Toyo or Michelin for Mercedes vario 814 4X4

[Dragonsmaug]

Docka
Its 4X4 purpose built motorhome I had been looking to buy a 4x4 van or chassis cab to build my own but this was too good to miss Chris

 

[docka]

Looks good Chris! Any more pics?
How are you finding it drives does it cope with the terrain etc?

 

[Dragonsmaug]

I put a winch on the front on the basis that I will be lucky to find anything big enough to tow it out if stuck and so far have not needed it. I reversed the rear spring hangers to give it another 4 inches of ground clearance at the back and fitted helper air bags on the front axle . I have dragged the back end on the ground a few times and am now modding the chassis and the box to improve the ground clearance. In soft sand with the tyres pressures down to 15 psi it did better than to toyotas and a TD5 defender. I would prefer a lower low 1st as it feels only half a gear lower than high 1st Chris

 

[Ullie]

Ullie - what sort of figures are you getting on your fuel usage please?

+/- 18 litres for 100 km

 

[docka]

+/- 18 litres for 100 km

Thanks Ullie
So it seems the single/larger wheel conversion offers around 4.5l/100km worse economy so nearer 15mpg, not taking in to account driving style/environmental factors. I know that's a very rough estimate but it helps bring it in to perspective, thanks. I was expecting the singles to do better than the duals!
Anyone else have any figures to add to this?

 

[Ullie]

Thanks Ullie
So it seems the single/larger wheel conversion offers around 4.5l/100km worse economy so nearer 15mpg, not taking in to account driving style/environmental factors. I know that's a very rough estimate but it helps bring it in to perspective, thanks. I was expecting the singles to do better than the duals!
Anyone else have any figures to add to this?

With our normal wheels, it runs +/- 19 litres for 100 km
So better milage with the bigger wheels.

 

[Dragonsmaug]

The shape, size and weight of the vehicles are probable as important as tyre size but I am surprised by the difference.

 

[andylod]

Docka
We seem to achieve 19-20 mpg but that is at 2100rpm which is 65mph on our 265-70-17.5 tyres (singles). It does get a lot better at 90 kmh which i think is approx 1800 rpm but i havnt managed to stay at that speed for long enough to measure it.

Andy

 

[docka]

Cheers Andy
Any particular reason you stayed with the 17.5" wheels whilst converting to singles - tyre availability/price?

 

[andylod]

long storey really .... it came down to gearing and wanting a bit more ground clearance and wider tyres plus we intended to fit diff lock. The easiest diff to get hold of was 43/11 from an atego, and we didn't want to change our overall gearing as towing capabilities are important to us , so going from 40/11 standard diff to 43/11, the extra rolling circumference
of the new 265/70/17.5 brought our overall ratio back to standard. The 19.5's would have taken our gearing up far to much for us, probably ok for a standard van but not when towing 3.5 tons. We can sit at 90kmh towing in top gear but with the higher gearing we would be in 4th a lot of the time.
The gearing on the 4x4's is a lot lower so the 19.5's bring their gearing up to about the same as a standard 2wd van.

Hope this helps
Andy

 

[Anton2k3]

Andy, is there any reason that you couldn't do the diff lock conversion with the diff which is already on the van? I understand you wanted to build it on a bench, but would it have been possible with your original diff?

Thanks

 

[andylod]

Andy, is there any reason that you couldn't do the diff lock conversion with the diff which is already on the van? I understand you wanted to build it on a bench, but would it have been possible with your original diff?

Thanks

Anton .... yeh definitely now i would say its very possible, but then i didnt have any information, pictures, parts lists or any idea a standard 2wd diff could be retro converted to have a diff lock fitted.... so practicing on another diff and having the physical parts in front of me seemed the best way without taking my van off the road.......also I wanted the bigger wheels but keeping the same overall gearing so changing the diff/final gearing was the solution .... gave the new casing a good coat of hammerite tonight so i'm hoping to fit it within a week or so
Andy

 

[Anton2k3]

I'm looking forward to it! How are you plumbing the actuator in? Did you get pipes etc from merc?



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[andylod]

No, 8mm pvc air pipe and push fittings are a very standard thing. The rear tank has 2 end bungs in it, I have an PLC airline connector in one end for tyre inflation, and the other end is a fitting with a standard 8mm push fit street elbow. Pipe from that to the in cab PTO switch, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PTO-SWITCH-PULL-PUSH-PTO-IN-CAB-CONTROL-/171026273456?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CommercialVehicleParts_SM&hash=item27d1f5d4b0 from the switch back to rear axle and onto Diff lock actuator. ... Simples

 

[Anton2k3]

Great, and no doubt cheaper than merc parts! So, are you going to be writing up a guide with pics for us rear diff lock wannabes? Are you still considering 4x4, or will this suffice?

I've been giving it some thought recently, and although the dream was always 4x4, I'm not entirely convinced its practicable for us. From what I've found out so far, it would reduce top end , and increase fuel economy due to it being permanent. Storing and dismantling a van while i swap things over also seems to be a hassle. And how often will we be doing serious off roading, which would warrant full 4x4, I'm not sure of. Anyhoo, that's where I'm at on 4x4 vs. rear diff lock.

Did the bench tests see everything working correctly?


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