Steve i found this site http://www.padh.de/html/fahrzeuge_neu.html looks like there are a few MAN 8.136 trucks for sale along with a few other intresting looking trucks.........marty

Hi Steve,

I still like the looks of the Man/Vw 8.136 as per my original question but despite the fact that there are hundreds available, I've yet to find anybody who has

As it happens I bought me one and I'm nipping up on Wednesday to check it out again - now with an MoT. From the specs and price it suits me just fine. If it goes well we may convert it into a camper as a project (ideally by just buying a camper box and slapping it on the back...). A lot to learn there.

Not much yet to say at:
http://www.sahara-overland.com/MAN

For a palette on wheels it felt amazingly comfy to drive. But all I can compare it to is a near-forgotten diesel 101 and lately a gnarly MAN 19/240 which pulled dunes to shreads but got through as barrel of fuel every 200kms.

If you find any other 136 owners let us know.

Chris S

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Thanks for the link Marty - I've now got a list of half a dozen or so dealers so it's just a question of visiting & choosing now. If I have to I'll go for the 8.136 short wheelbase (3.1 mtr) but I'm still holding out for the bigger 8.150 (150bhp) engine with the longer 3.5mtr wheelbase - not many about though.

Chris, great that another English speaker has got one - I've had 4 weeks on German / Danish sites - friendly but hard work.

Let me know how you get on. I'm reckoning on 80kph cruising (road) but would be interested to hear your thoughts on that. What about cab noise? I've now got plenty of links to other owners' sites (mainly German) if you havn't already got them.

Steve

Hello Steve, I've been having these considerations for years now, and they go round and round.

Yep, I know that feeling Luke! In the end you just have to point and shoot.

I've had 4 weeks on German / Danish sites - friendly but hard work.

No need to go abroad IMO, although we may have got lucky at http://www.leavesley-international.co.uk/ - it was cheap, down the road and in great nick. But he only had a couple left. Never seen an 8150 for sale but I think you may like the extra space (is it still classed as a 7.5 tonner for a UK car license?)

Let me know how you get on. I'm reckoning on 80kph cruising (road) but would be interested to hear your thoughts on that.

Can't say I've done any cruising yet - off to Alg in Feb but 80kph should be normal, esp with bigger XZs.

What about cab noise?
Nothing from this era or type is going to sound like a Micra on tickover - you'll have to spend 5 times as much to get something more modern: common rail TD. To be honest if it's a 3 year trip you're planning I would get the very best and comfiest you can afford. Plenty of other great lorries out there - Ivecos look good, or Mercs of course. I like the 136 coz it's small. Maybe even forget a cumbersome lorry and get a really good big van? It's going to be your home for years not just a toy...

I've now got plenty of links to other owners' sites (mainly German) if you havn't already got them
Haven't found any - just unintelligible forums so let's have em! thanks

Ch

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Steve, as Chris says, why don't you put the sites up here for all to see.
I know of Besko in Holland, Aigner and Philipp in Germany.
Then there's mobile.de, where you can do a search for 4x4 LKW's
and truckscout24, also German, which seems to be almost monopolised by Philipp. And of course the English sites.

What else have you got?

Mega busy getting the business sorted for Chrimbo folks, will post links asap

Reading all the above has made me think - the age old quandry:

Land rover/Land Cruiser or 4x4 van or Truck

have had these thoughts before, but Cruiser for reliability and general ease of use, van for being the best all rounder or the truck for space....................

mmmmmmmmmmm

Keep thinking.....

Met up with a couple in Africa in one of the wm40.10 Iveco ambulance's - built for the Mod trials, must say it was a real quality vehicle and the quality of the conversion work - alot of which was done by Frogs Island - was absolutely superb.

However, we now have two young kids - 2 & 4, so looks like it will probably be a truck with double cab - thinking Unimg or MAN.

Any thoughts

Chris

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ChrisC

If you don't want to hear them, there are some excellent low mileage ex fire service twin cab Magirus Deutz trucks going cheap in Germany.
The engine noise will drown them out nicely.

There are plenty of after market soundproofing products you could put around them (or the engine if they're not too noisy ;-)

And there are always those Tatras (sorry, I can't help it)

I'm in the same place as you, Chris. My beloved 2 berth Iveco has to go in favour of something with more seats/beds.

Unfortunately as you go bigger, if you stick to the all wheel drive vehicles, they get slower.
But we're all in too much of a hurry anyway these days.

Edit: Does anyone know if the twincab Maggies are tilt cabs?

Does anybody know what options there are for crew cab / 4+ seater trucks. I would really like a newer unimog but you get a huge crew cab area at the expense of a fairly small area for the cabin. Wondering if there are any other options which have a better balance between cab space and space for the cabin. Remember seeing a MAN in Africa which had 4 seats / 2 doors although didn't get to see inside the cab to see the exact configuration.

Not looking for a £500k truck but at the same time, looking for something fairly modern / not that old. Don't want to be cruising at 40mph down the motorways and constantly repairing it.

Any ideas?

The old quandry has me too..

Am selling my 80 because of it!

But it has to be a truck now- have tried everything else.

How are you getting on with the MAN Chris?
I have just read your bit about the tail lift- an excellent idea. I was on the Tuareg Rallye earlier this year and a Dutch crew had one, it made a fantastic work area for fixing bikes and sitting around. David Lambeths truck was well sorted but getting the bikes up and down the ramp was an added danger..

Whats the truck like to drive? I am torn between a mog1300 and the MAN.

The mog mainly due to familiarity as I use them for work, but the MAN is a lot cheaper. Can I ask what you paid for yours?
One more question.. what was the back like till you stripped it out?

And then there is the camper conversion to look at..

Any sites on conversions?
Check this one..
www.unimog.org.uk

How are you getting on with the MAN Chris?

Im there right now cleaning down the gloop for painting - well Matt is, Im hiding in the office 'checking important emails...'

I have just read your bit about the tail lift- an excellent idea.

Yes it is, as long as it does not shake to bits on the corrugations. But it was cheap\and easy.

I was on the Tuareg Rallye earlier this year and a Dutch crew had one, it made a fantastic work area for fixing bikes and sitting around. David Lambeths truck was well sorted but getting the bikes up and down the ramp was an added danger..

Yes eventually a bike will get you, or get damaged.

Whats the truck like to drive? I am torn between a mog1300 and the MAN.

Cant recall driving a Mog but this one is very FC which suits me fine. It will be a slow dog but what truck isnt at that price? matt who knows says its just like any 7.5 t lorry but slower

The mog mainly due to familiarity as I use them for work, but the MAN is a lot cheaper. Can I ask what you paid for yours?
6500 quid + vat. and probably another grand to be it ready for Alg
Just got\ it reg'd today which was unnervingly easy (full details on my MAN page soon)

One more question.. what was the back like till you stripped it out?
prety good actually - could almost live in it with the thermal tarp as it is and no body but a bit dark. a very powerfrul diesel heater - all the 'command post' junk incl table we've dumped. plenty of room for a sofa and a kettle but the more i think about, getting in and out of the back 4-5 feet off the grounb might get a chore.

And then there is the camper conversion to look at..

we've\locaqted heavy army cabins in DK but we'll see yet. there must be somnething cheap in the UK to nail down and get wallpapered

Any sites on conversions?
only self build\motorhomes so far and plenty of guys doing incredible jobs. I'm way too lazy for that

Check this one..
www.unimog.org.uk

think i know that one - amazing job some people do - andthis guy actually used it too!

better get back to work

Ch

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I've also just read you're section about the tail lift and it raised a few questions I've been puzzeling over for some time too.

I'm in the detailed planning stage of a conversion me and my wife will start some time in the next year. We are going to fit a truck (probably a fair bit larger than yours, approximately 6 or 7m) with the front 3/4 being living space and the back being a garage area for sound system equipment. Now my ampracks way around 150Kg and while it's not as heavy as your bikes there is no way that I'll be lifting that into the box. Once the torsion free mounting frame has been bolted to the chassis rails the box will be at least 1.5m off the ground.

The main problem I'm having is how to avoid hurting departure angle and ground clearnace, as most of our off road action is mountainous rather than desert. I'm not worried either about the platform reaching the floor, we have lifted the equipment into box vans with no problems for years. I expect the rear overhang on my truck to be slightly larger than yous and so the rails hanging down from the back of the body will significantly reduce the departure angle. 2 years ago in czech a friend of mine was trying to go up am access path to a field and the rails on his truck dug into the tarmac, 3 hours were spent trying to free the truck and we ended up having to angle-grind the rails off leaving a mangled tail lift and holes about 6 inches deep torn into the tarmac. The two options I've been looking at are:

1. custom built cantilever design. If I can get the supporting bar near the back axle along the line to the bottom of the back of the box it shouldn't affect departure angle too much. Might be a logistical nightmare though. As below but with less overhang at the rear


2. A coulumn lift like yours but so that the rails that the platform slide down on extend when in use.

I don't suppose you know anyone who makes anything like I described? or know of a company who specialised in tail-lifts/lifting solutions for 4x4 trucks? Had you considered the effect on departure angle on your truck?

thanks,

Nick

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Hi Nick. The departure angle for this vehicle is not affected, see pics at http://www.overlanders-handbook.com/MAN/index1.htm

The cantilever tail lifts do require a bit of messing around with the rear chassis, and I think it would be a lot of work.
You could look at much smaller tail lifts, like the ones for wheel chairs? Search on ebay you'll find them.

But I can see your problem about departure angle, and I don't think there is an easy solution. But anything is possible if you have the money!!

Cheers,
Matt Savage

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VIAIR - 12 & 24 volt compressors and systems. Tyre levers, Land Rover parts, Sand Tracks, Allisport Intercoolers, Overland Prep, and much more...

Thanks for all the help in choosing a truck chaps - after pestering you for information on the Man/Vw 8.136, and after travelling over 3,000 miles during the Xmas break to view all posssibilities, I finally bought a Mercedes 917 just up the road in Oxford!

9 tonner, 170hp, permanent 4wd with diff locks, and it's a 4 speed AUTOMATIC! - very quiet (less noise than my old 609 Merc van), and the missus can drive it. 60,000Km ex fire brigade rapid response vehicle. Will post progress.

Thanks once again chaps

Congrats on your new lorry. If it's what I think it is it's a metre longer in the body which will be better for you. And automatic too, whatever next!
Check out this pdf full of info - in German alas.

http://www.desert-info.org/fileadmin...rcedes_914.pdf

Ch

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