MAN 4x4 Truck camper build

SpudBoy

Observer
This the idea for beds in the rear seats of the double cab:
 

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SpudBoy

Observer
One question about your video, how did you move the steering wheel over to the left hand side of the truck LOL.


Have you seen the new drone from DJI?

Haha! Becky had the camera upside down, and I used the wrong function to try and fix it (Inverted instead of rotated). I put up a new/shorter version with me on the correct side: Version2

The new DJI drone...., that would be the Inspire I am guessing. It is fantastic, but MUCH more expensive than my little Phantom, like 3 times the price.
 

SpudBoy

Observer
Thanks mervifwdc!

The Xmas break was a good time to get some more stuff done on the truck, amid the usual over-eating and drinking of holidays. The main enhancement was fitting a table and starting the seats, and installing the generator. I also fitted some rubberised flooring which has tidied up the interior no end.

The table is made from a big stainless plinth (which also holds knives and forks and glasses and plates) and a lightweight fiberglass top:
20141230_133514.jpg


The plinth bit came about because we got sick of opening and closing the cupboards to get common everyday things out. This way, these common things are easily to hand and it also makes the table top very solid. You can't really see it in this photo, but the top shelf has knives and forks and spoons, as well as a few common implements like a wooden spoon and a vegie peeler.
20141215_154400.jpg


The generator is a Honda 3kVA, and I made up a special aluminium 'sled' for it to slide into the rear garage area on these rubber bushings:
20141224_135835.jpg

The rubber bushings stop about 90% of the vibration coming through the cabin, and although you can definitely hear (feel) it when the gennie is running, it really is very quiet.

It's got its own little door for the exhaust so even in the pouring rain it can operate. I might have to fit some ventilation fans to keep the airflow going, but at this stage it appears to be fine without them.
20141230_133855.jpg


The flooring is not very exciting, but it finished off the interior nicely. It is non-slip rubberised stuff, and feels soft to walk on.
20150102_165449.jpg


Other little jobs have been to fit some digital clocks, so I can tell what time it is and when I should come in for dinner, and so you know what time it is in the middle of the night when you wake up. I've tracked down a leak in the shower door (I hope) and just done a dozen little 'nothing' jobs that needed doing.

We went away in the truck for a few days down at the beach after Xmas, but it's back to work now so less time for truck things in January....

More info on these links to the blog:
- Table-and-Seats
- Fitting-the-240V-Generator
- Flooring

Cheers
David
 

SpudBoy

Observer
It's very plain, and my Missus says it is too "industrial" but I like it that way.

A lot of campers I've seen have swirly/stripey bright materials that look like they've time warped from the 70's, so I was keen not to go down that path. like this:

fe179047e0051a191ccec576878766c8.jpg
 

SpudBoy

Observer
The next two items conquered have been fitting the fridge/freezer in between the rear seats of the double cab, and getting the foam seat cushions upholstered.

Fitting the fridge was a fiddly job, plus the weight of an 80L Engel made it troublesome to actually get up into the cabin on my own. Not sure how much it weighs, but I can lift it on my own, just not easily lift it 1.5m in the air on my own!

I've got it wired in with a 22.8V low voltage cut off so it won't completely flatten the truck starting batteries if something goes wrong. I had to TIG up a number of custom brackets to keep it all in place.

20150114_151540.jpg


See the whole job on the blog here: Fridge-Freezer

The other achievement this week was learning how to upholster. I've done a bit of canvas sewing in the past, but it's not one of my strong points. Working with cloth is so 'vague' after working with steel and wood. I've got a very simple old fashioned mechanical sewing machine. It is plain, but it sews through 6 or 8 layers of fabric without too much drama.

20150118_100243.jpg


This is the semi-finished product:

20150123_211455.jpg


I still need to fix the bases in properly, and attach some velcro to the back of the seatbacks. It's very comfortable though!

Here's the link to all the other upholstery details on the blog if you are interested: Cushions-for-the-seat-base

Cheers
David
 

SpudBoy

Observer
Long time - No post!

It's not that nothing has been happening, it's just that I haven't got around to blogging anything for ages. It has been steady progress on a range of jobs, and a lot of the stuff I'm working on hasn't been completed, so I'll have a lot of catch up blogging to do shortly.

It's only about 4 weeks to go until we head off to northern WA for a coupe of months, so we're getting to the pointy end. Regardless of what remains unfinished, we have a departure date which we'll be sticking to!

So, things done lately include, an outdoor camping table that can also recharge the batteries:
20150317_182825.jpg


Strengthening brackets for the disc brake cover plates, which have a tendency to vibrate and fracture, much like a Land Rover Defender, over corrugations:
20150221_132305.jpg


A stereo that runs from either an iPhone or a USB stick:
BlogImage.ashx


Tent pegs for sand:
20150311_142722.jpg


And a way of stopping all the glassware from smashing together:
20150312_202050.jpg


There are about 20 other things I made a start on, like fitting a UHF CB radio, but haven't yet finished, so they will all turn up in a future blog.

To check out the full details, see these blog entries:

A-dual-purpose-table
Lots-of-small-jobs
Strengthening-the-Disk-Brake-backing-plates

Cheers
David
 
The disk brakes protection is a well known failure on the Tgm , surely if you drive the 20 inch Xzl,or Conti's.

The only problem is that Man is ignoring the problem, they should have fixed it since a long time and / or have been done a recall for it.

I broke 3 off them in the first year I had the truck , and I'm not the only one.
grts

g16
 

SpudBoy

Observer
Do you think it is a good idea to strengthen them by adding some reinforcing/brackets, or do you think it is better to just remove them?

I removed one to see what it looked like, but all the ABS mechanism was exposed which seemed to be a bit dodgy.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
Brake disc shield crack is not just a MAM problem, I have gone through three sets of shields on my Defender, and on the way up to Mitchell Plateau a broken rear shield managed to pull the ABS sensor out, by some miricle not breaking it in the process. If yours do crack, will they cause any damage to the sensor when flapping around?
 
Ours have been reinforced by adding welded brackets , 70.000 km offroad travel later and still holding...

I'll try to find some pictures.

The dealer was not happy about the idea of removing them , because indeed some damage could happen towords the sensors,lines and even the disk.
 

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