My new overland project

[Olazz]

I needed to remove the "hub caps" that protect the Syegon inflation system on the truck, however they are bolted on to wheels. Trying to remove the wheel nuts with standard 3/4 inch drive stuff was a no go.
So I ended having to order various truck specific tools that are man-enough for the job. Boy, are the tools BIG!!

The torque wrench is massive and comes in a rifle-type case, is 1.3mtr long and weighs 10kg! Wheel nuts require 600nm!!!

The Syegon self inflation system.

Still haven't figured out how I get the wheel off without disconnecting the whole inflation system. Thankfully the tyres can come off without wheel removal, so if it happens on the roadside, I won't have to remove the whole wheel first.

"This week, I will mostly be removing the rear box in readiness for the chassis to be cleaned, vapour blasted and repainted"...

 

[Olazz]

SEATS:
Fitting the seats has turned out to be a bigger problem than I had envisaged. There was method in my madness in choosing these specific seats. They had to be air seats; they had to have front controls; they had to fit within the confines of the cab without interference from the roll cage; they had to have lockout. The seats are made for the heavy vibration arena of construction industry, so have independent compressors (in-built), hence no reliance on the truck air system, vibration cancelling base, and fore & aft damping. Also had to be able to use the seats without any "bounce" and these seats "lock out" with zero air. This means they are useable when fully deflated (in case of compressor failure).

Well all this worked out perfectly, however due to the in-built damping and vibration systems in the seat, (they are very tall from base to seat-sqab height), the seats sit very high in the cab...too high. The original bases were designed to accept bucket seats bolted to the floor, so are unusually high. Have now spent a few days at a local metal fabrication place, designing and testing different base solutions to get the right fit and height.

Final design completed today and off to be powder coated. Should have the new seats in by end next week. I hope !

DAMPERS
Being a race truck with non-standard damper set up, I have found it almost impossible to get replacements. Sachs who supplied the originals, said they no longer manufacture the dampers and they do not have a replacement.
REIGER, the defacto Dakar standard in dampers, will make me 8 for the truck... €23,800 sir. I rather think not !!

I am trying one final source to see if I can get replacements, without having to spit blood!

The build continues....

 

[nick_the_fish]

REIGER, the defacto Dakar standard in dampers, will make me 8 for the truck... €23,800 sir. I rather think not !!

Makes you realise how much they spend building these Dakar trucks if 8 dampers costs 23,800 euros....

Really enjoying this thread. Glad you got the seats sorted.

 

[Olazz]

Makes you realise how much they spend building these Dakar trucks if 8 dampers costs 23,800 euros....

Yes indeed big, big, money. The €23,800 was for the bottom spec dampers. If I went for the full floating coil over, in- cab adjustable with harmonic hydro stop.....€ 64K .

The original dampers were top, top spec originally, and used by all the top Dakar teams. 15 years is a long time in race development though and Sachs didn't keep up with the tech advance. Saw a 2 new Dakar trucks in build in Austria a couple of weeks ago. 1300hp, 3500nm and cost the owners 650K. My 520hp is positively asthmatic in comparison.

 

[Olazz]

Well, well, well... a big win late today.

As a last resort, I contacted the company that builds the Dakar trucks for MAN factory and regaled my story of woe. (with the help of German speaking buddy). Explained that I don't require race spec dampers as the truck won't be doing 150km+ off road and leaping into the air and if they could offer a solution as they built the truck.

Their response below

"Hello,
Thank you for the request.
We have enough from them on stock new but they are old 2008. Without guarantee we can give you them for not so much money.
There should sticker on the dampers with the SACHS number (there are 2 versions)."

After various emails, he offered them at a final price ... €250 each !!!!

I grabbed 12, 8 + 4 spare.... result as I got 12 original NOS for the cost of 1 Reiger.

Happy boy indeed.

 

[Animal Mother]

Nice nice nice.

 

[clivehorridge]

Well, well, well... a big win late today.

As a last resort, I contacted the company that builds the Dakar trucks for MAN factory and regaled my story of woe. (with the help of German speaking buddy). Explained that I don't require race spec dampers as the truck won't be doing 150km+ off road and leaping into the air and if they could offer a solution as they built the truck.

Their response below

"Hello,
Thank you for the request.
We have enough from them on stock new but they are old 2008. Without guarantee we can give you them for not so much money.
There should sticker on the dampers with the SACHS number (there are 2 versions)."

After various emails, he offered them at a final price ... €250 each !!!!

I grabbed 12, 8 + 4 spare.... result as I got 12 original NOS for the cost of 1 Reiger.

Happy boy indeed.

Yeah, but no guarantee Lazz...



(Runs and hides)

 

[Olazz]

Battery Problems:

Having installed brand new batteries in October together with a new battery isolator master switch, I was confronted with dead low-side battery just two days after having forgotten to isolate the master. The first time this happened, I assumed I'd left ancillaries on. How ever it happened a couple of months later after just 2 days. Upon further investigation, there appeared to be a parasitic draw of over 2amps and having removed every fuse and relay, the final culprit could only be a duff alternator diode.

Using a multimeter, I tested the alternator diode and sure enough found the culprit.

Now I didn't need to throw the alternator away, as I could fix/replace the diode, but having removed it, I found that the alternator was 11 years old and only a 55amp. As the truck will be fitted with several more leisure batteries for the living box, I decided to replace the alternator with a newer 110amp version. Ordered it Wednesday and it arrived today. So went about fitting it. As it has larger dimension, getting it fitted in the tight space available, using the existing bracketry was an absolute B**std of a job that took all afternoon. You can imagine my delight then, to find that on startup, I have no rev counter and zero output from the Alternator. Tested the wiring and I have 24v at the pins with the ignition on, so assume its a dead unit.

On the phone to supplier, who apologised and says it's a brand new Dutch supplier and it may just be a faulty unit. (its brand new). So now have to wait for a replacement to redo the whole B**std job again!!

This has been one huge learning curve thus far and I've only just begun. I can see why people give up on these builds, as every job is bigger, heavier and more time consuming than on a normal vehicle.

I collected my "baby overlander" from Ipswich yesterday, after its six-week voyage from Mombasa... think I'll hang on to it for a while, just in case I go FUBAR over this whole project.

.

 

[Karlosfandango]

Fantastic reading but terrifying all the same. If you're in the arse end of nowhere and there is some kind of mechanical problem do you think you are more or less likely to get around it than in a more conventional vehicle? I get the impression that everything is made to withstand far more grief but does that mean that if it does brake are you royally screwed?

 

[Olazz]

There is little to break on these trucks, but I guess the most crucial is the air system as the brakes, and gear box is air/hydraulic assisted. No air, no brakes and no gears.

I doubt it will be more capable than the cruiser... different yes, higher and better clearance yes, more comfortable yes, longer range yes, more powerful yes, but wider, heavier, & more cumbersome.

Am I less likely to have a journey stopping problem in it? It's a relatively simple diesel motor, and if something big breaks, then I guess no... but the same could happen to the cruiser.

Would I rather be stuck in the middle of nowhere in a roof top tent, or in a more secure, bigger, more spacious cabin.... no brainer.

As long as I prepare it properly and carry the right spares, I should be able to fix most things.

 

[fbnss]

If you have no air do your brakes stick on or off like in an army daf?
I'e had to lift the back of a lorry up with a forklift and drive it out the warehouse before. (No idea how to wind the brakes off)

 

[Chris]

Air is typically there to release the spring powered brakes through the actuators. No air, brakes are locked on. Well certainly the parking brake. Really cold weather can be an issue as the air lines freeze and you're stuck. Generally you can't work around on this, you have to restore the air; there's no manual override.
I can't recall how the main brakes operate. Other than there are accumulators.

 

[Olazz]

With no air on this truck, the service brakes are free, but then you've got no brakes, but the parking brakes are locked on. You can manually unwind the parking brakes to move, and you can manually fill air tank in an emergency.

The system on this truck has double canister air dryers with heaters, so cold shouldn't be an issue.

 

[fbnss]

Yes, but as this is a bit of a special truck i just wondered if it was set up like army DAFS, the other way around.

 

[Chris]

Fancy schmancy

 

[uHu]

Does it have anti-freeze liquid for the air as well? Don't know if that is necessary with air driers. Brake systems used to have an alcohol container which had to be refilled regularly, on the air inlet. Don't know about systems newer than 30 years though .
I suppose the compressor is gear driven on the engine, and that there is an air outlet for general use as well. If you keep an electric compressor on board, you should be able to run on "external air" in an emergency.
Bring some spare air line, I suppose they are nylon, and a hose for the front actuators, when traveling to remote areas.
Air brakes are really reliable compared to most car hydraulic brakes. The only problem I've had is frozen valves, when the alcohol is finished.

 

[Julian T]

Modern trucks with air brakes have a double action spring brake booster/chamber on one or more rear axles and single action on front steer axles, the spring is over ridden by air pressure when the hand brake is released allowing the wheels to rotate this is to allow the brakes to come on in the event of air pressure loss and therefore stopping the vehicle hence why they are not fitted to the front axle so that steering ability is retained if air pressure is lost while driving.
Spring brake boosters/chambers can be wound off with a wind off tool that is inserted via a removable rubber bung on the rear of the chamber to compress the spring, brakes will not work on that wheel station if it is in place so unless being escorted by a service van with amber warning lamps or a recovery truck to a place of safety for repair, more than one being isolated in this manner and the vehicle can not be driven and requires recovery, no if's and's or but's.
However operating a vehicle with a brake chamber isolated is a very grey area.

As for brakes, airlines and valves freezing in sub zero conditions this is normally due to the presence of moisture in the compressed air, all pneumatic systems on vehicles now days have a air dryer fitted to the system after the compressor and should be drained regularly as part of a pre trip inspection, both the dryer and the air tanks.
However with the advancement of the nanny state this responsibility is frequently taken away from the driver.
Most modern computerized vehicles now warn of the presence of condensation in the pneumatic system and some even drain them selves.

In the event of valves freezing then alcohol, not the drinking kind, should be introduced to the pneumatic system to deice the valves or remove the ice from the lines, on a HGV trailer this can be accomplished via the suzi coils, on the prime mover it will necessitate attendance by a "technician" with the appropriate skills and tools.

There have I muddied the waters enough now?

PS. this is my understanding of how these things work based on training as a heavy duty diesel mechanic and practical experience in the industry, many years ago now so I could also be wrong on some points so please do feel free to correct me

 

[stumog]

A problem I used to get a lot was the pipe bursting coming out of the compressor. May be worth checking that to see what condition it's in.

 

[flint]

Not sure if actuator diaphragms are still user serviceable, but worth remembering the tension that the spring inside is under if dismantling. Handy troubleshooting guide (US based, but gives the general idea of how things work):
http://www.suspensionspecialists.com/techinfo/Bepco_Air_Brake_Trbl_Chart.pdf

 

[Julian T]

Nice diagram find flint.

Point to remember if working on a spring brake chamber/booster to replace a leaking diaphragm is to use a spring compression tool, wind off tool as otherwise it has the capacity to kill you, the spring is under pressure and dismantling with out a tool releases that tension explosively.