Which is better for expedition camper U1300L or U1000L?

[dzzz]

A well constructed camper box in 2m by 3m comes with interior to 1000 - 1300 kg..

I think you would probably want to aim for less than 1000kg with a 2500 kg payload. My 4m alaskan weighs about 1000kg. My total finished wet GVW (with a whole lotta 'wet') is 13,500 to 14,000 kg.
I am clearly not the person to hire to keep a U100L under GVWR.

 

[Tmax]

Hi Pete

Nice to see someone else on the forum who's in my neck of the woods! I've emailed Mross a couple of times but haven't received replies to any of my messages. I also drove out to their location a few weeks ago but failed to find any sign of life. Consequently, I assumed they had perhaps shut down the business. Are they still going?

The box in question was a square one and the owner informed me it was from a radio truck. It felt VERY solid but I'm sure it was also quite heavy. The Unimog carrying it did not have a turbo engine. It was high enough to stand up in (I'm around 5'9" and had a couple of inches to spare), although if you spent a long time in it (as we plan to do), it may have felt a little claustrophobic. However, as you pointed out with the example photos, it could always be stretched in height and / or length.

Cheers

just give hans a call before hand. somtimes hes gone on business.

 

[Jolly Roger]

just give hans a call before hand. somtimes hes gone on business.

I popped over to see Hans late last week and had a really good chat with him. He had some interesting ideas about a vehicle for our trip and suggested that the Mercedes 1017 truck may be a good option for what we are planning. Seemed a genuinely nice chap and was very helpful.

 

[Victorian]

I popped over to see Hans late last week and had a really good chat with him. He had some interesting ideas about a vehicle for our trip and suggested that the Mercedes 1017 truck may be a good option for what we are planning. Seemed a genuinely nice chap and was very helpful.

I drove 1017's in the military. Empty. They are gutless. Just saying. But surprisingly good offroad!

 

[mhiscox]

I popped over to see Hans late last week and had a really good chat with him. He had some interesting ideas about a vehicle for our trip and suggested that the Mercedes 1017 truck may be a good option for what we are planning. Seemed a genuinely nice chap and was very helpful.

As you contemplate this project with a 1017 and Hans Mross, you may want to join the Mog Mailing List--sign up at

http://www.tx4x4.com--

and solicit the members' opinions of your plans. The Moglist contains many of the country's foremost experts on MBz offroad trucks and their capabilities--including those with dozens of years of experience actually using their Mogs--along with the parts suppliers and the mechanical experts. It's an excellent community of very friendly, helpful and well informed people.

 

[Iain_U1250]

A 170hp 10 ton truck is obviously not going to have the same "guts" as 300hp 3 ton pick-up. If it means you can only drive at 70kph up a hill then so what. The advantages of something like a 1017 or a Unimog is in the gearing, off road ability and the strength of the chassis. My U1250 has the working gears, so low range first has a 52:1 ratio - multiply the 400Nm of torque by 52 = 20,800Nm - that's enough to pull a train - and that's what mine used to do. It is designed to be used at it's full capacity all the time, unlike the smaller FUSO/Canters, or normal 4x4's especially the compromise ones that are one the market now.

Getting back to the OP post - U1300 vs U100L - I guess it depends on whether you want something for an extended stay - months on end, or just for holiday trips. If you like camping and are prepared to live small and use the truck as a place to sleep in, then go for the lighter U100L.

If you want a camper big enough to live in semi-permanently, and must have all the luxuries, then you need a bigger truck like a U500 or a big MAN. If you want something in between - then a U1300L would be a good place to start.

Once you get used to a truck after moving from a car/4x4, then it seems to shrink. My U1250 seemed huge when I first got it, now I look at it and it seems small - especially compared to the U1700/38 and the U500's. I spent a few hour yesterday with a fellow Mogger who is building a U1750/38 DOKA - and that a big truck but with the DOKA, the camper will be the same size as mine.

I drove 1017's in the military. Empty. They are gutless. Just saying. But surprisingly good offroad!

 

[Jolly Roger]

As you contemplate this project with a 1017 and Hans Mross, you may want to join the Mog Mailing List--sign up at

http://www.tx4x4.com--

and solicit the members' opinions of your plans. The Moglist contains many of the country's foremost experts on MBz offroad trucks and their capabilities--including those with dozens of years of experience actually using their Mogs--along with the parts suppliers and the mechanical experts. It's an excellent community of very friendly, helpful and well informed people.

Hi Mike

Well, I've still got a long way to go in determining which vehicle is correct for us. However, I think I can probably rule out the U100 as I think it may be a little too limiting for what we want. We want a reasonable sized living area as we'll hopefully be on the road for quite a few years. From what I've gathered, the U100 may not be up to the task of carrying a heavy camper as well as some of the other models. Thanks for the tip on the Mog Mailing list, I'll sign-up for sure.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Jolly Roger]

I drove 1017's in the military. Empty. They are gutless. Just saying. But surprisingly good offroad!

Would you be able to expand a little on what you mean buy "gutless"? Are you thinking in terms of the type of comparison that Iain mentioned, or did you have something else in mind? As you were a former driver of the 1017's, I'd be interested in hearing more of your feedback.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Jolly Roger]

If you want a camper big enough to live in semi-permanently, and must have all the luxuries, then you need a bigger truck like a U500 or a big MAN. If you want something in between - then a U1300L would be a good place to start.

Hi Iain

You make some valid points. We are looking for something to live in semi-permanently but at the same time, we don't need ALL of the luxuries. Some of the large Unicats with all the bells and whistles look wonderful but are sadly out of our price range. Something smaller which still has the basics (berth, kitchen, toilet shower, spare room for the Parisian hookers, etc.) would be all we need.

Cheers

 

[Victorian]

Would you be able to expand a little on what you mean buy "gutless"? Are you thinking in terms of the type of comparison that Iain mentioned, or did you have something else in mind? As you were a former driver of the 1017's, I'd be interested in hearing more of your feedback.

Cheers
Simon

Even though, the U1300L shares the same engine as the MB1017, it feels way different. You will shift a lot, especially uphill. That is not much different from the Unimog, but I would expect something else from a semi truck. I'm talking about shifting down to second and rev. it up to the limiter. It will feel like the pistons will come flying past you at any moment. And again, this was with an empty truck.
I don't know, if they can be tuned, fitted with faster axles and such. But i would not want to drive on fresh from the army.

Cheers,
Andreas

 

[Joe]

Hi there,

do you have in the "new world" Steyr trucks? It is a more modern style truck as the 1017A or 1217A (as I have it).

Benefits of the 12M80 compared to the Mercedes:
- standard 240 HP (instead of 169 HP standard - increase possible, 200 HP no prob)
- 8 gears (instead of the aweful 5 gears of Mercedes which are much too far away in between)
- all locks (Mercedes with front differential lock more or less not available)
- 14:00 tires possible (front axle as far as I know too weak)
- although more modern still no electronics - a simple piece of metall and you can repair nearly everything

Downsides as far as I am aware:
- Spare parts not as easily available as for a Mercedes
- some (or most of them???) spare parts are extremely expensive (claim from an owner of a 12M80 - pls. don't ask me which ones he named in particular).

 

[mhiscox]

Hi there,

do you have in the "new world" Steyr trucks? It is a more modern style truck as the 1017A or 1217A (as I have it).

I know you didn't mean to make us feel bad, Joe.

Nope, that's another one of a pretty large number of expedition-capable chassis we don't have imported into the U.S. or Canada. The Fuso FG is the only recent 4x4 cabover truck available to us.

 

[Joe]

I know you didn't mean to make us feel bad, Joe.

:iagree:

 

[rhodos]

Nope, that's another one of a pretty large number of expedition-capable chassis we don't have imported into the U.S. or Canada. The Fuso FG is the only recent 4x4 cabover truck available to us.

Sorry Mike but here i have to disagree - the Steyr 12M18 was build with little mods (Allison automatic trans, not sure about the engine) for the US military (new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles) and according to a friend who has driven it its a great truck.

http://www.army.mil/-images/2007/05/11/4873/index.html

http://www.army.mil/-images/2007/05/11/4874/army.mil-2007-05-17-110512.jpg

bye, Werner

 

[mhiscox]

Sorry Mike but here i have to disagree - the Steyr 12M18 was build with little mods (Allison automatic trans, not sure about the engine) for the US military (new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles).

Werner's right, of course, but I get to defend myself by pointing out that, as best I know, all the U.S. Steyr's were actually built south of Houston under license to Stewart and Stevenson, so they technically weren't imported.

My other out might have been to claim that they aren't available for private use, which they generally aren't. However, the funny thing is that my Sprinter conversion was being done at the same time as one of the SSSS trucks was being worked on:

and it's still up on the website at Creative Mobile Interiors:

http://creativemobileinteriors.com/sections/sale/BadBoy/BadBoyindex.asp.

We had a thread on the medium FMTV a year and a half ago:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=356358

and the truck got a lot of positive comments. Anyone know whether these FMTVs will be availalbe as surplus, or whether it'll be like the HUMVEEs where they're scrapped once they can't be used? (Not totally a thread hijack because this maybe would be a better expedition choice than a U1300 . . . though the one at CMI once was selling for about $300,000, which could get you about a dozen U1300s. :sombrero