Ninelitetrip
Well-known member
Another walk through video with Arnold.
2020 Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV) CAMP-X pop-up slide-in pickup camper (renamed "Back Country" as of 2023)
- Thread starter Chadx
- Start date
Trail Talk
Well-known member
I really enjoy these in-depth unit tours but am confused by one aspect of shell construction. Arnold states that with their 3” exoskeleton they achieve 9 sq in of bonding surface for every linear inch. Does that mean they are using U-channel to frame the composite panels? If so, are the panels then joined metal-to-metal with rivets?
Ninelitetrip
Well-known member
If you go to the 15:30 mark Arnold talks about the bonded strength. Most descriptive I have come across. Also on Gen 4 of the panels.
To my knowledge, the extrusions are not C channel/U channel and are simple 90 degree angle extrusions. Not sure where the other 3 inches comes from per linear inch but you would have some additional bonding inside (panel to panel). For example, from their descriptions, for each linear inch you'd have 3" side, 3" bottom and then somehow 3" inside. Not sure if they put a 45 degree taper with sealed-ends on the panels, but if 45 degree panel ends were butted and the walls were 2.25", then you'd get just over 3" of bonding surface where the two 45 degree ends meet. But I don't know wall thickness or design of the panels where they meet behind the extrusion. If the panels have 90degree ends and are situated so one panel sits on the other, you'd have that overlapped bonded surface, but likely not 3". At one point, I thought I saw a cutaway section of the extrusion and wall but don't recall how the panels butted up to one another.
Rivets are only used where one extrusion meets/overlaps another extrusion, but those joints are also bonded. No rivets into panels; only rivets from extrusion to extrusion. OEV mentions they calculated the rivets are not needed and that the panel to extrusion and the extrusion to extrusion bonding gives the needed strength, but they went ahead and added rivets where extrusions meet anyway just to be over the top strong.
Rivets are only used where one extrusion meets/overlaps another extrusion, but those joints are also bonded. No rivets into panels; only rivets from extrusion to extrusion. OEV mentions they calculated the rivets are not needed and that the panel to extrusion and the extrusion to extrusion bonding gives the needed strength, but they went ahead and added rivets where extrusions meet anyway just to be over the top strong.
Ninelitetrip
Well-known member
Has anyone come across any video from Expo West of the BASE CAMP?
Art Vandalay
Member
I haven't found any videos, nor did I take any, but I spent quite a bit of time around and in the BASE CAMP at the Expo this past weekend and came away seriously impressed.
For my needs/wants it is almost perfect. Shower pan just inside the door. Cassette toilet in the cabinet adjacent the door, but they (I believe it was Arnold) were entirely open to the idea of putting a composting toilet on sliders in the cabinet which would slide in front of the door for use and preserve the benefit of the top half of the toilet cabinet for storage.
Plenty of storage under the bed - probably 6" or so deep so it would hold all the clothing for a long trip.
Electric lift roof.
Fit and finish seemed excellent.
I was told it requires a cab-chassis for the flat frame rails, which has a side benefit that the storage boxes along the bottom are extra deep, and you don't pay for a bed you'll just toss.
Was told price is about $155K, not including the chassis. When I priced out an F350 Lariat Supercab7.3 cab-chassis on the Ford site is was about $55K. Add suspension, winch, etc. and tax and I imagine the whole thing will land in the range of $250-275K. It's a lot, obviously, but compared to competitive offerings it seems a relative bargain. Certainly a more robust solution than the many LWB Sprinter conversions at Expo that were in the $225 - 320K range.
I'll certainly be watching developments on the BASE CAMP as I'm anywhere from 1 to 3 years away from making a retirement vehicle decision and I need to figure out what I can (or should) afford, plus if we got this we'd need another truck for daily life duties. I hope someone active on ExPo is an early adopter and we can all learn from his or her experience.
FWIW, the HBE 6.75 on Aluma Tray was also seriously nice and, in general, I found all the OVEX offerings compelling. Lastly, they had personnel on site from their dealer in Colorado - BVO I think, and in Bend, OR and these folks seemed both genuinely enthusiastic about the product in a "non-salesy" way and to have pretty good depth of knowledge. Overall the kind of product, and interaction with people, that you'd hope for when/if you starting thinking about a purchase of this magnitude.
If anyone comes across more BASE-CAMP info, it can be added to the Expedition Portal BASE-CAMP thread here -> https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...mper-soft-wall-and-hard-wall-versions.222352/
@Art Vandalay Perhaps you can copy and paste your above observations/comment into that link/thread so on down the line, those that search for and are reading BASE-CAMP content will find your comment and continue the conversation. Thanks. I'm interested in more info on that rig so hoping that thread will continue to grow now that OEV has another prototype and they plan to start production of them in 2022. Their old BASE-CAMP webpage still exists, but is hidden and outdated. Thinking they'll refresh it soon as they determine specs.
@Art Vandalay Perhaps you can copy and paste your above observations/comment into that link/thread so on down the line, those that search for and are reading BASE-CAMP content will find your comment and continue the conversation. Thanks. I'm interested in more info on that rig so hoping that thread will continue to grow now that OEV has another prototype and they plan to start production of them in 2022. Their old BASE-CAMP webpage still exists, but is hidden and outdated. Thinking they'll refresh it soon as they determine specs.
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Ninelitetrip
Well-known member
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Max and Jeremy from Technique Vehicle Outfitters in Bend, OR; the PacNW's dealer/installer for OEV; https://techniquevo.com
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victorc
Active member
Lot of good stuff I missed on this thread! For some reason, the "watch" feature that should send me an email every time someone post a message on this thread is not working...
Anyway, wWe have been travelling and living full time in our camp-x since May and we had literally 0 issue. We even spent a night under hurricane Ida (in Newfoundland) and everything hold just fine.
We are about to switch to the Camp-HBE next month. Feel free to contact me in PM if you are looking for a pre-owned Camp-X in fantastic condition.
Anyway, wWe have been travelling and living full time in our camp-x since May and we had literally 0 issue. We even spent a night under hurricane Ida (in Newfoundland) and everything hold just fine.
We are about to switch to the Camp-HBE next month. Feel free to contact me in PM if you are looking for a pre-owned Camp-X in fantastic condition.
Ninelitetrip
Well-known member
Saw your Instagram. Nice to see someone making it up through New England and the Atlantic Provinces. Is your HBE a 2022?
victorc
Active member
Hi! Thank you for following along, the past few months have been really lovely in the North East and Canada.
We passed our order last August for the HBE so our model will be a 2021.
Hey everyone - been lurking here for a while reading, eventually sold me on ordering a camp x and finally took delivery last week. Officially part of the OEV family! Shakedown this past weekend, temps got into the 20's and camper performed flawlessly. Pumped on the setup and looking forward to doing some of the mods mentioned in the thread, wealth of info here!
Jake
Jake
welcome! did you use the water at those temps or drained it?
We used water and didn't drain. I was concerned with not knowing the camper and if we would be alright. It dipped below 30 at the coldest point, day temps were in the 50's so figured it would be ok since it was only going below freezing for a bit.
With that being said, spoke with OEV today and mentioned our trip with temps. They seemed to think it was totally fine, they said crack a window for condensation and we'd be good to go!