Expedition Imports UniBlog

EI Gets Some New Digs

2011-10-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

We are currently under construction! 10+ years ago when we moved into our current location we installed a wall to block off one of the bays of the warehouse. This month that wall came down. We needed a little more space so we have taken over more of our existing warehouse. This will give us new offices and the ability to separate out the spare parts operation from the vehicles and vehicle builds. Same location, just a whole lot bigger. Give us a couple of months to make the move and get settled in.....then we will host a little get together.

SEE Tractor Surplus

2011-10-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for quite sometime for the U.S. Military to start releasing their surplus SEE tractor Unimogs. It has finally started and we are seeing them work their way through the surplus channels. In August EI decided to pick up a few of the trucks to get our feet wet with them. We purchased 6 trucks. 3 of them are being repaired/rebuilt and 3 of them are being cut up for parts.

After our experience with these trucks we have formed some opinions on them. First and foremost, these trucks are heavy. Do not think that you will easily roll them around your yard if they are dead. Secondly, if you are purchasing a fixer....more than likely it will eat you alive on the labor and parts side. If possible, find a truck that is running and can be checked out. Doing a transmission on one of these trucks borders on the absurd.

Keep your eyes open for spares from the companies that are scrapping these trucks. Had you asked me if you could buy a nice Schmidt front loader with all the brackets for $1500 a couple of years ago I would have laughed. Today I have 3 pieces to choose from!

Stay tuned as I expect that we are going to see a lot more of these trucks as they make there way onto the market.

Pinzgauer 718 Turbo Diesels - Military History Up Close and Personal

2011-04-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

So the story goes that a select group of 15 x 718 Pinzgauers were used by Delta Force (Task Force 20) to enter Iraq on March 19th, 2003 en-route to the Haditha dam complex. These were the first "operators" to enter the country and attack/secure high priority targets. Their mode of transport was the Pinzgauer 718 Turbo Diesel gun trucks. Officially the Iraq war started the next day on March 20th. Fast forward to the Pinzgauers sitting in Qatar for a number of years before making their way back to the U.S., being de-militarized and surplussed by the Federal Government.

EI is pleased to have picked up a number of these unique vehicles. We are currently just starting the refurb and rebuild process. Follow along as over the next couple of years these vehicles get re-purposed.

There Back! PTM Racing Rock Buggy Takes 1st Place

2011-04-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

This year Craig Thompson and crew are continuing on with the 404 Portal'd Rock Buggy in the new Cal-Neva series. Last year we Won the class through persistence with good scores, but the elusive 1st place trophy was missed.

Well this year at Round One on April 9-10th, Craig took FIRST PLACE. We are hoping to see a lot of "our" team up on the podium this year. Congratulations to Craig and his team.

Dos Equis Add Campaign

2011-02-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

EI was approached by a marketing company representing Dos Equis. They had a pretty tall order. To go along with "The Worlds Most Interesting Man" add campaign Dos Equis needed trucks in major cities for Cinco De Mayo celebrations. The premise was simple, the worlds most interesting man was returning from his jungle expedition where he happened to discover the lost civilization. As any good explorer would do he brought back evidence in the form of 3 Mayan Princesses....Ok enough of the campaign. EI was tasked with handling the vehicles for San Francisco, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, Ft. Lauderdale, San Antonio, Phoenix, and New York. We used 4 of our own vehicles t handle the West Coast and Phoenix, then got on the phone and started calling customers to coordinate rentals for the other 4 cities.

With 3 weeks to coordinate, EI cranked it up and went to work. Coordination, driver training, contracts, insurance....pretty much a marathon. To tell you how Just in Time it was Brian Mason (EI Engineer) used his own custom 712DK for the Phoenix promo vehicle. The wrap was completed at EI in Vallejo, 30 minutes later Brian was on the road driving to Phoenix to deliver. Brian drove all night, arrived in Phoenix with two hours to spare and the truck made it's opening night debut.

We had a lot of fun with this campaign. Learned a number of valuable lessons as well. #1 - Marketing teams do not understand the unique characteristics of these vehicles. Try explaining to 3 "Mayan Princesses" they will be traveling in a soft top Pinzgauer for 200+ miles in an evening with multiple stops, in poor weather, on the freeway.....yep you get the picture! #2 - A vinyl wrap on a poor paint job works very good at removing the paint. #3 - Marketing companies pay well for promotional vehicles. Don't undersell yourself!

The next time the phone rings make sure you answer as EI might just be asking if you want to rent your vehicle for a promo!

Forced Child Labor - Teach'em early!

2011-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

At EI we are constantly "kitting" items and preparing them for sale. Carb kits, ignition conversions, fuel pump kits, etc. When we get behind, we have to enlist the help of family. My boys probably the only 4 year old to know the difference between a Zenith 32 and Zenith 36 Carb kit! My girl has found that "packaging" in the shipping area can create it's own fun. She really likes the peanut dispenser. Coming from a bigger family I have quite a few nieces and nephews that enjoy "working" at EI. So the next time you wonder about your parts keep in mind they are assembled with love in the good old US of A!

Spare Parts Aquisitions and their Stories

2011-01-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Over the years EI has purchased a number of large lots of Unimog Spare Parts. Each one has a story and over the next couple of months I am going to do a writeup/travelogue with pictures. If there is any doubt as to our commitment to the long haul in Unimog spares come give us a visit, we can use the help!

2001 - Swiss Military Depot outside Lucern, Switzerland. This one has a funny story in regards to communication and sarcasm between cultures. In this case it saved me 80,000 Swiss Francs! Someday I'll take the time to write it up.

2006 - Sabiex International Belgium - Sabiex had made it a habit to purchase all of the German, French, Belgian, and Swiss parts lots that they could get a hold of to aid there refurbishment of 404's for African militaries. When the governmental 404 refurb market had passed, they sold us their 3000+ tons of remaining stocks. 6 Months of logistics, and thousands of man hours got this into our warehouses.

2010 - French Surplus Dealer calls it quits. 500 Tons, NOS parts.

2010 - Mexican Military calls it quits and surpluses remaining parts stocks. - 30 Tons

2010 - Belgian Surplus - Still squeezing out some of their parts stocks - Of Note, NOS Cabs, that we had thought were gone for good.

2010 - Swiss Military Spares found in America! Purchased from the Swiss Military in 2000 and warehoused in Colorado, this was a nice batch of 40 tons.

So the quest continues. Hoping that 2011 will give us some time to sort out the 2010 purchases.

January in Denver - Yummy

2011-01-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

Being a CA guy with an aversion to the cold, it takes a lot to get me to Colorado in January. However, if you waive 40 tons of NOS Unimog parts in front of my nose......you get my attention. Brian and I headed to Colorado last week to coordinate the move of a batch of Swiss Military spares.....primarily 404 and 2010 Mog parts. We flew in on a Thursday, loaded 2 x 53' trailers on Friday and Monday and flew home Monday night. Parts arrived in Vallejo 48 hours later. Now the fun begins.......

Arrival in Vallejo......it will take us a couple of days to get things coordinated so we can move around the shop and yard.

Ooooohhhh....Aaahhhhhh, mint chip NEW, not even rebuilds!

Some People Buy Shoes......

2010-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

My addiction is for hard iron........ We couldn't pass these up.

2010-11-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

Watch closely Pinzgauer Fans.......Looks like we are going to get some screen time! EI was pleased to be able to work with the studio on this project. After the release of the film we should have some excellent new designs available to the general public.

EI Sponsored Buggy Wins Calrocs Pro Mod Class

2010-11-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

IT was an Awesome season for Craig Thompson,/Red Dragon and the #37 buggy. When all of the dust cleared, all the scores were tallied, they won the Pro Mod Class hands down. Pretty nice to see a buggy running Unimog Portals with 1950's technology take the win. Congratualtions to the #37 crew.

Figured it was time for a bit of an update. Our portal axle'd rock crawler is doing very well this season. We have had the opportunity to catch a couple of the competitions in person and are currently working on getting some of the video into the system. Craig Thompson's update is below:

"Saturday we were in 8^th place out of 10 because we had the worst day of my whole career (as you saw, we didn’t finish any courses). Sunday was a whole different story, we finished with the best score on Sunday and finished a course that nobody else did (A2 – with a score of 12). The next best score on that course was a 39. We also had the best score of the day on A1 – not a bad day! We finished the shootout and ended up in 5^th place.

We have another comp up at Donner July 10^th for the 3^rd CalRocs event. We are sitting in second place in the overall standings for Calrocs so this is an important event for us. We need to finish 2 spots ahead of the first place team in order to make up the ground and be in contention for the Championship. I am pretty sure that we can do it, we just need to have 8 good scores instead of the 6 or 7 that we normally have.

We have 3 more comps and then the Nationals. Nationals have been moved to SLC on the same dates. This will be Man Made courses which I like a lot – fair for everybody! We are now over half way through the season and so far our results are 3rd, 10th, 3rd, 3rd, and 5^th. Hopefully we can make it past that 3rd barrier this time around and stay up there till the end of the season. It has been a respectable season – tougher than we had hoped!"

Keep up the good work Craig and the PTM Crew. We are rooting for you guys. If you have never been to a competitve rock crawling event, you are missing out. Talk about a spectator sport! Not to worry about our rollovers....We asked Craig to position the buggy so that we could get a picture of our logo upside down. He was kind enough to oblige! :)

Haflinger Treffen at Lake Shasta

2010-07-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Kathy and I needed a little mini-vacation to get away from the grind. So with a little negotiation Kenlynn and McKinley got to spend the weekend with their older cousins while Kathy and I jumped ship and headed to Lake Shasta for the Treffen.

Looking to have a little more comfort than a sleeping bag and tent I started the hunt for a nice hotel in the Redding area. I figured there might be a problem when I called the visitors bureau and asked for recommendations for a nice place to stay. "You do realize this is Redding, CA don't you..." was the initial response! After further discussion and being told the closest "nice" hotel would be in San Francisco, we figured we might try something a little different. I asked for any local bed and breakfasts and was told there were some great ones overlooking the river near the Sundial Bridge. Success! We ended up staying at the Bridgehouse Bed and Breakfast. http://www.reddingbridgehouse.com/

Jim and Emilie Molloy were the driving force behind this Treffen and they chose a great location. The Chappie Shasta OHV park at Lake Shasta was our starting point. We lucked out this year with awesome weather that was not too hot. Shasta Lake was at capacity which I do not think I have seen it this full in 10+ years.

We had a total of 7 Haflingers at the event which was a great group of enthusiasts. Everyone was there to have a good time, meet new people and enjoy our little vehicles. I have done a photo dump of all of the trip here: Scotts Photo Dump

We are already looking forward to next years Treffen.

Unique Applications - 404S

2010-05-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

We have seen a lot of specialized uses of the Unimog concept. This company took it literally when the comment was made to "go fly a kite...." Makani Power based in Alameda, CA used this vehicle for that. Some day we hope to get some photo's of the truck in action.

Side Trip - Normandy France

2010-05-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

While moving the warehouse in France, Brian was able to make a side trip to Normandy and Omaha Beach. Very moving....

MVCC Camp Delta Event

2010-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon my son Mckinley and I headed over to the Camp Delta event for a short walkabout. Anything that involves military vehicles, uniforms, and armor is always a hit with a 4 year old! The recent rains had created a bit of a quagmire at some of the "Dry Camping" areas, but in general the campground was full. It was nice to chat with some of our friends and customers.

BAE was displaying one of their MRAP vehicles. This was the first chance I had to see one up close and personal. The size is impressive. My boy has decided that the old WWII Jeeps are not his cup of tea........it's MRAP all the way!

This is definitely a fun show to spend some time at. The European military vehicles are few and far in between, but that is what would make it more fun to attend in your Unimog or Pinzgauer.

A Little Spring in Your Step?

2010-04-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Reports are slowly coming in that they had found a few 404 coil springs at the warehouse we just acquired. Here was the first load.......I think we will be running some specials. Yes these are only front and rear coil springs. Lets see...alternative uses....

Video Suggestions Wanted

2010-04-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

We have begun the process of putting together some of our tech video's. The Pertronix Install is up, and I expect us to continue with more regular installments in a month or so. I know we have slated a video on Electrical testing and ignition basics, wheel cylinder rebuilds, and carb rebuilds. We would like to hear from our customers with additional suggestions on what they would like to see.

NOS Spares Acquisition - France

2010-04-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

EI in conjunction with our European Partner has completed the acquisition of a large batch of NOS Unimog 404 spares in France. Brian Mason has been onsite in France handling the project on behalf of EI. I tell him he is mining NOS Gold! It will take a few months for these to work there way to the states, but once they do we should have some nice specials on items such as coil springs and canvasses.

EI Sponsors PTM Racing in the World Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series

2010-03-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well this year we jumped into the rock crawling scene. Considering the "crawlers" have become some of our best customers with their Unimog portal'd rigs, we figured it was time to have a little fun. This year we are sponsoring PTM racing in the W.E. Rock series. Craig Thompson and PTM will be competing in multiple crawling competitions with their 404 portal'd buggy. Still waiting for the final results from the Oroville competition today, but it was covered well by Pirate 4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/trailreports/werock-oroville-2010/index.php

Well Craig Thompson/Red Dragon and the EI sponsored #37 finished in 3rd place in the Pro Modified Class. At the end of the day shoot out they were the only rig to finish in the Pro Mod class. Congratulations to the PTM crew.

PTM at about minute 1:45

Brian's European Vacation! Well...maybe not.....

2010-03-28T21:00:00.001-07:00

I dropped Brian off at the airport this morning as he heads off for a an extended stay in Belgium to coordinate a recent spare parts acquisition. (More to come on that later.) Needless to say we will be a little short handed while he is overseas. I'll have him post up information as he can in the blog so that those interested can follow along with the progress.

Pinzgauer Fiberglass Hardtops - Test Fitting

2010-03-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend we did a test fit of the first Pinzgauer fiberglass hardtop. We were very impressed. We should be in production within the next 2 weeks. Give us a call to place your order.

EI's New Technical Advisor

2010-03-23T07:51:00.001-07:00

Yep, after repeated attempts, we have finally hired a new technical advisor. His help will be greatly appreciated.

Aftermarket 404 Snorkel a Flop!

2010-03-23T07:41:00.001-07:00

On the Unimog 404 snorkel side, we received back the preliminary tooling quotes as well as the some feedback that we had posted up on the Benzworld and Pirate Sites. Unfortunately, the cost factor versus interest level is not viable on this project. Basic tooling was going to come in at $6000+ and it didn't appear that their was much interest. We will do a couple of prototypes for our own trucks, but will NOT be going into production on this item.