Squatchin' Vehicle

[Caenus]

I’m gathering the parts to make a 4” pvc water tank to mount on the backside of it.  I haven’t decided if I want to pressurize it yet...like this:

 

[Catmandoo]

Instead of gathering parts, why not just gather a complete. portable unit?  My camp shower is:       EasyGo Products Rinse All Pw10   2.1 gallon car washer sprayer.   Hose yourself off, rinse equipment, pets, children ( not necessarily in that order ). The pressure gauge is cheesy.  That old game  of placing  a water container over your  head level is for the birds.

[Caenus]

5 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

Instead of gathering parts, why not just gather a complete. portable unit?  My camp shower is:       EasyGo Products Rinse All Pw10   2.1 gallon car washer sprayer.   Hose yourself off, rinse equipment, pets, children ( not necessarily in that order ). The pressure gauge is cheesy.  That old game  of placing  a water container over your  head level is for the birds.

 

I suppose this does the same thing...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2-Gal-Sprayer-1502HDX/207202422

 

that is a great idea for washing the girls grimy hands!

[BlackRockBigfoot]

We just picked up a Chevy Blazer ZR2 for use in the mountains and back roads.  Looking forward to taking it out as soon as the summer heat breaks.  It has a pretty effective 4 wheel drive while maintaining a relatively compact size.

 

I am a autumn woods kind of guy.  Hate camping and hiking in the summer.

[Catmandoo]

Caenus, check the image on Amazon. It costs more than the Home Depot item but it has a longer hose ( long hose is important ), quick disconnect  hand wand/nozzle options. Something to keep in mind with these units; more pressure = wasting water.

[Catmandoo]

Here are some questions  for the 4WD crowd ( includes me ). What do you do for your coolant temperature and oil pressure when you are in 4WD, loaded and climbing????

 

This is what I do. I installed a switch to bypass the thermoswitch for my electric fan. I like oil pressure on my gauge. No engine lugging. I go into 4WD low, turn on the cooling fan, put the engine rpms at about 2,000 for good oil pressure and start climbing. My vehicle speed is slow so the airflow to the radiator is not very good. The electric fan works well. Just installed a 180 degree thermostat. I have had a lot of thermoswitch failures. Factory unit lasted a long time but the replacements are junk. 

Do you have good gauges or run with warning lights?

Installed trick aluminum aftermarket radiator?

Install 2nd fan?

[Huntster]

7 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

........I am a autumn woods kind of guy.  Hate camping and hiking in the summer.

 

I’m with you. I hate the heat. My ideal temps are 35F-60F, and if I get to choose between hot and below freezing, I’ll take the chill every time.

 

3 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

........I installed a switch to bypass the thermoswitch for my electric fan........

 

That’s a trick Alaskan swamp buggies use to cross deeper rivers. Belt driven fans will kill your engine mid-stream once the blades start slapping the water. Turning the fan off for the crossing put an end to that.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Huntster

[Catmandoo]

Any swamp buggies with air cooled diesel engines like Deutz?

[Huntster]

53 minutes ago, Catmandoo said:

Any swamp buggies with air cooled diesel engines like Deutz?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandvagn_206

 

..........The Bv 206 is referred to as a Small Unit Support Vehicle (SUSV) pronounced "susvee" in United Statesservice. U.S. military variants include the standard model (M973), a tactical operations center variant (M1065), an ambulance variant (M1066) and a flat-bed cargo carrier (M1067).

U.S. military models are fitted with a 6-cylinder Mercedes diesel engine......

 

These were extensively used in Alaska by the Army. When they became available as surplus, Alaskans bought them up, and were willing to pay lots for them. I’ve heard from Army mechanics that the Mercedes engine was rather finicky and problematic, but I don’t know the details. I don’t know if it was an air cooled Deutz, which I had some experience with as a forklift mechanic many years ago. That Deutz engine is a remarkable engine. The one guy I know who got a surplus SUS-V installed an American engine in it........I forgot which.

 

Oh, the SUS-V floats.........like my Argo.

[wiiawiwb]

I wish I had mechanical abilities but I'm absolutely talentless when it comes to it. I would love to get a beaten up and abandoned rig, say an old Wrangler or Land Rover, and bring it back to life customizing it all the while. Your rig, the only one like it in the world done exactly the way you want it.  Oh well, it's on the list for the next life!

[Huntster]

Most of the guys I knew (including me) who ran swamp buggy’s before Japanese ATVs hit the market switched well before 2000. Swamp buggies are difficult to transport to trailheads, or it has to be highway legal, which limits its capabilities. The modern ATVs, ORVs, and UTVs are much more reliable, easy to transport, and relatively cheap. 

 

Much of the Lower 48 states prohibit or severely limit their use, even in National Forests, though. It seems like licensed highway vehicles with reasonable off-road mods are just as good down here. On terms of USFS roads, wouldn’t a licensed, medium sized (350-450cc) dual-sport motorcycle allow access on forest service roads?

[Catmandoo]

Hunster,  Mercedes is not Deutz. Mercedes is water cooled. Air cooled Deutz diesel is instant cabin heat in the winter.  Cooling systems are the achilles heel of combat vehicles. Air cooled is a unique way to go, even in the Sahara Desert.

Life can be simpler without radiators, hoses, heater cores.

[Huntster]

I don’t think the SUS-V was originally designed to specifically be a military vehicle. But it’s so unique many militaries ended up incorporating it into their fleets.

 

I agree that the Deutz would be a much better engine than the Mercedes. Like I noted, I’d heard that the Mercedes engine had some problems, though I don’t remember what those problems were.

 

The thing I remember most about the Duetz design was the ability to change out cylinders and pistons individually and easily. Also, the forklifts we had them in were the first hydrostatic drive systems I’d seen in anything other than railroad equipment at that time. I was very impressed with them.

[norseman]

1 hour ago, Huntster said:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandvagn_206

 

 

 

 

These were extensively used in Alaska by the Army. When they became available as surplus, Alaskans bought them up, and were willing to pay lots for them. I’ve heard from Army mechanics that the Mercedes engine was rather finicky and problematic, but I don’t know the details. I don’t know if it was an air cooled Deutz, which I had some experience with as a forklift mechanic many years ago. That Deutz engine is a remarkable engine. The one guy I know who got a surplus SUS-V installed an American engine in it........I forgot which.

 

Oh, the SUS-V floats.........like my Argo.

 

206 Hagglund! The USAF uses them at their SERE school in Tacoma creek. They have transmission issues.

[Huntster]

22 hours ago, Huntster said:

.......These were extensively used in Alaska by the Army. When they became available as surplus, Alaskans bought them up, and were willing to pay lots for them. I’ve heard from Army mechanics that the Mercedes engine was rather finicky and problematic, but I don’t know the details.......

 

Upon further research, those SUS-Vs were powered by the Mercedes OM617 turbocharged 5-cyl diesels.......the very engine I’m driving right now in my Mom’s 1985 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel!........LOL.......

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM617_engine

 

Daddy bought this car new in 1985, and it currently has 201K miles. It has always been extremely reliable, but it doesn't have anywhere near the acceleration needed for urban driving with these aggressive assholes around here, but it shines on Interstate 15 going to Vegas.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Huntster