I know what you mean, but would you get your fiat 10,000 ft up an Italian mountain?!
I am not lying when I say we spent nearly two years trying to find the perfect vehicle. We came up with all kinds of ideas, visited dozens of motorhome dealers and test drove even more vehicles. We spent a lot of time talking to people like Foleys and people that had taken various vehicles off around the world but nothing quite did everything until we saw the Azalai.
If it was just me and the wife we'd have just thrown a roof tent on top of the Disco like everyone else but with two young kids in tow and a wishlist route that includes frozen tundra, high altitude deserts, jungle and lots of tarmac the Azalai fits our needs perfectly.
Not as cheap as a rooftent but still a lot cheaper than some of the campervans we tried (why are the smaller ones more expensive ??)
Anyway here are a few more photos
Shown with the roof up. 100w Solar panel is more than adequate to run fridge, lights and laptop etc. We've never needed a hook-up yet.
The roof is ribbed with strengthened sections ready profiled to fit roof bars, although it won't fit into a container if you put anything else on the roof.
Not a standard option but we had a large 134 litre water tank built and plonked the rear seats from a Range Rover on top. the kids love them!
Standard option is to fit a 60 litre water tank under the floor of the camper body but we used this as an auxillary diesel tank instead so we have 1305 litres of fuel and 134 water.
External lockers for sand ladders and recovery equipment and gas bottle.
Photo through the rear door, galley kitchen to left, toilet/shower to right, seats and table in front
Comfy seating for 4 adults around a table or enough room for two adults to relax with their feet up at night (chuck the kids outside!)
Floor has shower tray and drain built in, waste water tank holds 40 litres.
Chemical Thetford Cassette toilet and shower head. You can shower inside (see previous photo) or the shower attachment extends outside to hose the grubby tikes down
50 litre compressor fridge/freezer (very, very efficient and will run solely on what the solar panel provides) and other essential equipment - the kettle!
Showing inside with toilet door closed, small wardrobe next to the toilet - enough for a few coats and umbrellas, etc,
Storage compartments under the seats, in ours we got all the clothes and bedding for 4 people in the right hand bunk leaving the left hand bunk for cooking equipment, tent, laptop bag, etc. Cut-through into the double cab is big enough for the kids to climb through.
Bottom seats (and table) make up the lower bed for the kids and the upper bed is lowered from the roof. The upper bed is 2m x 1.5m (same as a standard double bed) the lower bed can also extend into the cab giving two double beds.
There is also enough room to sleep 4 people even with the roof DOWN. Obviously it's more comfortable with it up but in very bad weather it can be lowered without even getting out of bed!
No larger than a standard 127 Ambulance
Body is made as a 1 piece module with walls 20mm thick so it is VERY strong but very lightweight too. Total dry weight is just over 500kg. Rear hatch for spare wheel.
The only thing you can't see is the heating unit (Eberspacher) which runs on diesel to provide blown air heating and also hot water. Standard water pump provides water to sink and toilet and we fitted an extra Nature Pure water filter to provide safe drinking water.
If anyone needs more info or would like to give it a whizz, just let me know.
Cheers
Simon
