Thread: New work rig setup and advice

Thought I would start a thread about my new work rig, I'll have questions and be looking for advice setting it up etc so figured it would be best to keep it all in one place.

It's a 1993 Mercedes 290GD G Wagon ute, ex Singapore military. It runs the OM602 NA 3L 5cyl diesel and it is tripple locked, both solid axles and coil springs all round. Very low km and generally tidy but it's a work wagon and is used in some pretty rugged spots off road every day so I'm not too precious about keeping it original etc.

Only mods so far are a fan heater which sucks (no factory heater core in these), a USB charger and some new 16" steel wheels wearing 33" Yokohama's. Will be doing a lighting setup soon.

My first question for you guys - I need to get a new air compressor for trye inflation and maybe other things, my old one was a little 12v one but this rig is 24v so it needs to be replaced. I would also quite like it to have small tank and be permanently mounted to the vehicle but if that drives the price up too much I'll make do with a small portable type machine.

I would change out the latches of the tail door for pipe and a drop pin set-up, so that a side can be dropped without having to forever unlatch the tail. Would probably do the front ones as well because those trailer latches are slow and a hazard when sticking out

Have a look into an engine driven compressor for air. York ones have been used for a long time in airbagged mini trucks. The can supply a lot of air quickly, and you could have a tank for it to fill with a pressure switch to switch the clutch for the pump on and off. If it doesn’t have a heater it Definatly won’t have A/C so should be plenty of room in the engine bay for it, just need to make a bracket to mount it to the engine.

Definitely go engine driven if you can. We used to convert AC compressors for 4wd and they where brilliant. A little tricky to set up with mounts, pulleys and belts etc but you'll have all the air you ever need.

Endless Air in Aussie do kits for engine driven compressors. Not sure if they do a kit for Merc, but they have universal kits that can be adapted for most applications.

Add a pressure switch, appropriately sized tank tucked under the tray and quick-release coupling mounted somewhere easily accessible and you’ve got most situations covered.

Mount a 6" vise on the front bumper, very handy if you need it in field situations.

Great bit of engineering on 4 wheels there. Should last you ages!!

Originally Posted by gundoc

Mount a 6" vise on the front bumper, very handy if you need it in field situations.

And a winch for the same reasons.

What is your work?
Did you import it yourself? How much did it cost?

That's pretty cool and different, have you aptly named it "The Beast" or "The Tank"??

They are a different vehicle to drive with an after market turbo on them.That and a hard top would be where I would start.

Cool to see a right hand drive one, nice to have something different!

Originally Posted by gqhoon

Endless Air in Aussie do kits for engine driven compressors. Not sure if they do a kit for Merc, but they have universal kits that can be adapted for most applications.

I bought these for myself and a mates truck. Great bit of kit. The guy works out of his garage in the Melbourne burbs and they were about AUD 550.00 each but that was 15 years ago.

Originally Posted by ishoot10s

I bought these for myself and a mates truck. Great bit of kit. The guy works out of his garage in the Melbourne burbs and they were about AUD 550.00 each but that was 15 years ago.

I had one on my Patrol and rate them also. Pumping up 35” tires from 12 psi to 30psi, they keep going long after an electric pump has given up the ghost or is needing a nap because it’s overheated.

Run a decent sized tank and you can run all manner of air-tools from it (probably no longer relevant with decent battery tools nowadays)

you need an mg42 and some camo to complete the look haha