Lessons Learned - Vehicles
Proof of Concept Sailboat Charter
Proof of Concept Camper Rental
Vehicle Research
Vehicle Design
Procurement
Construction
Utilization
Vehicle Advice to Those Who Aspire to This Dream
Overland Expedition Vehicle Top Project Mistakes
Paying for expedited shipping. We paid thousands of dollars for rush shipping throughout this project. Almost all of it was unnecessary. During the entire run of the project we operated under the delusions we would be done "soon," "very soon," "in a few weeks," "in a couple of weeks," and "in a few more days."
Believing the project could be accomplished in a couple of months. My thought going in was, "We're putting a camper on a truck. How tough can this be?" The project took about one year from concept finalization to completion and included 8.5 months of construction and assembly.
Not being more aggressive managing weight. We knew very, very early that weight would be a challenge. It was.
Not ensuring that every single piece of hardware added to the rig was metric. Now I have to carry two sets of tools and a bunch of heavy spare US dimension hardware.
Working myself too hard. I worked long, long days, seven days a week for months on end. I ran myself up against my physical and psychological rev limiter and spent months bouncing off of the red line. This was very tough on me and took a toll. It took months to recuperate and rebuild my reserves while we were underway.
Not creating a contract for key subcontractors. I did all the subcontracting on this job with handshake deals. As can sometimes happen, that led to some challenges, especially related to defined deliverables and due dates. It meant the project moved from buying a mostly turnkey vehicle to buying a build it yourself vehicle. I did not apply the business and project management practices I spent a lifetime learning while I was in business.
Being forced into false deadlines for procurement. Because I operated under a false sense of impending completion and crushing "get it here" pressure during the procurement phase, as soon as I found a solution, I procured it. There may have been a much superior solution one click or phone call away but I never got there.
Using rubber backed washers as a key component. Most of them rotted away before the rig even rolled out of the shop.
Not hiring a suspension engineer early in the project. I would rather have had a professional vehicle engineer review our design early on than be doing it retroactively.
Not updating component locations to reflect ongoing design changes. Key components, such as the electrical systems compartment, were located based on early design parameters. Their locations were not changed or updated when the fundamental design of the vehicle changed during the early stages of development.
Putting too much weight on too small of a chassis. Keep your payload within the design parameters of the chassis.
Overland Expedition Vehicle Top Things Done Right
Some things we think we did right on the project:
One month proof-of-concept camper rental
Using proven components where possible, especially the Mitsubishi Fuso FG 140 and the Bigfoot camper
“No compromises” operating philosophy
Re-doing things as many times as it took to do it right
Repeated testing / weigh-ins / etc. during development
Component level / system level tests
Stud mounting everything to facilitate field service (this has already paid big dividends)
Using all stainless steel and grade 8 (where required) hardware on exterior components
Designing and building with accessibility and serviceability in mind
Creating design and “as built” drawings & documentation
Labeling everything, including components and cable runs, especially the “I’ll never forget what this is” items
Using the right tools for the job
Using the best electrical components and connectors we could find
Using as many marine grade components and systems as possible
Creating as much redundancy in the design and systems as possible
Creating / purchasing a very comfortable, quiet, well insulated, well appointed and secure feeling living space
Designing and building to a specific utilization model, i.e. “bad road capable, developing country destinations, independent travel, etc."
And something that is totally subjective but we have yet to regret:
Selecting comfort and convenience over ultimate off-road capability almost every time
If you have questions or
comments please contact
Douglas Hackney
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