Thanks! Haha stay tuned! :coffeedrink:
Norwegian Unimog U1700L camper build
- Thread starter Vegard_S
- Start date
Thanks! Haha stay tuned! :coffeedrink:
Vegard_S
Adventurer
Thanks cvoggs! It's been a while since last update, but as soon as I get some spare time I'll try to make a post with the last months progress.
Design of the supportframe will propably be something like this, and if everything goes according to the plan it will be manufactured during this sommer:
Regarding the Blue color; It has grown a bit on me to, and all in all I think I 'll have to agree with you; my wife realy has a good taste!
Vegard_S
Adventurer
Progress hasn't been the best the last months due to a tight working schedule at my work. But there have luckily been some time in between to do propper work.
Last week we fabricatet the main parts of the supportframe. We are still missing the machined brackets for the three-pointed fixing to the chassis frame, but at least it is starting to look like a frame now. I was also very lucky to get the fantastic help from my wife, although it was her first go with an angle grinder EVER! -She handeled it like a pro!
I hope we will find time to finnish the machining and welding it in the next weeks, then it will be sandblasted and painted grey/black before mounting it to the chassis. But before that can be done we also need to make up the corresponding parts for the three-pinted fixing sytem which will be bolted tho the chassis frame. More to come!
Last week we fabricatet the main parts of the supportframe. We are still missing the machined brackets for the three-pointed fixing to the chassis frame, but at least it is starting to look like a frame now. I was also very lucky to get the fantastic help from my wife, although it was her first go with an angle grinder EVER! -She handeled it like a pro!
I hope we will find time to finnish the machining and welding it in the next weeks, then it will be sandblasted and painted grey/black before mounting it to the chassis. But before that can be done we also need to make up the corresponding parts for the three-pinted fixing sytem which will be bolted tho the chassis frame. More to come!
Vegard_S
Adventurer
...Also we finaly pulled the plug and ordered the GRP-sandwich plates. After a lot of searching around and getting offers from around 10 different suppliers from all around Europe, we decided to have the German company Paneeltec GmBH make them for us according to my drawings! We got a very good impression of them after meeting them at ther stand at this years Abenteuer & Allrad in Bad Kissingen. So they will produce the the panels and supply us with angle profiles for the corners, special glue for the assembly and training in how to do all this by ourselves.
All panels will be prepared with cut outs for windows, doors etc., also additional wooden stiffeners will be casted into the sandwich at selected places to make for good fixing locations for heavy equipment as awning and air-line rails. The panels will be 55,5mm thick with 1,5mm GRP on the outside + 3,5 mm additional "honeycomb" pattern to help make it eaven stiffer and also strengthen it against de-lamination. The outside will also be delivered with white gelcoat. In the inside it will be 1,2 mm GRP. At the end of August I will travel down to Germany and pick them up, I'm excited to see the result!
When mounted onto the chassis and supportframe the result should hopefully look someting like this:
To be continued...
All panels will be prepared with cut outs for windows, doors etc., also additional wooden stiffeners will be casted into the sandwich at selected places to make for good fixing locations for heavy equipment as awning and air-line rails. The panels will be 55,5mm thick with 1,5mm GRP on the outside + 3,5 mm additional "honeycomb" pattern to help make it eaven stiffer and also strengthen it against de-lamination. The outside will also be delivered with white gelcoat. In the inside it will be 1,2 mm GRP. At the end of August I will travel down to Germany and pick them up, I'm excited to see the result!
When mounted onto the chassis and supportframe the result should hopefully look someting like this:
To be continued...
Vegard_S
Adventurer
So, finaly time for an update again
Some weeks ago I took some days of from work and went down to Thüringen Germany to pick up the sandwich GRP plates from Paneeltec GmBH. My wife couldn't find time to come a long for the trip, so I went alone.
The guys at Paneeltec were very helpful and gave me a tour ot their factory and a quick course in how to tacle the assembly process of the panels. Sadly i didn't manage to take much pictures at their facilities, but they seemed very professional and the good impreession I had gotten for them in advance of my visit just grew even more during my visit!
Here are a few shot of the small "road train" my car and trailer made up for the trip:
Also quite nice (and cheap!) to bring my own bed along for the trip:
Paneeltec was also very helpfull with providing all necessary paperwork for the export from Germany/EU and import papers to Norway, so that everything turned out smoothly
It turned out to be a 4 days and 3500km trip with tempratures varying from +12 degrees celsius at my home in Norway to +38 degrees celsius in Thüringen (thats when you relize that you are traveling in a 35 year old car with no AC, and you appreciate that you took the time to fit an 82 degree thermostat to the engine before leaving Norway!:Wow1: )
But all in all the trip was a sucsess;I got the plates back home in one piece, had no mechanical failures to the car and a fuel consumption of only 10,5L diesel/100km with a total combined weight of car + trailer at 3900kg
Next step now will be to assemble the box, hopefully before the Autumn storms sets in for full her in north, and night time temperatures falls bellows the freezing point
Some weeks ago I took some days of from work and went down to Thüringen Germany to pick up the sandwich GRP plates from Paneeltec GmBH. My wife couldn't find time to come a long for the trip, so I went alone.
The guys at Paneeltec were very helpful and gave me a tour ot their factory and a quick course in how to tacle the assembly process of the panels. Sadly i didn't manage to take much pictures at their facilities, but they seemed very professional and the good impreession I had gotten for them in advance of my visit just grew even more during my visit!
Here are a few shot of the small "road train" my car and trailer made up for the trip:
Also quite nice (and cheap!) to bring my own bed along for the trip:
Paneeltec was also very helpfull with providing all necessary paperwork for the export from Germany/EU and import papers to Norway, so that everything turned out smoothly
It turned out to be a 4 days and 3500km trip with tempratures varying from +12 degrees celsius at my home in Norway to +38 degrees celsius in Thüringen (thats when you relize that you are traveling in a 35 year old car with no AC, and you appreciate that you took the time to fit an 82 degree thermostat to the engine before leaving Norway!:Wow1: )
But all in all the trip was a sucsess;I got the plates back home in one piece, had no mechanical failures to the car and a fuel consumption of only 10,5L diesel/100km with a total combined weight of car + trailer at 3900kg
Next step now will be to assemble the box, hopefully before the Autumn storms sets in for full her in north, and night time temperatures falls bellows the freezing point
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Vegard_S
Adventurer
We have also been buzzy finishing the support frame and the corresponding brackets for mounting it to the chassis frame.
First test fitting it to the chassis:
My grandfather stopping by to inspect the build:
Then a small setback with unexpected failure of the diesel feed pump. This made the truck unmovable until a new unit was bought and installed. The failure of the pump was propably caused buy metall shavings left inside the diesel tank after I modified it earlier... The new pump was a bit different than the old one, but it had the same hole pattern and fitted without any drama.
When the new pump was fitted the truck ran like a swiss clock again!
First test fitting it to the chassis:
My grandfather stopping by to inspect the build:
Then a small setback with unexpected failure of the diesel feed pump. This made the truck unmovable until a new unit was bought and installed. The failure of the pump was propably caused buy metall shavings left inside the diesel tank after I modified it earlier... The new pump was a bit different than the old one, but it had the same hole pattern and fitted without any drama.
When the new pump was fitted the truck ran like a swiss clock again!
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Vegard_S
Adventurer
When the truck was running again it was back to the supportframe. After doing the final adjustments to the mounting brackets all welds were made up, the frame sandblasted and painted according to Norwegian offshore standard (Barrier Zink primer+Jotamastic+Hardtop polyurethane topcoat)
Iain_U1250
Explorer
I have a fuel filter/water trap on the outlet from the tank, it protects the three way Pollock valve and the feed pump. It has proved it's worth a couple of times. In the Outback we try never to fill up both tanks from the same service station, and three time we have had the filter block up resulting in loss of power with 50km of filling up. I can easily change the filters, which are only $5 each, so when the other tank is empty, I pump most of the fuel from one tank to the other using a transfer pump. It goes through the filter, sometime very slowly, then drain out the rest from the drain plug. That way I can save 100lt or more fuel and don't risk damaging the lift pump or clogging up the main fuel filters. The water traps have picked up water in the fuel quite a few times, and it's easy to drain it out. Here's one of the CAV filter under construction.
A FACET pump on each tank lets me prime the system very easily and if we do run the system dry, I switch tanks and start up the FACET pump and normally manage to get the engine going again before the truck comes to a complete stop.
A FACET pump on each tank lets me prime the system very easily and if we do run the system dry, I switch tanks and start up the FACET pump and normally manage to get the engine going again before the truck comes to a complete stop.
Vegard_S
Adventurer
Hi Ian, I will propably make up something similar when I find the time for it. I have one more alu-tank wich I will fit to the other side, so that total fuel capasity will be 2x 270L =540L. An additional filtration system would then be nice to have to prevent the feed pump from failing again. I can also se the advantage, as you have it, to be able to filter contaminated fuel and move it with a seperat pump from one "dirty" tank and over to another "clean" one. I'll look up different filtration- and pump systems and see whats available at this side of the world
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Vegard_S
Adventurer
Nice work on that subframe!
You have excellent taste of cars by the way!
(I am saying this as an ex. Owner of a 1986 300GD and a 1966 250S
Think we need to get together once Jostein, guess we won't have any problem finding a subject to discuss either