Safari Pacific MX2 Build

[railman]

again...excellent work

x2 on buying a prefab tank.....i canibalized an oxy tank for a porta-torch for mine...

and, i have a comment/question...that limiting strap for the rear seems awefully short for any rear axle flex....or are you sorta useing it as a anti-tipover feature??

l8r, John

 

[schanusa]

what kind of problems did you have with the tank, just air tightness?

Yeah. I welded at a higher voltage and a larger bead, but after every weld I tested only to find I was chasing leaks.

again...excellent work

x2 on buying a prefab tank.....i canibalized an oxy tank for a porta-torch for mine...

and, i have a comment/question...that limiting strap for the rear seems awefully short for any rear axle flex....or are you sorta useing it as a anti-tipover feature??

l8r, John

The limiting strap is kind of short, though from my tests before I started they are right in line with the actual natural limits of the truck. Since they are further in from the tire they don't need to be as long. Where the straps are mounted there is 6 inches of travel, while the outside of the tire has 15 inches. The limit straps are to keep the air bags from ripping at full droop.

 

[railman]

The limiting strap is kind of short, though from my tests before I started they are right in line with the actual natural limits of the truck. Since they are further in from the tire they don't need to be as long. Where the straps are mounted there is 6 inches of travel, while the outside of the tire has 15 inches. The limit straps are to keep the air bags from ripping at full droop.

ahhh....ok....for some reason i was thinking about front limit straps which are usually mounted out by the knuckle and that corresponding amount of travel and those bein shorter since they are mounted so far from the tire.....also makes sense to protect the air bags...

again, excellent work....

l8r, John

 

[jaymegriffiths]

Yeah. I welded at a higher voltage and a larger bead, but after every weld I tested only to find I was chasing leaks.




The limiting strap is kind of short, though from my tests before I started they are right in line with the actual natural limits of the truck. Since they are further in from the tire they don't need to be as long. Where the straps are mounted there is 6 inches of travel, while the outside of the tire has 15 inches. The limit straps are to keep the air bags from ripping at full droop.

seriously dude u r cool. every time i catch up on ur build im like damn. iginuity. if i could i would give you a virtual high 5. lol
nice build. i also checked out your website. you should throw some action shots up on here ie where you go and stuff.
would be cool.
if ya want of course...
again

 

[schanusa]

seriously dude u r cool. every time i catch up on ur build im like damn. iginuity. if i could i would give you a virtual high 5. lol
nice build. i also checked out your website. you should throw some action shots up on here ie where you go and stuff.
would be cool.
if ya want of course...
again

Thanks! Action shots will be coming soon. Still want to get the major parts finished before I do any heavy testing.

 

[schanusa]

The coming updates will seem a bit out of order. Departure is near and there are a million things to do.



After the bed liner was rolled on I moved the Adventure Trailers composite drawers forward to accommodate three fuel cans.

The boxes are mounted with four flush mount bolts and jack nuts.

Top boxes are set in place, then holes are drilled between the two for mounting.

I used the same flush bolts and t-nuts to anchor the top boxes to the bottom.

 

[schanusa]

Once bolted back in place, I load the drawers onto the sliders. Gear is loaded into some of the boxes.

Another view of the fuel cans. They are easily accessible with the camper closed. I opted to use fuel cans instead of an axillary fuel cell for two reasons.
First, too much work and too little time. Second, much easier to unload the weight if I become stuck.

 

[schanusa]

While at the SEMA Show I met Doug Hackney. Mr. Hackney gave me tons of great advice from his experience in South America. Thanks again Doug!
One of the things he told me to do was bring along a small tent, mostly due to gale force winds further south. So I've pulled my old tent out of storage to fill that need.
It fails in the small category, however it will be nice to have extra room to setup tables out of the rain, snow and bugs. The biggest highlight of the tent is it sets up within a couple minutes.

The tent does pack away fairly small considering its size.

The tent pack fits nicely on all sides of the AT boxes. So I can adjust loads evenly on the trip.

 

[schanusa]

Onto the kitchen gear! I'll start with the most important piece of equipment. The stainless steel National Luna 40 liter fridge/freezer from Equipt Expedition Outfitters. Needless to say the fridge is absolutely awesome! Now I'll be able to store food for much longer periods, especially in other countries were food is fresh and has no preservatives. Then there's the handy always cool beverage while camping. While bench testing I set the thermostat to -30 Celsius then hit the turbo button. The fridge cooled down very quickly.

Inside are three baskets making the lower portion easily accessible.

The fridge's home will be behind the passenger seat. This will give me easy access while sitting in the driver seat. The fridge comes with a 120 volt and 12 volt plugs. The 12v cord has a Hella style connector on one end. This plugs strait into the National Luna power pack

The National Luna 40L is a perfect fit even with the passenger seat slid back and the fridge's lid open. Since I'm unable to use the slide tray that normally secures the fridge, I'll have to make a custom mount.

 

[schanusa]

With me not being a battery expert and having problems with my recent Optima batteries, I asked Mario at AT what he recommended.
His answer was Deka AGM batteries. So for my power needs I've gone with two Deka AGM batteries from Adventure Trailers.
One starting battery (Intimidator) and one marine battery for the camper.

The marine battery fits perfectly in the power pack. Now I'll have the power to run the fridge when the engine isn't running.

The starting battery gets installed in the engine bay. A tight fit as I modified my battery tray to use a group 34 battery size. I may need to trim some metal a bit.

 

[schanusa]

With having a fridge comes carrying bottles, so I picked up a classic style bottle opener and mounted to the trucks bed.

The stove I'll be using, like many, runs on propane. Since I don't want to jungle tons of small canisters I picked this 5lb tank with aluminum bracket from Adventure Trailers.

I then mounted the propane tank on the inside of AT Flippac near the cooking area I made on the bumper.

I found a propane line that connects to the standard US propane bottle fitting and the stoves fitting. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a long enough line to use my stove mount.

 

[maddyn]

how are you planning on refilling your propane bottle in other countries.... not all places use the US standard. I know a lot of south america uses a quick disconnect like an air hose. just something to think about.

 

[schanusa]

how are you planning on refilling your propane bottle in other countries.... not all places use the US standard. I know a lot of south america uses a quick disconnect like an air hose. just something to think about.

I've talked with a few people who've traveled extensively in South America and I'll have to carry an adapter for just about every country. You've got to love standards, there's so many to choose from...lol

 

[twoll86]

all i can say is wow but are you puttin rear side windows in?

 

[schanusa]

all i can say is wow but are you puttin rear side windows in?

Thanks! No rear windows. I have a longer post on why. Mainly trying to replace a "custom" window would be a headache in another country.