TerraLiner:12 m Globally Mobile Beach House/Class-A Crossover w 6x6 Hybrid Drivetrain

[biotect]

..

Hahahaha! All good, I'm used too paint drying (renovating house ATM).....

Hi Joe,

Many thanks for your patience!!

Again, will try to get the monster series of posts done by the end of November, if only because I am fairly certain that the extensive discussion of solar, solar awnings, and ways to increase the total square-footage of solar coverage, should get everyone thinking 24/7. I'm sort of "in this" for somewhat self-interested reasons, after all, because every time I throw stuff up on the thread, this stimulates participants to come back with terrific suggestions, suggestions that I never would have dreamt up myself.....:sombrero: The problem of adequate solar square-footage combined with the problem of wind needs some genuine "out of the box" thinking, and the thread will benefit greatly from as many "whacko" solar ideas floated and kicking about as possible.

An Iveco Daily + KimberleyKruiser T3 combination sounds fascinating, a bit like the original Maxi-Mog formula, albeit much more practical and much less pretentious. If I were not now so committed to advancing maxi-length mobile-house TerraLiner design, I would love to explore the world of Iveco Dailys at greater length. My favorite Daily conversion so far is the "Veky" self-build by a Portuguese architect -- see posts #454 and #455 at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...igid-Torsion-Free-Frame?p=1646656#post1646656 .


****************************************


Hi Haf-E,

Good to hear from you. Yes, that is an impressive electric bike, isn't it!


All best wishes,



Biotect

 

[biotect]

..
Hi 93Canter,

Many thanks for posting those photos of the underside of a Tonto.

Actually, in those pics it's fairly clear that the Tonto does not have any kind of pivoting subframe. Ergo, for the shell to sit directly on top and not get damaged in the course of normal use, the frame would have to be stiffened. One then wonder whether Iveco has partnered with "Quality Bus & Coach", the Malaysian company that builds the Tonto, to factory-produce stiffened frames such that a fully integrated off-road bus like the Tonto could become possible? Or whether "Quality Bus & Coach" does the necessary chassis-stiffening work itself?

See post #211 on page 22 for a wealth of iinks regarding the Tonto, and the Malaysian company that builds it, at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...igid-Torsion-Free-Frame?p=1579826#post1579826 .



****************************************


1. MAN's "Modification Competence Center": Factory-Based Customization


****************************************


MAN trucks, for instance, has a special service that allows one to specify a variety of out-of-the-ordinary, factory-produced modifications, and chassis-stiffening is one such modification -- see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Man-...Man-Truck-Modification-Center/537813412897184 , https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...geschneidert-von-MAN/boxid/207235&prev=search , and https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...satzfahrzeuge-von-man-264867.html&prev=search :



[video=youtube;xgFGxfmGiSI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgFGxfmGiSI [/video]



So I wonder whether Iveco offers the same service?

Your post inspired me to look up MAN's "Modifications Competence Center" again, and I came across two excellent PDFs that seemed worth posting in their entirety. But before I post those 30-odd page PDFs, here are some charts that summarize the variety of MAN custom-modification possibilities -- see https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/4422155/spezialfahrzeuge-de-en-5-mb-pdf-man-truck-amp-bus :



..



****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


Next, here is the first very detailed PDF, in both English and German -- see https://www.manted.de/manted/epl/pr...4c8b9a5887f6c5ab405&PKT=MODIFICATION&SRC=6460 . I am positing it in full, because it's packed with fascinating factory-installed options that one might never know were possible, just looking at the very standard kinds of MAN truck platforms used by ActionMobil. For instance: "side cab and rear cab glazing", "sliding doors" (!!), an extremely long "crew cab" or "double cab", ultra-long wheelbases, "wheel formula changes", expanded fuel tank variations, hydrostatic-drive-hybrid with regenerative braking.... in addition to "heavy duty" vehicles with more robust-everything, including strengthened chassis frames:










****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************










****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************








****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


This too is an excellent PDF describing the full range of custom-modificaiton possibilities, but unfortunately, it only seems available in German -- see https://www.manted.de/manted/epl/pr...70d8936083d7eafc645&PKT=MODIFICATION&SRC=7102 :










****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************








****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************










On the 10th page of this PDF there is a useful list of possible modifications. Translated, and combined with the text and a similar list of possible modifications contained in the PDF posted in #1864 above:


The Modification Competence Center (MCC)

Qualified for individual solutions

It’s well known that MAN satisfies even the most individual customer requests andprovides technically perfect and economical solutions.
Customer requests of this kindare coordinated and handled by the Modification Competence Center (MCC), whichMAN has set up especially
for the purpose. In close liaison with customers the MCCdevelops and configures tailor-made vehicles in which even unusual wishes become
reality. The services provided by the MCC specialists extend up to ordering bodies –including quality assurance to MAN’s exacting standards.
At the MCC everything runstogether: enquiries, quotes and orders are quickly processed and efficiently realised.This means that you get
competence from a single source: you have just one personto contact who will see you through all phases of your project.


Almost anything is possible

Modification modules all round the vehicle

Our extensive portfolio of modifications is sure to satisfy practically any customer’srequest. The modifications centre on the categories “Cab”,
“Chassis”, “Driveline”,“Electronics” and “Body”. In these module areas single vehicle modifications can bemade or several modifications can
be combined in a system. It may be that there aretechnical links between the various module areas that call for a networked solution.There
are hardly any limits to what is possible. Talk to the MAN specialists from theModification Competence Center – and your wishes will be fulfilled.

Please send your enquiries to the MCC at the following e-mail address:modifications@de.man-mn.com


CAB MODIFICATIONS

• Inclined roofs to take cooling equipment for refrigerator trucks, or for automobile transporters
• Roof cut-outs for long timber cranes, turntable ladders, or drilling derrick platforms
• Flat roofs
• Roof hatches
• Skylights
• Topsleeper
• Cab lowering
• Cab extensions
• Cab shortening
• Crew cabins
• Cab bisecting [reducing cab width by half] for transporting long material, or for catering purposes
• Sliding doors
• Windows for utility and forestry applications
• A wide range of seat combinations and sleeping bunks
• Driving school equipment
• Special paintwork
• Special finishes
• Lettering and inscriptions
• Enhancements and trims

CHASSIS MODIFICATIONS

• Wheelbase and overhang modifications
• Relocation of axles
• Installation of additional axles (rigid or steered, lifting or fixed)
• Axle steering systems
• Frame reinforcements (for instance, for heavy transport)
• Frame offsets (upwards, downwards, or towards the center)
• Move or change front or lateral mounting plates (for outriggers, front-mounted equipment, snow plows)
• Relocation or modification of frame attachments (exhaust system/pipes, battery box, air tanks)
• Additional tanks, tanks systems, special tanks
• Special couplings / connecting devices
• Modifications to running gear (springs, axle blocking systems, pressure lowering or retention systems)
• Conversion from chassis to semitrailer or vice versa
• Industry-specific adaptations, for instance, concrete mixers, fire engines, municipal operations, utilities, and forestry

DRIVE-LINE MODIFICATIONS

• Engine Remote Control Systems
• Automatic gearboxes
• Auxiliary drive systems, power take-off, heat exchangers for gearboxes, reduction gearing
• intermediate gears
• Retarder Installation
• Hydrostatic drive systems
• Retyring

ELECTRONIC MODIFICATIONS

• Additional Lights
• Warning lights and other warning devices
• Double or triple pedals for driving school vehicles, displays for driving instructors
• Generation of data files
• Acceleration / speed programming for working machines
• Additional power-sockets / outlets
• Infotainment
• Wireless technology (analog and digital radio)
• Reversing video systems
• Battery charging systems
• Additional technical equipment for fire trucks

BODY MODIFICATIONS

• Fitting of bodies required by customers is arranged in collaboration with body manufacturers
• Order Management by Advanced Bodybuilder Interface -- ABBI

Again, I am posting all of these just to inform thread participants of the extraordinary range of possibilities now on offer, thanks to the advanced, "customizable" workflow used by truck manufacturers such as MAN. For instance, there seems a tendency on ExPo for many to think that adding an extra steerable axle in a 6x6 is a "very big deal", and that this could not possible be a factory-installed option that would be reliable, heavy-duty, able to withstand the rigors of construction work, and hence, off-road driving. But it just ain't so. Installation of additional steerable axles is most definitely on the list.....:ylsmoke:

P.S. -- Some of these translations are my own, and on occasion I tried to approximate the "meaning" or "sense", as opposed to provide a literal translation. My apologies in advance to German speakers if I have made any mistakes!


****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


For instance, earlier in the thread in post #1369 at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...igid-Torsion-Free-Frame?p=1852701#post1852701, we saw some contemporary MAN forestry trucks that were configured as Chinese Sixes, with the tandem axles forward:








The first truck almost certainly seems a product of MAN's "Truck Modification Center", where it could be described as having undergone "Wheelbase and overhang changes", "Wheel ratios and axle combination changes", and most probably "Move or change mounting plates forward or laterally (outriggers, front-mounted equipment, snow plows)".

In effect the first set of images demonstrate that MAN is perfectly capable of building a chassis with a Chinese Six axle arrangement. In this case the customer needed the improved stability, traction, steering, and handling that a double axle forwards provides, especially on winding, "bendy unpaved roads in the mountains". See http://www.ditzj.de/html/en/trucks/man/verk6x6.html . Just the kind of axle arrangement that a well-designed globally capable motorhome would need, too, or so one might think. But if potential overlanding customers don't know about MAN's modification capabilities, then how can they order a vehicle more tailored to suit?

The second vehicle is a 6x6 made by OAF, and according to the website, is built as a Chinese Six direct at the factory, and is not a modified or "castrated" 8x8. So it seems that OAF also has the ability to construct a custom truck chassis. Like the MAN 6x6, this OAF 6x6 also has stabilization jacks, six in total.



****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


2. The MAN Trucknology Road-Show


****************************************


MAN hasn't just produced two PDFs to advertise its custom-modification capabilities. It's marketing effort has been much bolder than that.

A few year ago MAN ran a "Trucknology" road-show to showcase the shear variety of custom options, a road-show of the kind that a transportation freak such as myself would have loved to see -- see https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...inale-der-MAN-Trucknology-RoadShow-33217.html , http://mhwmagazine.co.uk/NewsArchiv...dShow_-_the_grand_finale_in_Munich-10542.html and http://www.commercialmotor.com/transport-news-brief/man-trucknology-roadshow---the-grand-finale . Barring that, here are some great videos:



[video=youtube;N0646Sf4sMg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0646Sf4sMg [/video]


****************************************


3. MAN Trucknology Days


****************************************


It seems that MAN's "Technology Road-Show" has since morphed into an annual MAN "Trucknology Days" event, when participants from all over the world will fly into Munich to test-drive a wide range of MAN trucks, many of them specially modified to suit niche-applications -- see http://www.corporate.man.eu/en/pres...-modifications_-tailor-made-by-MAN-54720.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/global/en/f...er/man-trucknology-days/Trucknology-Days.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/de/de/faszi...er/man-trucknology-days/Trucknology-Days.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/de/de/faszi...petence-center/probefahrten/probefahrten.html ,https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...petence-center/probefahrten/probefahrten.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/global/en/f...ompetence-center/test-drives/test-drives.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...m_1/TRS_Broschuere_Fern-Verteiler_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e..._truck_forum_1/TRS_Broschuere_Bau_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...Broschuere_Schwerlast-Kran-Sonder_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/de/de/faszi...teffizienz-live/transportreffizienz-live.html , https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...ive/transportreffizienz-live.html&prev=search , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/d...m_1/TRS_Broschuere_Fern-Verteiler_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/d..._truck_forum_1/TRS_Broschuere_Bau_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/d...Broschuere_Schwerlast-Kran-Sonder_2015_DE.pdf , https://www.flickr.com/photos/mantruckandbus/sets/72157651422976800/ :



[video=youtube;zFXjWofJ9VI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFXjWofJ9VI [/video]



****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************



[video=youtube;YAVfgS-QVxo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAVfgS-QVxo [/video]



****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************






****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


4. The enormous range of MAN customization "packages"


****************************************


MAN has also produced a number of PDFs that describe the range of special "packages" that it has put together in advance: industry-specific combinations of drivetrains, axle configurations, drivetrains, and bodies -- see http://www.truck.man.eu/global/en/f...ompetence-center/test-drives/test-drives.html , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...m_1/TRS_Broschuere_Fern-Verteiler_2015_DE.pdf , http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e..._truck_forum_1/TRS_Broschuere_Bau_2015_DE.pdf , and http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...Broschuere_Schwerlast-Kran-Sonder_2015_DE.pdf . These make fascinating reading, and suggest just how much flexibility exists. They also underscore a significant point: if MAN were not so willing to engage in tailor-made, factory-based customization, it would lose a huge amount of business. I have no idea what the price difference would be between a "standard" 6x6 MAN TGS (if such a thing even exists), and a significantly "custom" TGS. But if the difference were huge, then MAN would not have a viable business model, and it would no be able to serve the enormous range of specific market niches that the PDF pages posted below give testimony to.

It didn't seem worthwhile posting all the pages from these PDFs, so instead I concentrated on 3-axle customizations: not just 6x6s, but also 6x4s and 6x2s. The PDFs have almost twice as many pages as those posted here, because they cover 2-axle and 4-axle customizations as well. To get a sense of the complete range of potential market niches that MAN serves, the PDFs should be consulted directly.

There are three PDFs, titled "Long Haul and Distribution Vehicles", "Construction Vehicles", and "Heavy Duty, Crane, and Special Vehicles."

First, here are pages from "Long Haul and Distribution Vehicles" -- again, see http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...m_1/TRS_Broschuere_Fern-Verteiler_2015_DE.pdf:











****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************


These are pages from "Construction Vehicles" -- see http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e..._truck_forum_1/TRS_Broschuere_Bau_2015_DE.pdf :










****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.

 

[biotect]

.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

****************************************








And these are pages from "Heavy Duty, Crane, and Special Vehicles" -- see http://www.truck.man.eu/man/media/e...Broschuere_Schwerlast-Kran-Sonder_2015_DE.pdf :









****************************************

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
.