Thread: Mercedes U500 with Alaskan Camper

  1. #1
    haven is offline Expedition Portal Moderator Expedition Leader
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    8,693

    Default Mercedes U500 with Alaskan Camper



    2005 Mercedes Unimog U500 with camper
    6900 miles, $139,000

    33,000 GVWR
    190 inch extra-long wheelbase
    Vario steering
    CTIS
    Winter package
    rear hydraulic winch
    motorcycle/spare tire lift

    Alaskan Camper
    looks like a 10 foot camper

    for sale by owner in Vancouver Washington
    ad posted June 16
    http://www.unimog.net/exchange/

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Middle of Nowhere, Outer Skin of Space Ship Earth, 1 A.U. from Sol, Outskirts of Milky Way.
    Posts
    2,168
    That's the ExPo member dzzz's Mog. He's also posted it here for sale.

    If I had the cash, it would be mine in a heartbeat.
    ...
    ...
    Current: 76 E-250, bubble-top, self-contained|couple of old Yamaha enduros
    Previous wheelers: 41 Willys|78 FJ40|78 Bronco|84 Bronco|74 Ramcharger|78 Ramcharger|79 D150 PowerWagon|77 D100|79 D400 dually, converted to 4WD, utility bed, 10' Lance|75 Westy|69 Scout, RHD|bunch of others|bunch of bikes|couple of boats|couple of motorhomes|blah blah|so what|not my idea|just doin' what I'm told|wank wank|this space for rent|candy is dandy|but liquor is quicker

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    pittsburgh
    Posts
    2,389
    not allot of living space for the fuel penalty.
    meh

    72 fj40, gone
    93 110NAS 238, gone
    71 fj55, gone
    86 fj60, gone
    76 fj40, polished up
    96 G, lotsa parts
    01 lx470, 150,000 dd
    97 f350/alaskan camper
    cars.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Middle of Nowhere, Outer Skin of Space Ship Earth, 1 A.U. from Sol, Outskirts of Milky Way.
    Posts
    2,168
    Quote Originally Posted by zimm View Post
    not allot of living space for the fuel penalty.
    True. Sort of.

    After Glen Heggstad went around the world, I played with the numbers a bit. He spent two years doing the trip (not including nearly a year doing the South American trip first). He did 50 something countries and 50 something thousand miles (again, not including the 25k miles of the SA trip).

    Easy enough to ballpark that - works out to about 500 miles per week on average. If the hypothetical rig gets say 10mpg (my Class B Ford with 460 gets that), that'll be 50 gallons/week and at today's US price of $4/gallon, we're talking $200/week or $800/mo for fuel. Even if the fuel cost were doubled, that's still well within the realm of a $100/day travel budget.

    I think for a truck - especially a truck intended to spend a lot of time away from paved roads - that fuel tankage and range is more important than miles per gallon. (Or top speed...it is after all, a Mog...)



    Personally, I don't put a high priority on living space. The Unicat/GXV setups are nice, and possibly required if you need to take a wife along for the trip. I'm not married though (18 years a single father - I just never had the time).

    So for a soloist like myself, the Alaskan/Mog setup is extremely tempting. I think sticking to Stephen Stewart's recommendation that a RTW truck should ideally be between 3m-3.3m in height would probably be the second most important consideration for me - behind CTIS. Airing up and down is so important, and such a PITA, that I would be willing to make almost any compromise to have CTIS.


    I would make a couple of changes to dzzz's rig. I would turn the camper around so the door faced front, and then hang the spare tire(s) and probably a TW200 off the rear ala JRHETT's Fuso. Then I'd box in the sides of the midships gangway making the starboard side a dropside/stairway/gangplank, and put a sliding door in the back of the cab to have a walkthrough/crawlthrough from the camper to the cab. I'd probably also want a generator like Doug Hackney's rigged fore/aft on the port side of the gangway, with storage above that.


    My only real gripe about the Alaskan/Mog setup is that it's not very stealthy. I'm a big fan of stealth. That could be cured by boxing in the sides to hide the Alaskan when the top is down. Boxing in the rear lift for the tires/bike would make the thing completely not resemble a camper at all when under way.
    Last edited by dwh; 06-20-2012 at 04:02 PM.
    ...
    ...
    Current: 76 E-250, bubble-top, self-contained|couple of old Yamaha enduros
    Previous wheelers: 41 Willys|78 FJ40|78 Bronco|84 Bronco|74 Ramcharger|78 Ramcharger|79 D150 PowerWagon|77 D100|79 D400 dually, converted to 4WD, utility bed, 10' Lance|75 Westy|69 Scout, RHD|bunch of others|bunch of bikes|couple of boats|couple of motorhomes|blah blah|so what|not my idea|just doin' what I'm told|wank wank|this space for rent|candy is dandy|but liquor is quicker

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Middle of Nowhere, Outer Skin of Space Ship Earth, 1 A.U. from Sol, Outskirts of Milky Way.
    Posts
    2,168
    But with the Vario Pilot setup, stretched frame and such low miles - I personally expect that GXV will probably end up buying that truck to make another GXV.
    Last edited by dwh; 06-20-2012 at 04:10 PM.
    ...
    ...
    Current: 76 E-250, bubble-top, self-contained|couple of old Yamaha enduros
    Previous wheelers: 41 Willys|78 FJ40|78 Bronco|84 Bronco|74 Ramcharger|78 Ramcharger|79 D150 PowerWagon|77 D100|79 D400 dually, converted to 4WD, utility bed, 10' Lance|75 Westy|69 Scout, RHD|bunch of others|bunch of bikes|couple of boats|couple of motorhomes|blah blah|so what|not my idea|just doin' what I'm told|wank wank|this space for rent|candy is dandy|but liquor is quicker

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Canadian in Colorado
    Posts
    1,073
    I would have bought that six months ago.
    '12 Dodge 5500 6.7 diesel slightly modified. 14' 3" Alaskan camper (Alaskanabego)
    My camper build: http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ead.php?t=9502

    KD0ERY

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •