As mentioned on a previous page we chose to construct the cabin a GRP Sandwich Panel as we believe that this material offers the best qualities for our needs, such as lightness, strength and insulation . The construction finish was in white. We did notice from other similar constructions that GRP isn't entirely stable in sun light and can yellow very quickly so we decided to get it painted at an early stage whilst it was still an empty box.
Our German painter Stefan Greiner did a fantastic job and kindly allowed us to do a lot of the preparation to help reduce the costs. Pictures of this can be seen on the “Cabin Design and Construction" page
Many discussions took place regarding the colour of the paint . We chose to paint the cabin and the vehicle cab the same colour. We knew that we we didn't want to go too dark or want the vehicle to look white either. The choice was narrowed down to two very similar colours called Pebble Grey ( RAL 7032 ) and Stone Grey ( RAL 7030 ). Both these colours had the desired effect of blending into the countryside and becoming almost invisible at dusk and night time. Knowing that we would be wild camping at times , blending in was desirable .
We eventually went with the Stone Grey , which is incidentally a colour that is on the MAN Palate . Some readers may wince at the fact that we painted a Mercedes vehicle with an MAN colour but we liked it.
However, we didn't want to look too military and in retrospect the Stone Grey could appear a little bit so. The solution for this will probably be decals eventually .
The roof was kept white, and with a special additive, it has a granular non slip finish
Fuel Tanks
The vehicle does an average of about 13 miles per gallon ( 20 l / 100 km ), depending on the roads etc. In order to achieve a decent range we knew that we needed to have the ability to carry more fuel than the original 120 litre tank could hold .
Fitting two new tanks, one on each side, was planned . Despite spending months scouring the Internet I was unable to find any second hand tanks that would fit. They were either to wide or too deep.
Once we decided to have them custom made we then had to look at which material was best . The options were steel, aluminium or plastic . All three have Pro’s and cons ( but surprisingly weighed similar ) . We decided that plastic and aluminium would be harder to mend in the field if we were unlucky enough to get a puncture from a flying stone or similar . Steel was the way for us an the grounds that it is we thought it was more likely to locate someone who could weld a steel patch on it than the other materials
After a lot of careful measuring and planning I knew I could accommodate a primary tank on the passenger side of the vehicle that would hold approximately 365 litres ( 80 Gal ) and a secondary tank on the drivers side that would hold approximately 135 litres ( 30 Gal ). Plans for the tanks and the brackets can be accessed via the Plans page.
Only the primary tank would be connected to the fuel pump and the secondary tank would simply refill the primary via a small electric pump . I managed to adapt the original sender unit on the primary tank to be reasonable accurate . For real accuracy I have now embraced the hi tech method of a stick with marks on it that dips the tank .
Hopefully our range will now be in the region of about 1440 miles ( 2400 km )
We visited a few companies and decided to task Metallics Uk with the job of building the tanks and the brackets and straps that would mount them to the chassis. Their service was superb and the quality was fantastic.
The primary tank , Which is on the passenger side has three brackets bolted directly to the vehicle chassis . The cabin is fixed to a sub frame that has anti torsion springs securing it. These springs gave the outside edge of the cabin the potential of 100 mm deflection up or down . In view of this the appropriate amount of clearance had to allowed to ensure that the cabin and the tank didn't connect when the vehicle swayed. The filler neck always causes issues but luckily the cabin has a skirt on the outside edge that could be cut away to clear the filler the tank was then secured in place with metal straps
I managed to adapt the original sender unit to fit this tank
The fuel from this tank is drawn by the engine fuel pump via an additional Separ filter. This will hopefully ensure that any poor or contaminated fuel is dealt with prior to the original filter and pump. It also separates and water in the fuel into the bowl at the bottom .
The fuel supplied to the Eberspacher is also filtered by the Separ
The secondary tank was mounted in a similar way with two brackets .
Just to the rear of the tank I mounted a Jerry can holder to carry 20 litres of petrol for the scooter and generator.
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Lockers
We angled the front of the lockers to marry up with the angle of the wheel arches. The lockers and the wheel arches are bolted together to support the arch . The rear angle was fashioned to preserve the departure angle of the vehicle, although I think aesthetics played a big part in the design. I'm not sure that the angle needed to scrape the lockers will ever be achieved without doing considerable damage inside the cabin .
We always wanted to cook outside the vehicle as much as we could so an outside cooker was fixed to the lid of the locker. Wind deflectors have also been installed. It works perfectly and is operational within seconds . The gas supply is plumbed into the locker and the cooker is connected via a Bullfinch connector and additional isolating tap inside the locker.
Gas Tank
The gas installed only powers the cooking facilities. All heating of the cabin and water is diesel powered.
In the perfect world we would have liked to be totally gas free. We looked very closely at going all electric but decided that the battery banks required to cook would exceed our available space and payload. We looked at diesel powered cookers but all the demonstrations we saw were poor and this was backed up by a lack of positive reviews on diesel ovens and hobs. The appeared to us to be inefficient and smelly. They were also very expensive .
Once the fuel was decided we then looked at the options of storing the gas in the volumes we required. We knew from previous experience in our motorhome that sourcing gas can be difficult so we knew that we wanted to carry quite a large volume . A tank that was refillable was decided on and was to be fitted in the area behind the rear wheel on the drivers side . With careful measuring we discovered that we could fit an 80 litre horizontal tank in this space in a purpose build cradle and still be able to fit the dummy locker front around it.
The cradle is bolted to the cabin sub frame creating a tunnel that the tank can be inserted into from the rear. The tank is then secured to the cradle by three metal straps that are bolted to the frame . As per UK gas regulations the weight of the tank is on the cradle, the straps simple hold it in place . The tank water separator and regulator's were all supplied by a Gas it in the UK. We mounted the filler point within the framework so that it is completely all concealed within the locker. The dummy locker slides into place from the front and is bolted to the cradle . An additional Bullfinch BBQ point was fitted in this locker
The main isolating tap for the gas is under the cover on the side of the tank. An additional isolating tap was fitted prior to each BBQ point and the cooker . We decided that we needed to be able to isolate the gas at source more quickly from inside the vehicle so a 24v isolating solenoid valve was fitted just after the regulator. This valve is closed when un powered , thus cutting off the gas. Its operating switch is a red illuminated rocker on the control panel . So in essence you need to turn this switch on to supply any gas. In the event of any 24v electrical failure the gas shuts off. We also have a master switch that we throw when leaving the vehicle so the gas is only on when needed .
The gas was plumbed in 8mm i/d flexible tube that was fed easily from the tank to the appliance with minimal joins. This tube is the same type that is used for LPG car conversions and is extremely robust and easy to use.
This task was completed by LPG Auto Conversions who’s service was superb. The tube and fittings were supplied by Tinley Tech Ltd
Tyre Rack
I wanted to carry two spare wheels and tyres and a scooter on the rear of the vehicle which in total is a load of about 420kg so I knew that the rack had to be quite meaty and substantial . We also knew that we didn't want the rack attached to the Cabin or its sub frame and that it had to be mounted onto the rear of the vehicle chassis.
These previous encarnations were far too complicated with the hoist mounted under the platform and the cable was routed to the outer edge of the rack then up the crane and along the jib. Lots of pulleys and lots of straining.
Eventually a short boom crane arm was designed by my engineering guru "Colin"
The construction was undertaken by Peter at Witham Forge who was delight to work with
Once galvanised it was mounted in the middle of the platform with an electric hoist mounted on the jib of the crane .
The simplicity of this system is what makes it work .Mounting the hoist on the jib means that the cable from the hoist simply winds out straight down and up.
An extra 400mm of platform is to be added to accommodate a scooter. The crane can adapt to the different reaches by sliding the hoist along the boom . The whole crane pivots on a point at its base .
On top of the rear post is a light weight bracket that has two rear view cameras mounted on it. One camera point horizontally for rear view and the other is angled down and is for reversing.
I also intent to mount a third camera on this arm pointing forwards across the cabin roof. This will show how close I am to branches, bridges and canopies etc.
The platform is not only fixed onto the chassis of the vehicle by 100mm channel, but is additionally supported by two angle brackets bracing it back to the chassis.
Stairs and Steps
My wife "Pat" has always sufferd with poor knees. Because of this issue the steps into the cabin and the vehicle were critical.
At all the shows in Germany we attended, we found ourselves photographing, measuring and trying all the steps and ladders into the cabs and cabins. We knew that using ladders or having to pull yourself into the vehicle was not an option . After some reseeach we established that in order to prevent un neccesary wear and impact to Pats knees we needed 6 steps the travel from the outside floor to the cabin floor. This meant that each step riser wasnt more than 220mm . Going up steps is easier than going down . If the down step is too great then you exit the vehicle at speed with greater knee impact.
Six steps in one mechanism with the right dimensions was unobtainable so we decided to split the steps into two parts.
Three steps were constructed inside the vehicle and three were attached outside .
This meant that the drop down box that would house the interior steps had to be designed and factored in before the cabin construction started. We alos knew that the three outer steps with a person on them was alot of starin o the box it would be mounted to, so extra reinforcing had to be added at the construction stage .
As mentioned earlier in this site the cabin is mounted to the chassis in a subframe on springs. This allows the cabin to rock side to side to prevent the natural chassis twisting from breaking the cabin. The step box was mounted to the moving babin so sufficient clearance had to be added at the rear of the box to prevet contact with the vehicles springs and allow acces to grease or even remove the springs
Eventually the outer steps were added
These steel steps are very robust and retract back under the vehicle when not in use. The bottom step floats off the ground which should help on un even surfaces. We purchased these steps from Kwikee in America and had them shipped to the UK. Although Kwikee have agents in the UK , none had their tripple step model in stock.
I have fitted an audible alarm in the cab that alerts me if I have left the steps out when starting the vehicle . Although expensive I would recomend thse steps especially if you need east access.
The military spec version of the 1017A came with two small standard steps into the cab. However the Fire engine models came with larger Stainless steel steeps that suited Pats Knee better . Our great german friends "Ellen and Perry" put out their feelers and manged to find someone who was dismantleing a fire engine .
I fitted the new steps then re added the original swinging step below it on pats side , creating three easier steps to gain access to the cabin .
