global expedition vehicles, inc

Bongo Boy

Observer
I'm pretty much an idiot, but I do know one thing...that [Unimog] is about the coolest flippin' unit rolling. My good god that is a cool truck...I can hardly imagine how much ammo that thing can carry.

Second thing is just based on experience--the relationships we think should exist between companies because of 'ownership' are probably not the real relationships we experience. Companies buy companies, merge with companies, etc., and it has no bearing whatsoever on how the respective companies behave or operate.

Years can go by after mergers and acquisitions, with no persceptible changes in the parties' operations. MB doesn't acquire Chrysler with any aim of changing Chrysler's customer service model. That's not what's going on--these guys don't do these deals to make you a happier customer. Duh. Shareholders don't say, "Oh gee, the customers will be so much happier and will get so much better service they'll just have to buy so much more crap from us." I don't think this is the way it works.

Many folks, I think, assume outlandish things like, 'MB bought chrysler, therefore chrysler will soon achieve the quality levels of MB'. Jeeeez, where's that logic thread come from? Years would go by before anyone in chrysler even saw an MB person, or had a clue about how MB did quality. The very assumption that 'there is a way MB does quality' is total bs. Why would you assume that? No. To assume M&A activities have any bearing on the products or services you experience is superstition, at best.

But while I'm expressing opinions, you've chosen nothing of what Dostoevsky offers! Good god...possibly a genius of our time, but certainly a hero of our age. What higher emotions could one man evoke?
 
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haven said:
Here is information gleaned from the Global Expedition Vehicles web pages about their original camper design.


Vehicle dimensions overall
--------------------
26 feet long, 8 ft wide, 12 feet tall
traveling weight ~29,500 lbs

My God, where does all that weight come from? All loaded up with 160 gal fuel, 140 gal water and a LOT of tools and recovery gear, 2 winches, extra unmounted spare, I weigh at least 2200 lb less. At 29500 lb that probably exceeds the 8500kg rear axle GAWR.

Charlie
 
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michaelvanpelt

Observer
Update

Hello All
...The Eco skin was removed after the trip to South America as it was to heavey and took time when tilting the cab for service reasons.
...There were corner jacks on the truck for a while and were removed before the trip as they were to heavy also.
...The original Expedition unit was removed from the original chassis in favor of a 181" truck. The reasons were that it now weighs approx 26,000lbs without the above items and I thought this longer chassis would distribute the weight better for better off road uses and this does appear to work.
...I was using flip down stairs on the original and have installed a fold down ladder now.
... The new unit weighs approx 18700lbs now and with a few things to complete it will weigh at most a 1000lbs more I think for a total estimated weight of 20,000lbs
Thanks Mike
 

haven

Expedition Leader
welcome Mike

Welcome to ExPo, Mike, and thanks for the update. I think the current weight of 20,000 lbs is qite light. I think I remember reading that Charlie Aarons' Unicat on U500 chassis weighs 25,000 lbs.

It's to your credit that you over-built your original design, and now can make adjustments based on your months of experience using the camper.

Can you answer our question about the status of the U500? Do you know if/when new models will be available for sale?

Chip Haven
 

landcruiserbob

New member
Unimog won't be back in the states until 2014; if then. They haven't addressed 2010 EPA reg's & don't plan to. This is a good thing since those of us who have them can get more $$$$$ for them.

When & if they do, it will the u20 platform which gets us further & further away from the U3000-u5000 trucks.

VanPelt is a good friend of mine & the last time he was in town I had the chance of touring his new truck. Amazing to say the least. The fit & finish is top notch. I've been in several multi million dollar RV's & this one has them beat hands down. The vehicles off road abilities haven't been compromised & it's a light weight truck. If I wasn't in the market for a crew cab I would buy it. You can't build one cheaper than his asking price.robert g
 
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michaelvanpelt

Observer
Greenie Blogger

Thanks for the compliment.

We have had only had 2 potential customers come to our Global Expedition Vehicles shop to review the product. Neither have seen our completed Production Unit, only the prototype. One customer, a VERY intelligent and successful Mechanical Engineer/Businessman who had been to Germany to see the 2 or 3 expedition units that are available there, and had visited the one domestic builder. He felt we had the best product, and he promptly ordered with us. His unit will be delivered in a few weeks. Photos will posted to our web site www.globalxpeditionvehicles.com in a next week.

The other was a very nice couple from Alaska they had also been to the same companies and shared with us that we have a great product and wanted to arrange financing. Financing on something as unique as an expedition vehicle is difficult. We wish them luck, and we hope to build for them also as they are also very knowledgeable and a pleasure to have around.

I encourage anyone in the market to come to Global Expedition Vehicles offices for a look. I think you will be glad you spent the money for the trip.

I am new a this “blogging,” but anxious to answer any questions that you may have about the GXV or the Unimog expedition units available now.
 

Colorado Ron

Explorer
I got to see, ehh I mean slobber, over their Unimog while it was here in Denver. It is absolutely first class. This is one of those "last a lifetime" purchases. Great product, and I hope they do well! Dont forget to email me if you build one to house six kids!LOL:archaeolo
 

haven

Expedition Leader
Nice write-up about Global Expedition Vehicles on the Truck Trend web site

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/ultimate/163_0810_mercedes_unimog_gxv/index.html

GEV-2.jpg


GEV-1.jpg


Congratulations to Mike Van Pelt!

Chip Haven
 
I'm glad he got the writeup, but there were a couple of inaccuracies.
It has a 6.4L motor, not 7.2L. And it does NOT have independent suspension.

Charlie
 

michaelvanpelt

Observer
Charlie's right

Charlie, You are right. Truck Trend does not have this right (along with a couple other details, but we did not write the article ourselves or see it before publishing). It does not have an independent suspension. The motor is a very powerful and dependable 6.4 liter, and this motor handles the 23,600 lbs (Wet and loaded with full water and fuel plus all the customer had to carry) very well. And at almost $200,000 less than the Unicat, I think its a great buy.
Incidentally, Unicat had a very nice Bit and Photo on the $500,000 MXT a few pages earlier in the same issue. For information purposes, we would build the same vehicle in the $400,000 price range.

It is a great article, and the quote on the Table of contents:
"This may be the most incredible purpose-built off road adventure machine we've ever seen" made my heart sing after all the engineering, planning, & effort we have gone through to get this far.
 

dhackney

Expedition Leader
Mike,

Congratulations on the PR and on building your company.

I wish you would have been a couple of years earlier in your timeline. We probably would have bought one from you instead of building a one-off with no prior experience!

Thank you for building and selling reliable, capable vehicles that can get more Americans out here.

Best wishes for continued success.

Doug
 

haven

Expedition Leader
I noticed that the Global Xpedition Vehicles web site now advertises a camper body for sale. It's called the Survival Basics Expedition Camper. The name is misleading, however. Rather than simply "survival basics," the camper is completely outfitted.

Expedition-Camper2.jpg


Camper equipment includes items like Seitz windows with built-in shades and screens, diesel cooktop, diesel heater and water heater, refrigerator, solar panels, and AGM battery. Outside storage compartments and a rear tire mount with hand winch are also included as standard equipment.

The camper is mounted on a three point torque-free subframe, ready to be attached to your truck chassis. I didn't see information about the weight of the camper and subframe, but I bet you'll need a medium duty truck to handle the load.

While it may be possible to ship the Survival Basics camper to your location, it seems to me that you would be wise to let Mike Van Pelt's crew at GXV attach the camper body to your chassis. They can add options like front bumper with winch, backup camera, satellite dish, and camper air conditioning.

Custom work is never cheap. The Survival Basics camper is offered for $160,000, with options available at extra cost.

Here's the link to the description of the Survival Basics camper
http://globalxvehicles.com/survival-basics-expedition-camper/
 

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