Trying to choose the right chassis

[smiddi]

Hello casejeep,

if you need more information about our 1428 AF feal free to contact me.

sorry the hp. is at this moment only available in german http://www.jsfeuer.com/shop/produkte/0/1/10/liste/

About the german meaning of A, AF and AK:
A= Allrad / 4wd
AF= Allrad Feuerwehr / 4wd fire truck, you´re right - mostly the fast axles up to 65 mi/h ... and only a few up to criminal 75 mi/h:smiley_drive:
AK=Allrad Kipper / 4wd dump truck chassis - max 50 mi/h

Juergen

 

[S2DM]

Another thing to consider is how interested are you in being the primary mechanic? It is very hard to find people in the states to work on the older imported mercedes. The plus side is that you will be intimately knowledgeable with all your trucks ins and outs and much more likely to be able to service it yourself. The downside is that when something exceeds your skill level, you will be looking at long drives or shipping it. We spent almost 4k shipping our truck out to Rob Pickering to get the last bits of the rebuild done, mostly things that required the special benz tools we didnt have. I wouldn't buy any of these trucks if you arent fully committed to working on it, frequently, and/or ok with spending the cash to ship it to mechanical service.

While their are some downsides to the truck Ozrockrat is recommending, mostly curb weight, the advantage is that power train can be serviced by any truck mechanic.

Would also agree with Kioman, that the Mog is too short for a 16 foot box. Our is 12'8" and right at the edge of looking normal on our chassis. I would disagree that the mechanics of a Mog and 1017a are much different cost wise though. The 1017/917 won't have the portal axles to contend with, but you are still looking at an old drivetrain with expensive, hard to get, usually need to be imported, parts.

My current thinking is that if you are going to spend an extended time in your rig, year or more, travel to different continents, central/south america etc., then the older Mercedes platforms make a ton of sense. If you are looking at mostly NA and weekend warrior trips, I think the cost benefits start to swing to a domestic pickup. We recently decided to sell our Mog and are reconfiguring our camper to fit an f-550 pickup.

 

[casejeep]

I plan on doing most if not all work on the truck myself. I have a "grandpa" who used to work on MB and MAN trucks back in the '60's, and owned a diesel repair shop since. If he doesn't know how to do it them someone on the form will know.

My wife and I were just talking about a trip. It was the "why not sell everything and just start driving". Which is a real possibility for us within the next year. So yeah we are planning on take the truck other places. But I also want to use it for regular camping trips.

But yes I am buying a 25.25 year old truck unseen. Things will get weird for sure.

Another thing to consider is how interested are you in being the primary mechanic? It is very hard to find people in the states to work on the older imported mercedes. The plus side is that you will be intimately knowledgeable with all your trucks ins and outs and much more likely to be able to service it yourself. The downside is that when something exceeds your skill level, you will be looking at long drives or shipping it. We spent almost 4k shipping our truck out to Rob Pickering to get the last bits of the rebuild done, mostly things that required the special benz tools we didnt have. I wouldn't buy any of these trucks if you arent fully committed to working on it, frequently, and/or ok with spending the cash to ship it to mechanical service.

While their are some downsides to the truck Ozrockrat is recommending, mostly curb weight, the advantage is that power train can be serviced by any truck mechanic.

Would also agree with Kioman, that the Mog is too short for a 16 foot box. Our is 12'8" and right at the edge of looking normal on our chassis. I would disagree that the mechanics of a Mog and 1017a are much different cost wise though. The 1017/917 won't have the portal axles to contend with, but you are still looking at an old drivetrain with expensive, hard to get, usually need to be imported, parts.

My current thinking is that if you are going to spend an extended time in your rig, year or more, travel to different continents, central/south america etc., then the older Mercedes platforms make a ton of sense. If you are looking at mostly NA and weekend warrior trips, I think the cost benefits start to swing to a domestic pickup. We recently decided to sell our Mog and are reconfiguring our camper to fit an f-550 pickup.

 

[canals1164]

Sounds a good plan to me I think buying an ex fire truck is the safest route. Our experience of our 1989 917 was it was in fantastic condition and had been very well maintained, I am a big fan of Mercedes tractors and trucks of the era as they seem to be the last of the old fashioned belt and braces engineering. We did strip down brakes and the replace hoses and belts but nothing was worn out. The great news with this age of truck is that you can work on them and whilst I am sure you do need special tools if you are desperate you can make do. The MB tractor I have is always repairable and it has only been on a few occasions that I have had to wait for parts which are available trough merc truck dealers even though they know nothing of the tractor range! I have yet to find a rusted bolt on the truck and the only item we struggled with was a drain plug stuck in transfer box. I know that in Europe it easier to get parts but even on the rare tractors Mercedes parts availability is amazing. They are simple engineering very well carried out, don't panic.

 

[Neil]

I agree with canals 1164 that the fire trucks are a really good bet for being in good condition.

When I bought my 1017A, I spent ages looking at them. I mostly looked at ex military ones as they tended to be in better condition as they were all sprayed with a thick undercoat when they were new.

However, I did see some that had been abused and had rust. The worst place ( which I saw on a few ) is in the hinge area on the cab. This would take a lot to repair. There is also a void area on the front sides of the cab behind the aerofoils. This area has a drain in them that can block and cause a build up of water in the void.

On an earlier note I did look at the AF models and not all of them had the fast axles so you cannot assume they have . The German log book will tell you the top speed.

They are getting harder to source and their prices are going up. I went to a military base to view some . they had about 100 that were scheduled for the next auction ( vebeg.de ) I tries to buy 10 and put a good bid on each but didn't get any. One buyer bought them all and shipped them to Africa as cargo trucks .

I also can concur with Canals1164 that the older Mercs are just simple. I think the last thing you want when traveling is technology especially electrics .

A vehicle that can be welded at the side of the road is best in my view

Good luck with your choices .

Neil

Essex UK

http://www.cloud9isborn.blogspot.com

 

[UpperCrust]

Its been a busy day. Created a new username (used to be "casejeep"). Created a website. Oh yeah and I bought a MB 917AF! Ill be starting a build thread here in a little, so keep an eye out.

 

[Joe917]

Congratulations, feel free to pm me with any MB917AF questions. Joe.

 

[UpperCrust]

Anyone know what these trucks weigh without the a camper?