Meet MogTug - Our Unimog Camper

[Kiomon]

We are pumped to finally share our camper build with you guys. The short of it is that me and a good friend, took a leave from our jobs, and sold everything to travel a bit of the world, as volunteers for a non-profit. We decided to do it overland for a bit of fun and ease. We first built up a 1987 Volkswagen Syncro and we took that across Europe, from Scotland to Spain to Russia for 7 months.


SyncroBo - Our Syncro Camper

After that project, we decided we needed more space for more equipment and dove heads first into building a 1987 U1300L, and we are now en route on a series of central and South American projects from Mexico to Argentina for the non-profit. we were due to head to Africa initially, but were rerouted.

So with that out of the way... Here is the build.

Before

After

We took the truck down to Baja directly after buying it. En route we met Bill Caid and Kathleen and they shared a ton of tips and guidance for the journey.


We enjoyed the beach in México before cracking the oil filter housing.

Very very wet

We made it out of Mexico, and fixed the housing in Gallup, NM and then connected with another Unimog owner and friends, and we dove into removing my bed and mounting a 404 radio box. At the time I thought we could make it work, even though I am 6'4".

The Donor

The Result

We realized later the short box wasn't going to work, so we took it off and found a surplused shelter from Gichner and that was a solid match with an interior height above 6 feet.


The Gichner

As we are filmmakers we made a short video that spans the 7 months of the build, more to capture a bit of what the experience was like for our friends and family that can't imagine it. We used another Vanagon I had as our shopping cart and did most of the build in Idaho, and some finishing touches in Michigan. Its incredible the amount of tools and extras you accumulate from the first build, so this second build was a lot easier and quicker than SyncroBo. I am thinking the third will be a piece of cake


MogTug Build Video


We are currently in La Paz, Mexico preparing to cross to the mainland as we have our first assignment from the non-profit. We have almost 10k miles on the build and we have sorted most of the shakedown pains. This has been our home in La Paz for the last weeks, doing a ton of wrap up work (not on the mog, but freelance jobs, life, etc.). The motorcycles have come in handy.

We are keeping a blog at Nickname International | A journey of art, machine, and adventure. I am writing detailed breakdowns of the systems and choices on the camper, and have finally written a few of them and the links are below to get started. I will update this thread as I add more sections out. I wish I had done better about posting as we went along but at least now it's all condensed and easy to get through.


Detailed Posts
Why a Unimog camper when we already have a Syncro? MogTug Build ? Part 0: Why a Unimog when we have SyncroBo? | Nickname International
Cab, Sub frame, Boxes MogTug Build ? Part 1: Cabs, Beds, Boxes & Subframes | Nickname International
Layout & Design MogTug Build ? Part 2: Interior & Exterior Layout | Nickname International
Electrical System MogTug Build ? Part 3: Electrical | Nickname International
Plumbing MogTug Build Part 4: Plumbing & Water
HVAC & Appliances
Everything Else.

More to come

 

[GR8ADV]

Well now isn't this special. Thanks for posting up. This is going to be some awesome reading material. GL!

 

[nick disjunkt]

great video and truck. I'm sure you'll rack up more great memories in it.

 

[Fender]

Very cool! What kind of reflective paint did you use for the roof and how has it been holding up?

 

[Kiomon]

Very cool! What kind of reflective paint did you use for the roof and how has it been holding up?

Let me go back and try and find a picture of the container, we bought it at Home Depot and it was the one with the longest warranty

The paint has worked amAzingly well. It dropped the ceiling temps from over 100+ degrees F in direct sunlight to about the ambient air temp. We built the rig in the desert in Idaho and with the sun out, before the paint, we couldn't touch the roof with bare skin. But now its always cool to touch. It hasn't chipped or peeled, but it's still < a year. But it should last at least a few years and we then just paint on another layer!

 

[mhiscox]

Glad to see someone taking advantage of all the money spent by the taxpayers to get the Gichner shelter. I inquired once many years ago and the allowed as they could make me a civilian version for just a little under six figures. I trust you got a discount.

A very nice build. Thanks for sharing the information.

 

[Kiomon]

Glad to see someone taking advantage of all the money spent by the taxpayers to get the Gichner shelter. I inquired once many years ago and the allowed as they could make me a civilian version for just a little under six figures. I trust you got a discount.

A very nice build. Thanks for sharing the information.

Thanks man! Yeah they are a lot cheaper surplused! For a while they were going sub $1000 and then they went up to around $2000, but still they can go as low as $500! I think they are the best deal going for a truck mounted shelter. Well insulated, fairly light weight, and robust enough to lift them with a crane and drag em across the ground. I wish they made one 20 feet long...

 

[burquedoka]

Looking good boys! Enjoy the adventures.

 

[charlieaarons]

FWIW the Gichner shelter has a very poor R-factor of insulation of about 2.0

Charlie

 

[photo_i]

Really hope to see you on the road somewhere, guys! :smiley_drive:

 

[Kiomon]

FWIW the Gichner shelter has a very poor R-factor of insulation of about 2.0

Charlie

Actually, Charlie it is 3.57 , but yeah compared to a house, it's definitely no match. We have been very pleased in practice though, we have been to 120 degrees and able to be very comfortable inside, and the walls not noticeable warm to touch. And 0 degrees Fahrenheit and a D2 heater runs on low. So real world extremes it's been great for us.

I struggled a lot to find true R Values on FINISHED enclosures and the military vendors are the only ones that publish em, and even then it's published in U value ( BTUs transfer per minute or other metrics) and you convert. The mil enclosures are tested post construction, painted to spec. This includes all the thermal bridges, losses from windows, access panels, etc. Even the mythical Unicat, Action Mobil, Bliss, etc don't publish their numbers (most likely because they have not actually tested their finished real world enclosures) . most take a single component ratings and then they just do perfect case math, but none of that is true unless the insulating material is precisely applied a certain way, and even better, tested.

I am actually eyeing another build , if you have any sage advice from your Unicat experience let me know. Do you know the R Value of your Unicat enclosure? Do you have a pass through?

 

[Kiomon]

Really hope to see you on the road somewhere, guys! :smiley_drive:

We do too! We are stalking you guys on Instagram!

 

[Fender]

Is this the paint you bought for the roof?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SUNSHIEL...gclid=CJqWirzz2MUCFUOUaQodATwAbQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks!

 

[ljense8]

If you ever head back to Michigan give a heads up. It would be awesome to see that thing in person &#128077;

 

[Kiomon]

Is this the paint you bought for the roof?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SUNSHIEL...gclid=CJqWirzz2MUCFUOUaQodATwAbQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks!

That looks similar but not the exact same but I think it's all basically the same stuff. I looked but couldn't find a pic of that bucket.The key thing we looked for beyond the warranty was the ability to paint over itself when it wears down. Some of them want you to remove it before putting another layer on. That's no good, because I doubt the stuff will really last to its 15 + year warranty.