Camper mog

[Robthebrit]

I got my new custom size Zarges case today, I threw it on the top of the mog to see how it looks next to its brother who has been up there for 20 years.

I'll bolt it down from the inside this weekend and then install the locking latches.

Rob

[erod]

you must have a really cool looking driveway:) ! sweet!

[ZooJunkie]

One's shiny and the other one isn't :)

wow...those cases are nice. Pricey?

[Robthebrit]

I also added a radio to the cab and made a new overhead console, the cab is pretty quiet so I can actually hear the radio. Although having a speaker 2 inches from your head helps. I used one of the powered phased antenna's so no drilling in the roof, its literally like a little stick that plugs into the antenna and also plugs into 12v, it works fantastic. For power I used the wire coming out of the radio that is normally used by powered antenna's. The radio has worldwide FM capability, MP3/WMA/CD player, aux in and an IPOD controller so its ideal for this purpose.

The console also has power and marine deck light as a cab light. It works awesome and takes little power. One of the switches on the console switches the entire console between cab power and camper power.

I also added a new 'table' to the dog house cover. Its actually really sturdy. The industrial velco is to hold things that don't fit in the clip which includes my laptop. The table swivels so the passenger can use it too. There is a permanently mounted GPS just outside of the picture which feeds GPS to the laptop.

[Robthebrit]

One's shiny and the other one isn't :)

wow...those cases are nice. Pricey?

They are kind of expensive, that one was custom made to fit and was $400.

Rob

[Joaquin Suave]

Nice job on your interior work!

I've had less than favorable results with adheasive (sp?) velcro. Heat and dust seems to "do it in".

[Robthebrit]

Cheers.

I also have never had much luck with velco.. BUT, this is crazy strong industrial velcro and it instantly sticks to whatever it touches. The stuff is so strong I didn't think I could get the laptop off which damaging something.

The glue seems very similar to the stuff on the back of dynamat or something like that. We'll see how it goes, if I have to pull it out its no big deal and I can always replace the wood too (because you know it will leave a sticky gunk behind). Also I could put some rivets or screws through it to mechanically hold it down.

I really do want to see how the glue lasts through the summer, its just starting to get hot here.

Rob

[Robthebrit]

Not much in the way of updates recently, so here is a quick overview of the progress so far.

The mog had a problem when we first got it, you could not open the pass through into the cab. The reason was the batteries, the original german batteries fit under the raised floor. When these were replaced with US batteries, which are about an inch higher, the previous own made a wooden cover which ultimately raised the floor another inch and stopped the door opening. The quest to move these batteries has turned into a complete refit..

I relocated the batteries under the table, you don't walk on this part of the floor so if its raised an inch or so it doesn't matter. Under the table used to be storage but it was very difficult to access, the batteries don't need much access so its an ideal place. The original aux batteries were 2 group 31's, the area under the table perfectly fits 6 group 31's. As of now I have 870A/hours or 1320 minutes reserve cap.

The batteries vent to the outside and to the external toolbox, when the tool box is open a nice air flow is obtained and any nasty fumes are pushed outside.

The weight of the batteries is about 450 pounds, the truck does not sit uneven. When the water tanks on the opposite side are full its very well balanced. We also have 100 gallons of diesel on each side which can be used for ballast if necessary.

The area that used to be located by the batteries is now an underfloor storage area and when combined with the storage that used to be there we have a 5 foot, by 2 foot by 10 inch area. Its at floor level so is great for heavy things and its very easy to access, we are considerng using it as a pantry.

The truck is entirely 12V but we did fit a 2000W inverter so we can run a real 110v blender and misc chargers for which we can't get 12V versions (our 12v blender is not as good as even the cheapest 110v blender). There is potential for a small AC air con system in the future. There are 4 110 outlets, one under the table, one in the 'reading area' opposite the table, one in the kitchen and the final one is in the external tool box which can be accessed from outside. Also on the electrical front an external 110 hookup was added and an Ioto Engineering 90A charger was installed (highly recommended). The only 110v available is via the inverter, there is no transfer switch to switch over to incomming 110v.

All the lights have been replaced with 6W florescent strips and an exterior led light added.

Locking 12V sockets are all over the truck and our laptops have 12V power supplies. My laptop has a Verizon air data card which is shared via wifi to any other laptops near by. The airdata has a fitted booster and external antenna.

A 12v 14inch flatpanel HDTV with built in DVD player has been mounted so it can be seen from the table or the bed. The unit only consumes about 1.5A so is excellent for evening entertainment, especially with kids. The old casette radio has been replaced with a radio CD, XM and Ipod controller, the radio has a worldwide tuner. The XM atenna is permanently mounted to the roof, it may need to be moved because its shadowed by the solar panels. A secondary GPS has been mounted in the rear as a backup unit and for downloading tracks to a PC, if anybody is riding in the back they can see where they are.

300 watts of solar replaced the older solar system which keeps the batteries charged and still has enough power to run the fridge, lights, dvd, radio etc

The vents for the furnace have been redone and all the under floor areas are heated (optional for the main storage area). The water and the batteries are already indoors so there are minimal freezing issues but the extra heating vent ensures they stay at an optimal termperature.

The water tanks have been cleaned out and a probeless measuring kit installed. The expedition water filter has a new ceramic cartridge and carbon filter. A proper and permanent shower head has been installed in the bathroom. The truck always had an external water faucet with a hot/cold mixer. The faucet has been replaced with a quick connect system allowing it to be used for multiple purposes including an outside shower.

The gas appliances have individual shutoffs and the spare shutoff is routed outside to a quick connect valve which can be used by an external grill or heater and still use the trucks gas bottle. The main gas shutoff is controlled by an electro-magnetic valve so I never have to physically touch the gas bottle.

The old lino floor has been removed an replaced with Marmolium tiles. The table is now moveable and can be dropped down to span the gap between the benches making it an extra bed. Where the 'reading area' is located opposite the table there used to be a wood trunk which was used for storage and also as a seat. We replaced this with a Engel MT35 and made a cushion for the top, this will be used as a chest freezer and as a backup to the fitted Danfoss frdige. The frige was a few inches too wide so 2 of the existing cupboards were removed and slighly reconfigured to make enough room (this was the hardest part as we didn't want to damage anything and have to make something which didn't match the remainder of the truck). The fridge can be moved over to the table to act as a third seat if necessry.

Finally all the seats have been recovered and the curtains remade with light block to keep the pesky sun out in the mornings. All the windows also have solar blocks to keep the internal temperature down.

Things remaining: upgrade the aux alternator so it can handle charging 6 batteries. Replace the remainder of the floor. Devise some system to hold the fridge down but allow it to still be movable. Fit the cabin seatbelts. Install a fantastic fan in the roof (this may not happen due to the solar panels, it looks like I need to replace one of the existing vents which is far more difficult). Replace the rear aux/reverse light as the current one has water damage and only works 25% of the time. I am considering a rear view camera as you can't see anything behind you.

We are hopfully going to be heading south for a month long tour of Baja in the new year. We shall be taking it to mogfest in October and testing it during the winter around CA.

I hope to work by normal job part time while on the road, all I need is a laptop and internet access.

Pics to follow.

Rob

[Joaquin Suave]

WOW!!!!!!
Congratulations! First for all the extensive work you have done (with past remodels of Casa under my belt...I feel your pain = $$$$$).

Secondly, for placing your "love" into a classic older machine! That is my favorite cab style of all Mogs.

You seem like a very technically adept guy, so this concern is probably un-warrented, however....


The gas appliances have individual shutoffs and the spare shutoff is routed outside to a quick connect valve which can be used by an external grill or heater and still use the trucks gas bottle.

Your quick disconnect is specifically designed propane / LNG????

When are you going to come up and visit Blair & I????

[Robthebrit]

Yes, the gas system uses all truna components, the elec-mag disconnect and the gas manifold with built in valves are all for propane. Its a simialr version of the one that was in there except it has an extra port for the external quick connect. The quick connect is also a sturgis 1/4 inch propane connector. Its pretty much the same as bbq places sell for quickly connecting different grills to gas bottles.

Blair keeps asking me what I am coming up. We really should make a trip up to see you guys. You should come to mogfest with Blair (then he has to go!).

Rob

[Robthebrit]

Here are some inside pics of the camper now all the seats are done..

The first shows the underfloor electronics box. It houses the 8D starting battery and the 1500W inverter along, solar charger, fuses and the IOTA 90 amp charger. The starting battery is vented through the floor and sealed around the top when the hatch is down.

The next two show the under floor storage area. The area is about 15 inches wide, 4 feet long, 9 inches deep. It makes a good pantry for heavy food and tins. I also keep the booze down there. Both sides open independently or together.

the final pic is the pass through into the cab. Its about 2 feet wide and maybe 3 feet tall. It can only be locked/unlocked from the camper so if others have to drive it (such as dock workers) they can't get into the camper. In the previous floor storage pictures you can see the door closed and the little knob is the lock, there is no key. The camper is high off the ground so you can't see in, I doubt anybody would break into the cab as there is nothing in there, if they did they would not be able to get in the back.

[Robthebrit]

These show the table and seating area. The cabinets were modified so the Engel fit perfectly. Its an MT35 and had its handles and latch modified so it would work sideways. Its current held down by a strap but I need to find a better solution, may a draw runner or something? The seat on the top is held by velcro and does not cover any of the vents. The fridge is used as a seat when working at the fold down table and it can also be moved to the main table if you need a third seat. The truck also has a built in Danfoss fridge so the Engel will be used as a little chest freezer.

[Robthebrit]

These show the table lowered into the bed position.

The table is supported by two marine mounts and the fold down leg. As long as the leg applies upwards pressure on the table the mounts on the wall will not release even on the worst terrain. The table leg has to metal pins, like dowels, on the bottom which slot into holes on the floor and these stop the leg from moving.

It takes about 10 seconds to convert the seating area into a bed. The bed is kinda small, its about 6 feet long. It makes a great place chill and watch the TV. The second picture shows the main bed unfolded, the main bed covers the seat bed but its about 18 inches higher, you can really only used about 4 feet of the seat bed. Our little girl sleeps there and she is only 3 so it works out great, the dogs sleep in the gap under the seat bed on top of the battery box.

[Robthebrit]

The first picture shows the kitchen area, the stove is only a 2 burner but you can get a pretty big pan on it. The top of the stove folds down to make a cutting board and we have a cover for the sink we can use it as a cutting board too. The sink is fairly small, it has hot and cold water and the little faucet on the right hand side is from the water filtration system, we also carry a steri-pen. The valves above the sink control gas flow to each of the gas devices, the little black box controls the main electro-magnetic gas shut off, the switches on the silver panel control the outside light (also the reversing light) and the water pump. The cupboards under the kitchen area store typical kitchen stuff, the very bottom under the sink has a slide in rack that holds 9 containers which are used for rice, pasta, coffee, tea bags etc.

The next picture shows the bathroom/shower area. It has a full shower, there is a show pan underneath a hatch on the floor and there is a sliding shower curtain. The toilet is a small porta potty and is in a cupboard on a draw slider. When the show pan cover is down it slides out so utilizing the same area as the shower. There is also an outdoor shower and faucet but they both use the same hot/cold mixing valve as the indoor shower. One really nice feature is the bathroom sink is directly next to the kitchen sink so you can use both sinks when cooking.

The final picture shows the back wall of kitchen area (other side of the panel the TV is mounted to). On here there are flash lights, coat hooks, fire extinguisher, small brush and dustpan. The fabric thing at the top has 8 compartments and they contain things like matches, pens, keys etc. The bottom of the this wall is a big cupboard, we use it for shoes and boots.

[Lynn]

Thanks for sharing the pix!

I really like the 'murphy' bed.

[fisher205]

Rob, I had seriously considered that rig when it was for sale. While envious of your purchase of the machine I am glad it went to a good home. Your upgrades are great. Nice work! Hopefully i will get a chance to see it some day. - Brad

[OverlandZJ]

That is absolutely outstanding. What a machine you have created there Rob.

[ShearPin]

Damn, I agree - looks like a nice machine. The photo board is a nice touch. I like the porthole window on the pass through door as well....

Henry
www.4x4freedom.com

[Joaquin Suave]

ADA BOY ROB!!!

I can only think of one word....KILLER!!! Your interior looks fantastic! I like how you kept the Germanish, while still giving the interior a lot of warmth.

You have probably posted the answer to my question to next question, so pardon me for not going over the old posts...
do you have an "on demand" h20 heater? If so, what brand?

I'm starting to formulate the remodel plans for Casa, and an on-demand h20 heater is right below the Cummins 6BTA on the list.

[Robthebrit]

I don't have an on demand water heater, just a standard 5(ish) gallon propane heater. We have an instant hot n the house and its ok, I am personally not that impressed with it. The house heater takes 30 seconds or so to give water that you could call hot so you waste alot while waiting, it would not be as bad in a camper but wasting any water is not ideal. We considered a hot water circulator which would instantly give hot water from the faucet but this defeats the purpose of the instant-on heater because it will run when no water is flowing to keep the water in the pipe warm. Also not ideal for a camper and it takes electric to run the circulation pump. I didn't even know you could get instant hot water heaters for campers.

At some point I am going to replace the camper water heater with a coolant/electric immersion type. I'll use a hydronic 4 when the engine is not running which will double as a block heater. The electric is just for back up if you happen to be hooked up or running on generator, if worst comes to worst you could run it on the inverter.

This hot water sytem would give me the option of using water matrix space heaters instead of the propane furnace, this would allow me to heat the cabin while driving and it would not use any propane. At least initially I would keep the propane furance because I need propane for the stove. At some point a wallis diesel stove would allow me to completely remove the propane and only use diesel and electric. I have traditionally not been a big fan of diesel stoves but a few people on this forum have convinced me otherwise.

Another motivation for this is better space utilization. Currently the hot water heater and furnance are under the fridge in a volume about 2 foot cubed. With the hydronic unit, water heater and matrix heaters I think I can get in about half the space which would give more storage for something narrow, maybe a spice rack.

I have lots of details to figure out before I do it, most importantly I want to use the truck before ripping it apart again. Its sat for 10 weeks while I redid the floor.

Sorry for rambling..

Rob

[rhodos]

At some point a wallis diesel stove would allow me to completely remove the propane and only use diesel and electric. I have traditionally not been a big fan of diesel stoves but a few people on this forum have convinced me otherwise.

wise decission - we have one in our 417 camper and although it wasnt cheap we think it is one of the best equipment parts we bought. We traveled over 100000 km with and only opened it once for cleaning the glow plug. Worked even at 3700 m altitude without doing any adjustment. Served us also as heating - although no match for a real diesel cab heating.

bye, Werner

[Joaquin Suave]

Werner,
Start a thread for your truck! We'd all like to see her.

[toyrunner95]

that thing is amazing! any other pics from the outside? how much did it cost?

[Joaquin Suave]

Sorry for rambling..

Ramble away my friend!

I want to go to an on-demand h20 heater because after several years of using a tank style heater (6 gallon i think) I have these complaints:

*We never use a h20 heaters worth of h20 at any one time, so we're using valuable propane needlessly.
*Its easy to forget about and leave on, thus wastefull.
*It sometimes is near impossible to light in high winds.
*It takes up valuable space & weight.

I appreciate what you were saying about taking time / h20 (more valuable than propane) to get up to temp. One of the fellows that post on ExpeditionCampers has a novel solution...He made a hose at his sink that drains back into the h20 tank, so that the fauset pours back into the tank until its up to temp.

This would be a easy mod for me in Casa because my rear h20 tank vent in right under the sink & the fill port for the front tank is in the shower.
If you have a dog, the other option would be to fil the dog h20 bucket until the h20 is warm.

[Robthebrit]

you make some good points, my sink is pretty close to the heater so the waste would be minimal assuming the heater gave hot water straight away. We do have a dog.

On the other hand, my tank will stay hot for about 12 hours and its old, I am sure new ones are better. I probably don't use a tanks worth of hot water in a whole day, if I have a coolant heater and drive everyday I should be able to avoid using the propane for hot water. If I am parked up then I am using propane.

Do you have any info on camper type instant hot water heaters?

Rob

[Lynn]

Do you have any info on camper type instant hot water heaters?

Rob

Here's a little. (http://www.phrannie.org/sources.html#4B)

[toyrunner95]

so how does that mod work? does it run out the drain? cuz that might dump grey water into your fresh water tank. or is it at the faucet? with a thermal switch? so the valve doesnt open unless the water is X degrees?

[Lynn]

so how does that mod work? does it run out the drain? cuz that might dump grey water into your fresh water tank. or is it at the faucet? with a thermal switch? so the valve doesnt open unless the water is X degrees?

I assume you are talking about this mod:


One of the fellows that post on ExpeditionCampers has a novel solution...He made a hose at his sink that drains back into the h20 tank, so that the fauset pours back into the tank until its up to temp.


Joaquin is referring to a post on www.expeditioncampers.com.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z302/fusoFG/IMG_0144.jpg

Tom used a sink faucet that would swing far enough that it is over the counter top. Then he put a stainless fitting in the counter top directly below the faucet (the little silver disk in the photo). The fitting has a return line that goes back to the fresh water tank. That way he can open the fitting, turn on the water, and let the water run back into the freshwater tank until the hot water arrives.

Elegant in it's simplicity.

Here's (http://www.expeditioncampers.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=360) a link to the thread, if you would like to read about it. Sorry, I can't link directly to the particular post, so you'll have to scroll down about half-way to find it. Just look for the above picture.

Obviously this will not work on a pressurized system, like some campers have.

EDIT: actually, if you follow the above link, then scroll down a little farther, Tom does a better job of describing it.

[toyrunner95]

o, i get it now, i was thinking entirely too hard!:oops:

[pete.wilson]

hey

I was wondering, what is a realistic price tag for a Pinzgauer or unimog?
what does one do if they require maintenance as I'm sure the local auto parts store woundn't carry any parts for them? Who would be the dealer for them? Thanks Guys.

[Scenic WonderRunner]

hey

I was wondering, what is a realistic price tag for a Pinzgauer or unimog?
what does one do if they require maintenance as I'm sure the local auto parts store woundn't carry any parts for them? Who would be the dealer for them? Thanks Guys.


Just do a search............

There are lot's of peeps out there selling these now, and they have parts too.

Here is one example...........


http://www.swissarmyvehicles.com/vehicles.php



And I might as well post this here..............

Take no offence Rob! I really like what you have done.

This link below has to be One of the most well thought out Unimog campers I have ever seen. Or at least the most detailed website for one.

More great ideas...................

http://www.xor.org.uk/unimog/mymog.htm


http://www.xor.org.uk/unimog/graphics/dcp_2425ps.jpg


My dream......when I'm done with the kids!....Is to get something like this. Rent out the house. And go take a one year tour!.....which will prolly turn into 2, 3 or more!

[Schattenjager]

Man that is a sweet setup! Can't wait for the next project! Oh wait... I'm gonna have too... :(

[Robthebrit]

And I might as well post this here..............

Take no offence Rob! I really like what you have done.

This link below has to be One of the most well thought out Unimog campers I have ever seen. Or at least the most detailed website for one.



None take Stephens truck is fantastic (and proven).

Prices for unimogs are all over the board based on age, type of truck, type of cab, the trucks history, where it is located and how its registered.

Not many parts come from Napa but there are a number of suppliers in the US, Jim Ince at Eurotech does all MB trucks but mainly mogs, Scott Ingram at expedition imports does mogs and pinz, as does Sean at Eurotruck. Swiss army vehicles does pinz and 404 mogs.

Start a new thread if you have any specific mog questions.

Rob

[Chas Stricker]

Rob,
It was great seeing your camper Mog at Mogfest. You've done fine work and have a great family. Hope to see you at the next one,
Chas