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

[VerMonsterRV]

A little bit of news, we applied to be in the DIY area of the Overland Expo East show and got invited to go. Now we need to decide if we should or not, looks like it might be interesting but also a bit of work as you need to do a presentation and show the truck. We'll see and if we decide to go will post here in case anyone nearby wants to come by and check the truck out.

So waiting for more metal to arrive to build the last box I decided to jump in and start wiring. Got a bunch of it done but still way more to go. At least the batteries can be charged now. Plus have been able to come up with some wiring

 

[Victorian]

That's cool!

 

[Ozrockrat]

A little bit of news, we applied to be in the DIY area of the Overland Expo East show and got invited to go. Now we need to decide if we should or not, looks like it might be interesting but also a bit of work as you need to do a presentation and show the truck. We'll see and if we decide to go will post here in case anyone nearby wants to come by and check the truck out.

I suggest you go for it. The presentation is just talking about something you know all about. (The good and the bad). And a truck with the quality of yours is a great foil for the Earth Roamers and other mega dollar rigs. Be prepared to spend a lot of time talking to mostly great people. Also be prepared for the “how much does it cost?” question.

Make sure you break out some time to have a good look at the expo. It is very easy to get caught up talking to people and the whole show slips away. Friday is the best day to slip away or Sunday afternoon but a lot of vendors are breaking down by then.

Now for the sake of transparency. We have displayed our rigs (4 different ones now) since 2014 and assist in a small way with the DIY area at Expo West.

 

[Sitec]

Hi VerMonsterRV. I've been away 3 weeks and wow you've been busy! It's all looking great! Liking the rear rack. Re you're winch... I had a long chat with a Dutch guy while I was away. Him and his wife are doing a lap of Australia in their 6x6 truck 'Pepita'. He's an electrician and he was very keen for me to stay 24 volt and have a dropper for anything 12 volt. As some have said above, I'd be slow to give it 24v and see... However... If you were to add a set of pulleys top and bottom to your lift, you could double the little winches pulling power and halve it's speed... This would then lower the current draw needed for it to run... Just a thought.
Re the expo and doing a 'show and tell', if you can I'd go for it! Getting to share your experiences and talk about your efforts will be a huge buzz! Think of it as a live version of your thread on here!!! I love sharing my truck build antics, and love reading others. If the expo was in reach, I'd be there for sure crawling all over your build and asking all sorts of questions!! Keep up the great work!!

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Thanks guys, still on the fence about the expo. Have to make a decision by the 27th.

No new pictures but have continued on with the build out switching from metal work for a bit (while we wait for another sheet of steel, hinges and another shop to make the doors) to interior electrical. Got the battery bank wired up to both the charger/inverter and distribution panel. The ac side is pretty close with just a couple of more outlets to wire (5 total). The rooftop A/C is wired and had a test run, for some reason the compressor came on but no cold. So might have to make a warranty claim, guess it might have had a refrigerant leak, guess you can't expect everything to work. A few of the lights, stove/oven and Hella fan are all working. Also the MaxxFan MaxShade Plus is wired and I have to say I am not impressed by the built in light. They used the blue tinged led lights. Will have to eventually take it back down and see how difficult it would be to replace them with some warm whites. The swing out wall mount for the 27" computer monitor (for watching movies, hooked to an Android TV box) needs a little custom work to have it work the way I want.

Tomorrow we will take the truck back to Charlie and we will remove the motorbike/tire lift for painting. We have decided to try using Raptor bed liner as a "paint" for the rack and storage boxes. Plan on using an HPLV gun to spray it to get a smoother texture.

Mid week Charlie and I should start on the last storage box. Plan currently is to have a built in 5 gallon kerosene tank in this one for the Webasto furnace for high elevations.

Also made the decision to wire the lift winch to the house 12v bank. Seemed simpler and less needed parts (hopefully more reliable). Still waiting on the shipping info for the truck cab A/C unit. Will hopefully hear back on Monday.

This is the view from the kitchen window as we have the truck at the marina for now.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Heather and I spent the day grinding, sanding and wire brushing the motorcycle/tire rack. Some of the mill scale was a bit challenging to get off, even with an 80 grit flap disc. If the weather holds we will paint tomorrow. You can also see the gray water tank mount in the foreground (red sander on it). Still need to descale that. Did I metion I really dislike metal work? Can't wait to get back to the wiring...

 

[luthj]

I find that well adhered mill scale takes paint fine with an acid wash. Not as pretty, but textured paint covers that.

Otherwise the extra cost of cold rolled steel makes for easier finishing.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I find that well adhered mill scale takes paint fine with an acid wash. Not as pretty, but textured paint covers that.

Otherwise the extra cost of cold rolled steel makes for easier finishing.

The primer that was recommended from Raptor tech support was their "Acid Etch #8". Supposed to put on 2 thin coats. Not supposed to acid wash it before applying this primer. I am a newbie to steel work and did not realize the difference between cold/hot rolled steel. Well, now I do . Sometimes you need to learn the hard way. Anyway, I am pretty sure we will just need to paint over the mill scale on the under storage boxes. Would never be able to get inside the boxes and do a decent job. Plus, they are bolt on and if we run into adhesion problems I guess we will drop them and have them dustless blasted. Painting is a pain but not super expensive. Plus with the Raptor bed liner it is not smooth by design, so will hide any imperfections (and hopefully my poor painting skills).

Oh, and we made a decision to go to the Overland Expo East. We will be part of the DIY Showcase and also the "Build or Buy" round table. That's an easy one, if you can afford it, buy it (and travel around Europe while awaiting your new rig). Else build it...

 

[Sitec]

Liking your work bench.... Most people have a small bench for half the job... You have a rolling bench that's nearly big enough for the whole truck!! Guessing it's boat related. Well done re choosing to do the expo. Sharing what you have done can only be a good thing.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Liking your work bench.... Most people have a small bench for half the job... You have a rolling bench that's nearly big enough for the whole truck!! Guessing it's boat related. Well done re choosing to do the expo. Sharing what you have done can only be a good thing.

The truck is at the welder's shop now. We need a fork lift to remove the bike rack and Charlie has been good enough to let us work on it there. That bench is an old welding table. Pretty lucky to work with Charlie, he lets me do what I can at his shop, is pretty close by to the boat and charges reasonable prices. We have never been to an overlanding expo, not sure of what the interest will be in the truck as I think most of the vehicles/vendors will be pickup/van based. Anyway, we will share what we have learned and hope to learn a bit ourselves.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

A day of spraying, 2 coats of U-Pol Acid Etch #8 and 2 coats of black Raptor bed liner. Working time with the Raptor was a bit shorter than in the directions as they used 68 degrees for the time. It was about 80. A bit of a frantic day as the primer recoat window was short, then the over coat window was just a bit longer. Anyway, the lift and gray water tank bracket are painted. Now just need to wait a few days for a full cure to reinstall them. Hopefully this stuff will be durable.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Well the build is on hold for a bit as we are again in the path of a hurricane (this time Dorian). Luckily we are not farther south (or in the Bahamas), but there will likely be a lot of flooding in our area. Spent the day before yesterday getting the truck and all uninstalled parts to the "shop" which is inland and is not supposed to flood. Then moved our car a bit closer to another location where it is not supposed to flood, but within walking distance back to the marina. Then started the trip north with the sailboat, plan on getting to Norfolk VA tomorrow and waiting out the storm there (which according to the current prediction it should be fine). Then once it has passed the 2.5 day trip back, but if there is a lot of flooding it might be a while before we can return.

 

[Sitec]

Good luck, and stay as safe as you can. Been following it on the news here in Australia, and wondered how much it'd impact you! Grab some pics if it's safe to do so!

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Quick update, Dorian did not cause as much flooding as it could have. Things went pretty well and at the marina in Norfolk it was pretty much a non-event. Got to even do a few fun things like going to the Chrysler Art Museum. So, we start this morning putting the sails back on and heading back to N.C.

Sitec, we came into Bundaberg a couple of years ago after their flooding. Stayed at the marina near the entrance of the river. Saw a couple of videos of the flooding they went thru, pretty crazy. Bundaberg was our first landfall in Australia and we have good memories of the place. First time we had seen wild kangaroos.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Minor speed bump on the trip back home with the boat, the last opening bridge was damaged during Dorian. We were 1.5 hours away by car from our marina and Charlie (the welder) was going on the road this coming week for a couple of months. So, we contacted a friend and they graciously came and picked us up, while leaving the boat in a transient marina. We ended up staying in the truck overnight which was a bit early but at least we had lights! Anyway, the boat is now back home and the welding is pretty much done "enough" for now. Last bit is painting and mounting the boxes and Charlie said it is ok to work at his shop while he is gone (really a good guy). Painting starts tomorrow.

So, the truck build update. The internal wiring is about 95% complete, the freshwater hosing is about 70% and 3 out of 5 solar panels are bonded to the roof with the last 2 ready to bond and will do in the morning. Still need to run the wires thru the roof (solar charge controllers are mounted and the internal wiring is done).


A few years ago my mom made us a needlepoint dolphin wall hanging, this will now move from the boat to this nook in our "bedroom". The led lights can swivel and will do that once the frame is hung. On the bottom of the photo you can see the 27" 4k monitor that will be mounted on a swing arm. It will be hooked to an Android TV box. That project is a little stalled since I need to modify the swing arm to make it work like I want.


And here is a pic of the Dometic RTX 2000 24V DC aircon that has finally arrived. It looks good and can't wait to get it installed.