[agrimog]

the rail system in the floor and roof is the same as aircraft use for mounting the seats, its a std fitting size and is used by a lot of aftermarket companys for mounting quick release units into vehicles of all types, used a lot in the UK by specialist minibus and crewbus builders.

 

[TRUKTOR]

With all due respect- I disagree. The principle is the same, but the hardware does not
Appear to be. The airline tracks, and the derivatives (Mac's, for one ) have circular
Cut-outs in the extrusions, so that ( originally ) the seats could be positioned anywhere
Along the interior of the airplane, within 1-2", or whatever the interval is.
This Bundeswehr system has no such circular access points along the rail, so it must have
A feeder port at either end, in order to get the captive, sliding nut into the slot.
Similar, but different, at least as far as the Aircraft seat systems that I have worked with.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/category/VersaTie

 

[hammogger]

Those are fine looking boxes. To see those nice pictures of the equipment as deployed by the military is a huge bonus.

Zeppelin made some replacement radio boxes for 'our' 404 Unimogs, dated mid-80's. Those were apparently used to replace rusted out boxes as the 404's were referb'ed.

I was lucky to acquire one from Justin L. in Denver and I know of at least one more in this country. It's hard to know how they are insulated but probably better than the originals considering as much as 20 years plus to upgrade technology.

Does anyone else have a Zeppelin box on their 404?

Bob

 

[agrimog]

sorry Truktor, just had a closer look at the tracks, your right, no cutouts, then had a look at the hardware, same system as quickfit T nuts in a milling table, slacken the mounting bolt, drop the nut into the slot long ways, rotate the nut 90 degrees, tighten the nut up, means you can locate anywhere on the track, basic but clever

 

[rostige]

sorry Truktor, just had a closer look at the tracks, your right, no cutouts, then had a look at the hardware, same system as quickfit T nuts in a milling table, slacken the mounting bolt, drop the nut into the slot long ways, rotate the nut 90 degrees, tighten the nut up, means you can locate anywhere on the track, basic but clever

I guess the upside of that is fasteners should be able to be made/ found fairly easily.

 

[tkv000]

Was on ebay.de today, spotted these rail tie-downs. Thought it relevant.

 

[rostige]

Thanks for digging those up Trev; not complicated but those are the proper kit.

 

[BloodyGerman]

Same ones as for the floor rails in my G250D

 

[TRUKTOR]

Those same things show up in a couple of pictures I posted- the ones with the wire reel.
Same deal, just wrench-free, I think. Most of the brackets use a hex bolt for the fixture.

 

[dxmedia]

Been looking very much into these boxes. And I've uncovered a few bits of information.

The are NATO ACE Shelters. They come in different sizes, ACE I, ACE II, and supprisingly ACE III.

There are a number of companies who produce them, but they are all built to the same military requirements - Allied Command Europe's Standard Shelter Technical Specification 6516/SHCPR/8

Roof load -
Snow and ice 3660 N/m2. The roof shall be capable of withstanding a concentrated load of 3.5kN distributed on a 0.25m2 area (0.5m x 0.5m) anywhere on the roof

Floor load -
The floor shall be capable of carrying a distributed load of 5kN. The floor shall be capable of carrying a concentrated load of 10kN distributed on a 0.25m² area (0.5m x 0.5m) anywhere on the floor

Temperature xtremes -
• Operating: -40ºC to 55 ºC plus solar load.
• Non-operating mode: -45ºC to 70 ºC

Heat transfer coefficient -
U-factor = 0.28 . Designed to meet requirements of NATO STANDARD #6516/SHCPR/88

RFI/EMI -
The shielding shall provide at least 80 dB attenuation to electric and magnetic fields and plane waves in the frequency range from 150 kHz to 10 GHz when the shelter is tested in accordance with MIL STD 285.

Watertightness -
The shelter shall be capable of being immersed in water to a depth of 500 mm, measured from the bottom of the skids, without ingress of water inside the shelter

C-Rails -
Each shelter shall be equipped with C rails for the fixing of internal equipment.
Quantity:
1. ACE I Shelter
• Side and front walls: 3 rails
• Floor and ceiling: 6 rails
2. ACE II or ACE III Shelter
• Side and front walls: 4 rails
• Floor and ceiling: 6 rails

Standard features -
• Skids: 3 full length replaceable type
• Roof Access steps: 4 folding steps in sidewall and one roof handhold

Transportability -
Transport by Truck:
The shelters with payload shall be capable of being transported over cross-country terrain by military vehicles without sustaining any damage.

Corner fittings -
The shelter shall be equipped at its top and bottom corners with fittings that comply with recommendations ISO 1161-1976 (Series I freight containers – corner fitting specifications). These fittings shall, by making use of suitable slings, provide a means for lifting, towing and tying the shelter.


ACE I
External
H 1825
W 2050
L 2900
Internal
H 1635
W 1885
L 2735

ACE II
External
H 2075
W 2200
L 4250
Internal
H 1884
W 2034
L 4084

ACE III
External
H 2075
W 2200
L 5000
Internal
H 1884
W 2034
L 4835

NATO I
External
H 2110
W 2080
L 3810
Internal
H 1907
W 1933
L 3573

NATO II
External
H 2110
W 2080
L 3810
Internal
H 1882
W 1933
L 3573

NATO III(1)
External
H 1780
W 2000
L 2160
Internal
H 1577
W 1853
L 1923

NATO III(2)
External
H 1886
W 1747
L 2340
Internal
H 1683
W 1600
L 2103


Now to say that these boxes are coming up cheap is an understatement.

I've priced up building a box for the camper. The steel framework will cost in the region of £500 and the alloy sheeting for the outside £1300. That's no insulation and no interiour skin, no door fittings etc...

I'm looking at paying around £1200 for an ACEII which is fully insulated, alloy skin on both the interiour and exteriour, military spec build quality... and guess what - nearly exactly the same dimensions at the camper box I was planning on :thumbsup:

Guess who's waiting to hear when the supplier has the next one in stock (2 - 3 weeks he recons).

 

[dxmedia]

Should add, the unladen weight of an ACE II is 900kg. The payload is 3,600 kg's.

Baring in mind that an unladen U1300L is 4,450kg's then that's a potential of 2,150kg which can be carried and be legal.

I <think> that this is an ACE II

And an ACE I

And a seasonal photo

 

[rostige]

Good bit of research there dx. I am getting a Zeppelin FM2 from your side of the pond. Ex UN unit. It is going on my Tatra. I am hoping to be able to winch it on to the bed like an oil field winch truck brings items up and over the rear of the bed. With a roller on the rear of the deck and some kind of ski affair that will attach to front/ bottom of box....that will be my method to get it loaded/unloaded. I may need some advice or suggestions how to engineer this without adding too much height to box. The boxes I have seen have warnings not to lift with a forklift from below so I am not sure if the box in and of itself is strong enough to bend over the roller when loading unloading (without a subframe) I was thinking to utilize the twistlock pockets to fasten some of this rigging.

 

[BloodyGerman]

I'd think the build-in skids will allow for winching on.

 

[dxmedia]

What about container jacks on each corner?

 

[BloodyGerman]

What about container jacks on each corner?

They would have to be really wide for the Tatra, I guess.

 

[tkv000]

Not to mention heavy, awkward to move and store.

 

[dxmedia]

In the tech specs it does mention skids on the boxes. Looking at the photos above the look to sit on rails? Is the forklift thing not to lift on the actual base but the skids produce ridgidity?

My plans to use homemade container jacks. Since the whole box is going to max out at 3 tonnes that not much per corner. 2" box should be sufficient.

 

[MagMog]

the BW uses shelter built by Dornier and by Zeppelin.
The Z are better in Quality and with less thermal bridges.

the Z-page:
Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GmbH - Kommunikations Shelter

the twistlocks are the same ISO types as used at other Containers too.

 

[dxmedia]

MagMog, do you have anything to back up the claim about thermal bridges? From what I've read they are all constructed of PU foam with an inner and outer alloy skin with an alloy frame inside for ridgidity irrespective of which of the dozens of companies make them?

I'm not saying that Zeppelin don't make high quality boxes, but if they have a military contract with the BW it's because a pen pusher chose the box.

 

[BloodyGerman]

There are a lot of postings on the German Unimog sites confirming what MagMog posted. Mostly inside camper build threads.