Thank you for including the names and location of where you got the works done from it was really inspiring to see this be down part in and around my hometown Springfield ma it makes me think I can do it too and doesn’t seem as much of an impossibility as I thought before so thank you again for that
Great video i like that we can see everythink its a shame that the videos are so short. And i think i can speak for everyone that we can watch hours of this content :)
Brother, you grabbed my heart with this build, out of this world! I am caught in the middle thinking same as we are in the middle of a major goal in our personal lives to exit the states bound for our terra in the Highlands of Latin America. We started years ago putting together on overland business where people can come to park their rigs and enjoy the region. Now retiring for good desire to most likely hit the roads to see the Americas, E.U. Middle East etc. Acela is in my sites since I have no time to even think 😂 will see. Thank you for this upload, congrats 🎉 and to the moon in 24'
It's looking great! Are you keeping track of costs or plan to do a cost breakdown for your build later down the road? We have our cabover truck coming in February from overseas and really love the ideas you help share in these videos.
Always cool to see the progress. I presume paying to extend an existing box was cheaper than just full fabrication from scratch? Or was there some other reason you picked a box that you knew you'd need to extend?
That is a good question. I actually think it is probably most expensive to fabricate the whole thing. The military boxes can't be built for what they cost. If I had it to do over I probably would have bought two and cut them.
The only thing I see is a ton of thermal bridging that will cause loads of condensation inside the habitat. You should have built an aluminum exoskeleton and then used self-supporting, foam core GRP skinned structural panels bonded to the inside of the exoskeleton i.e. zero thermal bridging. Personally, it looks like the length is going to inhibit maneuverability and prohibit you from driving to some locations.
There could be some thermal bridging but in my experience the last 3 years it was minimal, partly because it is well insulated and partly because I don't tend to travel to very cold climates. As for the length, I agree- will definitely be limited in certain places- although already this winter I have run into at least a dozen overland trucks that are equal or longer than this from Europe and they have been navigating about the globe pretty well. Beside, I prefer to head out on two wheels to those locales anyway.
@@drivetheglobe Every place where the aluminum skin is riveted to the 2x2 aluminum square tube(thermal bridge) and then another aluminum skin is riveted to the inside the 2"x2" connects the outside and inside which is a thermal bridge. Aluminum is only second to copper in thermal conductivity. Thermal bridging not only brings cold to the warm inside it also brings heat in during the summer inside making your AC work harder and longer to keep the habitat cool. The big overlander manufacturing companies use foam core GRP panels with no thermal bridges and they are bonded using high-strength epoxy adhesives into specially made aluminum extrusions on all the outside edges of the habitat box.
@@drivetheglobe very true! I’m debating of doing a build like this simply because of how affordable the trucks are and the capability of them! Love the series and keep up the good work!
Curious about the extension. The OG box was made with what appear to be SIPs. Why not just do the same? My total guess is it would’ve been much cheaper than all that custom aluminum fabrication. Maybe not.
The original box was actually constructed similarly with aluminum framing and aluminum skin so we tried our best to match that construction. I am pretty certain you could roll those military boxes and get almost no damage they are so sturdy.
It’s amazing what you have done with the truck . I just wonder if you will fill the garage?? I know you have a few “toys” ljust hope you have given yourself enough room for your living space. GOOD LUCK with endeavours
Was the water coming in from the holes from the lights or the windshield? ( 20 years as a glazier and auto glass tech so I'm curious 😅) love the videos! I'm still thinking of using a M1079 with a rear clamshell deck and deleting the doors for a roll up door. How low profile is the one you are using?
Michael, I hate to appear to criticise because you are getting on with it, bravo for that! I have a 1982 Unimog 435 my wife and I have been travelling in since Covid. 6.5m Total length, so our whole truck will fit in the length of your box, easily!. We got over to Georgia - the country, not the state, (for Americans' info) - and we spent last Christmas in the Tunisian desert. We love our Unimog, although it's far from perfect and every type of truck is a compromise. However, your build is not showing much detail and is leaving me with many questions. For example, is there a floating chassis for the habitation box? What type? If not then how will it cope with the twisting and torsional effects? How are you going to cope with the hot/cold bridging you seem to have or are creating? I guess the size of the truck matters little in the USA and Baja, but for example... in central and south America, Europe, the Caucuses and Asia it will be a tight fit in and out of many places, through many villages and towns and over some bridges. What's the GVW and height? I would prefer less music and more info, if possible, half the vids seem to be intros, "last week" recaps and patron adverts. Best of luck with the truck and by the way... we do have the Ikea green dinosaur cable tied to our Unimog roof rack. Jon
Jon, Thanks for the feedback- no worries, there definitely are so many perspectives. My take is as follows: No truck is anywhere near perfect I agree. Having had Unimogs I must say that they are probably the most capable off road vehicle that I have ever traveled with. Size obviously is a huge consideration, and yes, my current truck is pretty large. From my experience (traveled through 121 countries on 5 continents to date) this rig will be fine in North and South America, most of Africa and the middle east and parts of Asia. Europe definitely is an issue, and sure, smalll villages will be an issue occasionally. The advantage I have is because of the size- my carrying capacity is larger and thus I need to resupply and visit civilization a bit less. Main reason that I have the motor bike, really if I wasn't so accustomed to comfort I would prefer to head around the world on 2 wheels. As for thermal bridging, I haven't found it to be much of an issue in the 3 years that I have had this type of set up. It is well insulated- and admittedly I am a cold weather avoider. Chassis twist on this truck- unlike the mog is almost zero. We mounted the box the same way the military does. Height is 3.72 metres, weight is about 15 tons full. Love the dino btw, safe travels. Mike
@@drivetheglobe Mike, thanks for the info. 3.72 is a good height, but 15 tonnes??? Yikes. If you get stuck then you really GET STUCK at 15 tonnes :) ... we had the Unimog stuck in the far north of Scotland, had to pay £2000 for a 6x6 crane, no other way out. So, Unimogs DO get stuck. An frankly, as the truck is our home, if you are like me then you tend to drive it very safely, I don't take many risks myself. In fact we very rarely even engage 4WD, and have never needed the diff locks. Really admire your optimism... the main thing is you are getting on with it, so many people just talk about it. Look forward to seeing your build. With that roof real estate, you can easily ditch propane and go 100% electric. Jon
@@drivetheglobe Most definitely! Just a little sarcasm on my end. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too much for my suspended slab garage if I model your build. May tip the scale a bit too much. I guess I’ll have to buy a warehouse to turn into my garage. Your build is inspiring!
Best episode yet. We actually got to see the build process they used to add the box extension. Super cool.
Thanks man.
Thank you for including the names and location of where you got the works done from it was really inspiring to see this be down part in and around my hometown Springfield ma it makes me think I can do it too and doesn’t seem as much of an impossibility as I thought before so thank you again for that
Thank you so much, good to here that you are inspired. So much talent in that area really.
Looking good and the design! But that CAT better still be yellow!
The Cat is definitely still yellow
I'd love a big rig but think my budget will only stretch to something like an E350 next time 😂 Merry Christmas 🎉
Happy holidays! Remember, its not about the vehicle- it is where you go and what you see.
@@drivetheglobe very true my friend..currently on my second week of a road trip in the states 👍 thankfully I have 6 more weeks 💪🤩🇺🇲
that sounds awesome. Have a blast. @@RoaminRob
Awesome!!!! Loving the videos on the new build. Can’t wait to hopefully see it in person. Stay well and safe.
Thank you, appreciate it. Hope to see ya on the road too.
Bao Bab is looking sharp. Nice work done by all!
Thank you!!!
Great video i like that we can see everythink its a shame that the videos are so short. And i think i can speak for everyone that we can watch hours of this content :)
Thank you. Some areas I have less footage of, particularly when I was under a time crunch.
🧡 Excellent work by Atlas and Rick’s, and such great people at both places.
Agreed, great operations.
👍👍👍👍👍👍Super Cool Exciting & AWESOME 👍👍👍👍👍👍~peace~
Thank you!
Brother, you grabbed my heart with this build, out of this world! I am caught in the middle thinking same as we are in the middle of a major goal in our personal lives to exit the states bound for our terra in the Highlands of Latin America. We started years ago putting together on overland business where people can come to park their rigs and enjoy the region. Now retiring for good desire to most likely hit the roads to see the Americas, E.U. Middle East etc. Acela is in my sites since I have no time to even think 😂 will see. Thank you for this upload, congrats 🎉 and to the moon in 24'
Thank you for the kind words. Best of luck in your rig choice and hope to see you out there on the road.
Really impressive fabrication work great video
Thank you for the support.
Dream truck
Thank you!!
Nonsense...you were in IKEA looking for a green dinosaur, when you saw some units that might be useful in the truck!.
So true! You have me figured out. Welcome the newest member of the adventure team, Stevenson the dinosaur.
It thought this was going to be about a DIY project to build a box, but it's a contracted services project to extend a surplus military box.
It was DIY from the standpoint of design, and custom one off fabrication.
It's looking great! Are you keeping track of costs or plan to do a cost breakdown for your build later down the road? We have our cabover truck coming in February from overseas and really love the ideas you help share in these videos.
I am keeping track and will do a video on that later. Thanks for watching.
Always cool to see the progress. I presume paying to extend an existing box was cheaper than just full fabrication from scratch? Or was there some other reason you picked a box that you knew you'd need to extend?
That is a good question. I actually think it is probably most expensive to fabricate the whole thing. The military boxes can't be built for what they cost. If I had it to do over I probably would have bought two and cut them.
The only thing I see is a ton of thermal bridging that will cause loads of condensation inside the habitat. You should have built an aluminum exoskeleton and then used self-supporting, foam core GRP skinned structural panels bonded to the inside of the exoskeleton i.e. zero thermal bridging. Personally, it looks like the length is going to inhibit maneuverability and prohibit you from driving to some locations.
There could be some thermal bridging but in my experience the last 3 years it was minimal, partly because it is well insulated and partly because I don't tend to travel to very cold climates.
As for the length, I agree- will definitely be limited in certain places- although already this winter I have run into at least a dozen overland trucks that are equal or longer than this from Europe and they have been navigating about the globe pretty well. Beside, I prefer to head out on two wheels to those locales anyway.
@@drivetheglobe Every place where the aluminum skin is riveted to the 2x2 aluminum square tube(thermal bridge) and then another aluminum skin is riveted to the inside the 2"x2" connects the outside and inside which is a thermal bridge. Aluminum is only second to copper in thermal conductivity. Thermal bridging not only brings cold to the warm inside it also brings heat in during the summer inside making your AC work harder and longer to keep the habitat cool. The big overlander manufacturing companies use foam core GRP panels with no thermal bridges and they are bonded using high-strength epoxy adhesives into specially made aluminum extrusions on all the outside edges of the habitat box.
Love this! What would be the difference between the combination of boxes you have and just a regular 20 foot long shipping container ?
Shipping containers are steel and very heavy. The military box is aluminum and already insulated.
@@drivetheglobe very true! I’m debating of doing a build like this simply because of how affordable the trucks are and the capability of them! Love the series and keep up the good work!
Curious about the extension. The OG box was made with what appear to be SIPs. Why not just do the same? My total guess is it would’ve been much cheaper than all that custom aluminum fabrication. Maybe not.
The original box was actually constructed similarly with aluminum framing and aluminum skin so we tried our best to match that construction. I am pretty certain you could roll those military boxes and get almost no damage they are so sturdy.
It’s amazing what you have done with the truck . I just wonder if you will fill the garage?? I know you have a few “toys” ljust hope you have given yourself enough room for your living space. GOOD LUCK with endeavours
Thanks for the support. The garage houses my motorcycle and bicycles. The living space is actually the same size as my prior truck.
Was the water coming in from the holes from the lights or the windshield? ( 20 years as a glazier and auto glass tech so I'm curious 😅) love the videos! I'm still thinking of using a M1079 with a rear clamshell deck and deleting the doors for a roll up door. How low profile is the one you are using?
Water was coming in because all the seals and lights were off. The roll up doors are awesome, fairly low profile and very well built.
What did a paint job cost and what Is the height? Looks great
Truck height is 12 foot 3 inches. A paint job of this size you can figure $10k-14k
Michael, I hate to appear to criticise because you are getting on with it, bravo for that! I have a 1982 Unimog 435 my wife and I have been travelling in since Covid. 6.5m Total length, so our whole truck will fit in the length of your box, easily!. We got over to Georgia - the country, not the state, (for Americans' info) - and we spent last Christmas in the Tunisian desert. We love our Unimog, although it's far from perfect and every type of truck is a compromise.
However, your build is not showing much detail and is leaving me with many questions. For example, is there a floating chassis for the habitation box? What type? If not then how will it cope with the twisting and torsional effects? How are you going to cope with the hot/cold bridging you seem to have or are creating?
I guess the size of the truck matters little in the USA and Baja, but for example... in central and south America, Europe, the Caucuses and Asia it will be a tight fit in and out of many places, through many villages and towns and over some bridges. What's the GVW and height?
I would prefer less music and more info, if possible, half the vids seem to be intros, "last week" recaps and patron adverts.
Best of luck with the truck and by the way... we do have the Ikea green dinosaur cable tied to our Unimog roof rack.
Jon
Jon,
Thanks for the feedback- no worries, there definitely are so many perspectives. My take is as follows: No truck is anywhere near perfect I agree. Having had Unimogs I must say that they are probably the most capable off road vehicle that I have ever traveled with. Size obviously is a huge consideration, and yes, my current truck is pretty large. From my experience (traveled through 121 countries on 5 continents to date) this rig will be fine in North and South America, most of Africa and the middle east and parts of Asia. Europe definitely is an issue, and sure, smalll villages will be an issue occasionally. The advantage I have is because of the size- my carrying capacity is larger and thus I need to resupply and visit civilization a bit less. Main reason that I have the motor bike, really if I wasn't so accustomed to comfort I would prefer to head around the world on 2 wheels.
As for thermal bridging, I haven't found it to be much of an issue in the 3 years that I have had this type of set up. It is well insulated- and admittedly I am a cold weather avoider.
Chassis twist on this truck- unlike the mog is almost zero. We mounted the box the same way the military does.
Height is 3.72 metres, weight is about 15 tons full.
Love the dino btw, safe travels.
Mike
@@drivetheglobe Mike, thanks for the info. 3.72 is a good height, but 15 tonnes??? Yikes. If you get stuck then you really GET STUCK at 15 tonnes :) ... we had the Unimog stuck in the far north of Scotland, had to pay £2000 for a 6x6 crane, no other way out. So, Unimogs DO get stuck. An frankly, as the truck is our home, if you are like me then you tend to drive it very safely, I don't take many risks myself. In fact we very rarely even engage 4WD, and have never needed the diff locks.
Really admire your optimism... the main thing is you are getting on with it, so many people just talk about it. Look forward to seeing your build. With that roof real estate, you can easily ditch propane and go 100% electric.
Jon
@@jonvaluk yeah. I am dreading getting stuck. Happens though, so we will see. Safe travels! See ya on the road someday maybe.
Hi, are you open to a project of customization order for M1078/1079 from purchasing a truck to ready-to-go?
I consult for builds and projects on many overland trucks through Patreon, I do not offer complete builds or fabrication though.
Nearly ktm orange.
So true! It is actually kubota tractor orange.
@@drivetheglobe well let's just say ktm orange sounds better.
Ha ha, it does.@@bigals.ktms.9937
What’s the total gross weight after completion of your build?
Total weight fully loaded on the road with motorcycle, fuel and 175 gallons of fresh water is 31,000lbs.
@@drivetheglobe Dang! I thought you said this was going to be a heavy rig!
@@runningwildutah that is pretty heavy, no?
@@drivetheglobe Most definitely! Just a little sarcasm on my end. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too much for my suspended slab garage if I model your build. May tip the scale a bit too much. I guess I’ll have to buy a warehouse to turn into my garage. Your build is inspiring!
@@runningwildutah thank you. It ended up being about 7000lbs more than the last truck. Mostly extra axle weight and more water I think.
The audio is badly distorted.
One audio clip is a little messed up, sorry