Angled rear panel as fashion

[Tudor Tanase]

A bit OT, but seeing that bevelled roof edges are mentioned, I wonder how many people know what the reason for them is, e.g. on military trucks like the iconic Gaz66. The shape of the body is intended to fit the railway loading gauge specifications (marked "Eisenbahn-Lichtraum" on the diagram) for rail transport through tunnels and the like. AFAIK the Russians made sure their trucks fit western Europe tunnels - gives you an indication intentions were a bit more than purely defensive

 

[trackhead]

Definitely for looks. IMO most of the overland craze being vehicle centric is fashion oriented.

100% accurate...... like snorkels on vehicles that will NEVER need them, and all the other "overland" periphenalia people love to drive around town with mounted to their vehicles 100% of the time, cause, you know, never know when you'll need that hi-jack and Matrax on your trip across town.

 

[sn_85]

100% accurate...... like snorkels on vehicles that will NEVER need them, and all the other "overland" periphenalia people love to drive around town with mounted to their vehicles 100% of the time, cause, you know, never know when you'll need that hi-jack and Matrax on your trip across town.

You mean the hi-lift jack that they don't have any appropriate jacking points for? Makes a good hood ornament though or worse a decapitator in the event of an accident.

 

[trackhead]

You mean the hi-lift jack that they don't have any appropriate jacking points for? Makes a good hood ornament though or worse a decapitator in the event of an accident.

Yeah, that one. The "Overland" fashion is hilarious.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

You mean the hi-lift jack that they don't have any appropriate jacking points for? Makes a good hood ornament though or worse a decapitator in the event of an accident.

A few years ago i came across a self proclaimed Overlanded in Death Valley with a flat. I obviously pull over to help.

He had been there a couple hours trying to figure out how to use his hi-lift. I showed him, long story short he didnt have any jacking points for it.

I ask if he still have the OEM bottle jack and he did. We quickly changed the flat easily with the OEM bottle jack.

The look on his face when we were done was priceless.

You can't buy or bolt on common sense

 

[Watersmeet]

I agree that there is a lot of fashion involved in this aesthetic (personally, I like it). I also agree that when mounted on a flatbed, it doesn't do anything. Four Wheel Campers do the expo angle and flatbed design so poorly that it somehow looks worse.

I disagree with the notion that it reduces or impairs internal storage. Everything aft of the blue line would not exist in a vertical rear wall configuration. In the Aterra, there is a small amount of additional volume below the dinette seats. One could easily add some wall cabinets or similar for additional storage along the rear wall if there wasn't a window. In a vertical wall configuration, that amount of additional internal volume would come at the cost of the overall interior based on the footprint of the box itself. In a camper with the expo angle, you get that additional space without intruding into the cabin. Of course, a lot of that storage volume is well aft and above the rear axle so it certainly comes at a cost.

What

I agree that there is a lot of fashion involved in this aesthetic (personally, I like it). I also agree that when mounted on a flatbed, it doesn't do anything. Four Wheel Campers do the expo angle and flatbed design so poorly that it somehow looks worse.

I disagree with the notion that it reduces or impairs internal storage. Everything aft of the blue line would not exist in a vertical rear wall configuration. In the Aterra, there is a small amount of additional volume below the dinette seats. One could easily add some wall cabinets or similar for additional storage along the rear wall if there wasn't a window. In a vertical wall configuration, that amount of additional internal volume would come at the cost of the overall interior based on the footprint of the box itself. In a camper with the expo angle, you get that additional space without intruding into the cabin. Of course, a lot of that storage volume is well aft and above the rear axle so it certainly comes at a cost.

Perhaps inst of

I agree that there is a lot of fashion involved in this aesthetic (personally, I like it). I also agree that when mounted on a flatbed, it doesn't do anything. Four Wheel Campers do the expo angle and flatbed design so poorly that it somehow looks worse.

I disagree with the notion that it reduces or impairs internal storage. Everything aft of the blue line would not exist in a vertical rear wall configuration. In the Aterra, there is a small amount of additional volume below the dinette seats. One could easily add some wall cabinets or similar for additional storage along the rear wall if there wasn't a window. In a vertical wall configuration, that amount of additional internal volume would come at the cost of the overall interior based on the footprint of the box itself. In a camper with the expo angle, you get that additional space without intruding into the cabin. Of course, a lot of that storage volume is well aft and above the rear axle so it certainly comes at a cost.

Perhaps instead of reducing the length to the lowest point of the floor before on the departure angle the rear wall and floor could just be extended to eliminate the departure angle but not reduce the overall length of camper. This would solve the problem on the inside with that angled floor piece that makes use or storage awkward and difficult. It seems as though perhaps the advantage is only on the outside and it’s a definite disadvantage on the inside. Is the disadvantage on the inside worth the advantage on the outside if the angle from the wheel to the bumper would prevent the corner of the camper from ever being in the way? I added my version of the photo showing the added corner that I’m talking about.

 

[elcoyote]

Can I get something off my chest? I don’t get the angled rear panel on most “expedition” campers. I mean, I understand why they are supposed to be there but I don’t get what they are actually doing on most of them.

If you angle the back panel up to improve your departure angle, but then put the camper on a flat bed (or other solution) that hangs lower, you have just increased manufacturing cost to create an additional angle and reduced the interior storage capabilities.

An example is the camper on the front page right now. If you draw a line from the rear wheels to the low part on the chassis you can see that the angled back wall does nothing other than look cool.

it’s an awesome camper, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t understand why you would go to all the problem of building a vestigial feature.View attachment 689805

The design is purely for functional reasons and not stylistic ones. Here are a few of the key reasons but not all:
- Trapazoidal shape is stronger than right angle shapes
- Increases interior space without increasing mounting foot print on a standard 80"x80" tray
- Provides better access to tow hitch & rear storage drawer
- Clearance for hitch mounted bike/moto carriers
- Clearance for off-pavement trailer tongue in drop off situations