Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread
- Thread starter Iain_U1250
- Start date
Iain_U1250
Explorer
It was pretty scary, lucky I had new tyres on. The worst point was when the roof bars got to the end of the tree we were leaning on, even going in 1st gear low range, iti did slip off quite quick. In hindsight I should have used the winch / snatch block on the rest of the slope as well. There was a lot of talk around the campsite on how to improve that, airbag suspension would be the best option, going to look into it.
charlieaarons
Explorer
That's why I went with the 90mm offset wheels (stock 161mm). Tipover angle is about 2.2deg greater with the wider track (1970mm, too wide for comfortable running on CSR etc).
Charlie
Charlie
Iain_U1250
Explorer
The video my wife took of me on the side slope.
Coachgeo
Explorer
An old school KISS way rockcrawlers have prepped for such things is a small winch at each axle ends whose sole purpose was to compress down the suspension on the uphill side. Granted saw this done more for creasting steep rock faces to keep from flopping/EndO..ing backward but concpet applies same here.
thebigblue
Adventurer
Looks scary, yes - but as you know, as long as the center of gravity is within the footprint of the tires you´re good - seems to me there´s room for more leaning (based on my estimate on the center of gravity of the Mog)
Iain_U1250
Explorer
To be honest I was quite sure it would be OK, or I would not have driven down the hill in the first place. By my calculations, we should be good up to 35 degrees, I estimate the CG to be almost at the level of the rear hatch handle. We have had it at 28 degrees before, and this was at 30 degrees for a short time, but the majority of the time we were under 25 degrees.
The worst part was not on the video, that was the downhill turn onto the slope, a 90 degree turn going downhill. I decided to get one of the Land Rovers to attach a safety rope to the roll cage as I made the turn, just in case.
I was in first gear/low range and just on idle, so going as slow as possible.
Sliding off the first tree was a bit unexpected, but since there was another tree there to lean on it would be OK, but it gave me a bit of a fright, any sudden unexpected movement was not pleasant at that angle.
The worst part was not on the video, that was the downhill turn onto the slope, a 90 degree turn going downhill. I decided to get one of the Land Rovers to attach a safety rope to the roll cage as I made the turn, just in case.
I was in first gear/low range and just on idle, so going as slow as possible.
Sliding off the first tree was a bit unexpected, but since there was another tree there to lean on it would be OK, but it gave me a bit of a fright, any sudden unexpected movement was not pleasant at that angle.
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Iain_U1250
Explorer
Yes, if one of the downhill tyres let go with a bang, I think may have been in trouble. When they failed out on the road, it did take about 30 seconds for them to go down. It looks pretty scary, and I have to admit I was concerned, but also was confident enough to drive out.
Always a balance on any rig, a wider track is more stable, but then the tyres will be out of the rut so even higher uphill.
I think there was another 5 degrees before it fell over, but it would not take much for it to go horribly wrong. My estimates of the CG are just below the handle on the rear. That also depends on how much fuel we carry, whether I have all the tools etc. If we had the extra spare tyre and 90lt of fuel on the roof, then we would have been in trouble.
Sounds interesting, I found some turnbuckles that would do the same thing, but would need to weld on some eyes/brackets for it to work.
There was no way she was getting in the truck
Iain_U1250
Explorer
It takes a bit to rattle her nowadays
I think there was only minor damage to that one, all the tyres etc were props to stop if from going further. Would have been very scary.
I think there was only minor damage to that one, all the tyres etc were props to stop if from going further. Would have been very scary.
Yup, I commend Trish for keeping her cool while videoing! No real 'eeks' or 'shrieks'.. All very calm! This Mog didn't fare so well!
View attachment 372107
By coincidence, I have just been looking at the particulars of this Mog in the photo, as it is currently for sale on ebay. Located in the UK.
Cannot link, look for Unimog 4x4 Expedition Camper.
Coachgeo
Explorer
The advantage of the winches was they had them permanently set up with switches in the cab. They could sinch it down without getting out. Not sure if they could reverse the cable back to normal lenght without getting out though. Might have to get thru the bad spot first then pull over and spool it out to normal? Figure they did limited the total lenght of the cable to be no more than their suspension limiter straps?