I understand there were heavy weather issues- did you camp at all in relatively nice weather? How would it do with two people on a cold night, or rainy night? ER says that their rainfly cures the windy-rain issue, what say you?
I can verify it's a fair-weather camper. I suffered a very windy, rainy night at a rest-stop. I tried to get some sleep, the tent was flapping very noisily, and I was getting spritzed from every direction. The weather definitely
was not staying outside where it belonged. I ended up folding up the tent and sleeping on the floor in the back, with my feet sticking up on the Jeep's center console.
I must've been exhausted, because I still managed to sleep for the rest of the night, and I know I wasn't even remotely comfortable.
The weather was decent for the rest of the trip, although it was below freezing at night. I found the camper's heater to be fantastic. It was powerful, and seemingly very efficient. No discernible drop in the fuel gauge the next morning. When I would sit in front of the output vent, I could feel my leg hairs being singed.
Despite the heater's apparently good output, the tent portion of the camper couldn't seem to keep the heat in. I was
just-comfortable sleeping up there, in 20 degree (F) weather, in a warm sleeping bag, and moderately dressed. I wasn't able to get very toasty.
Unfortunately, Mike's XV-JP wasn't equipped with a tent fly, which I'm sure would've helped greatly.
From my limited experience, the tent really seemed to be the vehicle's most glaring weakness. Overall, however, I think the vehicle was ingenious; a great idea that was simply in need of some refinement. Driver-fatigue was low, both on and off-highway, the camper's ease-of-use was good, and off-pavement performance was stellar.
That's all I've got... aside from this picture of me in my underwear.
