Simon dix
Active member
Luxurious set up. I would imagine would be quite TOP heavy. Looks bloody awesome tho
Unimog U1300L 435 1986 - Restore to former glory & add custom camper
- Thread starter Simon dix
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Simon dix
Active member
Nothing exciting to look at but these front part bolt-on chassis components are nice and clean thanks to Rasal. I got my guy at work on a quiet day to use a needle scaler tool (pneumatic rust remover) to clean off what was predominantly 33 year old rust proofing and the undercoat beneath that. The odd place was showing superficial browning (the dreaded birth of rust) where the bumper had been knocked around by some unskilled drivers in the past. Luckily the oxidation process had not started eating deep and therefore the integrity of these components are pretty much as they were in its former glory days. Some massaging of the right side bumper rail was required using a sizeable hammer and a big chunk of i-beam (our rusty old anvil) which we found lying around.
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Simon dix
Active member
Thought I would throw a design down on paper, so those that are interested can have a sneak peek. I should probably get back to focusing more on getting Mogone to a satisfactory state first? But this evening I was free, and I could not do anything to Mogone because she does not live at my place, so thought it was a good time to throw a simplistic 6 berth idea down. The actual working complexity given space, weight, automation and compliance will not be exactly as simplistic as what the drawing presents? You maybe wondering how I will access the spare wheel? Quite a few options.
I also wanted to share my state of the art anvil during some metal massaging. The metal PINGGGGG is nasty so remember your hearing protection. The anvil and hammer had the desired effect.........nice and straight and even!!
I also wanted to share my state of the art anvil during some metal massaging. The metal PINGGGGG is nasty so remember your hearing protection. The anvil and hammer had the desired effect.........nice and straight and even!!
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Sitec
Adventurer
Food for thought... Consider a compost toilet (Natures Head, Air Head or similar). It means you don't have to have a black slops tank, and you are not flushing valuable water down the pan... Also, are gas cylinders ok to have within the living area?
Two standard off the shelf roof top tents side by side above the cab would give you those 4 births without having to impact the living area... Now is an interesting time in your build as planning is very important!
Two standard off the shelf roof top tents side by side above the cab would give you those 4 births without having to impact the living area... Now is an interesting time in your build as planning is very important!
Simon dix
Active member
I have never considered a compost toilet........I will look at that and thanks. As for the gas I need to double check this but I am assuming that it 100% needs to vent outside of the vehicle, and there is no chance of gas engulfing a confined space to cause the unthinkable due to a spark. Many compliance issues will need to be looked at in detail. For e.g. think for QLD rear overhand 60% of wheel base (mine will be in the order of 1,950mm from centre of rear wheel). Gas and plumbing needs to be signed off by appropriate qualified plumber/gas installer. From memory I think the tanks even have to be removable for repairs, changing and the like.Food for thought... Consider a compost toilet (Natures Head, Air Head or similar). It means you don't have to have a black slops tank, and you are not flushing valuable water down the pan... Also, are gas cylinders ok to have within the living area?
Two standard off the shelf roof top tents side by side above the cab would give you those 4 births without having to impact the living area... Now is an interesting time in your build as planning is very important!
Will look at the roof top side by side. ?
I agree whole wholeheartedly with you that planning is very important. I think one can often tell when driving down a road of a camper project that has had time, planning and love thrown into it compared to one that has just been knocked up quickly. I am not having a go at those who knock something up quickly as they are probably working to a totally different budget and will use their contraption for different purposes like weekend getaways rather than travel around Aussie or SE Asia. In fact I designed and built the frame work (with the help from my cousin) for a trailer camper that is still sitting very unfinished at my mates place. I even bought the aluminium for the flip top tent, aluminium track for canvas to slot into, water tanks, gas cook top/sink, Baby Weber bbq, 110l Waeco and then everything came to a halt. If anyone is interested to see some pics Ill dig some up.
I also think appreciating others points of views is crucial for the best outcome of a projects end product. I better get to work!! Cheers
Iain_U1250
Explorer
We have a Nature's Head composting toilet, it works great. As for the gas bottles, best stored outside, there are standards for venting that need to be followed. There are regulations for everything, and if you don't comply with them, there is a chance that some bureaucrat in the licencing office will just not approve the registration. You can then try another office, the more regional ones are a lot less strict lol. Your "Engineer" may be a lot stricter, as he has to sign off on each modification, and most take this quite seriously as if there is a problem which causes an accident, they are personally responsible. I've seen a Mog registered that clearly breaks more than one of the "ADR Rules" yet it is registered. It's only if there is an accident will someone start looking.
Simon dix
Active member
Hi Iain, Thanks. The compost toilets seem to be a grand choice?
WRT the certification etc and coming from someone who has been through this whole journey I will certainly be seeking your experience from time to time without trying to annoy you too much ?. Insurance is serious business in our lives.
I built a trailer a few years ago and I was surprised how easy it was to get it on the road. No one even inspected my welding or anything!! I am certainly not comparing registration for a trailer vs a camper as these are different animals altogether?
Iain_U1250
Explorer
My Engineer did inspect the welds on the seat bases, luckily by them my welding had improved I had an expert do the welding on the main framework, just did not want to take the risk.
I had an expert do the welding on the main framework, just did not want to take the risk.
Simon dix
Active member
Looks like that workshop was A1A? Fortunately I have many pro welders in the region (being in the vicinity of shipyards, offshore companies and the like). Unfortunately I don’t have quick access to a certifying QLD Engineer to call upon. Costs could go up dramatically should the Engineer do a 16hour (flight time) round trip journey for an inspection and a beer ?. I suppose I will just make sure I don’t hide anything that cannot be inspected? Or maybe I will get a weld report carried out for seat bases and major structural portions?My Engineer did inspect the welds on the seat bases, luckily by them my welding had improved
View attachment 538814
How many seats does yours have in the rear portion?
I am toying with making the structure out of Aluminium?
Sometimes I seem to spend a lot of time thinking about a lot but not achieving a lot!!
Simon dix
Active member
Whilst I still ponder on what box design I want and number of people I have to carry on with other important progress. The PDF attachment very roughly shows how the cab and the camper box will be integrated. There is a tremendous amount of independent movement between the cab and the tray (camper box) in rough undulating terrain and therefore absolutely necessary not to make this rigid. I will incorporate a storage platform, drink holders or tv set up, or whatever I ultimately decide for this integrated section. I am not keen on modifying the cab structure for obvious reasons especially compliance and added engineering costs. In summary this integrated section will be more for communication, passing things to and from cab and camper box but also create a gateway so both sections can benefit from the custom aircon system that I will install.
In life there are so may different times to manage......Family time, Unimog time, Work time, Holiday time, Waiting time and the time list goes on. Manage time is the key in life.
Whilst I was sketching camper ideas last night my daughter drew her own ideas for her room and asked if she could have these items in her room. She was extremely adamant that the roof of her room should be as per roof drawing (stars and moon). In this case she can sleep on top of the roof and have natural elements and astrology as per her drawing. Hopefully it wont be cloudy ?
I will post pics once the shiny SUS304 flexible exhaust has been fabricated and fitted. I hope to send Mogone away for spray painting within the next month or so. The guy who is going to do the paint job does extremely intricate work and will not charge the earth and therefore its an easy decision for me to get him to carry out this work as there is also a small amount of patch work due to bit of rust under driver and passenger side door areas in the cab towards the rear (I will post pics of this when the cab is off). To add to my decision is that I don't have a spray booth or somewhere to mitigate the outside elements during the paint job and even more so................is that I don't possess the sort of patience required to do a great paint job. My patience and time is better spent on design, talking to others and making other crucial progress whilst Mogone is painted by a pro.
In life there are so may different times to manage......Family time, Unimog time, Work time, Holiday time, Waiting time and the time list goes on. Manage time is the key in life.
Whilst I was sketching camper ideas last night my daughter drew her own ideas for her room and asked if she could have these items in her room. She was extremely adamant that the roof of her room should be as per roof drawing (stars and moon). In this case she can sleep on top of the roof and have natural elements and astrology as per her drawing. Hopefully it wont be cloudy ?
I will post pics once the shiny SUS304 flexible exhaust has been fabricated and fitted. I hope to send Mogone away for spray painting within the next month or so. The guy who is going to do the paint job does extremely intricate work and will not charge the earth and therefore its an easy decision for me to get him to carry out this work as there is also a small amount of patch work due to bit of rust under driver and passenger side door areas in the cab towards the rear (I will post pics of this when the cab is off). To add to my decision is that I don't have a spray booth or somewhere to mitigate the outside elements during the paint job and even more so................is that I don't possess the sort of patience required to do a great paint job. My patience and time is better spent on design, talking to others and making other crucial progress whilst Mogone is painted by a pro.
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Simon dix
Active member
I plan to install a semi automatic system to inflate and deflate tyres to nominated pressures. You can see the simplistic drawing I did a few minutes ago. I think the system will be light weight, durable, simple and will be very effective. The other day I made a trip to see the regulator and it is an extremely light weight and robust unit but its not cheap, but still cheaper than buying an off-the-shelf-system to suit my requirements. I often wonder if that by buying an off-the-shelf-system would be more economical due to the time spent researching and working out the complexities and then analog or digital etc? I justify this by one very important thing...........if I learnt about the system and installed it, then I can fix it, and this means that the initial research time spent understanding and installing was time very well spent.
The simplistic diagram shown involves the following components. Not everything is listed but hope it gives the idea. An electronic proportional regulator which is regulated either by an analog dial (4-20MA) or a digital screen system, 2 x switch activated on/off solenoid valves or similar, supply air lines to front and rear, 4 pull out air hoses for each tyre so that tyres can be inflated or deflated all at the same time. For the analog dial different milliamp settings corresponds to different pressures. I will either have a spare compressor or fit a 24volt compressor instead. I think I will go with having a spare (single cylinder as it has already). This I keep everything standard and its easy to change compressors should the existing have an issue.
The idea of having 2 switch activated on/off valves (one for front air supply and one for rear air supply) is so that you can apply different pressures to front and rear by flipping a switch and applying the nominated pressures by having one regulator only. If you have lots of money to spare you could get 2 regulators and do away with the valves but I weigh up cost vs value to be in favor of 1 regulator and therefore other monies can be spent elsewhere.
Example (25psi rear and 20psi front)....if on the highway and approaching a road that requires the aforementioned pressures.
1.Pull over.
2.Connect 4 air hoses into each wheel.
3.Open both rear and front valves using the switches on the dash or where ever I decide to locate these.
4.Use analog dial system or digital brains system to tell regulator to deflate to 25psi. All tyres will deflate to 25psi.
5.Close valve on rear using switch.
6.Use analog dial system or digital brains system to tell regulator to deflate to 20psi. Front tyres will deflate to 20psi.
7.Pack away hoses and be on your way with your desired pressures.
This is the closest I am going to get to a fully automated system. I don't fancy the idea of drilling into perfectly good working axles and the like plus I would not know where to start installing CTIS. In summary, I don't fancy the cost of CTIS with the potential headache of something outside of CTIS going wrong after installation. With the semi automatic system your deflation and inflation times would far supersede what you could achieve at the local service station or in your workshop using a compressor.
The simplistic diagram shown involves the following components. Not everything is listed but hope it gives the idea. An electronic proportional regulator which is regulated either by an analog dial (4-20MA) or a digital screen system, 2 x switch activated on/off solenoid valves or similar, supply air lines to front and rear, 4 pull out air hoses for each tyre so that tyres can be inflated or deflated all at the same time. For the analog dial different milliamp settings corresponds to different pressures. I will either have a spare compressor or fit a 24volt compressor instead. I think I will go with having a spare (single cylinder as it has already). This I keep everything standard and its easy to change compressors should the existing have an issue.
The idea of having 2 switch activated on/off valves (one for front air supply and one for rear air supply) is so that you can apply different pressures to front and rear by flipping a switch and applying the nominated pressures by having one regulator only. If you have lots of money to spare you could get 2 regulators and do away with the valves but I weigh up cost vs value to be in favor of 1 regulator and therefore other monies can be spent elsewhere.
Example (25psi rear and 20psi front)....if on the highway and approaching a road that requires the aforementioned pressures.
1.Pull over.
2.Connect 4 air hoses into each wheel.
3.Open both rear and front valves using the switches on the dash or where ever I decide to locate these.
4.Use analog dial system or digital brains system to tell regulator to deflate to 25psi. All tyres will deflate to 25psi.
5.Close valve on rear using switch.
6.Use analog dial system or digital brains system to tell regulator to deflate to 20psi. Front tyres will deflate to 20psi.
7.Pack away hoses and be on your way with your desired pressures.
This is the closest I am going to get to a fully automated system. I don't fancy the idea of drilling into perfectly good working axles and the like plus I would not know where to start installing CTIS. In summary, I don't fancy the cost of CTIS with the potential headache of something outside of CTIS going wrong after installation. With the semi automatic system your deflation and inflation times would far supersede what you could achieve at the local service station or in your workshop using a compressor.
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Sitec
Adventurer
Hi fella.
This is already on the forum somewhere... can't remember who was in discussion last year re body design but here's a rough idea of what I'd do had I gone down the Mog route.. Gotta be able to stand up in it... By the way, I love the disco ball in your daughters drawing. That is a must!
This is already on the forum somewhere... can't remember who was in discussion last year re body design but here's a rough idea of what I'd do had I gone down the Mog route.. Gotta be able to stand up in it... By the way, I love the disco ball in your daughters drawing. That is a must!
Simon dix
Active member
Hey Pal, cool drawing ?. I am still leaning towards an automated pop up TOP. I want to keep the weight as Low down but I also want the rig to be able to traverse tighter situations than what a very high camper could. The percentage of times I might find myself in tight situations may not warrant the pop up top however I think I can justify it by keeping COG Low down. Appreciate your thoughts and thanks for sending the drawing.Hi fella.
This is already on the forum somewhere... can't remember who was in discussion last year re body design but here's a rough idea of what I'd do had I gone down the Mog route.. Gotta be able to stand up in it... By the way, I love the disco ball in your daughters drawing. That is a must!
View attachment 541516
Disco ball is a must........I hear you loud and clear ?
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Pop tops work well in warm climates, but when it is wet and rainy, it like being in a tent. A hard side pop top works, the ones that slide up, but things like windows are harder to make work, and the mechanisms add weight. Weather proofing is important, so dust seals need to work well or you will end up with a dusty interior.