Cedric Jacquet
New member
Hello everyone,
Newbie here ... so I thought I might present my truck.
A number of years back, my wife and I decided we needed to build a new expedition vehicle (our old Land Rover Defender had done it's time). Our requirements were that it should be heavily photo-oriented (we're professional nature & wildlife photographers), it had to be a ‘real’ 4×4 with good off-road capabilities ; the vehicle needed to be sturdy and reliable, and roomy enough to accommodate for the heavy and bulky equipment (hides, floating blind, camo nets, tripods, drone, … + big lenses & co !), as well as comfortable. But we also wanted to be able to travel with the kids when possible.
So we had to move away from the traditional 4x4 cars, into the realm of the all terrain trucks/lorries : with a well equipped truck, we can travel more independently (staying several weeks at a time without needing to head back to ‘civilization’), and stay in more difficult areas (heated living cell, shower, WC, kitchenette – and real comfortable beds !), with all our gear, and the kids when they can join. But while I wanted space inside, I also wanted the truck to be compact, in order to keep as much of it's off-road capabilities as possible. So we ended up with a MAN 15.290 4x4 truck, and a rear living cell with a roof that can be raised & lowered (shoe-box style, in order to ensure a great insulation even when the roof is up), with the 2 bedrooms upstairs.
If you are interested in the design/construction of the truck, please have a look at my blog :
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=81 : searching for a truck
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=144 : the chosen truck
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=191 : the rear cabin lay-out
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=234 : the shell building
Should you have any questions - please ask !
Newbie here ... so I thought I might present my truck.
A number of years back, my wife and I decided we needed to build a new expedition vehicle (our old Land Rover Defender had done it's time). Our requirements were that it should be heavily photo-oriented (we're professional nature & wildlife photographers), it had to be a ‘real’ 4×4 with good off-road capabilities ; the vehicle needed to be sturdy and reliable, and roomy enough to accommodate for the heavy and bulky equipment (hides, floating blind, camo nets, tripods, drone, … + big lenses & co !), as well as comfortable. But we also wanted to be able to travel with the kids when possible.
Roof down :

So we had to move away from the traditional 4x4 cars, into the realm of the all terrain trucks/lorries : with a well equipped truck, we can travel more independently (staying several weeks at a time without needing to head back to ‘civilization’), and stay in more difficult areas (heated living cell, shower, WC, kitchenette – and real comfortable beds !), with all our gear, and the kids when they can join. But while I wanted space inside, I also wanted the truck to be compact, in order to keep as much of it's off-road capabilities as possible. So we ended up with a MAN 15.290 4x4 truck, and a rear living cell with a roof that can be raised & lowered (shoe-box style, in order to ensure a great insulation even when the roof is up), with the 2 bedrooms upstairs.
Roof raised :

If you are interested in the design/construction of the truck, please have a look at my blog :
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=81 : searching for a truck
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=144 : the chosen truck
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=191 : the rear cabin lay-out
http://blog.cedricjacquet.com/?p=234 : the shell building
Should you have any questions - please ask !