MB 917 vs 1120/1124?

[palebluewanders]

Hi all, I'm planning to buy a 4x4 MB truck in the next few months and build a cabin on it. Looking for some thoughts on the following: If my estimated fully loaded weight is going to be ~8 tons (+/- 1 ton) what are the pros and cons of going for an MB 917 vs 1120/1124? I don't know enough to make a good decision so I was wondering if there's some rule of thumb about the ratio of total weight to max allowable weight in terms of general off-road performance (suspension, chassis torsion, etc.)? Or if not, just getting some opinions on this would help a lot.

Also, if you have an MB 917 I would love to know what your total weight is and how it does going uphill on highways, i.e. does it slow to a crawl until 20 cars are piled up behind you?

Thanks in advance!

Tracy

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Rough rule is 80% of GVWR. We have an 1120 and fully loaded we are right at 80%. I have never driven a 917. One nice thing about the intercooled engines is a bit more power for the hills. Plus there is an available turbo upgrade to bump power up (not sure if it is true but have been told the turbo upgrade is not recommended for non intercooled engines, so the 917). We will likely do the turbo upgrade as climbing hills with any of these trucks can be a slow process. If possible I would try to find an 1124, though they generally are more expensive, I think you will appreciate the extra capacity and power.

 

[palebluewanders]

Thanks so much for your input! 80% seems very sensible. The 1124 would definitely be my first choice, with OM 366 LA turbocharged and intercooled engine, though as you said they are more expensive and also the vast majority of the ones I've seen have the extra long driver cabs. I haven't looked into the logistics of getting that shortened but I guess it should be possible?

 

[DiploStrat]

As I own a 917, I'll play. (See links in signature.)

Our camper sits at about 16,000 lbs., so we are well under the 18,000+ lbs. max weight. Ours was built as a pumper and appears to have one extra thick leaf in the rear. It rides very well, but as VerMonster would note, it might ride better with aftermarket springs on the front. As Oz is one of few places that still has serious washboard/tole ondulee/corrugations, this may be worth considering. Don't have the figures to hand, but the front/rear balance is between 70/30 and 60/40. Ours is the extremely short wheelbase model. For extended dirt/mud/snow a longer wheelbase has less tendency to swap end for end.

I agree on the higher performance engine - get it if you can. If fact, if I would, I would swap out the MB for a modern truck. The old oil burner is really only at home in the 45-55mph range - great for crossing Africa, a pain for crossing the US. (I was spoiled by the Duramax/Allison combo of our last camper.) But even in Australia, most roads are paved.

Get an extended/crew cab if you possibly can. The single cab is very tight and has no room for coats, etc. Indeed, I am over six feet tall and the beast was almost undrivable until I raised the seat. As I cannot fully extend my legs, I have to stop every hour or so and walk around. OK, age doesn't help, but you get the idea. Plus an extended cab allows additional storage or seats.

Free advice is worth what you pay for it.

 

[Neil]

Hi Tracy

I have a MB 1017a

I carry two spare tyes and wheels and 300cc motorcycle. I also carry a ridiculous amount of spare parts ( which i havent needed)

I can carry 500 lites of water and 500 lites of fuel ( I rarely do )

Fully loaded with both of us on board i am sitting close to 10000 kg

My vehicle is ex german army. For some reason the army asked for their vehicles to have specific plated weights even though they are all the same vehicle.

I have seen them plated at many different weights betwen 10000 kg and 14000 kg. Mine is plated at 12200 kg.

With your end weight at less that 8000, you will have no issues with any of the models you have chosen, and your axle weights will be well within their scope.

Are they slow going up hills......yes compared to a car or light van. We enjoy slow

Neil

 

[palebluewanders]

@DiploStrat Your truck looks amazing! Thanks for sharing your numbers, and I'm impressed you've managed to keep it so light with 140 gal of water/fuel and 4 AGM batteries. I wonder if I'm overestimating some of my weights.

I'll be driving it pretty much everywhere so figured an older all-mechanical engine would be easier to fix by any bush mechanic or farmer with a truck. Although having said that, I just looked at some newer Ategos on mobile.de (planning to buy/build it in Germany) and they're not necessarily more expensive than the 1990s LK/LN2 trucks I was previously looking at. I wonder if they're built as reliably as the 1990s generation that people say are supposed to be good for a million km? Btw from your website it looks like you've spent a lot of time around Africa -- do you have any thoughts on how easily we could get a newer truck serviced in that part of the world?

Thanks also for your note about the leg room; my partner is also over 6ft so that's very useful to know. I will look into modifying the length of the cab; the 1124s come with really excessive ones that leave barely any room for the habitat but maybe our best bet will be to shorten it to a custom length.

P.S. Couldn't help but notice your pic of Cassie -- SO gorgeous!

 

[palebluewanders]

@Neil Also an amazing truck! The interior looks so spacious and tastefully built too. I'd like to do a similar thing with mounting a motorbike and spare tire (probably just one) on the back.

Since you've been all around South America with Cloud 9, I was wondering if you have any thoughts about pros and cons of driving your older truck around there vs a newer (2000+) one with more complicated electronics?

Also is that an AC mounted above your cab or..? I'm leaning toward putting one there rather than on top of the roof so if it is an AC I'd love to know what model and how you like it.

Thanks so much for your reply and info!

 

[Neil]

Hi Tracy

Im glad you liked Cloud9. There is very little we would change.

With regards to older trucks being easier to maintain in South America. This ,in my opinion, is definately the case in the more rural regions. After the japanese truck Hino, i would say they are the second most common truck in South America . There are litterally milions of old MB trucks and they just keep running.and running.

Most of them are the 911 or 1113 style. My cab , The NG cab, isnt very common but i share the same running gear with many other models.

In the more remote towns and villages any mechanic would be able to work on my truck. In the main cities such as Santiago and Buenos Aries you will find Mercedes dealers that are exactly the same standard as any european dealer.

If you look back through my blog you will see i had quite a dramatic accident in Chile. I limped about 500 km into a large town called Coyhaique to The Mercedes dealer called Kaufmann. I had a huge list of parts i needed, maybe 3000 euros worth.

They had everyting on the shelf except my track rod, which the had by 10 am the next morning. I realised then that having an older mercedes that has common parts was the right choice.

The best part of having an older , electronic free, truck is that they just keep going, no matter what you do to them. You can give them the worst fuel and push them to their limits going to high altitude and the just keep going. Euro 5 and 6 trucks arent as flexible

When i eventually get back to Colombia , the vehicle wouldnt have been started for over a year, and i know it will fire up easily.

With regard to the air con. Yes we fitted it to the cab only. The compressor is mounted on the engine and is powered by a belt from the crank pulley, the condenser unit is mouted on rubber mounts on the rear roof of the cab as you have seen. It tips with the cab. The Evaporater is in the cab under the dashboat in the centre.
It works brilliantly. Our cab is a short cab so it only needs to cool about 2 cubic meters of air so it very fast.
We would not be Without it

Never be afraid to ask any questions on here, everyone is really helpful and i think its the best collection of MB owners who have also travelled with thrir vehicles.

Where are you located

Neil

 

[Joe917]

The "17" weather 917 or 1017 etc can be brought up to the 240 hp, at a fuel consumption penalty.
The difference between the 9,10 and eleven can be difficult to see as Mercedes allows a complete mix when ordering. The only way to confirm the actual chassis parts is to run the truck's VIN. For example our 917AF was ordered from the factory with a 9400 Kg single wheel rear axle.

 

[palebluewanders]

@Neil I full body shuddered at your pics of Cloud 9 on her side. Can't imagine the horror. Must admit this line made me lol a lot though: "Now jam is a peculiar product because we discovered that if you throw it at your walls then scrape it back up you actually end up with enough to fill 5 jars." :⁠P What an emotional roller coaster! I'm glad you guys received so much kindness when you needed it most. All that aside, those are some really stunning photos from Chile! I'll have to read through the rest of your blog too before we do a big South America road trip, though that's still a very distant dream at this point. Aside from needing to buy/build the whole vehicle first, I think we'll drive the silk road and see some other places before shipping it to the Americas.

Anyway thanks so much for your input and for reaffirming our decision to go for an older MB. I saw that you settled on the 1017A after meeting other couples who had the same truck, which made me chuckle because we recently met a German couple with an 1124AF and their love of it is precisely what made us decide on this (or very similar) model. Cheers to all those people who inspire us!

Very helpful note about the AC too. We'll definitely need one for both the cab and the habitat.

I'm from the US but have been living in 2wd vans in NZ/Aus for the past couple of years. The 2wd has been pretty frustrating especially in Western Australia where the majority of amazing places require a 4wd, plus my partner has been feeling cramped in the small space with his long limbs, so when we saw that German couple's truck in the parking lot I looked at it and thought, "that's what I want in life." We'll head to Germany in a few months to buy the truck and will try to find somewhere nearby to stay and do the build as well. I'm sure I'll be in this forum a LOT during the process!

 

[palebluewanders]

@Joe917 I've heard that adding turbo to the engine can damage it and it's better to just buy one that came out of the factory with the desired hp? Or do you mean it's just a matter of tuning the injection pump or something?

Thanks for the note about the mixing of parts, good to know. Also great thread documenting your build!

 

[Joe917]

@Joe917 I've heard that adding turbo to the engine can damage it and it's better to just buy one that came out of the factory with the desired hp? Or do you mean it's just a matter of tuning the injection pump or something?

Thanks for the note about the mixing of parts, good to know. Also great thread documenting your build!

The "17 to 24" engine versions are the same except for turbo size and fuel delivery. The 917 has a turbo. Adding the larger turbo and increasing fuel delivery will give you a 924. No problem with the engine itself.

 

[Sitec]

Hi Tracy. The fact that you've settled on a Merc is already a good decision. Mercedes or MAN seem to be the reliable yet simple vehicles of choice. We have a Merc 1222a. Very similar in format to Cloud 9, just with a V6 diesel. It's worth knowing what body length you want and where you plan to go, as this will help you choose a wheelbase length and a LHD or RHD vehicle. We went with RHD as it was available here in Oz, and we plan to do NZ and maybe Africa at some point, as well as ending up in the UK for a while.

This appeared on Ebay a few weeks ago and might be of interest too...

MERCEDES 1820 4x4 POLE LORRY PEU | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for MERCEDES 1820 4x4 POLE LORRY PEU at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[palebluewanders]

The "17 to 24" engine versions are the same except for turbo size and fuel delivery. The 917 has a turbo. Adding the larger turbo and increasing fuel delivery will give you a 924. No problem with the engine itself.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

 

[palebluewanders]

Hey @Sitec! We are aiming for a 3.6m wheelbase since our current layout plans have 4.5m interior length. Ideally LHD but we plan to go to a lot of both LHD and RHD countries so RHD wouldn't be a deal breaker.

1820! Never considered anything rated that high, I always kind of assumed the suspension would be way too stiff for our ~8t load?