MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!

[VerMonsterRV]

So, what are the annoying things about the Renogy inverter/charger? "Enquiring minds want to know."

On my phone, so forgive typos. Let me preface this with we have an old freedom 15 inverter/charger on the boat to compare against. One of the nice features of the freedom is all incoming AC goes through the unit. This reduces the amount of wiring needed compared to other inverter/chargers. The remote allows you to turn the charger on/off. With the Renogy the charger is always on if you are plugged in, you can turn the output down but not off (and not from the remote panel). The other thing is the inverter needs to be on for any incoming AC to work. That is a bit crappy as if the AC goes out, without you paying attention, you could have a high amp load on you batteries inadvertently (like your air conditioner in the middle of the night). I need to call Renogy to see if I am missing something. The unit does have dip switches to configure the unit, but the instructions are a bit cryptic.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Oh, and if you leave the inverter on there is a 4amp draw. All of these issues are not in our old freedom 15.

 

[dwh]

Ouch. Annoying indeed.

 

[luthj]

Yeah, those are legitimate issues. 4A is a big deal when you have AC appliances you need to use. I have been very happy with outback and magnum inverts previously. Victron gear is also very user programmable. Of course they are not cheap.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

So we finally got the truck on the scales today (after a trip to the local truck shop trying to figure out new leaf springs). As we sit now we are at 18,860 lbs, rear axle at 10,620 lbs. I have to say I am a little surprised but will work with it. Guessing that it can not be too different from other similar trucks as it sort of looks similar. We still have bit more stuff to pile in but not too much as we have moved into the truck (more about this further down).

Found a place in Germany that can source either the original 7.6 ton springs or uprated 9.2. Any thoughts on which way I should go? Really do not want a buckboard ride but do not also want to overload the 7.6 ton springs.

Been a bit quiet on the build lately as we started to get nervous about the upcoming winter and selling our current home, our sailboat. So we self listed it on a boat sales website and a few days later someone wanted to see it. Long story short we have accepted an offer, the boat has been surveyed and we are finalzing the remaining details. Hopefully the rest of the sale will go well. It is not perfect timing as we still have about a month to the truck build but we have had friends sit on their boats for a couple of years before they sell, so we are feeling lucky. So we are now living in the truck full time without the seating cushions being done and the heating system still in bits.

 

[mog]

I could not find a clear photo of your rear springs, but if you have a convention spring pack (that is what my 1017 has), you might want to see if you can upgrade to factory parabolic springs. Last week a couple from Germany were at my house and their 1995 MB1124 has those. What an improvement over the conventional springs. And no need for overloads. The husband is a retired Mechanical Engineer for MAN trucks, so at the zenith of knowing what is going on.
Their truck

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I could not find a clear photo of your rear springs, but if you have a convention spring pack (that is what my 1017 has), you might want to see if you can upgrade to factory parabolic springs. Last week a couple from Germany were at my house and their 1995 MB1124 has those. What an improvement over the conventional springs. And no need for overloads. The husband is a retired Mechanical Engineer for MAN trucks, so at the zenith of knowing what is going on.
Their truck
View attachment 549101

Thanks for that tip. Will inquire with the company in Germany for the elliptical springs.

Any chance you could send me a pm with your friends contact info? If I could get their vin I could look up the part number for the springs.

 

[eilatmar]

Minor speed bump on the trip back home with the boat, the last opening bridge was damaged during Dorian. We were 1.5 hours away by car from our marina and Charlie (the welder) was going on the road this coming week for a couple of months. So, we contacted a friend and they graciously came and picked us up, while leaving the boat in a transient marina. We ended up staying in the truck overnight which was a bit early but at least we had lights! Anyway, the boat is now back home and the welding is pretty much done "enough" for now. Last bit is painting and mounting the boxes and Charlie said it is ok to work at his shop while he is gone (really a good guy). Painting starts tomorrow.

So, the truck build update. The internal wiring is about 95% complete, the freshwater hosing is about 70% and 3 out of 5 solar panels are bonded to the roof with the last 2 ready to bond and will do in the morning. Still need to run the wires thru the roof (solar charge controllers are mounted and the internal wiring is done).
View attachment 538835

A few years ago my mom made us a needlepoint dolphin wall hanging, this will now move from the boat to this nook in our "bedroom". The led lights can swivel and will do that once the frame is hung. On the bottom of the photo you can see the 27" 4k monitor that will be mounted on a swing arm. It will be hooked to an Android TV box. That project is a little stalled since I need to modify the swing arm to make it work like I want.
View attachment 538836

And here is a pic of the Dometic RTX 2000 24V DC aircon that has finally arrived. It looks good and can't wait to get it installed.
View attachment 538837

hi jon. why dose it say on the dometic site that these a/c can run up tp 6 hr's ? why not more ?

 

[VerMonsterRV]

hi jon. why dose it say on the dometic site that these a/c can run up tp 6 hr's ? why not more ?

Not sure, my guess is these are normally used for overnight semi truck parking and a battery pack is installed along with the AC. The pack looks to be 2 deep cycle wet cells so I guess they are the limiting factor. I did confirm I could use it running off the alternator underway.

 

[eilatmar]

hi jon .first thanks...

i would like to ask what would you recomend will be the optimum total hight for an expedition truck like the MB1120 ?
and if i make a 3point subframe what would it be the right space to have between the chassis and the subfram ?

thanks, hanan.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I am no expert, just a DIY builder so take any advice with that in mind. Our truck is about 11' 6" to the top of the A/C. This allowed 6' 6" interior headroom. Our roof and floor panels are 83mm thick so that makes the outside dimension 7' high. I think this is about average for trucks like this. I saw a Bliss Mobile truck at Overland Expo and it looked even taller (those new MAN trucks are massive compared to our 1120). Same with the GXV on display and a Unicat in the camping area.

As far as the 3 point subframe I really can not comment as I went with a simpler (and less off-road capable) rail on subframe. I am not an engineer so the rail on seemed way simpler to design. There seems to be a mix among the professional builders between 3/4 point subframes and rail-on. Guessing the intended use is what drives the decision.

 

[Neil]

Thanks for that tip. Will inquire with the company in Germany for the elliptical springs.

Any chance you could send me a pm with your friends contact info? If I could get their vin I could look up the part number for the springs.

I too have a 1017 with conventoonal springs. I would love to hear from or see pictures of any upgrade to parabolic. I like the sound of this

Neil

 

[eilatmar]

I am no expert, just a DIY builder so take any advice with that in mind. Our truck is about 11' 6" to the top of the A/C. This allowed 6' 6" interior headroom. Our roof and floor panels are 83mm thick so that makes the outside dimension 7' high. I think this is about average for trucks like this. I saw a Bliss Mobile truck at Overland Expo and it looked even taller (those new MAN trucks are massive compared to our 1120). Same with the GXV on display and a Unicat in the camping area.

As far as the 3 point subframe I really can not comment as I went with a simpler (and less off-road capable) rail on subframe. I am not an engineer so the rail on seemed way simpler to design. There seems to be a mix among the professional builders between 3/4 point subframes and rail-on. Guessing the intended use is what drives the decision.

much appreciated

i hope someone here in the forum will shed light on the issue of the distance between the chassis and the subframe .

. thank you. hanan

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I too have a 1017 with conventoonal springs. I would love to hear from or see pictures of any upgrade to parabolic. I like the sound of this

Neil

I should be hearing today from the company in Germany that says they can get the parabolic springs. If they are not crazy expensive and bolt to the existing mounts we will probably give them a try. Not sure though if it is a good idea to mix the regular leaf springs in the front with parabolic in the rear, will have to inquire. Our fronts seem to be fine. Will report back here if we decide to get them and the results once installed.

much appreciated

i hope someone here in the forum will shed light on the issue of the distance between the chassis and the subframe .

. thank you. hanan

I can say this about the distance. It is likely directly related to the truck you get, some have more flexible chassis that others, like a Mog vs our 1120. The amount of flex will determine the distance. Pairospam here on the board https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...tipper-to-expedition-truck-conversion.121538/ is building a pretty incredible truck. He has tested the flex on his 6x6.

The truck that Mog posted a picture above looks like it has a 3/4 point subframe (and an Espar rooftop DC AC for the cab). If you were to contact them they might be able to at least give you the distance they have and details about the subframe. Neil who also posted above has a 1017 with a rail on subframe. He built a pretty informative website of their build https://cloud9isborn.blogspot.com/ with heaps of detail. I studied a lot of his build and used a lot of his ideas.

 

[mog]

The truck that Mog posted a picture above looks like it has a 3/4 point subframe

Warning- Thread drift
It is a 'factory' 4 point subframe from Füss-Mobile (http://www.fuess-mobile.de/) who also build the cabin box.

Front (the rear is the same)



Middle


Subframe to the truck frame





Bonus -CTIS