our truck popped up. We started emails/phone calls with the seller, but we needed to keep moving. We then left the Canaries to sail to Cape Verde for a short stop where we continued the process. Then off to cross the Atlantic which during the 14 day trip we agreed to buy the truck, with one caveat. The seller had to wait till we made landfall in the Caribbean for payment. Once payment was made we arranged the shipping/import with a company out of Baltimore. So while arrangements for shipping (and waiting for the ship) were being made we sailed towards the Bahamas. Then the truck left Europe on a RORO and we made landfall in Florida, where we waited until the truck landed in Georgia.
I did request a lot of pictures from the seller. He is a firetruck dealer and had taken our truck in on trade. I sort of felt better as he did not buy the truck at auction (not that auctions are a bad thing). Anyway, so far I think we lucked out. We really like the truck and how it is turning out.
Now, while at the Expo I did meet George (he had his mog parked next to us) from The Unimog Center. Never met him before but talked a bit about these trucks. He travels to Europe to source his mogs, but he said he has also brought in some trucks like ours. If we get up to New Hampshire we will stop in and say hi and maybe have him give our truck a once over, I would likely learn something. He also imports MB parts.
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Oh, and in between working on the sailboat (have it on the market and someone coming to look at it in the morning) we were able to pop on the ARB awning. Just got to caulk the top edge once our sealant order shows up.
Although not a MB, I took this video at the Overland Expo East. It was the "Heavy Truck Recovery" demonstration. The idea was to used 2 10k winches mounted on smaller trucks to pull this LMTV 6x6 out of the hole. He was not stuck. Using turning blocks they gave it a go but the 2 winches with turning blocks could not pull him up the hill. One of the smaller trucks kept stalling as the power draw was too much. The had also buried a large concrete block in the ground as a central point for the 2 winches. When they went for a 3rd truck with a 10k winch we left as we needed to get on the road. I did learn about recovery gear and the importance of having your own stuff, I have gotten back to looking into a 25k winch.
Although not a MB, I took this video at the Overland Expo East. It was the "Heavy Truck Recovery" demonstration. The idea was to used 2 10k winches mounted on smaller trucks to pull this LMTV 6x6 out of the hole. He was not stuck. Using turning blocks they gave it a go but the 2 winches with turning blocks could not pull him up the hill. One of the smaller trucks kept stalling as the power draw was too much. The had also buried a large concrete block in the ground as a central point for the 2 winches. When they went for a 3rd truck with a 10k winch we left as we needed to get on the road. I did learn about recovery gear and the importance of having your own stuff, I have gotten back to looking into a 25k winch.
You would be fine with a 12k or 15k hydraulic winch. Ideally one in the front and one in the rear. With snatch blocks and some prep, that will cover you for just about anything. The biggest problem is finding a suitable anchor point but that would be a problem with any size winch. IMHO one of the reasons the MB chassis is superior to the LMTV is that it is not as heavy or heavy duty. You guys did an amazing job and it is an inspiration to anybody who wants to do a self build vehicle.
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Thanks for the compliment on our build, currently trying to build out our website with more details to try and share what we learned along the way in an organized fashion (well at least I hope).
We felt the same way about MB vs the LMTV. The truck in the video is very heavily built and an impressive machine. If I had wanted a more off road RV it would have been a great platform. Wouldn't mind traveling along side one though, just in case we get stuck
.
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Hey Tim, glad to have given the tour. This was our first event like this and we both really enjoyed meeting like minded people. Plus the venue was great with great weather.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
I may have missed it previously in this thread (if so let me know and I will go hunting), but did you post up the details on your battery pack build up? At your leisure, I would enjoy a quick rendition now that you have it up and running.
I showed my very discerning (engineer) wife your build. "Great, lets build one", she replied. So you apparently have created a project for us a few years down the road.
I showed my very discerning (engineer) wife your build. "Great, lets build one", she replied. So you apparently have created a project for us a few years down the road.
VerMonsterRV
Gotta Be Nuts
Well, I have always said I do my best at being a bad influenceI showed my very discerning (engineer) wife your build. "Great, lets build one", she replied. So you apparently have created a project for us a few years down the road.
. If you have a spouse that is also interested in this kind of life you are fortunate. Luckily Heather is also hooked on adventure/international travel. We have seen a lot of couples out sailing when just one of them is interested, usually means the trip is cut short.I don't think you missed it as I don't think I ever went into much detail. Unfortunately the truck build is one hold for a few weeks as we really needed to catchup on boat maintenance before the upcoming winter, so just a quick one. Any specific questions just let me know.
So, we have the 16 cells bolted together in a 4P4S configuration. The monitor I have (Thornwave Labs) does not have a balancer built in so I bought 4 of them to keep the cells in balance. I also have a low voltage disconnect from Thornwave. As things settle out I will decide how much I like the Thornwave stuff (still need to fiddle with settings). It currently does not have a display and is solely bluetooth. It is ok, but have gotten used to being able to see the "battery fuel gauge" in passing on the boat. I have 2 solar charge controllers, one with 600 watts, one with 400. Did this for potential shading. The units are fully programmable and I have been tweaking the settings. I did contact Frey (battery manufacturer, they really have been good to work with) and now have their recommendations for charging voltages so I need to go back and make that change. Before we got the solar installed I accidentally allowed the batteries down to 7% (either got to get used to always checking with bluetooth or need a panel). I plugged in the charger (50 amps) and it churned at full capacity for a while. Since the solar panels have been connected the batteries are usually fully charged well before noon. I still need to wire in the Sterling B2B charger, so no alternator charging currently.
On a slightly side note (though eventually battery related). Our new original Coleman Polar Cub rooftop AC was DOA. Since we had it a while before it being installed and wired in (risk for builds like this) we needed to do a warranty claim which requires a dealer to do. So off to Raleigh (2 hours each way) to the closest service center. They confirmed it did not work (real tough huh?) and filed the claim. Coleman immediately approved it and had a replacement unit there in 2 days! The also paid for the swap at the service center so now we have a functioning AC. I bring this up because I had originally thought I would experiment running it off battery power (I know the enormous load). So for kicks I started it on the inverter on the low cool setting. Started right up and the inverter was at 63% (2000 watt sine wave inverter/charger from Renogy, there are a couple of things that are a bit annoying about this unit). I did not have my phone on me (see, more about wanting a monitor panel) but that is roughly a 100 amp load. While the AC was running the batteries were sitting at 13.2 volts. Pretty impressive I think. Tells me I can run the AC for about an hour or 2 to cool the habitat down a bit when needed, and I am very impressed with the insulation of the Total Composites box (at the Expo it got down to 50 at night, with no heat and the 2 of us sleeping in there it was about 70 inside in the morning).
So, in a nutshell how do I like the batteries? Well time will tell but so far I love how light and compact they are, how well they seem to charge (with the continuous 50 amp charge they remained cool to the touch). About the only thing I wish about the batteries is that I would have sprung for another 100 amps (another $400 over the original $1600). Just to give a bit more headroom for the cloudy days and I easily had the space in the compartment. You can never have too much battery power (though you can have too much weight/space with older technology). I settled on 400 amps as that capacity is roughly what we have on the boat (rough conversion as the boat is wet cells) and has worked for us with half the solar. It was also trying to keep some sort of budget on this build as it is easy to get out of hand.
Victorian
Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Quote: I am very impressed with the insulation of the Total Composites box .
Thanks! We hear this all the time One of the first impressions when you hit the cold time of year. Same goes for the summer. Have the sun beat on it and you are nice and cool inside.
Thanks! We hear this all the time
One of the first impressions when you hit the cold time of year. Same goes for the summer. Have the sun beat on it and you are nice and cool inside.