Family Truck Expedition Examples on FUSO/ISUZU/ETC.

[chosen]

Photos of ISUZU NPS/CANTER/FUSO shower entries.

Don't mind the idea of the bunk beds up one end Jo, thanks for the ideas... I am strongly considering getting a single cab and having seats in the camper. I will give a transport engineer I know a call and send him some images to check to see what will be required.

I had a play around with some sketches last night for a single cab version with retractable hammock style beds above front seats. Funny they look a bit similar to the ATW vehicles... anyway, just ideas at this time.

Anyone feel free to post other ideas, the idea of building a expedition camper to accommodate a family is a bit daunting for sure!

Does anyone have any photos of combined entry/toilet/shower set ups that they could share, especially on a FUSO or NPS body? This would obviously save heaps of room! Thanks in advance,

Andrew

 

[SkiFreak]

Does anyone have any photos of combined entry/toilet/shower set ups that they could share, especially on a FUSO or NPS body?

Both the Global Warrior and Earthcruiser have "mud room" setups.
If you look on their websites you should find some images.

 

[SkiFreak]

As for the note on your sketch "How important is toilet/shower"...
I would say that not having an internal toilet and shower will seriously limit the amount of people that will be interested in buying a vehicle (when it comes to selling it), as both of these things are pretty much expected these days.

 

[chosen]

Good point there...

I have had a good look at their sites but was looking for other details at the time, I didn't notice their mud-room set-ups. I will have another look, thanks a heap!

 

[SkiFreak]

Also... a slide out external kitchen is a good idea, but it can be problematic to implement on a Fuso or Isuzu, unless it's a relatively small one.
The problem is that a large slide out kitchen would need to go under the chassis rails or above it. Going under may interfere with other items or lower the ground clearance and going above would likely have the kitchen at an unusable height.
As I said... nice idea, but not necessarily easy to do.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Does anyone have any photos of combined entry/toilet/shower set ups that they could share, especially on a FUSO or NPS body? This would obviously save heaps of room! Thanks in advance,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Did you see these pics? This was a thread I dropped all the Global Warrior pics into. Not sure if they are all on the ATW website or not.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1658&attachmentid=149302

 

[Maninga]

I would definitely keep a bathroom inside. Not just for when it's sold later down the track, but the biggest one of all. Wife acceptance factor. If it's dark, wet, cold outside I know the last thing Heather wants to do is walk outside and find a spot to go, especially if it's warm inside. Makes a huge difference.

Kitchen space and internal storage options are still huge. My internals are 4.2m long, has 400l of water inside plus batteries and 1150mm bathroom, huge fridge/freezer and don't feel like the kitchen or storage is lacking. Anything big gets put under the bed. Only issue I made for myself is making the kitchen benchtops too deep, little tighter than I really wanted.

Are you thinking soft popup?

 

[chosen]

Also... a slide out external kitchen is a good idea, but it can be problematic to implement on a Fuso or Isuzu, unless it's a relatively small one.

Thanks for that, here is a poor resolution (sorry) photo of the kitchen set up I had in the last camper I built on a hilux LN106r. It doesn't need to be big, just practical. But that said, more bench space would have been great! By incorporating a "mud-room" entry, perhaps there would be room to have our cake and eat it too! Or cook it too, I guess :ylsmoke:

 

[chosen]

Hi Andrew,
Did you see these pics? This was a thread I dropped all the Global Warrior pics into. Not sure if they are all on the ATW website or not.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1658&attachmentid=149302

Hey John,

Hadn't seen all of them, thanks for the link!

Hey how successful / effective is the pop-top material "double layer Ripstop PVC with sandwiched foam layer to add insulation" at insulating? I note that there are some pretty cool closed cell insulation fabrics being developed these days, but oh my - they are very expensive! I've often thought of sewing up some layered fabrics using these materials to trial, however breath-ability would be lost if PVC external layers were used.

How did it go with condensation on cold nights?

 

[EarthCruiser]

Cheeky!

Cheers Earthcruiser... so I assume the place for the extra people to sleep is only up in the Maggiolina? A simple solution to the problem, but up so high I am unsure how it would be getting in/out of. I love the interior, doesn't look like there is a toilet/shower in there, is that correct?

G`day Chosen
All have toilets and showers plus lots more

 

[chosen]

I would definitely keep a bathroom inside. Not just for when it's sold later down the track, but the biggest one of all. Wife acceptance factor. If it's dark, wet, cold outside I know the last thing Heather wants to do is walk outside and find a spot to go, especially if it's warm inside. Makes a huge difference.

Kitchen space and internal storage options are still huge. My internals are 4.2m long, has 400l of water inside plus batteries and 1150mm bathroom, huge fridge/freezer and don't feel like the kitchen or storage is lacking. Anything big gets put under the bed. Only issue I made for myself is making the kitchen benchtops too deep, little tighter than I really wanted.

Are you thinking soft popup?

I would love to have solid sides, but don't ever envisage taking it overseas (perhaps NZ, Tas and Fraiser though LOL) - rather just all around Australia! Therefore the extra hassle, weight and cost in producing a hard shell raised roof is not something that I want to pursue at this stage. Things may change, but that is where I stand at the moment. I also have most of a roll of high quality canvas (Dynaproofed) sitting in my storage space, so it would be a shame if this doesn't get some use in this build.

Melanie doesn't mind digging a hole (or having a shower discretely outdoors), it adds to the adventure on a short trip - but on a long trip this would grow old very quick for us both! How deep were your bench tops?

 

[Maninga]

Yeah, I think it's borderline whether the solid lifting roof is worth the trouble. Next time I think I'd go fabric sides with optional hard sided inserts for if it's really windy/wet. But we expect to see -20 in this truck and high winds, so insulation is very important to us. Like you say, short trips makes inconveniences manageable, we're planning on using it for 18 months solid so needs to be comfortable.

Cupboards are 600 deep, same as the seats. Countertops are 650. Walkway at 700 wide is perfect for one person wandering up/down, us passing each other could use a little more. Feels like Tetris at times, but everything fits nicely.

 

[LeishaShannon]

Another option to consider - a raising bed like ours that could be stopped "half way" allowing the lounges to be used as bunks? Our lounges are 2m long and 60cm wide, I'm often found snoozing on them

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hey how successful / effective is the pop-top material "double layer Ripstop PVC with sandwiched foam layer to add insulation" at insulating? I note that there are some pretty cool closed cell insulation fabrics being developed these days, but oh my - they are very expensive! I've often thought of sewing up some layered fabrics using these materials to trial, however breath-ability would be lost if PVC external layers were used.

How did it go with condensation on cold nights?

Hi Andrew,
.
Yes, breathability is lost with Ripstop-type PVC but I do not see why that is an issue. Solid walls don't breathe either do they?.....that's a job for windows and vents. Also a "breathable" material will hold moisture with a greater chance of generating mould so I'm not sure that its a good thing.
.
One neat thing that usually happens with a soft-sided camper is that the roof forms an overhanging eve so you can roll/fold the windows down a few inches without fear of water ingress.....of course the best feature of a soft-sided camper for us in temperate Australia is the abundance of ventilation with top up and windows rolled down.......compared to solid walls with airflow limited through much smaller window openings.
.
It seems strange me talking about how warm it is here ...... I was wearing my snowboard pants around the house on the weekend I was that cold. Haha.
.
I'm not saying that you should give up on the canvas that you mentioned having at your disposal but the PVC soft-sides used on the Global Warrior and many other high end commercial campers are very high tech by comparison. The soft-side sections with insulation and all the other features can cost around $3k to have made professionally and I can say from experience that they are much more involved and detailed than they look in photos.
.
If you're going canvas though, I reckon any good tent maker could cope with the job easily.
.
As far as handling the cold and condensation, that should be answered by others. I never got the opportunity to camp with soft-sides in anything considered cold, however there are plenty of guys travelling in Global Warriors and such like that have done Siberia, Canada, Scandinavia, etc. Maybe someone else could answer that.
.
Kind regards
John

 

[SkiFreak]

I was wearing my snowboard pants around the house on the weekend I was that cold.

Did you also practice falling backwards onto your floor tiles to get the complete snowboard experience?

Sorry guys, that's a bit of a personal joke, as John and I went to Perisher and I taught him how to shred like a teenager, well... kind of.