Nice camper, but .......

[TSD]

^ made me think of this...

(Never thought I'd post a J**p on this forum!)

[Escape]

Not the one I would pick. 🙂

[landroversforever]

13 minutes ago, Escape said:

Not the one I would pick. 🙂

I think you'd be torn between two with your history Filip! 

[geoffbeaumont]

3 hours ago, TSD said:

^ made me think of this...

(Never thought I'd post a J**p on this forum!)

It's not pretty... But unlike some of the creations on this thread it looks fairly practical. Assuming it's not intended for use anywhere that lacks plenty of space...

[Stellaghost]

1 hour ago, geoffbeaumont said:

But unlike some of the creations on this thread it looks fairly practical. 

Some of us have feelings you know.........

LOL regards Stephen

[landy_andy]

Snipped from a FB camper group… thought you’d all appreciate it. The box is manufactured in BC too.

 

 

[citizen kane]

This is my 130 with a Quadtec box on the back. Conversion hasn't started yet, still trying to decide on a sensible layout.

 

[landy_andy]

Another awesome build from Total Composites, just need to retire now so I’d have the time to build one….

[FridgeFreezer]

@citizen kane may I humbly suggest you may find ideas here:

https://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=89916

Or possibly just examples of how not to do it

[landy_andy]

On 9/20/2022 at 12:43 PM, citizen kane said:

This is my 130 with a Quadtec box on the back. Conversion hasn't started yet, still trying to decide on a sensible layout.

I’d suggest you check out some of the NA truck camper layouts on the manufacturers websites, here are probably the top 3 brands I’d buy :

Bigfoot

Northernlite

Articfox

All are 4 season rated so ideal for winter camping at ski resorts.

We currently have a Lance 825 that’s ideal for up to a fortnight but you still need to dump & top off water every 3/4 days. If your building in a fresh tank make it as big as possible, I wouldn’t go under 150L if you put in a wet bath.

There are also a few groups on FB for people building there own campers & van conversations too.

[reb78]

On 9/20/2022 at 8:43 PM, citizen kane said:

This is my 130 with a Quadtec box on the back. Conversion hasn't started yet, still trying to decide on a sensible layout.

 

Could you extend the box over the top of the cab? If you came a little further forward than the top of the windscreen you could probably create a very comfortable sleeping area that would give more flexibility for the rest of the interior. You could even shape the front to give better aerodynamics too. 

[citizen kane]

Thanks for the links and the ideas. I'm still undecided what I'm going to be using this thing for. Still trying to absorb as much information as possible, what seems likely is I'm unlikely to get it right first time.

Whichever way I go this is going to have to be very much a budget build so it's going to use the box as is, and I still can't make my mind up if I can tolerate sleeping in a box on springs.

[deep]

1 hour ago, citizen kane said:

 ... I still can't make my mind up if I can tolerate sleeping in a box on springs.

Grab a couple of HiLift jacks.  When you set up camp, stick one each side and use them to level the vehicle.  They will also stop it rocking while you are in it.

[landy_andy]

Here is another micro camper to checkout. Maybe a pair of trailer levelling jacks on the back would help with the stability. When we setup we drop our rear camper lifting legs to keep the truck from rocking, you can see them on this one on each corner.

[geoffbeaumont]

18 hours ago, deep said:

Grab a couple of HiLift jacks.  When you set up camp, stick one each side and use them to level the vehicle.  They will also stop it rocking while you are in it.

Our neighbours have taken to putting axle stands under their camper chassis because they hated the way it bounced around compared to the caravan it replaced.

Would leveling it with the high lifts be safe? I'd be worried about it falling off the downhill one, think I'd rather level it with ramps and then just use the jacks to stop it bouncing on the suspension.

[landy_andy]

Use RV levelling blocks to get the whole thing somewhat level & some light trailer jacks to stabilize it. This type could have the tubular mount welded to the back of the lower box structure, there light & can either be stored horizontally or taken off until needed.

Why carry heavy hi-lifts & ramps when there is a lighter solution. GVW is your enemy in the truck camper world, look for solutions to maximize it.

Here is mine in the casino parking lots we overnighted in, put a single levelling block under the rear wheel, back jacks down to stabilize the rig… slept like a log 🪵 

[Nonimouse]

On 9/20/2022 at 1:28 PM, TSD said:

^ made me think of this...

(Never thought I'd post a J**p on this forum!)

I wonder if that still has the 2.2 Go Devil in it?

[deep]

4 hours ago, geoffbeaumont said:

Our neighbours have taken to putting axle stands under their camper chassis because they hated the way it bounced around compared to the caravan it replaced.

Would leveling it with the high lifts be safe? I'd be worried about it falling off the downhill one, think I'd rather level it with ramps and then just use the jacks to stop it bouncing on the suspension.

"Safe" would depend entirely on how it's all set up.  Definitely safer than when used in a recovery situation!  I got the idea from a wonderful box-body camper I saw on the back of a Nissan ute at Merty merty, in the back blocks of Australia (wonderful, because the top hinged out 180 degrees, automatically popping up a tent roof and creating a double bed space and a covered area outside).  As others have chipped in above, there are other more purpose designed ways to stabilise your parked vehicle.  They all do the same job but, as you would want a Hi-Lift with you anyway on any sort of adventure requiring a Land Rover, it was a pragmatic idea.

I have also recently seen a few of those big white campers (which are spreading like a rash across the country) using a stepped wedge under one or two wheels to get the rig level for the night.  A simple and secure idea, but quite a big thing to store while on the move.

[simonr]

I have a servo self-levelling bed in my camper!

I don't have to worry about the van being level - just push the 'level' button on the bed and seconds later it's comfortable!

[Ed Poore]

11 hours ago, deep said:

wonderful, because the top hinged out 180 degrees, automatically popping up a tent roof and creating a double bed space and a covered area outside

Sounds very similar to this setup that Guido had on his camper. Australian design but imported by a friend of his into Switzerland and adapted a fair bit. Collapsed sits no higher than a reasonable roof rack does - pop into camp and undo two catches on the left hand side of the vehicle and give it a little push and it unfolds. The bed is setup on the right hand side in this picture and you have the kitchen against the rear wall. The rest of it is seating by default but you can quickly convert into beds for up to 4 or 5 people I think. I was surprised at how big the bed area was.

He's also got awnings for the sides so that the area under the main bedroom can be completely enclosed in. The little room on the back is a shower room (you don't need to have the sides on it depending on where you are / what your tendencies are). They also have a little porta-potty in there. I really liked the compactness of that setup and the vast majority of the weight was down low.

[Snagger]

There was a product sold for the purpose.  I can’t stand the name, but the product may be ok.  They call them “bonk bars”.

Like Deep said, I think you’d be better off levelling the vehicle with ramps or piles of earth and stones and then using the bars just to prevent movement.  I’d be wary of using farm jacks unless you cable-tie (or comparable) the handles and direction lever to prevent accidental releases.  It’d also be worth having some sort of receiver on the vehicle to securely locate the jack arm, like the reinforced sills with tubular jack points (matching the jack points in the dumbirons and rear cross member).

[reb78]

4 hours ago, Snagger said:

There was a product sold for the purpose.  I can’t stand the name, but the product may be ok.  They call them “bonk bars”.

Like Deep said, I think you’d be better off levelling the vehicle with ramps or piles of earth and stones and then using the bars just to prevent movement.  I’d be wary of using farm jacks unless you cable-tie (or comparable) the handles and direction lever to prevent accidental releases.  It’d also be worth having some sort of receiver on the vehicle to securely locate the jack arm, like the reinforced sills with tubular jack points (matching the jack points in the dumbirons and rear cross member).

Just bung a bolt loosely through the hi lifts under the mechanism? It wont drop then even if it tries to. 

[Snagger]

2 hours ago, reb78 said:

Just bung a bolt loosely through the hi lifts under the mechanism? It wont drop then even if it tries to. 

Good idea.

[deep]

11 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

Sounds very similar to this setup that Guido had on his camper. Australian design but imported by a friend of his into Switzerland and adapted a fair bit. Collapsed sits no higher than a reasonable roof rack does - pop into camp and undo two catches on the left hand side of the vehicle and give it a little push and it unfolds. The bed is setup on the right hand side in this picture and you have the kitchen against the rear wall. The rest of it is seating by default but you can quickly convert into beds for up to 4 or 5 people I think. I was surprised at how big the bed area was.

He's also got awnings for the sides so that the area under the main bedroom can be completely enclosed in. The little room on the back is a shower room (you don't need to have the sides on it depending on where you are / what your tendencies are). They also have a little porta-potty in there. I really liked the compactness of that setup and the vast majority of the weight was down low.

Yup, that's what I was referring to.  Because the bed is on its own struts, you don't need much to overcome the suspension movement on the other side - though the old-school cart springs I suspect that car has probably don't give anywhere near as easily as a coil-sprung Land Rover!

It has to be said - I am amused at the concern that a Hi-Lift might pop out or start undoing itself.  I think anyone going to the trouble of setting up a serious camping rig would have that well under control.  It's not like we are all teenagers who borrowed Dad's bread van for a weekend away with the girlfriend... 😇

[FridgeFreezer]

Lugging hi-lifts around sounds rather tedious, and they're a right faff - for the job at hand some of the simpler & lighter RV levelling struts etc. are what you want, or just those aluminium threaded jacks from acro-props / scaffold towers (I forget which - I think @Astro_Al had some a million years ago and they were cheap, robust, and suitably lightweight. Even cheap scissor jacks would do it, you're only levelling/steadying the body on the suspension not actually jacking the whole vehicle up off the ground.

That said we've never once bothered levelling the ambulance, as long as your head is above your feel while sleeping (or at least not too far below) it seems comfy enough, if we park on a slope/bump I just make sure it's the right way round.