VOLVO TGB Expedition Camper

[John Koles]

Modifying Volvo TGB 13 (6x6)

I know we have a few members here who actually own Volvo 6X6 C304 and 4X4 C303 Ex Military vehicles. I would like to start a thread here on how they are planning on modifying there vehicles into Expedition campers. I would also like to hear from anyone who can help out with ideas and such. My plan is to within the next year purchase and start to build up one of these great vehicles. My shop is almost completed (after winter) and she will need her first land based vehile build up to break her in! Thanks for any input.

Hi Outback I would like to share some Ideas on modifying these vehicles if any one is interested. I have just landed one after 6 years search.
John

 

[Christian]

Hi Outback I would like to share some Ideas on modifying these vehicles if any one is interested. I have just landed one after 6 years search.
John

Hi John!

Congrats on your purchase!
My girlfriend and I bought one a couple of months ago and have just started converting it. So we would like to join in.

Our plans are the following:

1: keeping the frame, brakes, axles ect. as they are.

2: Converting to diesel. We have just bought a Land Cruiser KZJ70 aka Land Cruiser II 3.0 SX aka bundera from '96 which we will take the engine, gearbox and transfer from.
This will give us a 5th gear and exept driveshafts all will be original parts. We believe this is a good idea for an expedition vehicle.

3: Powerassisted steering. The frame and steering box af the C30X series are somewhat unique. So our solution is to take an electrically powered steering column from a Opel or Vauxhall Corsa. This has some benefits. One of course is that we don't have to modify the frame. Another is that we don't need hydraulics. The last is that in case it fails the truck will drive like standard.
I am working on installing this at the moment.

4: Building a new camper body from fiber glass sandwich panels. The original ambulance body is too narrow to sleep crosswise and the height is just around 1.70 meters. On top of that it weighs 1.2 tons! According to my calculations our box with sleeping quarters above the drivers cabin will weigh 240 kgs.

5: New tyres! the original ones are as hard as nylon and about as round as a cog wheel. So the plan is to source some Michelin XZL 11/16. They are a somewhat larger in diameter than original. But that means that the engine will rev at 3.000 rpm at 90km/t

The above is just the rough outline of the project which will be 2 to 2½ years in the making.

Lets hear about yours?

 

[M.Bas]

4: Building a new camper body from fiber glass sandwich panels. The original ambulance body is too narrow to sleep crosswise and the height is just around 1.70 meters. On top of that it weighs 1.2 tons! According to my calculations our box with sleeping quarters above the drivers cabin will weigh 240 kgs.

It does not weigh 1.2 ton, at least I hope

The cab+chassis weigh about 2300 kg's
The sticker on my door says max load capacity 1500kg.
4500 - 1500 = 3000
3000 - 2300 = 700kg
A radio box on the other hand, lots of extra metal on the inside to house all the electronics.

That the original ambulance body is to small to sleep crosswise is correct, unless you are not taller then 1.6m or so.

I am going to make a bed lengthwise.

Since there won't be much walking space left, not being able to stand up straight won't be a big deal for me.

At some point I probably will inform at a couple of companies what a custom camper box will cost, probably won't be cheap :smilies27

 

[Christian]

It does not weigh 1.2 ton, at least I hope

Well.. I think you might be optimistic there...

We weighed it when we got home on a certified truck scale and with me and the girlfriend in it weighed 3,400 kgs.

We took the box of, incl. snowchains, stretchers an misc. stuff and it weighed 2,180

So not quite 1,200 if you don't count the chains but closer to that than 700. And a lot of the ambulance bodies have taken on some weight over the years. like old ladies they have a tendency to retain water!:snorkel:

But lets see some pics?!

PORTALS RULE!​

 

[M.Bas]

You'll have to wait for them.
But with some imagination you can figure out why I don't take pics of a recently imported car

 

[John Koles]

Hi John!

Congrats on your purchase!
My girlfriend and I bought one a couple of months ago and have just started converting it. So we would like to join in.

Our plans are the following:

1: keeping the frame, brakes, axles ect. as they are.


2: Converting to diesel. We have just bought a Land Cruiser KZJ70 aka Land Cruiser II 3.0 SX aka bundera from '96 which we will take the engine, gearbox and transfer from.
This will give us a 5th gear and exept driveshafts all will be original parts. We believe this is a good idea for an expedition vehicle.

3: Powerassisted steering. The frame and steering box af the C30X series are somewhat unique. So our solution is to take an electrically powered steering column from a Opel or Vauxhall Corsa. This has some benefits. One of course is that we don't have to modify the frame. Another is that we don't need hydraulics. The last is that in case it fails the truck will drive like standard.
I am working on installing this at the moment.

4: Building a new camper body from fiber glass sandwich panels. The original ambulance body is too narrow to sleep crosswise and the height is just around 1.70 meters. On top of that it weighs 1.2 tons! According to my calculations our box with sleeping quarters above the drivers cabin will weigh 240 kgs.

5: New tyres! the original ones are as hard as nylon and about as round as a cog wheel. So the plan is to source some Michelin XZL 11/16. They are a somewhat larger in diameter than original. But that means that the engine will rev at 3.000 rpm at 90km/t

The above is just the rough outline of the project which will be 2 to 2½ years in the making.

Lets hear about yours?

Hi Christian,
My volvo body is the command truck version but frame and suspension motor and drivetraine is still the same --exept a small difference in gearing.
1. I agree, like you to keep the frame, brakes, axles ect. as they are.
2. I am intersted to see what is involved in converting complete motor and drive train to the propshafts to Toyota motor and drive train.There are plenty of Toyota's here in WA to plunder. I am interested in what engine mounts and gearbox mount you would need to fabricate and how close the alighnment of transferbox to propshafts would be to the originals. Also I would do calculations on speed gain you would get from 5th gear. The box shape will cause a lot of wind noise and resistance. I have to make a decision to modify original motor head to accept unleaded petrol. My unit came with a spare engine so I may have to start with standard TGB B30 motor and drive train until I have enough information to do "heart and lung" transplant.

3. I am interested in more information on your electric driven solution. I am aware there is a engineering company in Sweden that has just released a hydraulic powerassisted steering kit. It looks really well done. I should have the details in a link in my email box somewhere.
4. I like your idea of fibreglass sandwich body. I would look at using thin wood panels on the inside as part of the sandwich instead of fibreglass. It would look better and lighter than gel faced fibreglass and most probably as strong. I am using 3.5mm Kiri wood (Paulownia) which has nice texture light as balsa and strong. I have chosen 3.5mm as it the same thickness as the original pegboard and fits inside the mountining strips in cabin and main body.
I have also discarded the Wooden rail strips along the side of the body and filled holes with plastic steel. The strips serve no purpose as they are too high for standard cars to stop door opening damage. I guess if the units were parked in military compond the the strips would be relavant.

5. I have not looked into tyres as yet

I hope your girlfriend is patient and is willing to "dig in" or it could be long lonely nights for her.
My son has lost 2 fiances because they couldn't compete for time he spent doing up his project cars.

 

[Christian]

Hi john

2: We plan on using as many factory Toyota bits as possible. Thus making it easier finding spares overall and especially when we travel. So mounts ect. will be Toyota.
I have done some calculations and with the fifth gear and 11/16" tyres we will do 90km/h or 56mph at around 3,000 rpm.
If I were you I would not start converting the old Volvo B30 to unleaded. I would sell it of to some Volvo enthusiast who could use it in his 164 or even to a yachtsman. Some Volvo Penta boat engines were based on it.
I don't know how you calculate milage but these trucks do around 12 to 14 gallon per 100 miles. Or 3 km on the liter petrol.
Another thing is that eventhough our choice of engine only has 10 hp more than standard it has 50% more torque. this will definetly help us on hills!

3: The hydro-assisted steering you write about is simply too expensive in my oppinion. It's a great product but around 2,000 AUD is a lot! I plan on doing it for around 200 AUD.

4: We have researched a lot of options and plan on using something called Nida-core. It has been debated on this forum several times. We owe this idea to a homepage called "thesupercamper" They are on here sometimes too.
You can buy Nida-core panels readymade. They are light and very stiff. I have some samples the company was kind enough to send me and I am very impressed with it.

My girlfriend is not only patient. She is as much a part of this as me! Without her there would not be a project.
She might not be good at make-up, and she hates shopping. But she makes up for that in welding skills!:Mechanic:

We would like to see some pictures of yours and what you do to it?

-regards, Mette and Christian

 

[M.Bas]

Hi John!

3: Powerassisted steering. The frame and steering box af the C30X series are somewhat unique. So our solution is to take an electrically powered steering column from a Opel or Vauxhall Corsa. This has some benefits. One of course is that we don't have to modify the frame. Another is that we don't need hydraulics. The last is that in case it fails the truck will drive like standard.
I am working on installing this at the moment.

Is the picture I just saw on the TGB forum your electrical powersteering :Wow1:

That is one massive motor. Any legroom left?

 

[Christian]

Is the picture I just saw on the TGB forum your electrical powersteering :Wow1:

That is one massive motor. Any legroom left?

Yup!:smiley_drive:
It sits right were the padding is so plenty of room left!

 

[M.Bas]

Was it easy to do?
What needed to be modified?

 

[Christian]

I'm not done yet so the final verdict is still to come.
But NO, it is NOT an easy job...
I would say that it'll take me at least three days all in all, testing fitting, testing again, cutting, welding, cutting welds up again, testing again, fitting re-welding, fitting, throwing the tools around, testing fitting, being baffled by what I had done the day before, fitting, cutting, welding, crying a little, giving up and go home...

Well it's not that bad. But I'll let you know how long it took in the end.

 

[Outback]

Hi Outback I am interested in more information on spray on insulation "No leaks! Spraying in the Polyurethane foam we have now insulated the cab with about 1" of insulation. Thats about an R-7 worth of insulation! This will really help reduce in cab heat and cold and allow the RED DOT airconditioner and stock heater to work more efficiently. Thats at least a begining."
I know this is an old thread but I have just bought a TGB13 6x6 and thanks to Australian Quarantine -they ripped out the pegboard lining and ruined it looking for "soil" so I am replacing the inside panels with a natural 3.5mm Kiri wood panelling and would like to use spray on insulation instead of fibre glass panels. Do you have name of any spray on insulation?
JK

Yes I do. Its called TIGER foam. Its made by one company from what I can tell but has several diffrent companies that sell it as there own. Tiger Foam is one of those. I believe Tiger foam is based in England. I will check here. Be right back.

 

[Outback]

http://www.tigerfoam.com/?gclid=CLK1yYCwvpgCFSIgDQodWF7AbA


Here it is. I would first spray the inside with a good quality spray in bed liner. If you look hard enough you can find some that have do it yourself kits. Not that expensive roll on heavy duty paint crud but real spray on bed liner. SOUTHERN POLYURETHANE has kits like this for about $135 This includes the spray gun. You need an aircompressor. Then just scuff up the surface really well inside. Then wipe it all down so no dust remains. Then spray on the bed liner. After 8 hours you can either paint it to match your trucks final color or if your going to reinstall the wall panels spray on the Polyurethane foam insulation. Trim it out then install the wood paneling. NO LEAKS and insulated! PLUS you have just killed the majority of the vibration induced noise.

 

[Outback]

Hope this helps.

 

[Outback]

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/homepage.htm


http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Photos/spi_070202_0292.jpg

Sorry forgot this part