Our LMTV / Bliss Mobil expedition truck project is making slow, but steady progress. Here’s a quick update and some photos of the project thus far (as of May 2017)
Done
- Bliss Mobil 15′ Standard Unit arrived in Denver (location of Couch Off-Road Engineering HQ)
- Jay (CORE) mounted the subframe (from Bliss Mobil) and Bliss Mobil 15′ Standard unit on the LMTV M1078A1
- Jay mounted the Bliss Mobil outdoor kitchen accessory and matching storage box
LMTV To Do
- Additional storage boxes
- Extruded aluminum rack for 3x bikes (on motorcycle carrier)
- Satellite receiver mount on rear of unit or cab rack (for Internet / TV)
- New seats in cab (two air-ride, one center folding)
- Install pass-through from Bliss unit to truck
- Paint cab
- Bolster front sway bar
- AC unit on cab roof
- Air filter unit to replace stock LMTV
- Front brush bars, light bar and roof rack
- Winches (probably two on the front)
- 2nd fuel tank on port side of truck
- New Rims and tires
- Height detector/warning (prevent driving under too-low branches, structures)
- New mirrors
- Hitch receiver
- Ignition key in cab
- Cab sound insulation, paint
- Cab console above windshield for storage, CB radio, AM/FM/Satellite radio
Some of the cab work I’ll do once I get it to California.
We’re shooting to be finished in mid-June 2017. Lots to do before then…
Observations
It’s tall – 12’ 4” (3.8 meters). Yikes! Definitely will require some careful route planning to avoid low-hanging branches and structures.
It feels a bit top-heavy. Adding boxes, second fuel tank, etc, to the frame and subframe will help a bit. Jay is also looking at other options to increase stability.
It’s Coming Together
Here’s some photos; most of these are from our CORE visit in January 2017.
Stay tune for more updates! (I won’t wait so long for next update…)
Was there a mismeasurement in terms of installing the sub frame? Why was there such a gap between the box and the cab?
Greetings star! The gap is to accommodate the radiator overflow tank, transmission dip stick / filler and oil dipstick / filler. We did remove the huge air filter canister and are installing a thinner profile air filter. You can really see all the components in this previous post: http://blissordie.com/2016/09/27/expedition-truck-chassis/
Can you provide more photos and details on how you reconfigured the air intake assembly? I’ve been looking at one of these builds and would much rather go with a 15′ than a 13′.
Thanks in advance!
Greetings Chism! I’ll dig up more details on the air intake assembly. I’m sure you know this but another option for the 15′ or larger would be a M1088A1 6×6. Could leave the spare and air intake as-is which would, obviously, reduce the complexity of the build. Downside is the pass-thru becomes a bigger issue, if not a no-go. Thanks for following the blog, let me know if you’re documenting your build and feel free to reach out any time.
Darrell,
Thanks for the response! Yes, I’m aware of the option of using a longer version of the FMTV. However, for the sake of installing a pass through and optimizing space, I plan to move the spare, and am mostly concerned about a well thought-out solution for intake relocation.
Did you build the subframe yourself? I have an M1088 and want to build a bliss type. Nice build!
Greetings! The sub-frame is manufactured by Bliss Mobil and sold separately from the habitat. Jay Couch at Couch Engineering in Denver assembled and attached the sub-frame. It’s on a three pivoting points and very effective. I’ve been on very bumpy terrain and watched it work in my mirrors. A little anxiety-provoking watching it twist away from the truck but I know it’s doing it’s job.
Ah, ok. Thank you. “Twisting the night away !” (Sam Cook)
I really like the Bliss concept.