A significant milestone for our new expedition vehicle (“Rosie”) build: the chassis has now been ordered from Mercedes. No delivery date yet.
Rosie’s chassis is a Cabover style Mercedes AROCS 2045, 20 Ton “Grounder” frame (heavy duty variant) with a 450hp (330kW) 12.8 litre diesel engine (Euro VI).
If you are interested in the differences between the European style “Cabover” vs a conventional North American style truck have a look at this video:
Krug selected the specifications for the frame, axles and suspension. Our most important contribution to the specification was the colour selection. After many hours of pouring over RAL colour swatches we finally came up with our choice, only to change our minds ten minutes after visiting the Krug facility and seeing a colour we liked better (RAL 7010).
We actually did have to make a few more important choices such as leather seats or not, etc.
One big experiment we are trying is going with the “L-Cab Low Roof” option. We wanted cab-mounted storage boxes which are available with the MAN chassis, but not with the Mercedes AROCS due to its higher cab. The AROCS has a low cab option which Krug has not used before, so we will be the guinea pigs and see how it works out.
We have two large dogs, so we went with the standard rear bed configuration which gives the dogs a place to lie down while we are driving. We also made sure that there were no rear windows, so that the sun doesn’t shine in on the dogs (sorry kids, no hanging your heads out the window).
After delivery of the chassis Krug will take it to a third party service centre to perform chassis modifications. The additional modifications include changes such as larger fuel tanks, additional starter battery, adjustable rear bumper, installation of a second alternator, and relocation of components to facilitate the installation of the Krug living module. The second alternator is to allow us to recharge the extended battery bank (900AH) using the diesel engine (our back-up in case the solar charging system doesn’t provide enough power). There will be a separate post on the chassis modifications after they have been completed.
We went with the Michelin XZL 14 R20 tires for better off-road capabilities even though they will be louder on paved surfaces. An additional advantage with the Michelin XZL tires is that they can be re-grooved to extend their operational life.
The full specification for the chassis follows…
