Iain_U1250
Explorer
We decided t completely unpack the truck. We have made a few changes since last time we weighed it, so time to weigh it with Trish and I, full fuel and water tank, and see how much it all is.
Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread
- Thread starter Iain_U1250
- Start date
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
Is that the land rover on the lift
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Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk
Iain_U1250
Explorer
No, Bentley is on the lift, going to replace the belts and pulleys, and it was a good place to park it when we were away, less chance of it getting stolen
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Yes, lost over 100kgs doing the swap over, but disappointingly the aluminium wheels weighed more than the heavy duty steel wheels. They are worth it from an ease of use point of view. I should also have lost a few kgs when I got rid of the Claas overdrive swapping to the UG100 transmission, but I don't know how much heavier the UG100 is over the UG3-40.
We have also decided to get rid of some of the things that we don't actually need. I have a 12" subowoofer, 8 speakers and two 4 channel amplifiers, and to be honest, I find that I can't listen to music whist driving the truck, but I can listen to audio books. So I'll remodel the interior, get rid of the subwoofer, the amplifiers and one of the 6x9 pairs of speakers. The subowoofer alone weighs in at 20kg, the amp 7 kg each so there is at least another 35kg of stuff I am hauling around and not using. The other thing is the slatted base we have for the bed, its weighs over 45kg, and the idea was we could raise either end of the bed to level it if we ever parked on a slope, but to be honest we have never used that.
It is also pretty difficult to adjust, as you have to raise it all the way up before it will go back down, and with a 45kg latex mattress, that requires some effort to do whilst standing on the side of the bed,especially with all the bedding on it. We can replace that with 7kg of the Froli bed supports which will do the same job of providing ventilation under the mattress.
There are other thing I can reduce, especially the amount of spares and tools we carry. I don't think I really need four sets of brake pads, considering I've only one had to replace a pair of them because I had the wrong ones in the first place. Similar, I probably don't need to carry 10 litres of engine oil, 5 litres of diff and portal oil. I have two shift cylinders, neither of which fit the new gearbox lol.
I thing I can easily about 250kgs of weight without a problem, and maybe another 100kg through not carrying thing we don't actually need, although we will probably end up carrying more toys.
We have also decided to get rid of some of the things that we don't actually need. I have a 12" subowoofer, 8 speakers and two 4 channel amplifiers, and to be honest, I find that I can't listen to music whist driving the truck, but I can listen to audio books. So I'll remodel the interior, get rid of the subwoofer, the amplifiers and one of the 6x9 pairs of speakers. The subowoofer alone weighs in at 20kg, the amp 7 kg each so there is at least another 35kg of stuff I am hauling around and not using. The other thing is the slatted base we have for the bed, its weighs over 45kg, and the idea was we could raise either end of the bed to level it if we ever parked on a slope, but to be honest we have never used that.
It is also pretty difficult to adjust, as you have to raise it all the way up before it will go back down, and with a 45kg latex mattress, that requires some effort to do whilst standing on the side of the bed,especially with all the bedding on it. We can replace that with 7kg of the Froli bed supports which will do the same job of providing ventilation under the mattress.
There are other thing I can reduce, especially the amount of spares and tools we carry. I don't think I really need four sets of brake pads, considering I've only one had to replace a pair of them because I had the wrong ones in the first place. Similar, I probably don't need to carry 10 litres of engine oil, 5 litres of diff and portal oil. I have two shift cylinders, neither of which fit the new gearbox lol.
I thing I can easily about 250kgs of weight without a problem, and maybe another 100kg through not carrying thing we don't actually need, although we will probably end up carrying more toys.
That's no insignificant amount, especially with the rising cost of fuel.
Do you think it will make noticeable difference to how it handles off road?
Iain_U1250
Explorer
I'm unlikely to notice the difference, but I have decided to upgrade the rear sway bar, to a much stiffer one, should help with the rock and roll on high-speed tar roads. To be honest, we seldom go on roads that a Landcruiser can't go on, and those tracks are nowhere near the capacity of a Unimog, we idle up dunes and across ditches that would stop a normal 4x4 in it's tracks, we just do things a lot slower. We always take the easy route, and leave the "lets see if I can break it" options to those who feel they need to prove something
Roverchef
Adventurer
Iain_U1250...A few yrs back I lead a group of 7 rigs on a 6 week trip solely on dirt. A few weeks before the trip I made everyone completely empty out their rigs to see what everyone was carrying. HOLY ******** the excess of items/weight was insane. Who the hell needs carry a full transfer box rebuild kit around? Not like they are going to rebuild it on the side of the road. Good luck with the "cleansing".
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Yes, we found things that we would never need, like a full gasket set and bearing set for the engine, and a spare set of injectors. If we were going on our around the world trip, then maybe I would carry them, but I have various spares all packaged up and labeled so people back home out send them out. Rebuilding the engine next to the side of the road is pretty unlikely even for me
charlieaarons
Explorer
However parts for a portal box like oil seals and bearings are a really good idea. I even have portal gears, people have trashed them running out of oil. Someone with a U500 did that in Iran and was stuck for a while waiting for parts.
What I have in redundancy is plain old tools.
What I have in redundancy is plain old tools.
Iain_U1250
Explorer
I've got two complete refurbished portal boxes all packed and waiting to be shipped. If we were going overseas, I'd probably carry one with us. I also have a complete new set of portal gears, seals etc, but we don't have the carry capacity you have Charlie, so we can't carry as much.
Iain_U1250
Explorer
Time for another update, the 1000W subwoofer is out, and I've made a new slimline storage pod for the dash. Apart from the obligatory pair of cup holders, it also house the F/R + H/L gear change switches, and the iPad mount as well.
The subwoofer and amplifiers weighed around 40kg, so thats another good thing. The new console is made from3mm ply with some fibreglass reinforcing, so it is pretty light, but strong enough for normal wear and tear. I fitted another 60W triple USB charging port under the iPad mount, so can run the iPad and charge two phones or cameras as well. As you can see, the sound insulation mat is pretty pristine, having not been stood much at all.
The bar across the bottom is to stop things from sliding around and getting under my feet whilst driving. It also supports the switch for the high beams, something I have found to be very useful, as it is much easier to just push the switch with my foot or ankle, pretty important as our lights would blind other drivers from hundreds of metres away.
The subwoofer and amplifiers weighed around 40kg, so thats another good thing. The new console is made from3mm ply with some fibreglass reinforcing, so it is pretty light, but strong enough for normal wear and tear. I fitted another 60W triple USB charging port under the iPad mount, so can run the iPad and charge two phones or cameras as well. As you can see, the sound insulation mat is pretty pristine, having not been stood much at all.
The bar across the bottom is to stop things from sliding around and getting under my feet whilst driving. It also supports the switch for the high beams, something I have found to be very useful, as it is much easier to just push the switch with my foot or ankle, pretty important as our lights would blind other drivers from hundreds of metres away.
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For many years, at least in the 60s and 70s, high beam switches were on the (USA) driver's left side floor board, where you may find a dead pedal or foot rest. This makes so much sense to me, but I have not seen it on a car or truck in decades. Tap the switch to turn on the high beams, tap it again to dim them. Easy peasey.
Iain_U1250
Explorer
My first car had that, and I thought it was great as well. Now I have both the indicator stick option and the foot switch, and I find the foot switch a lot easier. This is the Mk1 version, but the switch is in the right position for me to tap it with my ankle easily
