Nice camper, but .......

[elbekko]

Just spotted this beast in Gävle, Sweden. Pretty sweet!

 

4x4 too:

[FridgeFreezer]

bat-trade.de and padh.de are very dangerous websites for those - they were dirt cheap when I looked (like 5k euros), they're an aircooled V6 diesel with a big PTO winch, 4WD, crew cab and the fire bodies on the back are fairly convertible.

Being ex-German fire service they tend to be immaculate too.

[landy_andy]

When we retire I plan on putting together a HD truck camper setup for extended travel (3-4 months at a time) around Canada & the US.

Basis will be a Ford F550 dually chassis cab. Truck will get a super single conversation onto 42” military tires, rear springs converted to 4 link & air bags. Will build a custom subframe that isolates the camper from the racking you get in the truck frame. Main benefits for us are 1000 mile range on dual diesel tanks, can carry up to 10,000lbs on the bed and still tow a 7000lb auto trailer with the D100 on it to Moab 😉

Camper will be a Bigfoot 10.6 due to it having a dry bath, 50 gallon fresh water tank, dual 20lb propane tanks, room to install 800w of solar on the roof, 500kwh of lithium batteries and a 3kw inverter. There also made in Canada and are rated for our severe winters.

Not cheap but we expect to cover 10,000+ miles each trip and North America is a large continent.

[simonr]

What's a "Dry Bath"?

Also "500kwh of lithium batteries" - presumably you mean 5kWh.  With 500kWh you'd have close to 1000 mile range on Electric! 😉

[FridgeFreezer]

All sounds very impressive but I would love to know the thought process behind sticking 42" tyres and 4-link etc. on a camper?

[landroversforever]

2 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

All sounds very impressive but I would love to know the thought process behind sticking 42" tyres and 4-link etc. on a camper?

Possibly to do with comfort and getting rid of the monster leaf springs? 

[landy_andy]

3 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

All sounds very impressive but I would love to know the thought process behind sticking 42" tyres and 4-link etc. on a camper?

Rear is a parallel 4 link system to all the use of air bags, gives adjustable ride height & let’s you soften it up when your running without the camper on.

Super singles get rid of the rear dually’s as there prone to getting rocks jammed between the tires if used off pavement whilst maintaining the carrying capacity as there rated at 6000lb per tire. In addition, better ground clearance, better off highway performance, can be beadlocked to run aired down on sand…  basically building a poor person Earth Roamer for a fraction of the cost.

Gotta remember we have 100,000 km’s of unpaved road here in BC alone, let alone heading up into the Northern Territory or Alaska.

Couple of links to look at :

Rear 4 link air suspension system

Super Single conversation kits

[landy_andy]

1 hour ago, landroversforever said:

Possibly to do with comfort and getting rid of the monster leaf springs? 

Exactly 👍

[FridgeFreezer]

45 minutes ago, landy_andy said:

Gotta remember we have 100,000 km’s of unpaved road here in BC alone, let alone heading up into the Northern Territory or Alaska.

Indeed, I've driven some of it - but I'd happily drive most of it in an unmodified Freelander on all-terrains, hence querying the need for quite such a chunky build. Given the weight and size I don't know how far off-road you're planning on getting this rig?

[reb78]

3 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Indeed, I've driven some of it - but I'd happily drive most of it in an unmodified Freelander on all-terrains, hence querying the need for quite such a chunky build. Given the weight and size I don't know how far off-road you're planning on getting this rig?

I dont think that camper cab would fit on a freelander..... even with all terrains! 🙄

[L19MUD]

59 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Indeed, I've driven some of it - but I'd happily drive most of it in an unmodified Freelander on all-terrains, hence querying the need for quite such a chunky build. Given the weight and size I don't know how far off-road you're planning on getting this rig?

I don't think I would want to do 10k miles sleeping in the back of a Freelander though! Am guessing that Bigfoot pod will be a nice place to spend some time

[FridgeFreezer]

37 minutes ago, L19MUD said:

I don't think I would want to do 10k miles sleeping in the back of a Freelander though! Am guessing that Bigfoot pod will be a nice place to spend some time

Well duh... but equally, for a similar amount of campering with a lot less overhead (in size/weight/fuel/money) there's plenty of mid-size RV's that would probably deal with a gravel road and the odd pothole with minimal upgrades - after all, a lot of them will be sharing a chassis & running gear with a range of other trucks & pickups.

Not knocking andy's truck, just genuinely curious about the use-case / design decisions.

[elbekko]

Despite it having some issues (glares at p38 being strange), air suspension is very nice on gravel roads. It just soaks up the bumps and washboards so much better, as we've been noticing over the past few days.

And with potential huge weight differences, it's a no brainer. Leaf springs will just rattle that camper to bits in a week.

[landy_andy]

8 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Well duh... but equally, for a similar amount of campering with a lot less overhead (in size/weight/fuel/money) there's plenty of mid-size RV's that would probably deal with a gravel road and the odd pothole with minimal upgrades - after all, a lot of them will be sharing a chassis & running gear with a range of other trucks & pickups.

Not knocking andy's truck, just genuinely curious about the use-case / design decisions.

Yes, there are Class B & C motor homes that are built on similar chassis’s but… you’ll be limited on trailer capacity and most importantly you can’t demount the camper & leave it at the campsite whilst you head out for the day in the truck. This is where the rear air suspension really shines. Drop the bag pressure and it’ll ride like a regular pickup, then pump back up to ‘loaded’ mode for traveling. Also, in the winter we can daily drive the truck so we don’t have to have a second vehicle…. D100 excepted.

[landy_andy]

10 hours ago, reb78 said:

I dont think that camper cab would fit on a freelander..... even with all terrains! 🙄

Or live out of it for 3 to 4 months at a time… 😉

[landy_andy]

18 hours ago, simonr said:

What's a "Dry Bath"?

Also "500kwh of lithium batteries" - presumably you mean 5kWh.  With 500kWh you'd have close to 1000 mile range on Electric! 😉

It was late…. Planning on using two Battleborn 270Ah lithiums, these :

Gamechanger batteries

Campers here can have either a wet or dry bathroom, basically in a wet one the shower is over the toilet, in a dry the shower is a separate area that is screened off from the toilet space. In some this is a separate room, others will have a screen door. Generally means you have somewhere to hang wet coats without being dripped on whilst having a #2 🙄

[landy_andy]

10 hours ago, elbekko said:

Despite it having some issues (glares at p38 being strange), air suspension is very nice on gravel roads. It just soaks up the bumps and washboards so much better, as we've been noticing over the past few days.

And with potential huge weight differences, it's a no brainer. Leaf springs will just rattle that camper to bits in a week.

Exactly, the F550 has a maximum payload capacity of around 10 to 12,000lbs depending upon spec. so the rear leaf packs are very stiff. There generally used for dump trucks, trucks, delivery or any other commercial use. One real advantage is they have a wide track front axle so turn a lot tighter (7’ approx.) than a F250/350, that’s a godsend when your in a town. The wife curses her F250 when she goes shopping & it’s busy with tourists at the supermarket, I guess it’s just one minor inconvenience of living in a ski resort.

F550 general specs

[simonr]

4 hours ago, landy_andy said:

It was late…. Planning on using two Battleborn 270Ah lithiums, these :

Gamechanger batteries

Battleborn are some of the best batteries on the planet IMHO.  Hard to get in the UK though 😢

I went for 5.2kWh of CALB LiFePO4 cells in my van, with 1 kW of Solar on the roof.  Possibly a bit OTT, but I never have any power-anxiety & it means I can run the Microwave or Electric Kettle without a second thought!  In the summer there's sufficient excess Solar to heat the hot water cylinder too.  In the winter, it takes 10 days (living in the van) for the batteries to drop below 50% without plugging in or starting the engine.

Thanks for explaining the 'dry bath'!

 

[Badger110]

Grizzly n Bear travel with a smaller set up on their 130.

I like the idea of a demountable but it is tight in there.

 

 

[landy_andy]

5 hours ago, simonr said:

Battleborn are some of the best batteries on the planet IMHO.  Hard to get in the UK though 😢

I went for 5.2kWh of CALB LiFePO4 cells in my van, with 1 kW of Solar on the roof.  Possibly a bit OTT, but I never have any power-anxiety & it means I can run the Microwave or Electric Kettle without a second thought!  In the summer there's sufficient excess Solar to heat the hot water cylinder too.  In the winter, it takes 10 days (living in the van) for the batteries to drop below 50% without plugging in or starting the engine.

Thanks for explaining the 'dry bath'!

 

Little sales video of the 10.6 from our local dealer…. You can see the dry bath towards the end. I’d not have the Onan generator & replace with the lithiums in the battery box. Gives more outside storage then 😉

Bigfoot 10.6 camper video

 

[landy_andy]

1 hour ago, Badger110 said:

Grizzly n Bear travel with a smaller set up on their 130.

I like the idea of a demountable but it is tight in there.

 

 

This is our current setup, F250 and a Lance 825… works great for a couple of weeks away but it’s got limited fresh water & only one propane tank so any longer and you have to restock mid trip. Tows the boat really nice too 👍

[L19MUD]

51 minutes ago, landy_andy said:

This is our current setup, F250 and a Lance 825… works great for a couple of weeks away but it’s got limited fresh water & only one propane tank so any longer and you have to restock mid trip. Tows the boat really nice too 👍

I'm so jealous of the trucks you have in the US. Just way too big to use over here

[reb78]

2 hours ago, L19MUD said:

I'm so jealous of the trucks you have in the US. Just way too big to use over here

Absolutely the same. Love them. 

[steve b]

Me too , and the wide open countryside and access to both land and water . 

Do keep us posted on your camper upgrade Andy , it's all of interest 

Steve

[deep]

6 hours ago, L19MUD said:

I'm so jealous of the trucks you have in the US. Just way too big to use over here

I'm even more jealous of the trucks they have in Russia!  Some of them get close to our legal maximum weight without carrying any payload; they are left-hand drive; and the nasty invasion of the Ukraine means that nearly no chance of ever seeing one here is now no chance at all.  Still, one can only dream and, boy, do they have some dream campers.