Travelling the world's remote areas alone requires much
better preparation than travelling in convoys. One
has to be able to handle all sorts of technical, medical
and environmental emergencies by oneself.
Even if the list below looks like being totally paranoid,
it is in fact just part of serious planning and the
hope to never use the whole lot.
The resulting truck is based on the following
requirement:
The truck |
|
Standard setup |
|
Vehicle |
OKA: OKA, Bibra Lake, WA, Australia (Note: the company exists again since 2018)
OKA-NT cab-chassis |
Motor |
"Cummins" ISBE 170 30 (Emission
standard Euro 3)
4 cylinder; 3.99 litre; common rail turbo diesel;
170 HP 125 kW @ 2500 rpm; 600 Nm @ 1500 rpm |
Gearbox |
"New Venture" NV4500HD
5-speed manual |
Transfer case |
"BAE / Vickers". Semi-permanent 4-wheel drive;
2-speed; no diff between front and rear axle (e.g. centre locked if in 4WD) |
Axles |
"BAE / Vickers". Front: live axle
3485 kg; Leaf springs (12 leafs); 4 shock absorbers
(2 optional)
"BAE / Vickers". Rear: live axle 4385
kg; Leaf springs (13 leafs); 4 shock absorbers
(2 optional) |
Brakes |
Ventilated disks front and rear |
Fuel tanks |
2 tanks, 115 litre each (1 tank optional); The tanks have been replaced (see further below) |
Options (OKA supplied) |
|
Locking hubs |
"AVM" Free Wheeling Hubs |
Hub step front |
OKA built |
Rims |
"Titan" 19.5" x 8.25" Bolt
Together Rims
(OKA delivers ordinary steel rims of the same
dimensions as standard) |
External sun visor |
OKA built |
Cruise control |
ECM controlled |
Exhaust brake |
"PacBrake" Direct Mount Exhaust Brake; 80 PSI back pressure |
Extras (not supplied by OKA) |
|
Immobilizer |
"Paralizer" P 165
(mandatory to get a comprehensive insurance for
the truck in Western Australia) |
Tires |
"Michelin" XDE2+ 305/70 R19.5
(uni directional) or, "Hancook" DH05 305/70 R19.5 (bi directional) or
"Bridgestone" M729 305/70 R19.5
(bi directional)
tubeless (two spares, one mounted on rim)
|
Suspension |
"Bieri Kriens"; The suspension has been completely replaced due to various problems |
Shock absorber |
"Monroe" Magnum 60 or "Powerdown" P42372 (8 shock absorbers) |
Compressed air dryer |
"Wabco" Air Dryer |
Roof rack |
"Alu-Star"; Aluminium construction |
Diesel tanks |
Left tank: 160 l; Right tank: 190 l; 4 jerrycans: 80 l. |
Electronic rust-proofing |
"CouplerTec" HD4WD 4 emitter rust proofing system |
Surveillance camera |
"Navman" MiVue 700/730 |
Reversing camera |
"WAECO" PerfectView M5L |
Characteristics |
|
Touring range |
1400 - 1800 km (1900 - 2300 km with 80 l diesel in Jerry Cans) |
Measurements (including back-section) |
Length: Cab-Chassis 5.76 m (with back-section 5.96 m)
Width: Cab-Chassis 2.00 m (back-section 2.10 m)
Height: Cab-Chassis 2.51 m (with back-section 3.12 m) |
Weight |
Cab-chassis with options and extras but without
back-section: ~ 3715 kg
Empty motorhome (no fuel, no water, no passengers, no load): 5520 kg
Camper fully laden incl. 2 people, 220 l water, 450 l diesel: 7245 kg
GVM: 6500 kg (7260 kg after suspension upgrade)
GCM: 9000 kg |
Speed |
Max. 120 km/h (typical 70 km/h on gravel roads, 80 - 90 km/h on sealed roads due to fuel consumption) |
Turning cycle |
~ 16 m |
Fuel consumption |
Speed
| Terrain
| Consumption per
100 km (approx.) |
90 km/h |
bitumen, flat |
21 lt |
30 - 70 km/h |
city |
24 lt |
30 - 70 km/h |
off-road, rocks, gravel |
18 lt |
20 - 50 km/h |
off-road, deep sand |
33 lt |
30 - 110 km/h |
year average |
21 lt |
|
Equipment |
|
Communication |
CB UHF Radio installed:" iCOM" IC400Pro;
477MHz 5W (Australian Standard); Antenna: Flexibly mounted
15cm antenna on roof.
CB UHF Radio handheld: 2 "Crystal" DBH50R;
477MHz 5W (Australian Standard)
Sat-phone: Iridium "Motorola" 9575 Extreme (GPS and Emergency Call);
External Antenna; Postpaid SIM card from "AST Perth"; Mail access via onsatmail.com
2 mobile phones (to call each other when separated in foreign towns)
Internet connection: "Silentwind" WebCatcher WiFi-antenna on roof or
Mobile phones used as modem to Laptop |
Navigation |
GPS Main: "Garmin" Montana 610; External antenna on roof.
GPS Hot-Backup / hiking: "Garmin" GPSMAP 64s; External antenna on roof.
GPS in emergency package: "Garmin" eTrex International.
PC for Navigation: "Microsoft Surface Pro 3" and Docking station; Connected
to GPS Garmin Montana 610, "Garmin" GPSMAP 64s and the "Iridium" Sat-phone.
GPS Software on PC: "Quo Vadis" QV7 moving map software; MemoryMap V6; "Garmin" BaseCamp.
Paper maps: various maps and guides
Vector maps for GPS and QV7: OSM-Australia map; Tracks4Australia;
OSM-maps for some European, African and South-American countries; "Tracks4Africa"; various local South-American maps.
Raster maps for Quo Vadis QV7: "Natmap" Raster
2008 Australia map; various HEMA-Maps of Australia; 50K maps for certain areas in Australia; "bsmap" for African and South-American countries.
Raster maps for Memory-Map-6: Hema Map AusTopo250 and other free Hema Maps; Hema Desert Tracks. |
Emergency and security |
Extensive emergency and survival kit, packed
into 2 red "Georg Utz" Rako-boxes
ready to be taken out in seconds, in case the
truck catches fire.
Fire extinguisher 6 kg powder-type
2 breathing masks for 10 minutes: "Braegger" Parat
C
Extensive medical emergency set and literature.
Survival books and literature regarding edible local plants.
Extensive anti-theft and hold-up measures. |
Repair |
Full set of tools for all the repairs we are
able to do ourselves.
Most commonly used and most critical spare parts.
Vise-mountable on front bumper.
Service- and repair manuals, electrical diagrams and parts-lists for the whole truck and the equipment of the back-section (all as PDF-files). |
Recovery |
Manually operated winch: "Habegger" Hit 32 (3200kg lifting capacity).
Winch rope: 10 m steel rope for the manual winch.
Rope extensions:
"Dynamica Rope" 11 mm; 35m
long; "Dynamica Rope"
11 mm; 30 m long;
1 snatch strap 11000 kg.
1 snatch strap 8000
kg.
1 tree protector
1 hydraulic 3-stage bottle-jack 11 t .
Sand boards: 8 fibreglass-reinforced sand boards
150 cm x 40 cm from "sandbleche.de".
Earth nails: Model used by the Swiss fire brigade
4 snow chains
(mainly for mud driving)
Snatch block: 1 "ARB" Snatch Block
9000. SWL. 9 t, Breaking strength 17.5 t
Shackles: 4 x 8.1 t SWL; 1 x 5 t SWL; 1 x 3 t SWL
1 Drag Chain.
1 long handled shovel; 1 spade.
1 pick-axe.
1 chain saw "Rancho" 230V~; 1300W.
1 bow saw; 1 jigsaw.
1 big axe; 1 small axe; 1 machete. |
Back-Section |
|
Cabin |
"Alu-Star": http://www.alu-star.com
Aluminium-honeycomb - PE foam - GRP sandwich.
Walls and top: 57 mm: 30 mm Aluminium Honeycomb; 25 mm PE-foam; 1.8 mm GRP
Floor: 80 mm: 30 mm Aluminium-honeycomb; 40 mm PE-foam; 5 mm rubber foam; 3 mm
Aluminium; 2 mm Linoleum |
Doors |
Main-door: Split door; Upper part hinged at
top, acts as rain and sun protection when open; Lower
part hinged at the side; During the night the
mozzie screen door inside the main door can be
closed together with lower part of main door.
No
escape-door to the driver cab. |
Windows |
3 big "Seitz" fold-out windows: Plastic; Double glazed;
Covered by Aluminium lids for
better insulation, security (RoRo-ferries) and environmental protection. The Aluminium lids can be additionally secured from the inside (RoRo-Ferries). |
Hatches |
2 large Polycarbonate hatches with 100% mozzie-proof flynets; can be armoured from inside for more security on RoRo-ferries.
100% rain and spray proof in lowest
opening position; Can be fully opened for roof access. |
Chassis - back-section adapter |
100 mm galvanized steel frame sitting directly on the chassis; Flexible screwed connection to the OKA-chassis via 4 hollow rubber springs and steel guides. |
Cab - back-section connection |
Driver cab and back-section are not physically connected. Plugs are used for all electric connections. The back-section can be "easily" separated from the truck using a crane. |
Measurements |
Cabin overall: Length 3900 mm; Width 2100 mm;
Height 2000 mm (w/o chassis adapter). |
Heating and Cooling |
Heating: Underfloor heating driven by OKA's
motor cooling system or by the "Eberspaecher"
Hydronic M II diesel water-heating. Thermostat
controlled.
Air Condition: N/A |
Electrics |
House-Battery: Mastervolt MLi Ultra 12-5000; 360 Ah;
~290 Ah (80%) usable energy; Charged either by the alternator via B2B-loader or the
solar controller or 230V~ from the battery charger.
Solar panels: 7 x "Phaesun" PN-SPR S 100; Theoretical max.
700 Wp;
Solar controller for house battery: "Mastervolt" SolarChargemaster MPPT 60;
Max. load power 60A; Practical load current over 30A.
Battery charger / inverter / transfer system:
"Mastervolt" Mass Combi Ultra 12-3000-150:
House battery charger: 150 A; Start battery charger 10A; Inverter: 3000W permanent; Transfer
system: 30A.
B2B-Loader:
"Votronic" VCC 1212-45 Li; Max. load power 45A.
12V= circuit breaker/switch panel: "Philippi".
System monitor: "Mastervolt" MasterView Easy and "Mastervolt" USB Interface. |
Water tanks / pumps / city water |
2 x 100 litres in stainless steel tanks. No
connections on the side or bottom of the tanks.
Tanks withstand a car-fire without leaking.
20-litre boiler "SIGMAR Marine" water-heating boiler COMPACT 20 l;
Heated either by OKA's cooling system, by the "Eberspaecher"
Hydronic M II diesel water heating or by 800W 230V~ from inverter or external power.
Water pump: Water inlet: "Lilie" Smart Serie LP 1002; 18.9 l/Min; 5.2 bar (not recommended because of lousy build quality).
Water pump: Filtered water outlet: "Lilie" Smart Serie LP 1002; 18.9 l/Min; 5.2 bar (see above).
Water pump: Bore water outlet: Same pump as used for water inlet (used if water system is switched to two-water-quality-mode)
City water connection bypassing both pumps but not the filters.
Water level gauges: "VDO" Freshwater
tank gauge (capacitive). |
Water treatment |
Water inlet: course filter followed by 2 parallel 10 µm particle filters (for better throughput).
Water tanks: Silver-Ion capsules from "Lilie".
Water outlet: 5 µm active carbon
filter for the ordinary cold and warm water followed by a UVC-sterilizer for the potable water faucet: "Purion"
UV 400 E: max. 6.5 l/min (400 l/h). |
Kitchen |
Diesel stove: "Wallas" 85Dt; Diesel; Glass-ceramic; Standard pans for electric induction stoves.
Induction cooking plate: "Caso" S-Line 2100: 230V~/2100W driven by the inverter or with external power.
Inverter Microwave/Convection Oven/Grill: "Caso" IMCG25; Max. power consumption 2050 W (1 cooking type).
Sink and faucet: "Blanco" Lantos-IF; Steel
double sink; "Sonaqua" Japura WH311 faucet; all standard household equipment.
Fridge: "Wemo"-ezetil EZC 60; "Danfoss"
35 compressor; 60 l fridge; runs either on 12V= or 230V~ external power; Can be used as deep freezer
Kitchen-, side- and main-table: Plastic coated GRP-sandwich with wooden border strips. The only wood used in
the whole back-section.
|
Hygiene |
Shower: Inside shower with shower curtain;
Outside shower.
Toilet: "Thetford" Porta Potti 345 Qube. |
Furniture |
All furniture is built on Aluminium frames.
Walls are made of 5 mm GRP - cardboard - GRP honeycomb; doors are made of Alu-Cobond (Alu-Plastic-Alu
sandwich).
There is no wood used at all. |
Security |
"Göckler" 2 kg CO Fire extinguisher;
"Mentrex" Flame Stop 125 x 180 cm fire
protection towel.
Removable fire/smoke alarm outside. Normally mounted in the driver cab.
Fire/smoke alarm inside.
Ultrasonic intrusion sensor in front cab, Narcotic
gas alarm and CO detector inside back-section. |
Tools / equipment |
|
Bicycles |
2 foldable "Tern" D8 city bikes. |
Hiking gear |
Tent for 2 persons: "North Face"
Nebula; High quality Sleeping bags; Self-Inflatable
"Therma-Rest" mattresses.
Backpacks for day-tours and for tours lasting
several days.
All the necessary bits and pieces for tours lasting several
days (orientation, cooking, toilet,
security, first aid). |