Anyone seen this in action

[One_Day_Soon]

Hi there, I am new to this site/forum, and have spent the last two days reading up on "ECO-Roamer" and other expedition campers. Having had a dream of doing the "Africa Crossing", south from Scotland to Cape Town I am looking at getting my ideas intoan organised order. However, I have a question for all you experienced owners out there.

Having a family, I was looking at doing up an old 4x4 or 6x6 truck with a double cab, similar to ECO-Roamer for my trip. But, as nice as it is to have the home on the back of the truck when you move, I am looking to use the rig to tour around wherever we land up, and take photos. Ideally, what I want is a cabin that can come off the back of the truck, so I can use the remainder flatbed for a base to take photos, and as a verandah when in camp, etc, etc.

has anyone come across this sort of feature? I will be interested to see the response.

Thanks,

Clint

:Wow1:

 

[jeepdreamer]

Roof deck?

Why not just build a roof deck or platform? You could easily have a ladder to the top. And you would be well elevated to see over obstacles to take your pics and whatnot? The process of attaching and removing seems like an unwarranted hassle unless maybe you were going to be in one area for a month or so? And then what is to keep you "house" secure while you are out roaming around?

 

[One_Day_Soon]

Roof deck

I have thought about the roof deck, but to be honest I am not sure I would like that setup.

The reason I ask is that I was just wondering if it was A) Possible, or B) had been done.

 

[J*C*M]

Any thing is possible with enough $$$

I'm not sure i would trade the versatility for more moving parts though, in my experience the more moving parts you have the more likely something will break.

 

[One_Day_Soon]

I suppose that is true, if you have lpenty cash, you can achieve anything. I guess I am looking for something slightly "different", yet achievable.

I could always do what these guys have done

Although I am not sure it would be great fun towing it across Africa.

 

[charlieaarons]

There is something called "Palletised Loading System" at least for 10X10 Oshkosh HEMTT which can quickly on and off load a 20' container or even larger. It is also available on 6X6 European militarized trucks as well.
There is a reason why you've never seen it on a camper.
You'd have to disconnect all umbilicals between camper and truck, and the camper would need to be "self-contained" with its' own power supply, fuel, etc. You would not be able to use a torsion-free mounting system.
IOW an expensive PITA.
And don't forget a large 6X6 truck isn't that maneuverable even with the camper dismounted.
You'd be better off carrying bicycles or motorcycle(s) on the back. Or even a Smart car mounted transversely - look thru the Unicat site.
If it breaks down in Africa when the camper is dismounted - what do you do?

http://www.oshkoshdefense.com/defense/products~mtvr~photo14.cfm


Charlie

 

[One_Day_Soon]

Fair enough, I guess I will be looking at the "All in one" solution then.

I was just curious to see if anyone had seen this done before. I might look at the "Expedition Trailer" combined with a decent 4x4 truck/pickup. Because I think that will be a good solution, and probably a lot more useful in every day life.

 

[Photomike]

Sure you could do it, but as others have said why? I use a truck and camper and have never taken the camper off. I drive around with the entire unit and once you do this for a while you will find it is like driving a sports car :smiley_drive:

It is a great office, washroom (you are not going to have clean public toilets in Africa), kitchen, shooting platform (I would add a more stable ladder and mounts if I was using it regularly - possibly a pop up rail system with a tripod mount), etc. For exploring I use mountain bikes and do little expeditions from the TC.

 

[One_Day_Soon]

Thanks for all the information on this daft query. Much appreciated.

Now I need to look around for the most suitable vehicle, preferably LHD so I can take it to the Grand ole US of A in the future. :safari-rig:

 

[charlieaarons]

Think hard before you sacrifice valuable wheelbase with a double cab, unless you have a family>3. Even a "1.5 cab" can accomodate 5 people in a full-sized truck. The sacrifice of living space will be significant if you get a double cab.

Charlie

 

[One_Day_Soon]

We have currently got 1 child, and are expecting a second soon. So there will be more than 3 in the vehicle.

I also need to make sure that the kids in the back seats are comfortable for long driving stints. As well as allowing me to move around the cab for photo opportunities (not allowed out vehicles in game parks in most of Africa)

This is the problem, a multi use vehicle, with difficult uses.

 

[Outback]

I would suggest a full size 1 ton crew cab 4x4 with a camper on the back. What exact camper I dont know but it would have everything you need. Some excellent shocks like Kings or Fox would be a must!

 

[Photomike]

As well as allowing me to move around the cab for photo opportunities (not allowed out vehicles in game parks in most of Africa)

This is the problem, a multi use vehicle, with difficult uses.

I would look at a one piece unit (cab and camper attached) with the center seats removed so you can go from the front to the back, to shoot from different windows. I would then have a hatch in the roof that would allow me to exit to the roof so I could shoot from the roof or at least standing in the hatch. If you just have the cab to shoot from you are going to be limited in the angles that you can shoot.

 

[AxeAngel]

If money is no object and you want a turn key LHD solution buy an earthroamer and modify the hatch, etc.

Not wha I would do but sounds like we have different goals.

-Sam

 

[bluejeep]

Is this anything?

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47826:coffeedrink: