Lifting the personnel cabin onto the truck bed
August 10, 2010 Leave a comment
Originally published on Tumblr
Preparations
August 9, 2010 1 Comment
Preparation for the first voyage started in the spring. The first item of business was to clean and protect the chassis: removing the worst areas of rust, applying a base coat to protect the metal and then painting with the final layer. We painted the chassis black.
Once the work on the chassis was completed, it was time to place the personnel cabin on the bed and bolt it into place. The cabin weighs 500 kg, so we needed a mechanical lift to hoist it.
Because our truck had not been fitted with a cabin, the spare tire had been mounted onto the front of the truck bed. When the cabin was moved into place, we realized that the tire bracket would need to be removed into order to place the cabin correctly on the bed and bolt it into place.
Once the cabin had been mounted, general maintenance could begin. We replaced all the worn cables and hoses, and performed a complete oil change of the motor (25 liters), the gearbox/transfer case (32 liters), the axles (4 liters per axle) and hubs (0.5 liter per hub).
The work was performed with the help of a friend who owns a garage specialized in the preparation of 4×4 vehicles for rock crawling and cross country rallies.
Originally published on Tumblr
Audioboo of the Erg Machine
August 5, 2010 Leave a comment
Listen to an Audioboo of the Erg Machine!
Originally published on Tumblr
Dune Field
August 3, 2010 1 Comment
Our first destination is the Grand Erg Oriental, one of the major dune fields in the Sahara Desert. It lies mainly in Algeria, but also extends into the southwestern corner of Tunisia, where we will pass into it.
Image from: Wikimedia Commons.
The erg is an area of desert devoid of vegetation and consisting of wind-swept dune fields. (The regular pattern of the ergs can be seen very clearly on this Google map in the lower left-hand corner.)
Because the Erg Machine was originally designed be a high mobility cross-country 4×4 army truck, with good ground clearance and locking differentials on both axles, no modifications to the vehicle’s design are necessary to prepare it for crossing such inhospitable terrain. It is for this reason that the Erg Machine was so named.
Modifications specific to the voyage are limited to the addition of an auxiliary fuel tank to ensure sufficient autonomy in the desert, a personnel cabin for storage and sleeping (no need to pitch a tent in the sand!), and locking supports for additional material, such as oil and water jerry cans in the truck bed.
Originally published on Tumblr
Not Your Grandparents’ Camper
July 28, 2010 Leave a comment
During the winter we also located and acquired a personnel cabin, which had not been fitted onto our truck, and organized the shipping from Sweden.
The cabin will be bolted onto the truck bed and the two benches inside removed to make space for a sleeping and storage area.
Originally published on Tumblr.
Initial inspection and minor repairs
July 27, 2010 Leave a comment
We acquired the Erg Machine before Christmas from a civilian in Beaujolais who had imported it from Sweden.
During the Winter we performed a general cleaning and inventory of equipment in the material boxes, metal cases fixed to the truck bed that can be used for storing all-purpose equipment and tools. Inside two of the boxes we found four snow chains, one for each tire, weighing about 35 kg each!
We also carried out some minor repairs to the interlock valve and headlights, as well as replacing a few worn out parts, such as the exhaust pipe. Two of the material boxes, the ones located just in front of the rear wheels on each side of the truck, were completely eaten away by rust. We removed them and ordered new ones.
Originally published on Tumblr.
Introducing the Erg Machine
July 26, 2010 1 Comment
The Erg Machine is a former Swedish army Scania SBA 111 that has been prepared for crossing and survival in the open desert.
It has a 6-cylinder 220 horse power Scania engine, with 11.02 litre engine displacement. Top speed is 90 km/hour.
The SBA 111 is a non-permanent 4×4 with locking transfer case and locking differentials on both axles. SBA stands for Special Bulldog Allwheeldrive. The truck is considered one of the highest performance 4×4 trucks used by the Swedish army.
All of the Erg Machine’s equipment is original. A personnel cabin has been fitted onto the bed. It was intended to transport up to 10 soldiers, but the original benches have been removed and a sleeping area created.
Originally published on Tumblr.
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