FEMTT style global explorer

[Vom]

The 915's? Is there any difference in axles/ride height between the 5-tons?

 

[red]

915 does not have front wheel drive. 916 and 920 does.

Different axles and gear ratios

 

[Vom]

Looking for the strongest axles, 6 wheel drive, and a good gear ratio for 14R20 tire size. Also I'm new to super singles, so I'm "assuming" 14R20 is a good size, I don't want to stress the drive train too much, but I do want as much tire as possible to help with terrible roads and airing down in heavy sand.

 

[red]

Axle strength is not a problem with any of these trucks, trans will go long before.

To regear the axles is not cheap. You can buy another truck for the same cost. Not a concern anyways with the larger tires.

A m931 would be a great starting point since your swapping cabs. NHC250 engine, auto trans, 6wd, air brakes, reasonable price.

Most super single tires are speed rated at 55mph when at max load. Some of the 395's have a higher speed rating, slightly smaller size at 47" compared to 49" with the 14x20" s.

 

[Augdog1964]

My .02...

Get a loan, buy a used Sportsmobile 4x4... ditch the military vehicle plan... too thirsty, too maintenance intensive.
Get an E350 chassis and mod from there... parts all over the world... get one in 4x4 or do a 4x4 conversion.

After your done they still bring good money properly converted. Plus you'll get down roads in South America that you can only dream of in a mil vehicle.

 

[98G]

M109A3 with 395's on mrap rims, and repowered with a cummins 5.9 or 6.7... or not repowered...

Or an M983 as the starting point.

Or MK48 . Shameless plug - I have a mk16 RBU for sale in tucson....

 

[Mike929]

I've been looking at putting a 12 foot 109 box behind a M931A2 cab, so 15' behind the engine would fit easily, and give you a short wheelbase.

 

[Vom]

I'm going with the 5-ton MV, because it's robust enough to deal with the majority of the roads I'll be on, big enough to house a decent sized living space, and I can make it very modular, very easily for future shipping to Africa or Russia, my next destination.

I will spend about a year out in the desert in AZ, torture testing the vehicle before I go for my trip. This should give me enough time to really learn the limits of the platform. I will also be putting 2-250cc dirt bikes in the back, and plan to use the 5-ton as a base camp. This is why I don't need a smaller platform. If I want to see some awesome sites, I can basically just plan my route with a 100 mile radius around the road, so if I want to go explore, I simply park the truck and unload the bikes.

I just simply think this is the best platform for all the things I want to do. I also am thinking of worst case scenarios in a 3rd world setting. What happens if the road is obstructed because a semi truck is broke down, and I could tow it to a wider spot, to get by? An 8x8 would just be too much, and like I said, fuel mileage is somewhat important.

With and ISX cummins and the right trans, 7mpg is a good figure to hope for. Also I need the whole right side from fender to engine, to use as an enclosed "tunnel" to access the cab from the camper, so a MK-48 won't work. And all the 4x4 options are just too small for all the things I want. Again, I plan on being on this trip for a year minimum, living out of this truck.

 

[Vom]

Small update: Decided on an M916 with a Detroit S60, still doing research on a transmission... automated manuals are not giving me a warm fuzzy for this application, so most likely the 7 speed trans with a custom transfer case will work.

Hopefully going up to see another member in Phoenix later today and getting some measurements and talk over the build!