Van camper or flat bed truck camper? Which one has more space or towing capacity?

[MM4Overland]

Ok here is my context: we are planning to travel around the workd when I am retiring. That would be Europe, Central Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The vehicles I have in mind are a Ford Transit medium base wheel, high roof vs a Toyota Hilux long bed crew cabin
It will be 4 adults and we would like to use one vehicle. We are not sure for how long we will have the apetite to do this and for how long by brother in law and his wife will join us. They dont have the means to buy their own camper so I am thinking that they could buy a camper and I could tow it for as long as they want to join us
That is one of the items of the equation. Another one is the space available for living/driving for either two or four persons. Excepting when we sleep, when we are camped we would expect to spend a good amount of time in the van/truck especially if it is raining for extended periods of time. And the last two items of my equation would be the off road capabilities and the ability to ship the vehicle overseas.
We do not plan to go off road in an extreme way but we want to be able to drive on roads that are not that well maintained like in Asia or South america, mountain roads but still roads, crossing relatively shallow rivers but again nothing extreme.
An in vehicle shower is not a must but it would be good to have, it will definitely determine how long we travel for extended periods
I know there is van campers that can sleep and drive 4
I know there is pop up flat beds or one piece flat beds
I am also aware that a shower might be a challenge in a pop up camper and lifting a van camper might affect the atability of the vehicle. So these are pros and cons in each case
I need some feedback on the below:
- I would like to see some videos showing the off road capabilities of a van camper that was lifted or not I am not interested in quick demo movies done by companies or ppl who make a living off lifing vans but rather ppl like you and me who travel for extended time in various terrains
-I would like to know if it is feasible to tow a camper with a van camper
- as far as I understand shipping might also be different for a van since it is higher
-I am also looking for examples of ppl who traveled together like we plan to, 4 adults in a van or truck camper
-also I am interested to know which one has more space, a crew cabin truck flat bed or a van camper

Any info on the above would be much appreciated, thank you in advance

MM

 

[deserteagle56]

Neither a Ford Transit nor a Toyota Hilux is going to tow any camper of any size for any distance.

4 adults in a van, or pop-up camper? Good luck with that. Maybe for a weekend.

I have both a Ford E350 4x4 conversion, and a Bigfoot slide-in camper on my Dodge dually. We are all different...but I would not want to spend extended time with ANY 4 adults in either rig. We're talking very close quarters here!

 

[MM4Overland]

Neither a Ford Transit nor a Toyota Hilux is going to tow any camper of any size for any distance.

I seem to find examples that prove the contrary

Towing with transit 150 cargo EB

www.fordtransitusaforum.com

 

[MM4Overland]

We are all different...but I would not want to spend extended time with ANY 4 adults in either rig. We're talking very close quarters here!

with that I agree hence the question about towing

 

[rruff]

Ok here is my context: we are planning to travel around the workd when I am retiring. That would be Europe, Central Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The vehicles I have in mind are a Ford Transit medium base wheel, high roof vs a Toyota Hilux long bed crew cabin

I take it you do not live in the US or Canada? I don't know what is available overseas, but I think the Total Composites Transit (this is a custom build) would give you enough room for 4, and if it was just the two of you, then you'd have loads of space! Note his is much taller than needed for headroom. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/ford-transit-cab-chassis-with-composite-camper.209666/

They come in AWD. These can be lifted a couple inches with fairly inexpensive kits, and larger tires fitted. Also moving the rear shock mounts up a couple inches would be good for ground clearance. It won't be a fantastic offroader but I think adequate for your needs. A van with box would be easier to live in IMO, vs a truck with camper. The problem with a NA vehicle is that the engines and many parts are different from what you will find in other countries.

 

[MM4Overland]

Thanks a lot for that. The plan is to retire from my job here in Canada, travel the Americas and then ship the vehicle to Europe where I would live after I am done with the traveling so it would make sense to order the vehicle in Europe and then build it here some how and start my journey here. Not sure what are the logistic complications for such a move but I want the final vehicle to be compliant with the EU regulations parts and engine are desired to be compatible with those in EU.
Not sure how that will work, order the chassis and build it here and then start traveling. Either DIY or outsourced the build will take time and what would be the status of the vehicle here in Canada during that time?

This could be a solution. I am seeing that it can also tow


The only problem I am seeing with this is the shipping of the final build between continents (Americas to Europe and then Asia to Australia)
I am not sure if Roll in Roll out is safer now but I have seen older comments on Internet about problems with vehicles shipped this way, exposed to thieves and weather

 

[MM4Overland]

There is a couple of videos in this channel showing what a transit can do

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxeKkyXkGR3JeY0ZHObr84w

Is that Transit lifted more than the average lifted transit ?
I do not plan to do anything that would be more than what they did in the videos so if I can get that from a lifted transit without spending a fortune I would be more than OK

 

[rruff]

Not sure what are the logistic complications for such a move but I want the final vehicle to be compliant with the EU regulations parts and engine are desired to be compatible with those in EU.
Not sure how that will work, order the chassis and build it here and then start traveling.
Either DIY or outsourced the build will take time and what would be the status of the vehicle here in Canada during that time?

This is only a guess... but you'd probably need to register it in the EU, unless they allow some sort of temporary license/registration. Newer foreign vehicles cannot be registered in the US and Canada typically. Trying to register in the EU while you reside in Canada might be a bigger mess. Really I don't know...

Those videos are of a Quigley 4WD conversion, so it's more like what a 4WD truck would have.

 

[MM4Overland]

Yes I probably have to register it there but they can I keep the vehicle here in Canada without having to register it here ?
There is a maximum time you are allowed to keep it without registering if you are not a tourist.


Too bad if that is a Quigley because that adds to the cost more than a regular lift kit or suspension work.
I guess it needs some transmission work and the end result is different than what you get from Ford (which now does 4x4 out of the factory)

 

[vintageracer]

Utility Bed Slide In Camper for MAX towing capacity!

 

[whith]

Are you certain that if you simply purchased a Transit or Sprinter here that it would not be EU compliant and therefore able to be registered there once you settle down?