Mercedes Overland Building/Tuning

[pott]

hi,
i didnt read all posts but if you need manuals or any info about specifics for your truck
you should try an ask here:

Allrad-LKW-Gemeinschaft

www.allrad-lkw-gemeinschaft.de

or here

LN2-Forum.de

Mercedes 814 914 1114 817 917 1117 820 1120 1124 1320 1520 1524

www.ln2-forum.de

its mostly the german community but just write in english
-obviously lots of people own mercedes trucks and know all kinds of crazy details

 

[RoamIt]

Thanks for the tips. I've been to the Benz forums, German forums, communicated with Mercedes dealerships, etc. Still have not found an English owners manual. They come up on ebay every now and then, so just keeping an eye out.

 

[RoamIt]

Wow, I didn't realize I've been off the board so long! I have been buried in finishing building onto the house, working on the Porsche, and then I bought a BMW, and started tuning/tweaking. I'm hoping to get a full race season in.
German Trifecta:


I've been doing little things here and there on the truck, mostly a lot of designing/researching. But I'm gearing up for a major push this year as winter gives way to spring.
I have reached out to some riggers to see about getting the rear firetruck section off, but no one wants to touch it. I may end up just cutting it off piece by piece.
I still have not gotten around to getting the Mercedes parts/schematics software to work yet, but I'll focus on that now as I have an air leak somewhere I need to deal with.
When I step on the brake, the air slowly bleeds out until the tank warning light comes on. Not a good feeling when you've got 18,000lbs rolling. No problem getting up to and holding pressure, just as you use the brakes, it bleeds out faster than the compressor can replenish. I guessing its valve somewhere that is not closing?
I was thinking I'd keep the dually set up and just replace the tires with some appropriately off road ones. But the rims appear to be 7.5" wide and that's just not wide enough.
As I looked for replacing them, I'm struggling to find the 10x335mm bolt pattern. Add in the expense of 7 new rims, and I might as well move to the super singles. I just got the quote from Atkinson Vos, $620. a wheel. I am concerned about any damaged/flawed rims. Be tough to send back
I do have some more inquiries out, but if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great. I'll be posting hopefully a lot of updates soon as I am making the rig a priority this year!

 

[mog]

A- I have reached out to some riggers to see about getting the rear firetruck section off, but no one wants to touch it. I may end up just cutting it off piece by piece.
B- I just got the quote from Atkinson Vos, $620. a wheel. I am concerned about any damaged/flawed rims. Be tough to send back

A- I was able to get the firebox off mine with just lots (and lots and lots) of cribbing and a combination of highlift jacks and bottle jacks. I sold it on my local Craigslist for $1800, so it might be worth the effort to pull it off as a unit.
B- You might check out the Lowly the Lorry thread (posts #217, #223 #258 ) as 'Lowly' got wheels and tires from Stazworks/Feltz Tire and was very happy with the process. Also in the same part of the US as you

 

[Joe917]

One of your brake canisters has failed. Have someone push the brake then listen at each canister for the escaping air.

 

[theangrychicken]

One of your brake canisters has failed. Have someone push the brake then listen at each canister for the escaping air.

I had this issue recently and VerMonsterRV found a canister that I could use.

Spring brake cylinder DT Spare Parts 4.67636 Spring brake cylinder right M22 | eBay

Thread Size: M22 x 1,5. DT Spare Parts Universal parts. In the process, we benefit from our proven expertise over many years in the automotive industry. Brake system. Universal parts. Propeller shaft.

www.ebay.com

 

[RoamIt]

That was fast responses! You guys are awesome, I regret missing your comments/posts over the last few months.
Mog: I'll check out the posts! Thanks.
Angrychicken: Have you installed that unit? Have to do any mods?

 

[RoamIt]

Just as a point of clarity, I do prefer keeping the 22.5" wheels over going with 20". I've seen very valid points on both sides of the debate, but after considering it, I've landed on the 22.5" side.

 

[theangrychicken]

Angrychicken: Have you installed that unit? Have to do any mods?

It bolted right on.

 

[Joe917]

Be aware the front and rear canisters are different. Only the rears have the spring.

 

[RoamIt]

Good call out, the rears have the parking brake mechanism as I recall.

 

[RoamIt]

Minor updates:

-Got an initial quote of $426 per wheel (12.5x11.75 10 on 335 120mm back space) from Wheels Now.

Wheels Now - Manufacturer & Distributor of Wheels

Wheels Now is a manufacturer and distributor of wheels, rims, and parts for highway, off-road, construction, earthmover, industrial, military, specialty vehicles, custom applications and more.

www.wheelsnowinc.com

They may end up more than that as I shared more info, like it's probably going to be an 18K rig ? But right now they only have 2x 11.75 shells, and would have to source more. They did say they have 12.25 shells in stock, it's only another .5" so I may go for it.
According to this chart: https://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com/downloads/Wheels_and_Accessories/PROPERLY MATCHING TIRES TO WHEELS.pdf

A 12.25 would mount the same 385/65/22.5 tire. I would not imagine it would have an impact on the tracking front to back if I needed to switch them?

-I was trying to get a wheel off with the breaker bar I have, after adding a pipe to get more leverage, it was clear that something was going to break before the nuts came off. The truck is too far away for my air compressor hose to reach. As I contemplated the best way to move things around, I thought about being out somewhere, the onboard air not working for some reason and wanting redundancy. Not to mention there may be others who need help. So I bought one of these:
'EWK 11pcs 1inch Torque Multiplier' Worked great, comes with a socket set.

Just as an FYI, the Stazworks Wheels guy said they don't do 22.5" anymore and it's been 4 years since they did.

 

[RoamIt]

-Forgot to add that I did locate the air leak, driver's side rear brake area. I think it's the canister, I had my 19yr old daughter in the cab with it in gear and a foot on a quickly failing brake system, so I didn't spend a lot of time under there ?.
-Another small victory is that I bought a ruggedized laptop, and had a IT guy from work get the Mercedes WIS/EPC loaded and working on it. I'll know for sure tomorrow when I get it back. I just kept getting errors and it was really starting to tick me off, so it was best for humanity to just farm that one out.

 

[mog]

A 12.25 would mount the same 385/65/22.5 tire. I would not imagine it would have an impact on the tracking front to back if I needed to switch them?

I run 385/65/22.5 (Hercules Ironman I-402) on 12.25 Alcoa (Aluminum) and they are a perfect match. I can't speak to backspace as they are stock Alcoa rims so my track is off by 3" front to rear.

 

[RoamIt]

Wish I could have Alcoa's, but there all 10 on 285mm. The backspacing can vary, from zero to 2"/6". So no luck finding any of those to fit my beast.

How are the Ironman's?, I'm shopping tires as well and Ironman's are certainly more affordable than many others.

I'm thinking I'll go with 12.25" wide, I can't think of a downside. If the tires stick out, I'll just bolt on some fender flares like I've done on my race cars before ?. Oh, and I still need to order the AMG lettering since I tweaked the horsepower/toque.