BR: Unimog Adventure Truck Build

[single]

Build Report?

So last year my buddy and I started a company called AeroContinental (@aerocontinental on instagram), and we are building expedition vehicles with aircraft style construction. The ethos behind the builds are to balance comfort (within reason) without sacrificing off-road capability and durability.

For what its worth, I jumped my truck at 75mph on saline valley road in death valley and didn't break it. I can't say I did it on purpose, but I am here to tell you the cabin didn't fall apart.

So far we have built two prototypes, the first being a 2015 Ford F-350 with a standard cabin, MRAP wheels and 40" continental MPT81's. The second truck is a 2017 Ram with an AEV prospector XL package and a cabover on 41" Interco SSR's.

We launched our brand at Overland Expo West in flagstaff where we ran into a mag (rico in flag I believe) and sold our first build contract, a 1990 Unimog U1300L for a couple that is going to travel around the world. They are planning on driving from Montana to Tierra Del Fuego late spring 2018, and shipping overseas from there.

Here is a picture of their truck with the old radio box that we are going to replace. Photo is by Andrew at Rogue Overland (@rogueoverland)



And here is a quick and dirty sketch of what we will be building for the back... It's going to be another riveted aluminum cabin that will be significantly bigger, lighter weight and stronger than the old radio box.



We finalized the design last week with the clients and the first order of sheet metal is inbound. I'll do my best to update the thread weekly with updates on the mog and general cool AeroContinental stuff. Hopefully it will keep me accountable for documenting the build and get more content about what we are doing online.

[single]

Here are some photos of our existing stuff. Finishing the interiors on both of these trucks currently with a new collaborator. Wanted to ensure the structures were sound before doing all the fancy inside bits.



Campsite just outside of Sedona after Expo West.



On Lippincott Pass in Death Valley last spring.



Our ford last winter.

[Norseman]

Right on. Subscribed

[pfluffenmeister]

Enjoyed the previous build thread.
Those look sick.

[Cruiser]

Hotness! Care to comment on any specific things that you guys are installing in light of this couple's plans to use the mog for overlanding primarily outside of the US?

[MontuckyFried]

Wow! Pretty amazing! And a huge congrats on launching your new brand. BTW, I'll be selling my 2016 Sprinter 4x4 170ext cargo van pretty shortly here as I no longer need it for work. All yours if you want it for your next conversion! I'm in your neck of the woods so just PM me if you're interested and want to check it out.

Def gonna keep up with this thread. Single's always up to fun auto adventures!

[single]

Thanks guys^^

Hotness! Care to comment on any specific things that you guys are installing in light of this couple's plans to use the mog for overlanding primarily outside of the US?

There isn't too much different on this build other than a little added redundancy. Most of our builds are designed to be driven abroad, but there are a few considerations for prepping the truck for world travel. Here's a list of some oddities compared to most campers, though our other trucks share most of these...

-Dual Water tanks with backup pump plumbed and installed for when the first one dies. Two tanks instead of one to minimize water movement, and also still have water in case one tank fails.
-Provisions for 6 additional 5 gallon jerry cans (4 diesel, 6 H20) in addition to about 90 gallons of onboard fuel in dual tanks.
-All appliances run on diesel or electricity, no propane for interior use. Induction cooktop supplied by 400-800AH 12V lithium battery in addition to about 900W of solar on the roof.
-Storage for 6 Max Trax.
-Front and Rear winches for recovery/extraction.
-Two full size spares.

The couple has traveled all over USA and done some big trips to Australia with a land cruiser and a trailer, so they are optimizing their rig for drive-ability and it will be quite utilitarian. Just under 12' in length, only as wide as the truck and about 6'5" standing room inside.

[SB]

I luv me sum Mogs and Pinz.

[mud]

That Ford looks badass.
Any plans to sell the shell without the buildout interior, just bare bones?

[ACH]

Right on. Subscribed

Yup, me too.
This is all kinds of rad.

[Danno]

X3 subscribed

[TAFKALVS]

Really stoked to watch this progress.

[single]

Appreciate the kind words guys!

That Ford looks badass.
Any plans to sell the shell without the buildout interior, just bare bones?

Not currently. Our custom builds start out around 200k, and the shell would account for a large portion of that. The concern is that someone wouldn't do a great job on the interior build, and it would reflect poorly on us, especially considering the fact that we are super low volume. If the right client came around we might consider it.

We are considering working on some more consumer level goods in the future that don't carry the custom price tag.

[ASmileyFace]

Love this kind of stuff. Subbing for sure.

Just curious... what are you guys doing about waste? I know black water tanks are very popular but they seem to be such a PIA in less developed areas. Are there other, more adaptable systems, to deal with human waste?

Very cool builds. Will be keeping an eye on this!

[Rico in Flag]

Hey, rad, you guys sold one! Can't wait to see the progress here.
See you at Overland next May?
Folks, the aircraft style construction is something to behold. Unlike anything else on the market.

[Cruiser]

Any sense of what the final weight will be? Will it be able to fit into a shipping container? Access from the cab to the camper box? Any in-line/onboard water filtration?

[Art Shirk]

Killer thread. Is there anything you are doing ripe for a patent? Be nice to lock that down.

[GeezerSteve]

very nice

[single]

Just curious... what are you guys doing about waste? I know black water tanks are very popular but they seem to be such a PIA in less developed areas. Are there other, more adaptable systems, to deal with human waste?

There will not be blackwater on this build or dedicated gray-water. The current plan for toilet is this Wrappon system, and gray water will be caught in a catch can when necessary.

The beauty of the wrappon system is that it is deployable, so you can take it out of the cabin if camped for more than a night. Additionally, it completely seals the waste airtight so you can just throw it out, no need for dumping a bunch of chemical waste into a toilet every week.

Hey rad, you guys sold one! Can't wait to see the progress here.
See you at Overland next May?
Folks, the aircraft style construction is something the behold. Unlike anything else on the market.

Appreciate it dude! That means a lot.

Any sense of what the final weight will be? Will it be able to fit into a shipping container? Access from the cab to the camper box? Any in-line/onboard water filtration?

The weight of our Ford shell is about 960 pounds, including the jockey boxes (storage boxes below the belt-line). It should end up being not too much more than that for this cabin even though it is bigger, since we are able to optimize the design over the prototype.

This will not fit into a container unless separated into two units. It could then be fit into a 40' High roof as an assembly, though the clients will just ship it RORO.

There will be a small pass through from cab to cabin that one could fit through, but the client's didn't want a full size pass through. Our ford has a 'real' pass through, but I decided against it for the dodge.

Killer thread. Is there anything you are doing ripe for a patent? Be nice to lock that down.

Not sure about that, there might be some things in the future... Our structures are so complicated and labor/design intensive that it would be awful hard for someone to copy us and undercut the price.

[MarcusBrody]

I love this kind of stuff too, so I will definitely be following this thread closely. My standard build porn browsing at Expedition Portal has become much less enjoyable since Photobucket pulled its shenanigans.

I think the toilet is interesting. I have ambitions of doing a self build on a box truck chassis someday and that seems like a pretty simple solution in terms of how self contained it is. Have you heard of them being used on expedition vehicles before? How do they hold up to the vibration? Also, how big are the film/bag refills? And how long does the coagulant last? I'm just trying to get a sense if it makes more sense for the application I'm thinking about than a composting toilet. I don't see a bathroom in your mock up though, so maybe being able to move it as a self contained unit is the key.

In any case, that vehicle looks badass. I'll be eager to see future updates!

[detrusor]

Shit, if I had seen this might have done it instead of the sprinter! Customer supplies the truck I presume?


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[bodywhomper]

Are you gonna do something similar with an 80-series?

What's the existing gearing on the unimog? Will that be changing,

[hutash]

These should be hot sellers to skiing dentists.

Looks like this is going to be a fun, if unaffordable, thread.

[goldengatestinx]

I love this kind of stuff too, so I will definitely be following this thread closely. My standard build porn browsing at Expedition Portal has become much less enjoyable since Photobucket pulled its shenanigans.

I think the toilet is interesting. I have ambitions of doing a self build on a box truck chassis someday and that seems like a pretty simple solution in terms of how self contained it is. Have you heard of them being used on expedition vehicles before? How do they hold up to the vibration? Also, how big are the film/bag refills? And how long does the coagulant last? I'm just trying to get a sense if it makes more sense for the application I'm thinking about than a composting toilet. I don't see a bathroom in your mock up though, so maybe being able to move it as a self contained unit is the key.

In any case, that vehicle looks badass. I'll be eager to see future updates!

Cassette toilet. Empties from the outside and dumps into any household toilet or dump station. No coagulant needed. A splash of RV antifreeze will keep it from freezing in winter temps. Simple. Cheap. And the women folk dig having a crapper inside.

[Phall]

subscribing for more great single content.