UNIMOG sighting

[Explorer 1]

Saw this beast at Mitchell Caverns, California. Pulls a late model JK.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[TRACTION]

Must be rough! I'd could hang with that setup. Where's my wallet?!

 

[charlieaarons]

That's a GXV (Global Expedition Vehicles).

I thought the whole idea of having a Unimog camper was NOT having to tow a 4X4 behind you.

Charlie

 

[DLippke]

Hi guys. My wife and I are the guilty parties here.

We don't plan to bring the JK when out of country and actually we only tow the thing when doing very long range repositioning. The usual drill is that one of us drives it as a scout vehicle ("Um, honey, you might want to stop and come take a look at this before you try wedging into here") or we use the vehicles independently for daytime activities. Since I shattered my left knee in an accident last year my wife does more of the hiking and climbing and I focus more on cycling with each of us doing shorter versions of each others' activities on shared days. Plus since we don't tend to hang with groups but do get into out-of-the-way places, it's just safer with the two vehicles.

We were at Mitchell so that my wife could try to bag Edgar and Mitchell peaks and so it was "base camp mode" for me. In earlier years we had made multiple stabs at Fountain Peak (there as well) and the whole range there has haunted us ever since. Never was there a more miserable pile of loose steep rock and cactus as those three mountains.

All the best,
David (KF1S) and Tina (KD0IDE)

 

[tamangel]

Mitchell Caverns (the one in California) is a cool place, more info:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=615

http://www.desertusa.com/mnp/mnp_mc.html

Mike

 

[Street Wolf]

Can I have a permanent position driving the scout vehicle? Will work for food. :sombrero:

 

[Explorer 1]

Did you visit Caruthers Canyon???

Dave,

Did you ever get over to explore Caruthers Canyon,

Here are a few pictures of it:

Thanks and happy to have met you,

Fred
Explorer 1

 

[DLippke]

No, we debated it for some while but Appalachian Trail fever won out in the end and we decided "streak" eastward towards Springer Mountain so that we could get Tina launched on that. The snow conditions there are still tough but we're trying to time things such that there's enough of the year left at completion for us to (hopefully) ship ourselves and the camper down to Argentina without overly rushing things. I say "streak" because we're currently in Unimog maintenance jail in San Antonio. I plan to post bail tomorrow. ;-)

The valley looks great, tho. Very JTNP-ish only with different vegetation and direct 4WD access. We'll head straight for it next time. We've spent perhaps a total of 5 weeks in the Mojave but somehow we've completely missed that. These parks simply take years to fully understand.

Thanks again for the chat there at the caverns. When my rig is at just 50% of where yours is at then I'll know I'm getting somewhere. I took away more than you may have realized!

/David

 

[OS-Aussie]

Saw this beast at Mitchell Caverns, California. Pulls a late model JK.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

I don't care what other people say...... that is just way cool !!!

 

[dzzz]

Hey David, thanks for posting.
How much fuel do you carry?
I purchased a U500 and am finalizing that part of the design. I know Charlie A. has his tanks aft of the rear axle, but he's back-heavy.
Thanks

 

[dzzz]

Can I have a permanent position driving the scout vehicle? Will work for food. :sombrero:

Or it could be like the Germans who drive ATVs to scout in front of their big expedition vehicles. I like that, it's so......German.

 

[charlieaarons]

Hey David, thanks for posting.
How much fuel do you carry?
I purchased a U500 and am finalizing that part of the design. I know Charlie A. has his tanks aft of the rear axle, but he's back-heavy.
Thanks

If I did it all over again:
I'd lengthen my wheelbase 600-900mm
Make the camper 4-600mm longer
put fuel tanks in front of the rear axle
have smaller tanks behind rear axle for better departure angle
have squared off rear end of box (instead of angled) for much more storage capacity

So I would still be rear heavy, but probably with another 500kg on front axle

Charlie

 

[dzzz]

If I did it all over again:
I'd lengthen my wheelbase 600-900mm
Make the camper 4-600mm longer
put fuel tanks in front of the rear axle
have smaller tanks behind rear axle for better departure angle
have squared off rear end of box (instead of angled) for much more storage capacity

So I would still be rear heavy, but probably with another 500kg on front axle

Charlie

What do you think it would cost to lengthen the chassis two feet?

 

[charlieaarons]

What do you think it would cost to lengthen the chassis two feet?

I was quoted $20000. At least.
Plus, I'd be a little concerned about leaks with all the air lines to be spliced.
If one did it, you could add 900mm for WB = 4.8m. You could increase right side fuel tank by 50 gal and put a 60 gal rectangular tank on the left (even with the gray water tank I have). And increase camper length to 5.4-5.5m without tapered rear end for departure angle. Massive storage capacity increase - a second closet on one side, bigger kitchen with freezer down below, fridge above, much more storage in rear behind bed.

Charlie

 

[dzzz]

Was $20K from a freightliner dealer? I would be surprised if the average truck cost that much. I wonder if that included complete rail replacement.