Mercedes 1222A.. The beginning!

[Sitec]

As far as driving with the hatch open are you going to stop and close it every time you meet oncoming traffic ? If not skip it.
What is that all going to weigh? How do you plan to insulate?
Best way to keep dust out is to have no openings on the back wall, if you do then you need good seals.

Hi Joe. Re traffic, there never is much when we are really remote, but a valid point none the less. More often than not if we meet an oncoming truck we stop because neither can see too much if there's no wind. If there is, the dust rolls away within a few seconds... As for weight, there would have to be an RHS frame in the roof to support any off the shelf glass hatch I buy, so I'm no better or worse off as I am at the moment. I plan to make the lid out of 2mm steel with a basic 50mm internal surround which will house the insulation and internal face. This works out lighter than a piece of glass 1.0m x 0.7m. There are going to be two small marine windows on the back wall for ventilation near our heads in the bedroom. I'm still thinking about the filtered air idea with an external snorkel above the cab. Food for thought!! Cheers!

 

[CragMog]

Hi Sitec - we did some work on dustproofing for the Mog campers. One camper owner used an air pressure system used in the mining vehicles. High capacity fan with a significant filter pushing air into the camper box. The fan/filter was mounted at the top, front so in the least dusty spot. It either switches on with the ignition or has an additional on/off switch on the dash. The impact was significant. What we learnt is that the fan capacity had to be quite large else there wasn't a positive pressure created in the box. It also has to be filtered else you suck in a lot of dust.

 

[Sitec]

Hi Sitec - we did some work on dustproofing for the Mog campers. One camper owner used an air pressure system used in the mining vehicles. High capacity fan with a significant filter pushing air into the camper box. The fan/filter was mounted at the top, front so in the least dusty spot. It either switches on with the ignition or has an additional on/off switch on the dash. The impact was significant. What we learnt is that the fan capacity had to be quite large else there wasn't a positive pressure created in the box. It also has to be filtered else you suck in a lot of dust.

Hi Cragmog. Pressure is something we tried in our 101 Land Rover... It did help. I was originally thinking along the lines of two 3" snorkel heads mounted on the front of the body which feed into two filter boxes within the living area... I also have two MaxxFan's which can be reversed... (but don't think these will have the power to pressurise the cabin at 100kmh as they open/lift at the rear), hence my thoughts of the front roof hatch opening at the front. It's nearly a topic of it's own! Cheers!

 

[grizzlyj]

Very time consuming.

Very nice though

Have you got the metal sunroof thing in the cab like Mogs do, that are sprung shut and you can push either the front or the back or both up? Similar to what you plan perhaps? When we had our Mog we found with that vent up at the back that gave just a wee bit of fresh air, with the front up that was a proper cooling breeze. But, with the front up that pushed a load of bugs in, so SHMBO made a velcro attached bug net to fit across inside. That then meant when you had to unvelcro it to close the roof vent all the dazed bugs would then fall in onto you. That was sheltered underneath a cab over bed too, so not as much direct wind coming in compared to just a camper at the rear. My wife goes nuts if a bee comes in while we're driving, so dazed bugs falling on me when we're stopped was preferable to her trying to jump out of the window at 50mph

 

[Sitec]

Very nice though

Have you got the metal sunroof thing in the cab like Mogs do, that are sprung shut and you can push either the front or the back or both up? Similar to what you plan perhaps? When we had our Mog we found with that vent up at the back that gave just a wee bit of fresh air, with the front up that was a proper cooling breeze. But, with the front up that pushed a load of bugs in, so SHMBO made a velcro attached bug net to fit across inside. That then meant when you had to unvelcro it to close the roof vent all the dazed bugs would then fall in onto you. That was sheltered underneath a cab over bed too, so not as much direct wind coming in compared to just a camper at the rear. My wife goes nuts if a bee comes in while we're driving, so dazed bugs falling on me when we're stopped was preferable to her trying to jump out of the window at 50mph

That... is a very good idea!!! And... I have my spare truck! Just been out and had a look at it. Guess I'll be pulling that apart this weekend and seeing if I can get it to work! Cheers!!

 

[Sitec]

This weekend was a busy one... I've managed to turn my 12 tonne usable truck into a 220HP go-kart!! The crane is sold and has gone off for a new life on a Unimog, and I have a tray to sell. I had several hours with the hot pressure washer removing a wheelbarrow load of soil from the chassis rails. The body will be slid on for the first time over the coming weeks, and I can then see what needs to be moved etc etc. I can already see that the fuel tank will be better on the left, and I can also see the large un-removable X member that's sat where I'd like the front of my water tank to be! Fun times.

 

[Fugly]

Fun times

 

[Sitec]

Well, the body sat atop the chassis... It looks like it is the right size too!!! More to follow tonight.

 

[shade]

A Red Letter Day, for sure!

 

[Sitec]

Indeed it is. I,ve been away for a week, but here's the truck set up with the steps on. In built and wifey safe!!

 

[Jostt]

nice...huge living room, the roles in Australia for the stairs looks like the most restrictive in the word looking how robust the people build there.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Looking like a proper camper now Simon. Don;t underestimate the bulldust, it is like water, get everywhere, and as fine as talcumpowder. We have an intake on the side of the truck to pressurize the inside, it runs through an air filter, combined with the cab air intake, we have very little dust in our truck. The window on the rear seals well enough to keep dust out,



The shape on the rear of our truck also helps, We don't get that much dust on the back of our truck at speed compare to the square block type campers. This is only 35kph.

 

[Sitec]

Looking like a proper camper now Simon. Don;t underestimate the bulldust, it is like water, get everywhere, and as fine as talcumpowder. We have an intake on the side of the truck to pressurize the inside, it runs through an air filter, combined with the cab air intake, we have very little dust in our truck. The window on the rear seals well enough to keep dust out,

View attachment 549028

The shape on the rear of our truck also helps, We don't get that much dust on the back of our truck at speed compare to the square block type campers. This is only 35kph.

View attachment 549029

Hi Ian. Yeah, it's something I'm putting a bit of thought to, as having run Land Rovers, they seemed to collect the stuff inside! I'm thinking along the lines of 2 3" snorkels mounted on the front of the body, with two decent air filter boxes and a closable tap inside. The time spent now pitting the outlets in is small compared to trying to add it later!

 

[Sitec]

Hi all. So, the next few posts over the next few weeks are prob going to provoke some discussion... 4 point mounting and how I'm going about it. I've done a lot of reading on here, listened to lots of people on their take on it and how to do it, how not to do it, if it's even needed etc etc. I've settled on the decision that it is needed to get the best axle/chassis articulation out of what could ultimately be a fairly rigid truck without it. That said, Neil and Pat in 'Cloud 9' have trucked half way around the world without incident using Rail on Rail... and Joan and Simon in 'Babo' are doing pretty well in Babo (bar lots of springs and shockers... but that's another story!). However, I had to weld up several truck bodies whilst trucking through Africa, and the load that was exerted on those bodies when driving down river banks onto ferries or getting out of bush camps were huge. We plan to try and get reasonably off the beaten track and into places similar to Ian in his Mog, so with that in mind, I have decided to go with a home built 4 point mount... but with additional air support for when on the Highway. This bit will come later. I have also decided to stray from the norm where the two 'fixed' outer points are in the middle and the two pivots are front and rear. Two reasons for this... The first is the huge movement between the cab and body, and the second is that to have the front pivot in the ideal place involves it being roughly in the middle of the gearbox!! Not ideal... . Here's the first pic. The parts needed tor the two outer semi 'fixed' points... that are located a meter behind the cab....

 

[Sitec]

I've chosen to utilize two 60mm holes in the center of the chassis for the front to mounts/supports. These are double chassis thickness as they have a second plate which helps hold the front spring rear hanger in place. Being so close to the spring, this seems like a good place for a body mount! I have made two brass bushes that are snug fit into the 60mm chassis hole (the chassis is 12mm thick at this point) and also through the drop plates (also 12mm thick) which now have a 60mm hole in them.