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Nice camper, but .......


smallfry

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Well, I think it is wonderful.  Not a great use of space, not hugely practical, ultra-vulnerable to panel damage and not even remotely discrete but it's a custom Land Rover with considerable workmanship behind it and it stands out as fairly classy, if you like that sort of thing (lots of people really do).  The classic Land Rover (Series One to Puma) are versatile vehicles and this showcases that versatility well.  It also shows how much people value the things in a money-centred world but, otherwise, hats off to them.  Not sure about the upholstered/carpeted dash, mind you!

No, it's not really for me.  Too vulnerable.  For that money, I'd be building a camper on a Unimog or, even better, a Russian six wheel drive Ural or similar...

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14 hours ago, Anderzander said:

It’s ugly too - but it’s more capable than the defender, newer, aircon, more space ? 😀

Mogs & trucks (and that earth-roamer thing) are huge ponderous beasties, I don't understand the obsession with building campers on them as they're not going to take you very far off the beaten track unless you have a friend or two who's ALSO driving one and able to recover you. May as well throw a decent winch on the front of a normal commercial truck and a set of chunky tyres, save a ton of money, have far easier parts & servicing and save a huge pile of money.

Having driven our ambulance camper off-road more than many, although it's very capable there's not much you can do about the height, length, or centre of gravity or the fact that rough terrain really shakes up the beers in the fridge - and at least the 130 is recoverable by other nearby 4x4's... get a big mog or even bigger truck stuck and you're into needing some serious help.

My current ideal platform for a camper truck is an 8x4 quarry truck with a good HIAB and demountable camper box. A common and solid platform, decent clearance / low ground pressure, and the HIAB makes it very versatile / helps with sticky situations. More than capable of traversing the odd gravel road or muddy field.

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2 hours ago, ThreePointFive said:

Annoyingly, it's probably more practical than most other suggestions.... But look at it.

A build like this is where you have to step back & ask what exactly are you trying to achieve - because the thing is so over-laden and huge that any off-road ability has basically disappeared... at which point you have to ask why a bone stock 7.5 or 17.5 tonner wouldn't do the same job better, cheaper, more comfortably and likely a lot more efficiently.

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3 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Mogs & trucks (and that earth-roamer thing) are huge ponderous beasties, I don't understand the obsession with building campers on them as they're not going to take you very far off the beaten track unless you have a friend or two who's ALSO driving one and able to recover you. May as well throw a decent winch on the front of a normal commercial truck and a set of chunky tyres, save a ton of money, have far easier parts & servicing and save a huge pile of money.

Having driven our ambulance camper off-road more than many, although it's very capable there's not much you can do about the height, length, or centre of gravity or the fact that rough terrain really shakes up the beers in the fridge - and at least the 130 is recoverable by other nearby 4x4's... get a big mog or even bigger truck stuck and you're into needing some serious help.

My current ideal platform for a camper truck is an 8x4 quarry truck with a good HIAB and demountable camper box. A common and solid platform, decent clearance / low ground pressure, and the HIAB makes it very versatile / helps with sticky situations. More than capable of traversing the odd gravel road or muddy field.

New mogs are also quite problematic - especially the gearboxes. They also have annoying electrical niggles.

I really fancy a T25 Syncro, in Scandanavian spec, with a pop top and no rust, fitted with a 1.9PD Tdi. That would be perfect as a camper

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3 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Mogs & trucks (and that earth-roamer thing) are huge ponderous beasties, I don't understand the obsession with building campers on them as they're not going to take you very far off the beaten track unless you have a friend or two who's ALSO driving one and able to recover you. May as well throw a decent winch on the front of a normal commercial truck and a set of chunky tyres, save a ton of money, have far easier parts & servicing and save a huge pile of money.

I get your point but I guess it depends where you are planning to go in the world and what you are trying to achieve. I know those earth roamers are stupid money (but then the quality does look good too) but in the states the availability of F series Ford parts will trump everything else so it makes perfect sense to start there.

If you were going to cross Africa then an F series would be a terrible choice as I suspect most people will never have even seen one 

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Been there (briefly) and done that, honestly was quite unimpressed by the F350 super-doody and would still probably choose a regular van or box truck unless I knew I would be driving actual 4x4 trails.

For a 6.8 litre petrol V10 it had all the get up & go of a 2.25NA - but the MPG sure was worse!

IMG_4992.JPG

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Having spent far to much time looking at this over lock downs, my money would go on an early or the military spec 4x4 iveco daily. The wife had a 2wd one for a while, it was big enough without being cumbersome and iveco dealers are everywhere.

https://images.app.goo.gl/ihSkB3MaAVT4pBmU6

Mike

Edited by miketomcat
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5 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Been there (briefly) and done that, honestly was quite unimpressed by the F350 super-doody and would still probably choose a regular van or box truck unless I knew I would be driving actual 4x4 trails.

For a 6.8 litre petrol V10 it had all the get up & go of a 2.25NA - but the MPG sure was worse!

IMG_4992.JPG

The 6.7 v8 diesel in the new ones are nothing like those old v10 petrol. They are mega!

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One problem with and actual bus or truck, is traction. They are so easy to get stuck on flat, loose or slippery surfaces, let alone off road or any sort of hill. Even with better tyres they are not much better.

I have a Unimog 406 with a hulking great crane on the back, so its very top heavy and somewhat "disconcerting" But even if I took that off and turned it into a camper, why would you, at about 12 to 14 mpg ? Couldnt afford to go anywhere !

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15 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Maybe so - but what's a big bus like that gaining you over an actual bus or truck?

Traction, ground clearance, comfort

My old 7.5 ton Iveco would get stuck anywhere and it had a decent set of more agressive drive tyres. The challenge truck had to pull it out of many a field after a day's competing

In the states an F350 makes a great base for a camper. A nice environment to be in, enough power, ability to explore without worrying about getting stuck and parts easily obtained everywhere

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On 7/22/2022 at 3:38 PM, FridgeFreezer said:

A build like this is where you have to step back & ask what exactly are you trying to achieve - because the thing is so over-laden and huge that any off-road ability has basically disappeared... at which point you have to ask why a bone stock 7.5 or 17.5 tonner wouldn't do the same job better, cheaper, more comfortably and likely a lot more efficiently.

Yep.  All they achieved there was the worst of both worlds.

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6 hours ago, Snagger said:

Yep.  All they achieved there was the worst of both worlds.

A bit like a trike.

 

Take the worst part of a motorcycle, the fact that your in the open air in all weathers and combine the worse part of a car, ie you can't lean the damn thing down and corner with a smile.

 

You end up with a motorcycle that feels like a car and behaves like one and you get cold and wet.

 

Madness

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Some strange negativity here.  I've seen large four wheel drive campers (and buses on the same chassis) in Australia successfully taking on some surprisingly hard terrain.  I've also seen single axle buses and horse trucks embarrassingly stuck in mildly wet fields.  If you want to explore the planet and get into some more remote locations with a vehicle that is big enough to provide long-term living space, it's a no-brainer you'd look for something with more traction and ground clearance than a bus!  I know.  I lived in a bus for four years and poked it into some very gnarly places and the limitations were severe - and that was only five tons and had old fashioned mild overhangs.

In 2004, I did nearly 20,000 miles criss-crossing Australian deserts in a Range Rover.  The vehicle was excellent for the terrain I encountered but the living accommodation had me endlessly looking at larger campers that had made it to at least some of the same spots.  The one in the original post would probably fare quite well (if build quality matched the price!).

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