O'erlanderwagen build

traveller09

New member
I have no experience with Hutchinson but everyone talks about the weight of them. Can you talk a little about the driving characteristics of the heavier wheel? Can you notice any handling differences? Or does the vehicle have enough power that it isn’t noticeable? Also what did you decide to do about the spare tire, can the mount handle the additional weight or did you decide on a bumper mount of some kind?
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
I have no experience with Hutchinson but everyone talks about the weight of them. Can you talk a little about the driving characteristics of the heavier wheel? Can you notice any handling differences? Or does the vehicle have enough power that it isn't noticeable? Also what did you decide to do about the spare tire, can the mount handle the additional weight or did you decide on a bumper mount of some kind?

All great questions.
The "typical" Hutchinson's you see on most of the military G's (#0492--according to Bill at Hutchinson, most are now cast vs forged) are about 12.5lbs/ea heavier than mine, so this makes me feel a bit better, although the military W461's probably have stronger axles than my rig. All in all, I'm not going to abuse this truck(read: do stupid stuff) so I'm hoping the extra unsprung weight won't cause an issue down the road. I am expecting that I'll need to replace wheel bearings sooner than later, brakes will wear quicker than normal, etc. But I can deal with that stuff. :)

Driving characteristics with them; the G is already a heavy beast, but doesn't feel fully truck-like to me (like our F350 DoKa long bed). I will say that I did notice that with the Hutchies on, the steering felt a tad bit heavier, but nothing that is a bear to deal with. On the road over bumps, I can sense that there's a lot more unsprung weight at each corner. The best way to explain it is that it feels like the wheels/tires are stuck to the road more(well yeah, because they're so much heavier hehe).

Handling differences with them; I don't really notice huge degradations in handling, probably because I don't drive it like I drive our Porsche 997S. I drive the G like a codger a lot of the time, especially in corners as I'm trying to prepare for when I get my rack/RTT on top. The truck is very close to 3tons now so I'm finding myself usually driving at or under the speed limit. That's not to say that the truck won't haul some serious *****(for a 3ton truck) when you need it to, but the gas pedal is pretty heavy/stiff, so you really have to mash the throttle if you want the truck to scoot. It's not blazingly fast like my old '03 E55, but the 336ft/lbs must be underrated.
I'm still impressed with the braking. I've driven Karl's old '91 300GE quite a few times and the brakes could use some improvement. The G500 brakes are very good, good modulation, confidence-inspiring.

From a few G veterans, I'm told that the factory spare wheel mount on cargo door will be able to handle 104lbs (a few know a few who've had 110lbs on there for tens of thousands of miles over very rough roads, no issues). Daniela at ORC says that the 2 factory door hinges shouldn't break, but that the door will need to be adjusted for proper fitment more often(understandable). So for now, I'll be using the factory location. But I was just making my plans last night for a possible custom dual-swingout rear bumper with everything I want back there. I still need to talk to the local Toyota offroad bumper fabricator to get a roundabout quote, but I'm hoping that a custom rear bumper will be less $ than the factory W461 rear bumper, ladder, etc etc I was planning otherwise...plus the custom bumper would be stronger to hold everything.

LMK if you have any other questions,
Jeremy

PS--will you be making it to WA Overland Rally?
 

zimm

Expedition Leader
Jeremy, ask the fabricator to make dimensions, at least for the mounting points. i wanted to use bumpit offroad in Co. as he made my lexus gear and its well built AND economical, but alas, he doesnt have access to a G. that having been said, its not likely i will want mine to look like yours, but if your guy knows the mounting points, we can work thru that.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Jeremy, ask the fabricator to make dimensions, at least for the mounting points. i wanted to use bumpit offroad in Co. as he made my lexus gear and its well built AND economical, but alas, he doesnt have access to a G. that having been said, its not likely i will want mine to look like yours, but if your guy knows the mounting points, we can work thru that.

I will let you know more once I hear from him.
 

traveller09

New member
Great info Jeremy, thanks. I like the direction you are taking with your build, I making lots of metal notes for my future G. I hadn't given the Rally much thought, largely because I didn't know about it. :) At this point I don't trust the Land Cruiser for long drives so I wont be driving that any distance. It is tough when you know you are going to be getting rid of a car your desire to put any money into it diminishes quickly. Maybe it would be a good excuse to get the 911 out of the garage and stretch her legs for the day, as long as long as there is no gravel involved. :) (yes I know it is a 4x4 rally)

David
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Great info Jeremy, thanks. I like the direction you are taking with your build, I making lots of metal notes for my future G. I hadn't given the Rally much thought, largely because I didn't know about it. :) At this point I don't trust the Land Cruiser for long drives so I wont be driving that any distance. It is tough when you know you are going to be getting rid of a car your desire to put any money into it diminishes quickly. Maybe it would be a good excuse to get the 911 out of the garage and stretch her legs for the day, as long as long as there is no gravel involved. :) (yes I know it is a 4x4 rally)

David

You're very welcome.
Bring the 993 out David! (have you seen the Overlanding Porsche's here?;
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/37713-An-expedition-truck-on-portals/page46
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/37713-An-expedition-truck-on-portals/page50)
 

otiswesty

Regular guy
All great questions.
I'm still impressed with the braking. I've driven Karl's old '91 300GE quite a few times and the brakes could use some improvement. The G500 brakes are very good, good modulation, confidence-inspiring.

The 2002+ 463 brakes are a huge improvement over the earlier 463. It is probably the biggest advantage for those who do not like the ESP and ETS systems in the newer trucks.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
The 2002+ 463 brakes are a huge improvement over the earlier 463. It is probably the biggest advantage for those who do not like the ESP and ETS systems in the newer trucks.

Wolfgang Tibus specs 290GDT brakes with his $13k bolt-on portals. He says that in their brake testing, the 290GDT's were the best Mercedes offered, even better than the Brembo BBK's!
 

jluck

Adventurer
Wow! I haven't been around for a while I guess.....What a sweet build. I may have to come see it in person before starting one of my own.
Keep it up!
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Wow! I haven't been around for a while I guess.....What a sweet build. I may have to come see it in person before starting one of my own.
Keep it up!

Thanks. Will you be attending G-Treffen 6/15-17 in Philomath? I will be there.
 

jluck

Adventurer
Thanks. Will you be attending G-Treffen 6/15-17 in Philomath? I will be there.

I don't know....I would like to as I have heard about it for years and never been. I am signing papers on a couple houses on the 12th and the wifes birthday is the 17th.We will be busy busy, I will have to see how things go. I would love to see yours in person. Could you PM me the info on the event?
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
I don't know....I would like to as I have heard about it for years and never been. I am signing papers on a couple houses on the 12th and the wifes birthday is the 17th.We will be busy busy, I will have to see how things go. I would love to see yours in person. Could you PM me the info on the event?

Jonathan from S. Carolina is flying over and riding down with me (dunes Fri, farm Sat/Sun). I do have another seat at least.
PM sent!
 

dclee

Observer
Great info Jeremy, thanks. I like the direction you are taking with your build, I making lots of metal notes for my future G. I hadn't given the Rally much thought, largely because I didn't know about it. :) At this point I don't trust the Land Cruiser for long drives so I wont be driving that any distance. It is tough when you know you are going to be getting rid of a car your desire to put any money into it diminishes quickly. Maybe it would be a good excuse to get the 911 out of the garage and stretch her legs for the day, as long as long as there is no gravel involved. :) (yes I know it is a 4x4 rally)

David

Just curious, why don't you trust the LC for long drives? Is it just abused and tired? Having owned both, I would trust both of our old 80 Series and our current 100 with myself (and my family's) lives - in fact, I have and I do. Not trying to troll, your statement just stood out for me. In general, over a lifetime of Toyota (LC only) and Mercedes (many types) ownership, I would tend to say the LCs are bulletproof, the MBs not always so.

BTW, this is a great build, looking very nice and purposeful for a 463 (sorry, I'm a bit biased toward 460s, hehe...)
 

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