MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!

[VerMonsterRV]

Hi guys, first a question for Joe since you mentioned how well the truck rides. Although I am not expecting a passenger car ride it is pretty harsh. Partly I am sure due to the fact that all the weight I have on the truck is the subframe, which is about 900lbs. You mentioned you had air bags in the rear, was this to help with the load carrying capacity or for a better ride? If a better ride did the remove any leafs? Oh, and one more question for you, if you are out at the truck and have your phone handy would you mid taking some pictures of the air conditioning bracket if you can get to it? I am guessing you have the OM366A so maybe it would be similar to what I would need for the OM366LA.

With the air ride seats, I am looking at the lo pro version. The specs for the Bostrom T-910 lo-pro says 4" for the base. I'll need to measure but the base that is in the truck now looks to be close to that (it looks like it has a sort of mechanical suspension for the drivers side. I spent about 12 hours yesterday on I-95 taking the truck from FL to NC. I am sure I need to at least upgrade the seats for one with a lumbar support. Also, can't wait for the new rims to show up in a few weeks so we can get the larger tires. Driving on I-95 at 55MPH is a bit uncomfortable due to the amount of traffic trying to get by at 75mph+.

Here is a picture of the seats we are considering

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Oh, and the subframe is on. For financial reasons I chose to have them do the heavy fabrication. I left out some of the details to keep the costs down. It is mounted on the truck now and over the next couple of months I plan to "finish" it while awaiting the box (well first I need to do some final measurements and order it).

 

[LostInTheWorld]

I don't have any experience with your truck type specifically, but on out U1300L (and our LMTV), we really needed the suspension seats to soften the ride. You might not need the suspension, but like you, we needed new seats anyway, so it made sense to just go ahead and get the suspension now while we were replacing the seats anyway.

Congratulations on getting the sub-frame mounted. That was fast.

Michael

 

[Jostt]

I never Drive a 1120 , but on a 1300 l I Think this asistance is not necesary, manly by the coil spring on the Susp, whit leaf spring can be another history, here in Europe is not any more possible to swap the Seats, they allow You to replace the Seat , but keeping the original base, so It is not possible ...very stupid , at the end the only way is adapt on the original base a modern Seat....

 

[Joe917]

I did not build the truck, but it was done professionally. Air bags were to improve ride(rear only). the original leafstack is unchanged. The front leaf stack is massive, something like 13 leaves per side. Pics will have to wait, we are out of country for a few months.
Get used to being slow, wheels are not going to change that. My experience with freeways(we try to stay off them) is traffic has plenty of time to see you and move over to pass.

 

[Neil]

Cant actually say if you will "need" air seats but you will probably "want" them as they are very comfortable.

We love ours

Neil

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Well it seems like some of you guys name your camper, and coming from the boating world it just seems like the right thing to do. Now our goal with this truck it drive it around the world, I mention this because it sort plays into the new name. So here it is, meet "Pole Dancer"! Hey, it makes sense, we plan on taking this truck and circle the globe around the north/south poles. Just need to work out a cool vinyl graphic for the side of the box.

 

[nick disjunkt]

I'm not sure how that name will go down in Muslim countries (Iran, UAE, Oman, etc)!

 

[Joe917]

Not just Muslim countries, that name may turn many people off. It might seem clever or funny but it is the first impression you will make. If it is just a private nick name between friends that is something else.

 

[Roverchef]

If not "Pole Dancer" then what about "Hose Handler" since it was a fire truck?

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Hey guys, been a bit since an update but first I will ask a question. When we got the truck several of the interior panels had been removed and were just pilled in the cab. I am assuming it happened when they removed some equipment before the sale. Anyway, a bunch of these white plastic clips are missing, does anyone know a source?


Now an update, been a bit of a whirlwind but the cab is painted "Traffic White", our new habitat is on order with Total Composites, chassis has been dustless blasted and painted, 50 gallon fuel tank (from a Sterling truck) is sitting on the chassis awaiting connection to the fuel system, interior panels/dash have been painted with SEM Color Coat and are now a 2 tone black/gray, RattleTrap sound deadening is about 50% done, new air seats should be in soon (National Seating Captain Lo, 2 tone black/gray), subframe modifications are complete and is painted, headliner panel modified to accept a 7" Android based navigation/stereo/backup camera (Atoto A6).

Now I am sitting here working on a few parts orders to keep the project rolling, mostly hardware and bits but it seems to take a lot of time for this stuff.

 

[Wyuna]

looking forwards to seeing the freshly painted truck

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Have a bit of internet to do a few uploads of the current build status. It has been a while and (for us) there has been a bit of progress.


New coat of "Traffic White" RAL code 9016 to match the Total Composites Habitat, you can also see the chassis has been "dustless blasted" and painted. The rear spring packs were taken off, separated and painted. I am installed new shocks once a bit of machine work is completed. The plastic fenders have been coated in SEM Bumper Coat. You can also see the hard points for the alloy rack/light bar that still needs to be fabricated.


Here is a current interior shot with the FatMat RattleTrap Extreme installed. Went thought a 100 square foot bulk kit for this. I am awaiting some panel clips are a bunch were missing. I will also install a 24v-12v converter here. The interior panels have all been painted with Sem Color Coat, is used to be a dark brown color and we are switching to a black/gray color scheme.


This is a pretty poor shot but it shows the new headliner that we installed using 3M contact adhesive spray. You can also see the modification I made to the radio area so it will accept the 7" Android stereo/navigation system.


And the new (to us, it is a used Freightliner 50 gallon tank) is installed. I am currently finishing the plumbing, you can see the extra fuel filter I have installed (I might make a rock guard for it). It uses the Racor 500FG filters and I plan on using the 30 micron as a pre-filter to the primary engine mounted filter.

And now for some real excitement, the panels from Total Composites are awaiting shipment from their factory in China!


We will likely have them shipped to a local train station and strap them onto our truck to save a bit of money (it is amazing how fast the shipping costs add up). So we need to get back to work and get the truck running and the subframe back in place.

So here is our short term TODO list
1. Finalize shipping destination for to habitat panels
2. Cover rear interior panel in vinyl and install
3. Finish installed headliner panel fixtures
4. New National Seating Captain Lo seats should arrive on Thursday so will need to fit soon so we can drive
5. Fabricate battery tray that will be mounted to the underside of the subframe
6. Do a bit of interior wiring before buttoning thing up
7. Install new shocks and rear sway bar links when machine shop completes them

So, still a heap of work and we have a deadline to hit for all this to be completed so we can then pick up the habitat! So, I guess it is back to work...

 

[LostInTheWorld]

Wow, you guys are making great progress. It's fun to see your TC panels ready to ship!

Michael

 

[Roverchef]

Looks good so far but you need to ditch the duel rear tires for some super singles.