Here's my favorite TC from the 2013 Overland Expo

Very nice rigs, especially the silver MAN. It very good family camper with this large double cab.

BTW, the MAN type marking 14.285 means, that this truck has a GVWR of 14.000 kg and a power of 285 hp. It doesn't have a 14.285 litre engine. Probably it has a MAN D0836 6-cyl engine with 6.867 l.

Some other makers :
SLR Motorhomes


Earthcruiser


Global Warrior buildon small/ large Isuzu,(10litre) MAN and IVECO Eurocargo

btggraphix wrote:

mooring product wrote:
Height has been my issue so I cant imagine running around in a unimog.

Chainsaw would be a must for sure.

I carry a Stihl MS361, 3' limb clippers, a bowsaw, and an EstWing long handled hatchet (plus mixed gas, bar oil etc.) One storage box is entirely commited to this gear.

Where do you carry the ladder?

Or are you inching your way along with the loppers, the bow saw or the chainsaw up top on the cabover portion?

pezvela wrote:

btggraphix wrote:

mooring product wrote:
Height has been my issue so I cant imagine running around in a unimog.

Chainsaw would be a must for sure.

I carry a Stihl MS361, 3' limb clippers, a bowsaw, and an EstWing long handled hatchet (plus mixed gas, bar oil etc.) One storage box is entirely commited to this gear.

Where do you carry the ladder?

Or are you inching your way along with the loppers, the bow saw or the chainsaw up top on the cabover portion?

The ladder is on the back of the camper. Since the roof is a full walk on roof, she climbs up to the top right by the camera and mic and can watch and speak to me and tell me if we are clear. If not she says "stop" and she either climbs up and lifts the branches and guides them over or tells me I need to do something else like get the clippers. The mic is nice. I'd like to make some lightweight plastic or aluminum risers to raise branches over the AC and othe roof items. To make it easier. I've only rarely had to clip branches. Never had to lift wires though the prior owners did so in Latin America. They also used rope risers tied from the mirrors to the top of the AC to help let stuff slide up and over.

Never used the chainsaw on the roof just the bowsaw or clippers.

I would like to carry a good ladder along like a Little Giant that folds up for multiple uses, for example getting to the edge of the awning when deployed to attach deflappers.......or even clean windows. Stuff is definitely way up high for us!

valhalla360 wrote:
Sorry, just relaying what they posted on their blog.

They complained about 30mph climbing a 6% grade on freeway in the candian rockies. Maybe they have an older weaker engine? 70mph top end still would be annoying assuming that is pedal to the metal.

Wow, so only $1600 to get fresh rubber? Maybe it was a lot of paved road driving or something was eating up thier tires?

I'd much rather save a whole butt load of money and use it to travel more.

Slow down and enjoy the view. Those vehicles spend as little time on paved roads as possible, so a slower pace isn't much of a drawback.

$1600 isn't so bad....my 5 tires cost over $2000otd and they are just on a lowly F350. I did get a deal on my last set as a friend sold me his 6month old set for only $1500.

Can't expect a guy with a TT running from campground-to-campground to appreciate the attraction of the out of the way places even a stock TC can get to, let alone where a setup such as this thread is about can go.

Thank you Steve. The sarcasm of these guys that seem to never get more than 100' from pavement - and never have driven outside N. America with their campers - is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
And I don't want to seem like a 1% elitist or something, but I really don't care how much the tires cost if they get me where I want to go, and last a while and are reliable. One NEEDS tires with a decent large footprint and designed to run at lower pressures with a CTIS system to get a 26K lb vehicle into some tough places.

Charlie

m37Charlie wrote:
Thank you Steve. The sarcasm of these guys that seem to never get more than 100' from pavement - and never have driven outside N. America with their campers - is so thick you can cut it with a knife

X2

valhalla360 wrote:

Wow, so only $1600 to get fresh rubber? Maybe it was a lot of paved road driving or something was eating up thier tires?

I spent that much for my goodyear silentarmor tires for my dually plus install. they should last around 60k.

it could be worse, but i'm sure those make one hell of a noise running down the road at 60mph.

When army type tyres are used, it is possible to get used tyres (80-90 %) cheap here in Germany. Michelin XZL 14.00R20 then cost only about 300-400 US$ instead of about 1,000 US$ new per piece.

My Michelins now have about 40k miles on them and are still usable on bad roads. But when going into heavy sand or mud, then I would put new ones on.

FWIW, I apprecatie you guys with the big offroad trucks participating here on the forum and keeping us honest. Your real-world experience is great, both for a dose of reality and for the dose of the super-cool fantasy trucks.

I spent about $2K on my set of 6 tires for the record, and have about 60K on them and they are pretty much shot. Would love to slap on a set of 4 XZL's and wheels and be able to air down and get onto deeper sand. But that bird chirping in my ear says "wouldn't it be more practical to have an awesome off-road Jeep as a toad instead?" You could just about buy a Jeep for the price of 4 tires and wheels for the big truck.....

It's all good, guys....there is no one-size fits all.