Scott Brady
Founder
William, the G looks fantastic. I remember lusting over that camper when it first popped up for sale.
I hope to see it in person at some point.
I hope to see it in person at some point.
Purchased an Expedition G Wagen
- Thread starter McBride
- Start date
Overland Hadley
on a journey
The MaxTrax mount looks great!
Are you going to lock or otherwise secure them to the vehicle? They are not cheap, although I figure most people who know what they are would not take them. Maybe kids just being jerks would take them. Anyway, just a thought.
Are you going to lock or otherwise secure them to the vehicle? They are not cheap, although I figure most people who know what they are would not take them. Maybe kids just being jerks would take them. Anyway, just a thought.
McBride
Adventurer
Scott,
Thanks. It's getting there.
During my dirt road route to this year's expo I was astonished by the beauty of the mountains and terrain of SE Arizona as soon as I crossed the state line via the Pueblo Park road - all the way to Mormon Lake. I'll definitely be exploring the area extensively in the years to come and maybe I'll make it to Prescott.
If so I'll stop in and you can check out the camper. The Europa guys put a lot into it and it's pretty awesome.
William
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McBride
Adventurer
Thanks. I've thought about that myself. They are the most expensive pieces of plastic I've ever purchased and hopefully they will save the day at some point. Not sure what to do regarding security. Maybe some tight zip ties around the bands would make them less easy to quick release. That might also minimize the risk of loss due to a snag.
I'll try and stay in the back country, as far away from the crooks as the G will take me.
Scott Brady
Founder
I don't think the average thief really knows what the MaxTrax are for and how much they cost. We run them on everything (after they saved my bacon a few times) and never had an issue.
McBride
Adventurer
Many thanks. The build credit goes to Dave Holland and the guys at Europa. I'm the lucky one who gets to run it around in the mountains and deserts. It is a blast to use.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Very true!
McBride
Adventurer
Thanks guys. The motor is one of the best things about it. The 602 turbodiesel motor is a powerful torque beast and has been 100% reliable on 6K+ miles of backcountry roads in the last 9 months! I could only imagine what it could do if it wasn't attached to a 6850lb camper with major gear reduction. I'll continue to feed it well, maintain it and protect it from water in the fuel and I'm confident that it will continue to be un-eventful.
William
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Did you get another G? If so we need some specs, I see a winch mount....
McBride
Adventurer
Yep. It's a 2000 G500 . It came with the Europa rock slider/steps, ORC winch bumper (no winch), ORC springs, 16" wheels with 33.5" tires, a/c inverter, locking spare tire storage hatch and an upgraded touch panel flip up audio system. Due to the condition and value of the extras I paid 25k.
It runs strong and is incredibly tight and smooth, even on our awful 9 mile dirt road. Everything on it works. It came with a full set of manuals and tools, including the shop manual (in German) and the bull bar wrench.
It will probably end up being my wife's daily driver.
I'm a bit astonished in that being 14 years old it is as tight, smooth and powerful as the 2014 Landcruiser that belongs to the ranch I run. Not a single rattle.
So far I'm pretty excited.
It runs strong and is incredibly tight and smooth, even on our awful 9 mile dirt road. Everything on it works. It came with a full set of manuals and tools, including the shop manual (in German) and the bull bar wrench.
It will probably end up being my wife's daily driver.
I'm a bit astonished in that being 14 years old it is as tight, smooth and powerful as the 2014 Landcruiser that belongs to the ranch I run. Not a single rattle.
So far I'm pretty excited.
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Overland Hadley
on a journey
It would make the nine miles into town sooo smooth.
otiswesty
Regular guy
Yes, those Europa G500's are pretty sweet. Same power plant as the later G500/G550 but older style interior and manual transfer case. It is my Gwagen model preference, only 350-360 of them brought in and who knows how many are left. Service and parts are not as simple as the more modern trucks, but they are typically enthusiast owned and well maintained when they come up for sale. When I bought my 300GD in 2000 these were the insanely expensive new Gwagens that I had only a hope of owning one day. Amazing what happened to values in the 2008 gasoline price spike and simultaneous economic contraction. So after happily poking about in an old diesel for 8 years, I now utilize a bit more than my share of resources with the big V8. The Mercedes sales people in Europe call it a "luxury tax." Of course the level of taxation is driver dependent.