Allrad-LKW-Gemeinschaft

Thanks, Bernd and Härry.

Carmen is doing pretty well, but it seems that my injury is a little more complex than initially thought. The MRI is going to tell.

Anyway, I just purchased the XLS foam blocks from Cristobal to build the base panel, and the cross pieces may be on their way as soon as this ...

The frame of the Merkabah then was the perfect place for drying up the dog houses that took me two afternoons to thoroughly wash before putting them orderly in the shiny new floored and roofed kennel.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPacfD34o1-la_Ss28dhAfFwNivsB1GIn ...

Unfortunately, at noon, Carmen fell from the stairs and broke both ankles in a very strange and odd accident. Fortunately, though, there was no need for surgery and a full recovery could be expected, but this changed everything we had planned as she could not stand or walk, and my holidays were ad ...

Knowing that it would be highly unlikely that adding more welding would solve the issue, I made a try to see if it worked. Obviously, it did not… but I had to try.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOmb_dpSsdpZJqyXrYRf0AjxZr9zTs5toFF3vfcz48gL8x3njaYMvCg0ZZ69GXho6qdXjiyQL6CSbM ...

Well, life and the actual show went on, though, working as usual and shifting bikes to keep them in optimal condition. One day I looked at the odometer and the service booklet of Heidi and realized that I had forgotten to change the oil and gave it circa 8500 km instead of the usual 5000. Ops.

That ...

Dear Olli:

Hope your wife is okay and gets better with time and proper life and kinetics changes for her back health problems.

As a spine surgeon and a chronic back pain patient myself I can only agree with Tino: there is no perfect fit for all of us. Every person has a unique shape and form of ...

And, days and evenings went on, and I returned home late in the afternoons, to enjoy meals and late tea times with Carmen, with the usual company of Cachito and the other dogs and cats that were mysteriously allowed to come inside without me noticing.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw ...

Dear Der Initiator:

It was too cold to work barefoot! And it still is a construction site, and so there is a lot of stuff on the ground that may hurt my pretty sensitive feet.

I agree with you in that every amount of time spent of the little things makes you live longer or at least makes you feel ...

Not everything was bad, though, and the Strelitzia bloomed with full power, giving a sense of relief and displaying its beauty in a way that we remembered our beloved irish Setter, Tripo, buried underneath.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw ...

Hello again:

First, I want to thank Luis Ignacio for his kind words. It feels pretty good to know that your work inspires someone.

He has had a lot of trouble pursuing his project, and I am glad I have been of some help for him.
As you know, we both are far from being in the best location in the ...

Hello, guys:

@lura & felix:

Hmm... I think maybe the cabin is a little bit uncomfortable for camping, but rest assured that I will take the Merkabah out for a long trip as soon as possible, and more than probably the Box will not be finished.

@Gregorix:

I really want to go back to Vienna. I ...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMT5OmJ10dTN5-mO0bUUyZzJKMQfux4zwzW4Zy4JUtYYtN9QywbKbAZxwvtyvmvCtOJodx-mjkN2WeEE9s7F5k4pfHbge3URN9autSn6JUz3ALs5ovIk_5mHrDugCQgiHR_Q2MFyKtRsrzSCuNChxKN2w=w1064-h599-s-no-gm?authuser=0


When put in place, I confirmed they fitted and fixed the problem very ...

I made a picture of the 10th cutting disc that I had used in just a couple of days. Though it is a boring process, I always prefer to cut the pieces by myself. If not, what is the fun?


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPYe0fjhH46_v3hGXBuHfTDYP7shPPXesl6LjOCuUhAh69wT7zoKhgktc7r ...

Remember the wrong fitting, the quick connector of the servo clutch? Well, not surprisingly there was no adaptor available, so I took it to a professional turner and asked him to make it the adaptor itself, with a sample of the fitting that the Merkabah had.

A few days later he delivered, a couple ...

After many weeks without any news, finally the dealer of the servo clutch sent an email granting a reimbursement for the part I gave back to them as it was, of course, irreparable. My usual luck.

So, I went to Santiago and purchased another one but profited of a special sale and got an original ...

Hi:

Not too many things to report today, because at this time of the year the regular work becomes a little hectic and the Merkabah is forced to the eternal waiting. And it really has been quite a special year this one.

Anyways, when I made the practical twisting test of the frame on the riverbed ...

Hi again, Oli:

The original MB anti torsion subframe is a complicated piece, not very lightweight, and includes a torsion bar linked to the spring packs. It is a three pivot or triangular shaped system, which "fixed" or strong pivoting point is the rear one with a longitudinally rotating axle, and ...

Hello again:

“xxx” seems the right time for the first camping indeed, Max. I only hope to still be able to go up and down the cabin.

“… While twisting the main frame, one of the fixed point at the middle of the long sides will move forward and the other backwards.
This requires a lever with two ...

When I could, I resumed the work and cut and drilled the rest of the pieces of the rear crossmember, tack welded them and tried to put the big and heavy thing in place. Unfortunately, the winch was in the middle, as expected when the pivot point was so deep down.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com ...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNCYJXY1FdXn7PkWztpd7sDjeOtA4OEnenEjMhj2EMIt23T7QCLZj2VM3hvkXqPVXzbtAD1DzF3ndO4bUiYSBmyBFstnXwhtZ5vjiiEQDYOm_t_WPTuX-Bp6hma5sg_4rZ52F3v1cO-fYizPWBDseOS1w=w489-h869-s-no-gm?authuser=0

I connected the water hose and began to fill the tank with the precious ...

Finally, I had some time to take the crossmember and made some reinforcements here and there until it was ready to be mounted. I went to a rubber-to-metal bonding workshop that I used to go before and got some pieces of high-density rubber for the brackets from the owner who, after some years, still ...

At my request he inspected the crossmembers I was building and suggested to reinforce them with additional steel, even if it seemed that it was okay. It never harms to be on the ultra safe side.


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I followed his advice and went on with the building of the front crossmember. This piece ...

Hello again, guys:

Hmm…maybe a book might not be a good idea, at the moment. Let’s see if I finish this thing before.

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement, Härry and Marcus.

Well, it has been a very busy time in regards of my regular job. And… harder times ahead.

The winter arrived, as every ...

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As I needed some more bolts and nuts, I grabbed some wrenches and walked decidedly towards Spare II. The poor truck had not much to offer, though, as most of the pieces were held together by rivets.


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The few bolts I could get from the frame were in not so ...

I decided that I would keep the rear section of the main rails of the subframe longer than needed, just in case some great/stupid idea popped up. I then cut both profiles and the left overs became two of the main crossmembers.


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The long clamps helped to keep the new shape and, again ...

I worked pretty hard and for many hours cleaning the neglected 100x50x5 steel profiles, alternating both power grinders not to burn them out.


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The final result was okay, not perfect but good enough to work with the profiles cleanly. The plan was to build the subframe and once ...

I made some good-looking patches trying to slow down the rate of decay and to minimize the damage to the paint and left it for the dry and hot season to be properly addressed, whenever that might be.

Made a stop at Eduardo’s workshop the next day and took the steering wheel, which Don Pato had ...

I checked if the thing worked, first of all, and then I cut a piece of metal sheet from the scrap box to make a support for the resistor that then I glued to the control unit of the tire inflation system, et voilà!


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A couple of items would be left for a later time, like ...

My deepest appreciation and the most felt regards from the distance, guys. Glad you like these lines.

Well, the fixing of some minor leaks continued and I reached to maintain at least 4 bar of pressure from one day to the other, which reduced the waiting time before cranking and parking brake ...

Hello, Moritz, and thanks for your encouragement.


Well, Bushrider65, yours is actually a very good and appropriate question indeed.

I could just say that the target of all these efforts, all this spending of time and money through all these years are just about the original idea of travelling the ...