MAN 4x4 Truck camper build

[SpudBoy]

Not sure if this is the right section to post in, as it's a 'home-built' effort rather than a professionally fitted out unit, but it is attached to a big truck.

We are building a camper based on an MAN TGM 15.290 4x4, which is 15 tonne and 290 HP. This is what we started with:


We've got a blog going with all the usual stuff you put in such a thing: Why we thought an oversize camper was a good idea; How we chose the vehicle; Designing the canopy; Starting the build; and so on.

At the moment, we are up to the stage of putting up the sides, so it's kinda taking shape at last. If you want to take a look at where we're up to, check out our blog at http://daviddeere.net.au/dnnd2/Blog and feel free to ask any questions etc. Go to the "Timeline" section of the blog if you want to work forward in chronological order.

This is what the truck currently looks like, with the Super Single wheels fitted (not sure if you call them Super Singles in the USA, maybe they're SRW's??)


By the time we're finished, we're hoping it looks something like this Unicat MAN:


Cheers
David

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi David,

First post, eh? Welcome to the forum.

Beautiful truck you've bought there.

Watch out for the movement between the camper body and airbagged cabin if you plan to create a passthrough between them. You need to cater for it.

Very nice thing to drive on bad roads. Absolute luxury on the highway...probably the most comfortable big truck I've driven. . If you're planning to do sand, the 12 speed smart auto shifts a bit too slow so be careful......they sort of loose momentum compared to the 6 speed ZF full auto (or an Allison). Obviously there are better offroad tyres that the standard Conti construction tyres that come with the factory SRW option but ditching the DRW is a huge step to improving offroad capabilities.

Hope this might give you some ideas and inspiration. .....one we built about 4 years ago for a family of 5. Hydraulic roof lift. We made the roof to be able to carry a 4.2 metre boat. Plenty of focus on outside living. Big lounge area. Big hydraulic winch.











Kind regards
John.

 

[SpudBoy]

Hi John - yep, first post, but long time reader. I see I joined in 2008, so 5 years to make my first post

I was really stuck on Unimogs for quite some time, and there were a lot of excellent Unimog posts on this site. In the end we went MAN because it was too hard to find a good Unimog in Australia (unless you had $300K to buy a new one). We looked at the ex-Army L1700/38 Mogs, but none of them have fast axles, and 80Km/h is a bit slow to cover Australia's large distances (and no airconditioning either).

Nice to hear you think they are a comfortable truck. They are quite 'ponderous' compared to our Land Rover Defender 130 camper but not all that hard to drive. We are hoping for a reliable run with it. It comes with a 3 year/300,000Km warranty so any issues should be sorted by the time that runs out.

We are not putting in a passageway at this stage. I was quoted $7K for one, so that killed it for us. Nice to have, but for $7K I'd rather have Central Tyre Inflation (CTIS) fitted.

Your build looks fantastic, and I have see a number of photographs and a video of that unit. Looks expensive! Ours will be pretty simple. No electric motors for steps, or extending roof top etc.

Thanks for replying
David

 

[PKDreamers]

Hi,
Man o Man that's going to be a cool truck we are going to enjoy following your build.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi John - yep, first post, but long time reader. I see I joined in 2008, so 5 years to make my first post

I was really stuck on Unimogs for quite some time, and there were a lot of excellent Unimog posts on this site. In the end we went MAN because it was too hard to find a good Unimog in Australia (unless you had $300K to buy a new one). We looked at the ex-Army L1700/38 Mogs, but none of them have fast axles, and 80Km/h is a bit slow to cover Australia's large distances (and no airconditioning either).

Nice to hear you think they are a comfortable truck. They are quite 'ponderous' compared to our Land Rover Defender 130 camper but not all that hard to drive. We are hoping for a reliable run with it. It comes with a 3 year/300,000Km warranty so any issues should be sorted by the time that runs out.

We are not putting in a passageway at this stage. I was quoted $7K for one, so that killed it for us. Nice to have, but for $7K I'd rather have Central Tyre Inflation (CTIS) fitted.

Your build looks fantastic, and I have see a number of photographs and a video of that unit. Looks expensive! Ours will be pretty simple. No electric motors for steps, or extending roof top etc.

Thanks for replying
David

Hi David,

Should have read your blog first...for some reason, I thought you were in Europe. Ditto with Pete's comment ....great blog.

Re:Mogs. Yep. Lots of money here. I believe U500s are around $225k. U5000 around the same but add another $25k for pressurised diffs and CTIS. UniDan on the Gold Coast have a great business restoring Mogs and are just starting to get into modding the ADF Mogs.....fast axles, power upgrades, noise deadening, raised roof, AC, paint jobs, seats, wheel/tyre packages etc. ....an ADF U1700 could easily swallow $50k making one civilised. I've seen quite a few people pay too much at auction and then realise that the ADF spec Mogs are not what they expected.....still not bad value considering.

$7k for a passthrough??? Should be more like half that. We put one in a MAN LE10 two weeks ago. I'll see if I can find out what it cost. Up here its pretty hard to get your truck classified for cheap rego as a motorhome without a passthrough. If you go with a passthrough it will end up in your shower...is that right? Nothing wrong with that is there?

Re: " hoping for a reliable run" ......I talk to lots of customers that run TGM's in commercial situations. That's one thing they are renowned for. ...as you would expect from high end German engineering. Btw, not sure if you've spoken to Amesz on this forum......they build on quite a few TGMs . We've only built a couple of them so far but hoping to do a new TGM bus first thing in the new year....(and coincidently a U500 motorhome).

Re: the ATW MAN. Thanks for the comment. Well no, it wasn't cheap. I think the cab chassis with factory paintjob was about $185k but i heard the 5 Isri seats, bullbar, hydraulic winch and audio visual package in the cab was up around $60 k as well....so up to Mog prices.....before the chassis even turned up at our gate. Like I said, it was very nice.

Hi Pete

Regards john.

 

[canals1164]

Wow very impressive truck I look forward to following your progress. I hope the build goes well it will be a fantastic camper when you finish.

 

[SpudBoy]

...UniDan on the Gold Coast have a great business restoring Mogs and are just starting to get into modding the ADF Mogs.....fast axles, power upgrades, noise deadening, raised roof, AC, paint jobs, seats, wheel/tyre packages etc. ....an ADF U1700 could easily swallow $50k making one civilised. I've seen quite a few people pay too much at auction and then realise that the ADF spec Mogs are not what they expected.....still not bad value considering.
...

I have had a few chats to Dan Mavin when I was looking at buying one of his Unimogs. It was a 1990 U1700 which he'd rebuilt from the ground up. Extremely impressive. He was asking $75K for just the Cab/Chassis, and to that you would've needed to add $6 or $7K for aircon. It still had the standard axles, so top spreed was around 90Km/h, so a Clauss Overdrive was another $9K or so.

I also had a number of phone calls with Ben Nash in Canberra, as he had 3 ex-NZ army U1700/38's for sale for about $60K. Both of them (Dan/Ben) were most helpful.

Prices at auction for the ex-Army Mogs have been dropping. The last Sydney auction had a few rough ones around $10K, and the nice ones were about $25K, so quite a big reduction from the first auction when they were up over $50K.

 

[whatcharterboat]

I have had a few chats to Dan Mavin when I was looking at buying one of his Unimogs. It was a 1990 U1700 which he'd rebuilt from the ground up. Extremely impressive. He was asking $75K for just the Cab/Chassis, and to that you would've needed to add $6 or $7K for aircon. It still had the standard axles, so top spreed was around 90Km/h, so a Clauss Overdrive was another $9K or so.

I also had a number of phone calls with Ben Nash in Canberra, as he had 3 ex-NZ army U1700/38's for sale for about $60K. Both of the Ben's were most helpful.

Prices at auction for the ex-Army Mogs have been dropping. The last Sydney auction had a few rough ones around $10K, and the nice ones were about $25K, so quite a big reduction from the first auction when they were up over $50K.

I didn't realise the Mogs had come down so much in price. I thought some of the first ones were well over $50k. The ADF Canters were the opposite ....they started at low $20k and now the workshop bodied Canters are bringing close to $50k!!! Sorry for getting your thread off track. I have a lot of time for Dan though.....he builds great stuff for a fair price.

 

[Felipe]

Hello David,
Very nice truck. What is the wheel base distance on your chassis ?
Regards
Felipe

 

[charlieaarons]

. I believe U500s are around $225k. U5000 around the same but add another $25k for pressurised diffs and CTIS. .

Some body is charging a big markup. The German pricelist for U5000 gives 4000 euros as price for CTIS, I believe <2000 for fording option.
I have the pricelist on my computer at home.

Charlie

 

[charlieaarons]

Some body is charging a big markup. The German pricelist for U5000 gives 4000 euros as price for CTIS, I believe <2000 for fording option.
I have the pricelist on my computer at home.
Someone in Australia has "taken the plunge" and is doing a motorhome on a U500 chassis? Is it someone in Melbourne by chance?
I showed my camper to someone there 2 yrs ago.

Charlie

 

[SpudBoy]

Hi Felipe - the wheelbase is 4,250mm, or about 14 foot if you are American

I don't think we get any other options here in Australia, but I have seen all sorts of different wheelbases on European models.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Felipe - the wheelbase is 4,250mm, or about 14 foot if you are American

I don't think we get any other options here in Australia, but I have seen all sorts of different wheelbases on European models.

Yeah, we can order them in any WB from Germany .....looking at a 6 month wait though. MAN Australia get a few of them in at 5500mm WB for bus conversions too...... with live drive, big alternator, 300litre tank, etc. ready to convert for that application.

Regards John

 

[Felipe]

Hi SpudBoy
Mine is 4,200 WB as well but is a 13.240 TGM 4x4 DoKa. Less engine power and less load than yours.
The picture is from the day it was delivered to me at the dealer, one year ago. There is me and my good friend Roberto Espinoza who made the whole deal possible.
I will share pictures of the finished rig later.
Regards
Felipe

 

[SpudBoy]

Yep - that is pretty much the same as mine except that yours came with single wheels from the factory.

How do you get on with 240HP? I have only driven mine a small amount (it went straight from the dealer to the bodybuilder) but even with 290HP is is not all that fast! You'd have to think it is exactly the same engine, and just some computer tricks that set the HP. Does yours have twin turbo-chargers?

Have you got a blog running with details of your build?

Cheers
David