Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread

[Iain_U1250]

Another update, I have the "modification plate", so now my mog is approved to carry four passengers, with all the new seats and seat belts approved. The new fuel tanks and the new turbo and exhaust system is all approved.

I am still waiting for the grey water tank. It has been delayed again, not sure why, just the instead of being ready today, they are now staying late next week. No big deal as I can finish some of the things I was going to do after it was registered. I will make the last bit of the tree protection bar work on the roof, and fit the rear winch. I will also make the front storage boxes, but only fit them after I have it on the road. I'll also install the rear shower and water outlets for the rear kitchen.

I installed the tyre Pressure Monitoring System, it works great. I have wired it up to the "priority channel" on the drivers side monitor. When the TPMS is activated, it triggers the monitor to switch to that channel. It will even work if the monitor is switched off. If I want to see the status of the tyres, I press the TPMS button and it switches to that channel, when the TPMS goes back to sleep, it goes back to the the previous channel.





I have finished installing the a/c system and the headlining panels.



I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out.



The rear passengers get their fair share of the a/c from the two outlets in the rear of the overhead console, and the front passengers get lots of ventilation from the front ducts, but if I point them towards the windscreen there is no drafts on my arms which is great. Since there are two separate a/c systems for each side, the air flow is pretty impressive. I doubt we will need more than low or medium, high really blows everything away.

 

[piratexpress1369a]

That's awesome

 

[bianchi]

cant wait to see it on its first big trip ... parked up somewhere nice

cheers and thanks for sharing all your hard work with us

 

[mrFelix]

and thank goodness you have finished.........I was beginning to feel somewhat emasculated :bowdown:

 

[Iain_U1250]

Almost done, grey water tanks arrived late yesterday, and it is now in, as is the second fuel tank.



I got this tank especially because of it's party trick - makes it real easy to pour in fuel from a Jerry can.



I decided not to go with the new steering wheel, but instead got the old wheel covered with leather.



It turned out pretty good, the stitching is all done by hand, and makes the old wheel look like new again. I just need to get a new ( or better ) centre badge.



Whilst I was waiting for the grey water tank, I fitted the rear shower and drinking water tap. I also fitted the brackets for out stainless steel side table we have used on the Land Rover for the past few years.




Now just a few more finishing touches, and it will be ready for the road. I also got my "CTP" Insurance today, so I can take it going to the weighbridge on Monday. Then just need the Safety Certificate, and a whole bunch of forms from the HVRAS man, and all going well, on Monday or Tuesday it will be one the road.

 

[piratexpress1369a]

How far does the Fuel tank filler neck stick out from the body...it's not going to get hit by a tree branch ..

 

[Iain_U1250]

It is under the body by about 50-100mm, just looks like it's outside of the body line in the photo. The filler neck s also very substantial, the tank is all steel, and weighs more than the bigger one on the other side.

 

[piratexpress1369a]

Ok was just wondering good luck on Monday

 

[Iain_U1250]

At long last, my truck is now registered.

For all other looking at looking at registering a truck as a motorhome you need the following:

Safety Certificate
Weighbridge Certificate
Vehicle Details Inspection Sheet:
Motorhome/Caravan Inspection Sheet:
CTP Insurance ( You need to pre-pay this so you can take it to the weighbridge)
Vehicle Registration Application Form
and if you have personalised number plate like us, you need the Remove/Attach personalise number plate form

You also need a smoke alarm, a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket if you have a stove inside ( which you need to have to register as a motor home). If you have a gas stove, you need a "Gas Certificate" from a licensed "Gas Fitter"

If you have make any modifications to the seats, exhaust, engine, brakes, body, so just about anything, you will need a "Modification Plate" with all the various codes on it. They want a copy of the "Green Form" from the modification engineer before they will register it.

There is a mountain of paper work, and even more if your vehicle is imported ( i.e. = never been registered in Australia before) which lucky for us was not the case.




In the end, it turned out a bit heavier than expected, full of fuel, people and water, we are 7.12 tons, so we don't have that much spare weight to play with. Going to look at ways of doing a GVM upgrade, even a couple of hundred kg will make it better. We can live with the current GVM, just won't be able to carry too much stuff which might not be a bad thing.

It is great to drive, quite happy at 90kph around 2000rpm. I've set the boost to 10psi, and it gets there around 1500rpm. It can hold speed up the hills on the highway, not game to push it too hard as I've only got 60km on the new engine, so trying to be gentle in the beginning. I've read loads of websites and heard lots of advice on how to run in an old style diesel, and the one thing everyone seems to agree with is not to be too gentle on it, try not to idle it if at all possible, and keep it loaded up. Some say don't rev it, other says not to rev it hard under load, but you need to let it rev a bit now and again, and most say charge the oil filter around 500km to ensure the oil filter is not blocked with all the engine assembly lube and bits of silcone/RTV/gaskets. Portals and transmission are running around 50-60 Deg C after a trip down the highway at 90kph

The ceramic coating in the exhaust manifold and turbo housing works well, 10 minutes after our trip down the highway, I was able to hold my hand on the turbo housing, laser temp read 60 Deg C whilst the EGT gauge still said 110 C.

My speedo is about 16% under-reading, so will head off down to the place for a new speedo correction gearbox, they are only about 20km away, so will use the trip to compare the odometer to the GPS route distance and work out the closest ratio box to correct the speedo. I have a small water leak on the camper water system (seems I crossed threaded a brass elbow somehow), and I need to get the a/c system gassed up, as it was pretty hot driving around without a/c - been about 16 years since I last drove any car without a/c. All going well I will have all these things fixed by tomorrow evening, then we will drive around some more to get up the 500km by the weekend. If the weather says good, we will be down on the beach early next week, and hopefully spend out first night in the camper.

 

[nick disjunkt]

So pleased for you Iain. The quality of life you can have whilst travelling in a motorhome not dependant on grid connections is amazing. Your hard work has set you up for a lifetime of happiness, now you just need to work out how to turn sikaflex and metalwork into happy memories.

I had all these aspirations about what I wanted to do with my truck whilst I was building it, but it wasn't until we were in the mountains in Utah one evening, sitting in bed with the rear flap open listening to the sound of a roaring stream that I realised I was living those dreams.

 

[Sitec]

Great work!! Gives me even more of a boost to make a start in mine!! Have a house to build first though!! Hope to cross patches one of these days! Travel safe, and get some beach shots for us!

 

[whoshotjr]

Having less GVM can be a blessing as it means you'll pack less crap.

It is amazing how it all adds up, after a trip out west a couple of years ago I weighed everything and got to 600kg very quickly. Needless to say the Jeep was at least 300kg over GVM once we were in it and all fueled up.

 

[piratexpress1369a]

Well done getting all your premits

 

[krl81]

Nice!!
Hopefully I'll see it on the streets of Brisbane when you go to or from a trip sometime as I will be there mid december to mid march.

 

[DzlToy]

That mountain of paperwork, permits, certificates and approvals is patently absurd. I have never registered a Unimog in the states before, but, we don't have anything like that here that I am aware of for custom built RV or motorhome. What a mess.

:beer: for you sir.