Mercedes Expedition Camper (USA registered)
Attributes
About
Travel the world in comfort! With pain in my heart, I am selling my extremely rugged Expedition Truck. This truck was purposely built to live off the grid and explore the remote areas of the USA and Canada and then take a multi year trip down to Argentina. Unfortunately Covid messed up our plans, then an international move followed and now we decided to sell.
The philosophy for this custom-built camper was to live comfortably for an extended period in the most remote areas while keeping it all as simple as possible. Simplicity keeps the chance of having anything break to a minimum and if something breaks it will be easy to fix with local materials.
The basis of this expedition camper is an ex-fire truck from Zurich Switzerland, which I imported and registered in the USA (Vermont). I spent a lot of time finding the right truck and decided on this Mercedes, because it is in very good condition (meticulously maintained by the Swiss), does not have any engine electronics, has simple straightforward technology that is very easy to maintain and it is easy to get parts for these trucks all over the world. It is equipped with an extremely reliable V8 Mercedes OM422 diesel engine, an indestructible Allison HT 740 automatic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive with two locking differentials (center and rear). The truck was built in 1985 and has only 45,000 km (28,000 miles). This is obviously not a speed demon, comfortable cruising speeds are around 55 mph (max 65).
The box for the spacious and comfortable living quarters is mounted on the truck frame with a unique 3-point system, developed by Ruesterholz in Switzerland (https://carr-rusterholz.ch/) to deal with the mountainous terrain there. As a result of this unique 3-point system the box of the living quarters will always stay perfectly square. The box has a rigid steel frame with ⅛ inch (3mm) aluminum panels on the outside. These panels are mounted on the steel frame with Sikaflex 252, an ultra-strong adhesive specially engineered for bonding large components in vehicle construction. This adhesive is stronger than rivets, will not weaken because of vibration, will not leak (no holes), prevents conductive corrosion between the steel and aluminum and is flexible to deal with the different expansion coefficients of steel and aluminum in the most extreme conditions.
On the inside, the walls have 2.5 inches of insulation and 9 mm marine grade plywood, the floor 4 inches of insulation and 18 mm marine grade plywood and the roof 4.5 inches insulation and 6 mm plywood. The Eberspacher/Espar 5 Kw diesel heater gives you a comfortable 72 degrees when it is -10 outside. The 100 gallon fresh water tank is inside the box as is all the plumbing to prevent it from freezing.
On nice days you can open the two large side panels and the rear panel and basically sit outside on the comfortable sofa in the shade without being bothered by scorpions, snakes and other critters that may crawl around in the wild. You will also enjoy much better views from this raised “gazebo”. On colder days you still get the outdoor feeling because of the large custom-made windows. These windows are made of 9mm plexiglass with European hardware that allows for a secure ventilation position. These windows are incredibly strong, but in the event one breaks (you have to swing a pretty big hammer at them to do so), they are very easy to replace.
The U-shaped seating area easily seats 6 people and the sides are long enough to enjoy a nice afternoon nap. The back wall hides a 32-inch TV that you can pull up to enjoy a movie at night. Above the seating area is a queen-size lift bed with a slat bottom (for additional comfort and proper ventilation). This bed can be lowered on top of the seating area to make optimal use of the interior space.
The kitchen is equipped with a 3-burner stove with an oven. There is an energy-efficient DOMETIC CF-080AC110 110-liter refrigerator chest on a pull-out tray. These coolers are specifically built to operate in extreme environments with lots of movement. The chest style prevents stuff from falling out when opening it.
The bathroom has an efficient layout with a large shower area, sink and a Dometic CT 4110 Cassette Toilet. The cassette can be accessed from the outside through a special small door and can be emptied into any regular toilet (at a gas station or wherever), so no need to find a dumping station at a campground. For light and ventilation there is a large secure Lewmar marine hatch, which is much stronger and more secure than a regular RV hatch.
4 large 285 Watt solar panels on the roof generate electricity for long-term off-grid living. Victron equipment includes a MultiPlus C 24/2000/50-50 Pure sine wave inverter, 120 V and Victron MPPT Solar Charge Controller 100/50 12/24V-50A.
As mentioned Covid messed up our plans and we moved across the ocean before I could finish the project. It still needs mosquito screens and curtains, for entry I now use a little stepladder, but would like to have a nicer solution, it needs a tire rack for the spare tire on the back and the shower needs to be installed (shower pan is already there, as is the faucet).
Truck is officially imported in the USA and registered in Vermont. Asking price $119,000. Please contact me if you have any questions.
