Thread: Spudboy's super-sized camper replacement for a 130 - and no it's not a Unimog!

Today I got the winch/slider system built to get the spare tyre in and out.

Normally this requires no special thought on a Land Rover size wheel, but these buggers are around 125Kg and extremely unwieldy.

This is what it ended up looking like:


I went with a hand winch for simplicity and cheapness, given that it should be an unusual occurrence to have to change a tyre. The slider is made from 4 rollers that make sliding truck sides roll. The first time I used it, the frame bent down a little, so I've added an extra stiffener plate to make it less flexible.

More photos & etc here: Spare-Tyre-under-the-bed-Winch-system

Cheers
David

Wow. I couldn't use enough superlatives. Following with interest.

Cheers
Kev

The MAN got an outing over the long weekend, up to the Flinders Ranges.

I was very happy with how it went, especially over corrugations and washouts. I drove it up the Blinman to Arkaroola road which has a good mix of creek washouts, some tight corners, corrugations, some interesting side tracks and lots of dust.

On the same day we went up the same road in a new Disco D4, which was also very comfortable but the big wheels on the MAN really insulate you from the drumming of the corrugations.

The only downside of the whole thing was the rather high fuel consumption. On the way up it was over 30L/100Km with a very strong headwind. On the way home it did hugely better at 23.7L/100Km as I drove 5Km/h slower and didn't have that headwind. Still a lot of fuel even at 23.7L/100.....

We had lovely weather. This is the view from the camper on the Saturday morning:


I did a short excursion to the radio tower just outside of Blinman, which is up a narrow track and very rocky. Again, no dramas. Low range 1st is super slow so going straight down a steep hill was not a problem with huge engine compression holding it back.


I stupidly forgot to latch the cupboard closed, so over the slow rolling bumps the door flew open and the drawer launched itself across the floor, breaking it. A lesson for beginners

More photos & etc on this blog post: Shake-down-trip-to-Blinman-Flinders-Ranges

Cheers
David

If it makes you feel better, my 101 has similar fuel consumption figures and that's not a quarter of the truck yours is.

Great build.

What engine is in the 101? Are they 3.5L V8's?

Yep. Not known for their fuel efficient properties...

I do have plans to stick an Isuzu 4BD1T in it as funds permit.

What engine is in the MAN again? (Can't be bothered searching on my phone. )

Excellent stuff.

Someone left the porta-loo hatch door open in our caravan, and the toilet went walkabout - lesson learned here too !!

Your fuel economy is nothing to complain about. My brother has a GU patrol on petrol / Lpg , towing same camper that we had when we had the Defender, he got 33L/100k Defer got 15L/100k on same trip.

Just did the tally over the life of the Iveco (just clicked over 38,000 and I'm averaging 16.8 L/100k measured from the odo & litters pumped in, the trip computer shows 18.5 L/100k

Your economy is great, and only going to get better as time goes on.