JK/JL Jeep Camper Concept

[LostInTheWorld]

Awesome build. And it is great to see it done. I'm sure it will give you many happy miles and experiences like your other great rigs have.
You know your rigs are a hit, when long after you have parted with them, they are still associated with you.
Porsche 911RSR
Ferrari Daytona
Lamborghini Countach
Wabi-sabi Unimog

05/27/2024
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For Sale: The Wabi-sabi Overland Unimog Camper

This is a Unimog camper that was built by Wabi-sabi Overland as an expedition vehicle for their five month Alaska/Canada arctic adventure. They covered

silodrome.com

Thanks @mog. Yvonne and I are really liking the new camper, and we are looking forward to upcoming trips.

I was a bit surprised to see our trusty old Unimog go up for sale again a few days ago, but I had a long phone call with the current owner a few months back, and got the feeling that it just wasn’t the best fit for his needs. It’s such a great truck, and I really enjoyed building it. I miss it often and sometimes regret selling it, but our needs change over time, and we just gotta go with the flow. I really like our new camper, so we are all good.

We have so many good memories from the Unimog, though.

 

[Dan Grec]

We have so many good memories from the Unimog, though.

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I will *never* get over how "low" on the habitat the awning is mounted! 😂😂😂

-Dan

 

[mog]

I miss it often and sometimes regret selling it,

Except when you parked it in a 'bad neighborhood' and instead of someone stealing your catalytic convertor, you had your whole habitat stolen 😇

 

[Mules]

Yup, I totally considered a euro style pop top. I think they can be really nice. I also considered a side hinged setup, a flip top, and a full vertical lift configuration. I think they all would be good on this camper in their own way, but in the end, the front hinged wedge was very lightweight, simple, strong, and made the solar wiring easy. I’m quite happy with the living space of the wedge right now. It’s a lot of room in the back of the habitat, and the lower height up front seems fine for such a small camper. When we are hanging out in the habitat, it’s easy to forget that we are in the back of a jeep.

Looking back on my design, I think a euro style hinge would have been nice for the sleeping quarters. It's nice since you only have to lift the top from one end. Currently I have to lift the back from the tailgate, then lift the front standing on the door sills. I can't lift from inside because my fold down bed is in the way.

A front hinge design like Michael's also would have simplified things, and I could have opened the top from inside the camper. I just wouldn't have had much head room when I sleep at the front.

 

[LostInTheWorld]

I will *never* get over how "low" on the habitat the awning is mounted! 😂😂😂

-Dan

It really is silly how visually low I ended up having to mount the awning on the habitat wall to make it work right. I always thought it looked a little odd. When I was picking the mounting location, I emailed ARB, explained what I was doing, sent them this CAD side graphic, and asked what the ideal mount height was. I was surprised that they wrote back right away with a recommended height that would work with the legs and slightly slant the awning for water run-off. I just put it where they said, and it worked great. It just looks funky on such a big vehicle.



It’s also funny, but you can see in the second to last photo in my post above, that the awing always acted like a mud flap and blocked mud from being splashed up onto the habitat windows on that side of the camper.

 

[LostInTheWorld]

Except when you parked it in a 'bad neighborhood' and instead of someone stealing your catalytic convertor, you had your whole habitat stolen 😇

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@mog, that feels like a long time ago when we swapped the original habitat off our Mog and put it on your truck. I guess that was ~6.5 years ago now? You still have that habitat on our Kodiak, right?



It’s funny how small and oddly proportioned our Unimog looked before we put the new habitat on it.

 

[LostInTheWorld]

Looking back on my design, I think a euro style hinge would have been nice for the sleeping quarters. It's nice since you only have to lift the top from one end. Currently I have to lift the back from the tailgate, then lift the front standing on the door sills. I can't lift from inside because my fold down bed is in the way.

A front hinge design like Michael's also would have simplified things, and I could have opened the top from inside the camper. I just wouldn't have had much head room when I sleep at the front.

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There are so many pros and cons to each option. So far, I really like the simplicity of the front hinge wedge that we have, but clearly, a vertical pop-top would have give us way more space. I guess the euro style hinge is kind of a nice compromise between the other two.

 

[mog]

.... that feels like a long time ago when we swapped the original habitat off our Mog and put it on your truck. I guess that was ~6.5 years ago now? You still have that habitat on our Kodiak, right?

Yup, it is living it 'third life' (U1300, MB1017A, Kodiak) on the Kodiak.

It still needs a roof rack with the 2nd spare and a paint job to blend better


But that will probably happen in it 4th life as I am a 'Power Wagon/GZL guy' now, as I just don't need that much space as a solo traveler.
Of course if a uber-cool Jeep JL camper conversion comes up for sale, dibs on being first in line 😉

 

[mog]

For a nice view of the LiTW and TRCM JL Camper Concepts next to the AEV Outpost II, Dan has a video on his Instagram account

Dan Grec on Instagram: "Always great to catch up with @aevdave when I’m in town. When I first saw the Outpost II I wondered if I could ever take such an awesome vehicle on adventure, and now we are off in the incredible camper built by @wabi_sabi_ove

316 likes, 15 comments - theroadchoseme on June 4, 2024: "Always great to catch up with @aevdave when I’m in town. When I first saw the Outpost II I wondered if I could ever take such an awesome...".

www.instagram.com

screenshot

 

[LostInTheWorld]

It’s really cool to see them side-by-side like that. The Outpost II was clearly a big inspiration for doing this whole project in the first place, and Dave Harriton was really helpful along the way. The Outpost II is such a nice vehicle.

 

[Mules]

Definitely two of the best Jeep Campers in existence! Beautiful.

 

[LostInTheWorld]

Yvonne and I are super happy with the little jeep camper, and despite having COVID last month and having to take care of some adulting things this summer, we’ve been able to have several very nice trips in the camper recently. We had planned on heading up into Canada this summer, but our plans have shifted into multiple shorter trips around California and Arizona. The camper is a great size for Yvonne and I. It’s super easy to drive and the habitat is really cozy. It still blows my mind that all of that comfortable living space is on the back of a Jeep.

 

[locrwln]

Love it. Some great inspiration for others.

Jack

 

[Mules]

Yvonne and I are super happy with the little jeep camper, and despite having COVID last month and having to take care of some adulting things this summer, we’ve been able to have several very nice trips in the camper recently. We had planned on heading up into Canada this summer, but our plans have shifted into multiple shorter trips around California and Arizona. The camper is a great size for Yvonne and I. It’s super easy to drive and the habitat is really cozy. It still blows my mind that all of that comfortable living space is on the back of a Jeep.

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Looking great! I love the simplicity of the wedge top and your bed. Keep sending pictures!!

 

[LostInTheWorld]

Scrolling to the top, I noticed that my first post about this project was 3 years ago today. I had been sketching the jeep camper layout since we sold our Unimog in 2019, but I really got into the design details in December 2021. It’s been a ton of work, but it’s been so satisfying. Thanks for all of your help and encouragement along the way.

Yvonne and I have been super busy lately, and we’ve been zooming all over California, Arizona, and New Mexico in the camper. The camper has been great. We have a few more small California trips planned for December as well as starting to think about some long-term plans.