The Forgotten Continent Expedition
- Thread starter dhackney
- Start date
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Wow, bummer about the frame. Curious to see what your solution will be. Again I find myself behind on your log and needing to sit down and catch up. BTW, I'm not sure I ever got to give you a proper thanks for the tips for my Atacama trip last fall but your tips and advice that you gave me were appreciated. We had a good time even on our brief tour there. :victory:
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Yes, that is correct. We had just reinforced the frame over the leaf springs and all we managed to do was move the loads forward to the next most vulnerable stress point: forward of the front shackle mount.
If we keep going we'll eventually work our way up to the highest stressed point on many truck frames - just aft of the cab.
Pskhaat
2005 Expedition Trophy Champion
Dr. Hackney,
I don't often agree with your articles (no doubt you would be a fool to agree with any of mine), but just reading your One Lap of America I was prepared to make my counter-arguments in my mind, but I have to say much of your analysis and observations are in-line with mine. I particularly appreciate your comments on the "fly-over" States.
We should not criticize the "me" and "mine" mentality as I believe it is a fundamental right. Rather IMO we should embrace it but do so constructively as the mother of innovation rather than the government-"entitled." For what it is worth I've never met a more "entitled" generation as my great-grandfather's nor a more "entitled" US geography as the fly-over States (minus a few coastal areas); then again I know very few people between the age of 6 and 30.
I believe we from the US have a large disconnect between what is provided in society for many European, Australian, some Asian, affluent SA, and British societies, our standard 2-week vacation (just took me another 12 months to get 2 weeks off/yr) is a small example. I find it also problematic that we in the US are the "poorest" we've ever been. I'm a true believer that it is costs more by the mean in the US than anyone outside the US thinks.
I don't often agree with your articles (no doubt you would be a fool to agree with any of mine), but just reading your One Lap of America I was prepared to make my counter-arguments in my mind, but I have to say much of your analysis and observations are in-line with mine. I particularly appreciate your comments on the "fly-over" States.
We should not criticize the "me" and "mine" mentality as I believe it is a fundamental right. Rather IMO we should embrace it but do so constructively as the mother of innovation rather than the government-"entitled." For what it is worth I've never met a more "entitled" generation as my great-grandfather's nor a more "entitled" US geography as the fly-over States (minus a few coastal areas); then again I know very few people between the age of 6 and 30.
I believe we from the US have a large disconnect between what is provided in society for many European, Australian, some Asian, affluent SA, and British societies, our standard 2-week vacation (just took me another 12 months to get 2 weeks off/yr) is a small example. I find it also problematic that we in the US are the "poorest" we've ever been. I'm a true believer that it is costs more by the mean in the US than anyone outside the US thinks.
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lowenbrau
Explorer
Yes, that is correct. We had just reinforced the frame over the leaf springs and all we managed to do was move the loads forward to the next most vulnerable stress point: forward of the front shackle mount.
If we keep going we'll eventually work our way up to the highest stressed point on many truck frames - just aft of the cab.
Yeah, exactly.
Having the loads concentrated on the far ends of the load bearing portion of the frame introduces some big challenges. I wish I had a suggestion. In retrospect would you consider moving the pivot closer to the axle?
dhackney
Expedition Leader
We had already decided to return to the states prior to shipping out to SE Asia to do some repairs, changes and modifications. We were literally just on our way back to Quito for a trip to the Amazon basin and then heading for a port to ship out. We probably would have made it if not for the super rough road, driving conditions, etc.
Our plan now is:
1. Do a repair of the broken frame here locally. It will probably consist of a piece of C channel welded over the offending section. Things out here tend to be crude but effective.
2. Do a temporary reinforcement of the corresponding position on the other frame rail to prevent a mirror occurance there. That will probably be a piece of C channel or flat stock bolted to the frame section through the existing holes in the frame.
3. Get the Fuso on a boat back to the U.S.
4. Disassemble the truck (camper, pivot frame, storage boxes, etc.)
5. Repair and reinforce the frame to make it suitable for the Dreadnaught Class weight we carry around.
6. Do other misc. repairs, modifications, etc. based on living in the rig for 18 months (actually very few considering we knew next to nothing about overlanding when we designed and built this thing)
7. Reassemble the truck
8. Test
9. Ship to SE Asia
Keep in mind that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
You are very welcome! Glad they provided some help to your visit to the area. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance for other plans/trips.
Posted via Inmarsat BGAN @$6.00 per MB, but you guys are worth it.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
I think the pivot frame design was OK if we'd had a load matched to the physics of how far out we were extending the loads, as you rightly point out. In my view, there are two basic challenges with our particular implementation of the concept.
First, and by far the biggest single issue, is that we just put too much weight on this size truck. If we were going to go out with this much weight we should have built on a bigger truck. This was simply ignorance, as I knew basically zero about all of this prior to starting and had literally weeks to research and pick a solution.
God forbid we should take less stuff.
Seriously though, after living in the rig full time for 18 months, I would still make almost all the same choices on what to bring along, I'd just build it on a truck better suited to the weight we are dragging around.
Second, and this is related only to the Fuso FG, the frame tapers starting forward of the rear axle back to the tail. Obviously, many others have built excellent expedition rigs on this platform with great success. They were less gluttonous in their appetite for stuff to drag along.
With 20/20 hindsight, we should have either a) brought less stuff (horrors! :Wow1
, b) built on a bigger chassis, or c) reinforced the frame to match our load, which is what we will now attempt to accomplish.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
It is my firm belief that the most boring possible world would be one in which everyone thought and acted exactly like me.
I tend to learn a lot more from people who disagree with me than I do from people who agree.
I wholeheartedly agree. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't and wouldn't learn from you!
dhackney
Expedition Leader
When it rains...
Well, two days after our frame broke, our web server got erased.
The hosting company says "We have no idea how it happened. Everything is gone. Even the backups. We can't restore anything."
Oh, I should have said "soon to be former hosting company."
But, anyway, it will take a few days for me to get the server rebuilt from down here, so none of the PDF links will be active for a while.
Also, our main travel site is down along with everything else.
I'll post up when I get things reloaded and active again.
PM me if you have a good, reliable hosting supplier.
Well, two days after our frame broke, our web server got erased.
The hosting company says "We have no idea how it happened. Everything is gone. Even the backups. We can't restore anything."
Oh, I should have said "soon to be former hosting company."
But, anyway, it will take a few days for me to get the server rebuilt from down here, so none of the PDF links will be active for a while.
Also, our main travel site is down along with everything else.
I'll post up when I get things reloaded and active again.
PM me if you have a good, reliable hosting supplier.
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
!Coraje!
Eso tambien pasa.
In the meantime, don't trash talk the hosting company too much until you have the backups safely in your hands, loaded, and backed up again!
Eso tambien pasa.
In the meantime, don't trash talk the hosting company too much until you have the backups safely in your hands, loaded, and backed up again!
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Doug,
Sorry to hear that you need a major repair! Now you've got a monocoque design, with the camper a stressed member of the chassis!
The roads in the Ecuadorian Andes are particularly rough. Since Doug's web site is unavailable, here's his photo of the typical road surface.
Even the major routes are dirt and gravel tracks bulldozed along steep hillsides. The combination of seismic activity and heavy rains make minor landslides an everyday occurance. The roads have a simple gravel surface because of the need for regular grading to clear away the slides.
Chip Haven
Sorry to hear that you need a major repair! Now you've got a monocoque design, with the camper a stressed member of the chassis!
The roads in the Ecuadorian Andes are particularly rough. Since Doug's web site is unavailable, here's his photo of the typical road surface.
Even the major routes are dirt and gravel tracks bulldozed along steep hillsides. The combination of seismic activity and heavy rains make minor landslides an everyday occurance. The roads have a simple gravel surface because of the need for regular grading to clear away the slides.
Chip Haven
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Fred,
Thanks for the support! Greatly appreciated right now.
And yes, I agree. It is very important in life to never close one door until you have another one open.
SafariPacific
Adventurer
Hosting
Hi Doug,
I've been following along with your trip for a while now and just read you post about the web hosting issue. PM Sent
Hi Doug,
I've been following along with your trip for a while now and just read you post about the web hosting issue. PM Sent
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Fuso Frame Saga Update
26 February 2009
Our day began with a beautiful sunrise glowing on the snow capped volcano across the highway from where we were camped. We were in the parking lot of a hotel created from a hacienda built in 1555, where no less than Simón Bolivar, liberator of South America, once stayed during the revolution.
Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/ecuador/fusoframesagaupdate.pdf
.
26 February 2009
Our day began with a beautiful sunrise glowing on the snow capped volcano across the highway from where we were camped. We were in the parking lot of a hotel created from a hacienda built in 1555, where no less than Simón Bolivar, liberator of South America, once stayed during the revolution.
Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/ecuador/fusoframesagaupdate.pdf
.