Can't stress enough how much I appreciate Andrew's constant desire to challenge conventional wisdom. Rather than just rolling a vehicle in bits from the ARB catalogue, it's always "How can I make it lighter, smaller, more useful, more efficient?" Doesn't matter how capable a vehicle is, it'll perform better if everything is optimised AND, more importantly (?), finding better ways to do things has the trickle-down effect of creating improved products for the rest of us who don't, necessarily, have the space for all the shiny toys.
Si Crewe I agree - but i was surprised by how often he seemed ‘surprised’ and said “don’t know yet what I’ll do with this space”. I think i would have designed much of the setup pre construction (shower, kitchen, cooking, fridge etc). Maybe not? Maybe working with what arrives produces the best result - i look forward to following the build 😁
Admirable especially considering I'm sure he has the money to go full blase and buy the biggest, the best, the shiniest, but instead takes the time to look for efficient and realistic products.
everist22 : I think those are set in stone. The kitchen is where it is, the fridge space is where it is. Etc, it's not like they'd nake a different product anyway
Me too, also with the vehicle heavily loaded for a big trip will alter the ride height. Also for the voids in the rear door, how about elasticated cargo netting. I'd also paint all the inside metal surfaces with a bright enamel, perhaps white or cream. That would make it feel airy and more spacious.
Make some slide out tables, to open either side of the truck. Put them on some heavy duty sliders and fix it to the bottom of the tommy camper.. Gives you the 30-50mm you need plus have two work spaces.. just an idea.
Love the sliders on the steps. I would recommend drilling holes every couple centimeters. This would allow for adjustment on uneven terrain. Awesome build. You have me looking into a tommy camper.
Like a child in a candy store 😂 Your excitement is infectious. Looks fantastic - very happy for you and more than a little envious. Wish you all the best on your build.
LOCATION OF SPARE WHEEL? Many have suggested I locate them between the camper and cab. Doing so would mean moving 400 kgs backwards by 350mm, to replace it with 80kgs wheels placed forward. I extended the chassis by 300mm to move the weight forward. Moving it backward to behind its original position behind the rear wheels, I might as well not have done the chassis extension. I therefore have some choices: Roof? Solar will go up there, and it's unsuited to support this weight. Back of camper? Only location for one wheel there. On roof-rack on cab? Not enough space because roof-rack length is 700mm and tyre diameter is over 800mm. Anywhere else? Inside the camper, well forward in a location that uses the least amount of useful real estate. And so that's why I have chosen that location.
I would mount both spare tires/wheels in place of the chrome rack with swing up scoops to hold the wheels. It moves the camper back the width of the tires minus the rack but puts them at easy access and not hanging off the back. The swing up scoops allow you to roll the tire out and down making loading and unloading much easier. A ratchet strap over the top tying the two scoops together secures the tires and holds them immobile. If you must hang something off the back make it a fuel can or two you can fill as needed and empty into the tank when space is available, lightening the back end. For your camper work table make it slide out from under the bed.
Because you have to raise the camper up some anyway you could put a spacer in the shape of a capital " I " in the middle. A square tube across the front ( left to right ) and in the back. Then on the sides have a slide out shelf in between the spacers running the length of the camper. Then you'll have even more shelf / work space. It shouldn't increase the weight that much , but i don't know how much you have to work with either. Just a thought. Good vid
Andrew, mate I am absolutely loving this series. I'll be honest, I was one of the "not another bloody 79 build" but boy o boy have you proven me wrong. This is so interesting! Love the camper, over the top 12v? Why not you've earnt it. Cant wait to watch the progression. Going to be an amazing build. Thanks mate
Andrew, you think like an ultralight backpacker! I can relate to this. Always looking to find efficiencies, save weight, save bulk and eliminate fuss factor. While my 'overlanding' is nothing more than car camping, my wife and I carry over our 'ultralight' techniques to vehicle camping. Portable fire pits, screen rooms, separate stoves/grills/ovens, chainsaws AND axes, countless alu-boxes strapped to every square inch... this is akin to the novice backpacker toting a 60 pound pack for a weekend getaway! Weight, clutter and fuss detract from the experience, they do not enhance the experience.
Regarding your comment on Induction Cooking , on Jan 9th 2020 Drifta 4x4 Released a Video of his new eDOT 400 with Induction Cooking with Victron Electronics as part of his Setup
The other things with electric induction are no gas bottle (weight and fire/explosion risk) and no open flames (fire risk). But if the sun don't shine it's cold baked beans straight from the can.
I just ordered an induction cooktop to run on my setup to answer that exact question. I think for some things I will still use gas, but my gas footprint is very small it’s the jet boil genesis system, so it takes up no room at all. I am running 2 battle born batteries and a 2200 continuous pure sine wave inverter (that I will be installing soon) so we will see if the induction cooktop will fully replace my gas system. For my camper I’m running the Snap Outfitters Treehouse, its an American company and is built like a tank. Not quite as refined as what you have there, but it’s still on point.
If you use a bolt on your sliding legs of the steps you might need a few holes in the plastic slide outs for when you might have uneven ground and then you won't need to take things to pack under the legs. There might be times when one leg is lower than the other and extra holes to adjust the legs might be handy.
We’ve had no condensation in WA at all. That being said, you’ll get condensation on the metal rails below the canvas and below the mattress pretty quick and unless you wanna sleep with the “windows” open the canvas gets a bit damp below 0*C. The mattress itself is utter rubbish. We got a thick foam topper on it and a sort of mesh below to stop condensation. Been really happy with that setup. Might go with a thicker mattress plus the mesh in the future tho. We’ve also got an upright fridge which works like a dream and is fairly light. For true remote touring we where missing a proper freezer chest tho.
They dump all the cold air out the instant you open the door. Not terribly efficient design. Fine for weekend camping and short trips but not great for long term use.
dont think this will be a problem with the amount of power this thing will generate by the sounds of it, no different to the amount of cold air your home fridge loses when you open the door
@@emilrozkoszny3935 Ah, but that's the rub. Power consumption is everything. Just like saving weight, you also want to conserve power. Stand up RV fridges are extremely poorly insulated and eat gobs of power. In your house, you are trading ease of use for efficiency (plus, it is inside your house and already somewhat protected from heat.) There is a reason that home freezers used for longer term storage are chest freezers and not stand up ones like your kitchen fridge.
I have a 100L front door opening, 12 volt Isotherm in my rig. It uses about 2 AH of power average, that’s about 50 amps a day. Front opening isn’t a big deal. The mass of the refrigerated stuff inside quickly cools everything back down after the door has been opened. And when you say “Rv fridge” you have to be specific. There’s a big difference between how an RV is equipped and an overland rig should be equipped. There are plenty of high quality, mostly marine, refrigerator/freezers out there that run on DC current and can stand up to overlanding. Especially if you locate the fridge somewhere in the middle of your rig to minimize bouncing and your food flying about.
Andrew addressed that in a much earlier video. He's been doing these builds and living out of them in the bush for decades and he swears by the better efficiency of the top loading fridges because they don't spill out the cold air when opened. Makes a big difference in hot climates.
One thing I noticed is that if you have the side doors open to cook and work and have lights on in the camper it will fill with mosquitos or flies. So I would maybe put a wall separating the inside of the camper from the side accessible area.
60? No way! It shows adventure has kept you ageless. Enjoying this. Hope this build is as fun as it looks. Im envious. Congrats on your hard work, being able to do this.
4:05, the ground won’t always be the same height or density, and therefore wouldn’t leave your ladder extensions at the same length at every stop; how would you allow for the variation in the extensions’ lengths if you drill a hole and set the extensions at a specific length?
Never ever need to change the length. Maybe dig a hole in sand to even it out or put a rock under the raised part of we’re crooked. Otherwise an absolute non issue
Love your videos because my wife is South African and I like Toyota, Solo travel and the way you do things. Thank you for all the great builds and I look forward to this detailed build . No need to rush, Hope to see you in the bush . By the way if you want to throw in that little bit of SA accent , very cool.
Very nice camper with a lot of room to set it up to any needs. My only observation is not enough insulation which can be an oven in the top end or a deep freezer in Tasmania. Regarding the induction stove once you have it you will never go back to gas. If needed a little butane stove can be stored as a back up if needed.
Have you thought of stacking 2 x 30/40 drawer fridges instead of fridge slide and 60lt fridge ? Run one as fridge one as freezer ? I replaced standard fridge with drawer fridge and dumped heavy fridge slide, best mod yet.
Hello Andrew; The camper looks great! There is another TH-camr who installed high voltage panels on his bus, and he will be carrying a couple of extra panels to place as needed when off grid. He has 4 LiFo batteries, and two 2500W Xantrex inverters. His wife runs a cooking TH-cam channel in the bus using a single induction burner, a convection microwave, and an Instant Pot. They also run the water heater, and air conditioning off the inverters, and are still able to bank power to the batteries even on a cloudy day. The nice thing about an induction cook top is that the surface does not heat up. The cooking vessel comes up to temp very rapidly, and you can very quickly change the cooking temp, similar to a gas range. I am looking forward to watching you build this camper unit to your own specifications.
Great work in supporting a little Ballarat company. I would assume they are using another local BALLARAT company (Bartlett Canvas) to do canvas. I looked at one & door issue was problem I had with design, good to see new model has addressed that problem. Why not put upright fridge in if there is room?
I love the concept and it would check most boxes on my wish list. It seems the measurement between the camper and tray rollbar was a afterthought. I would consider that measurement very important and a spacer being needed unacceptable on a built from scratch build. Why not make that camper a bit taller to clear the roof and rollbar? If that wasn't possible space the tray higher off the truck chassis which would allow for a shorter rollbar. The first option being preferred to keep the weight lower and center of gravity lower. Was the lack of clarence a oversight or did you knowingly build it to require a spacer?
Induction cooking is really good (50 bucks from Big W if you are on a budget, but I did see a really dual burner unit somewhere) - not impacted by wind etc, no LPG or other fuel - if inverter goes down, have an alternative- we have travel buddy marine and a 24V RAK15-4 military foodheater / water boiler. - run a 24V battery system as the high power draw stuff like kettle and induction heater draw a fair bit, Victron make a nice and very efficent 70 Amp 24 to 12V nominal converter
Drill and tap some holes on the ladder for those extensions. Use some wingnut bolts so you can adjust the extension when you inevitably will park on uneven ground. As for the table, maybe go a vertical hinge? I think you might regret putting the tyre inside. It's going to make everything smell. Instead of chopping the drawer in half, maybe see if you can make it into an L shape? Or maybe remove that drawer entirely and put a stand up fridge instead. Induction cooker is going to be a game changer I'm willing to bet, especially compared to gas on windy nights. Instead of raising the camper 30mm can you chop the roll bar down 30mm?
Why not consider a front-opening fridge? I did that on my truck....got rid of 100kg of weight (60 lt fridge + HEAVY drop slide + "cage") and replaced it with a upright Engel weighing 23kg!!
Fridge drawer weight issue: ask them to laser cut or drill holes to lose material. Just left of camper door outside: good place to mount gas bottle/s. If camper is lifted over rollbar won't you have an awkward looking gap above cab? Maybe a freezer on drawer under bed and small fridges in camper and in cab. It is a tourer after all.
I'd approach the Quickpitch guys to drill a hole towards the bottom of each leg of the ladder and weld on a nut. In the nut have a thumb screw that can be tightened by hand in order to hold the leg extensions in place to account for uneven terrain.
Mr. White could you give your opinion about the new off roader tourer trend, by using a bigger plataform, like the Mitsubishi Fuso 4wd. With more payload, and bigger room inside. For an older person, it's quite a confortable way to go touring.
Induction cooking is the best! Make sure your pots are induction ready. I don’t need gas bottles anymore for anything. Love it. Just like those old gas lights are redundant now, so would gas be soon with solar and lithium batteries.
Why don't you get an upright fridge, Engle are responsiblly priced. You save the weight of the fridge slide and your setup is a perfect heigh with the same 12/240v
Two spares - my immediate thought was why not at the front of the camper behind the cab. Then they're always with you whether the camper is with you or not plus the weight is up front. You'll lose a bit of depth but no more than storing the spare inside. Could you fit two side by side? Just a thought.
Then all the weight will be too far back. The entire point of the chassis extension was to move weight forward. If I put the wheels there, Ive wasted all that effort.
For the spare tire, I realize you aren't as tall as I am, but would you be able to see over it if it was mounted flat on the hood or vertically on a rack in front of the grill? It would bring more weight forward and you would have your spare even without the camper.
Hi Andrew, I have also been following a guy in Canada, he stays permanently in his little station wagon. And he uses an Induction set up, if you are interested to go see what he does. You can just type in Foresty Forest. Fun to see what he did. Enjoy your truck. Stefan
Great show and tell. Thanks for sharing Justin and Bec from “trip in a van” have been successfully using induction for a while and love it. Not need to carry gas and unaffected by wind
Hello Andrew , maybe I'm thinking to much out of the box but why not something like a corridor in the middle to fit the 2 spare tyres one behind the other?
I viewed a Tommy Camper camper vid after watching this review. They had an front opening upright fridge. This would solve the fridge issue Andrew mentioned and save weight on mountings.
On a serious note, if you do upgrade the bed, look at Fanello matresses. They're from the yachting fraternity & you get real slats under the foam for support & there's probably no comfier mattress for a rooftop tent 👍
I completely agree with you on the fridge drop-down. I am a mechanical engineer based in Somerset West South Africa, with quite a bit of experience in sheet metal design. With covid and lock down I find myself with a bit of extra time, would be happy to help design a custom fridge drop-down mechanism (free of charge of course). I have a few ideas and I am sure you have too, let me know if you would be interested.
If you need to put a spacer underneath, why not use the space? You can put a drawer under the camper. Or a space to store the legs. And, why two spare wheels. How many spares have you fitted on your recent trips?
Curious about a couple things. 1) The slides in the bottom of the ladder, do you have to drill a single hole and have them fixed? Or can you drill multiple holes so that when the terrain is uneven, you have some adjustability? 2) It might be easier to shim the camper to fit over the roll bar, but that creates an extra wide gap between the camper over hang and the vehicle cab causing a lot of air to get sucked into that space. Are you going to do anything about that gap? 3) instead of putting an extra bench, is there a folding chair you could use?
Andrew are you putting any battery systems in the camper? Maybe ive missed something bit it looks like its all in the cab if the vehicle. Thats all good, but what happens when you remove the camper? The fridge stops. No lighting if you go to work in it while on the back lawn ect... Also take the vehicle with no camper and you have no solar to top up for the internal fridge and inverter/charging station.
I like the camper a lot and I would fit it out to be independent electrically, so if I was working remotely I could set up camp and still use the vehicle. This is an exciting build.
Firstly what an amazing camper!! Exactly what I would like! I would agree with some of your viewers putting it inside in my opinion has to many negatives the largest being the need to adapt that internal draw! When you opened the camper it seems that the gas struts had SO much lift! Could you not mount the spare permanently up there? Depending on you dolor Pannel size obviously. If that doesn’t work is there space for a short rack forward of the camper on the car roof? I definitely wouldn’t slide the camper back and stick it on the headboard of the truck bed, that defeats the entire purpose as you would shift more than 80km backwards.
Fixed mosquito nets are not handy, when you hide inside for wildlife photography. The table can be mounted on a slider under the bed. The spare wheel in the load space and the camper on top. Away from the sun light and you don't need to lift the wheels too high. Just some ideas.
Cool stuff. Regarding the spare wheels...I don't want to kill your enthusiasm about having one wheel inside but did you consider the smell that a tyre while leave inside? (And dirt in case you have to put a used one). All the best! :)
Hi Andrew, I’m unsure if the canopy and tray lengths allow this but why not do something similar to Roothy and have both your spare wheels mounted to your headboard between the tray and camper? Keeps weight forward and mostly protected by sun when the camper is on. Build’s coming along great, loving the series
Then all the weight will be too far back. The entire point of the chassis extension was to move weight forward. If I put the wheels there, Ive wasted all that effort.
Would be interesting if these kinds of products came without a roof but instead slots for solar panels; with modular non-solar panels to infill if required. Perhaps an interior sliding curtain/fabric 'roof' to cut the condensation and act as access hatch. Everyone seems to cover the roof of these campers with solar panels anyway, weatherproof it and save materials/weight?
Mate I have built a camper van that runs only on 12v DC and uses an induction cook top. I have 390ah of batteries and the induction cooker is the only way, it uses very little power due to the cooker being so efficient. There is not wasted heat as the heat is generated inside the pan/pot, cooking is very fast as it is instant, no need to wait for it to heat up. And due to it being so efficient we never need to have it turned up more than 50% to cook with out burning. The only down side is the size of the inverter, is have a 2800/5600w inverter installed, because we also run an electric jug etc. The induction cooker would use less than 5% of the 390ah to cook a meal. Message me if you want more info.
Could a table to work on flip out or slide out of the drawers under the bed. As in pull the drawer out in front of you then slide a small table towards you.
Looking good Andrew. Just had a thought on the ladder extensions - why not try and do some spring catches with holes drilled at varying lengths? I mean, doing it on a hard / flat surface to set the ladder length is great, but what if the surface isn't level? Wouldn't it be good to adjust each side of the ladder legs independently to get it level for the surface your on? Just an idea ... :)
Hi Andrew love your clips ... your spare tyre problem is one i found a answer from the Australian Roo Shooters and there Toyota's they have 2 spares slid under the tray between the chassis rails ..Thanks Again
The problem with any Hot-Water system is the energy use. You have to have a LOT of battery power to run electric shower (and the induction cooker if you go that route) plus the fridge . Sure, its rechargeable "free" energy from solar, but can you really recharge it faster than you'd draw down in a day if you're using it to heat water, cook and run fridges? On another note, if you're putting the shower "cubicle" anywhere near your Electric control board, I'd be going the extra mile to ensure it is way more than just splash-proof.
I'm half-way thru your video, Mr. White. And not one mention of the modern truck with what appears to be a US market 1978 Toyota pick up bed on it. Apart from your coy-ness, that Tommy Camper is right on time. Room Room Room indeed. Best on the market, looks like to me. Wish we could get it. :\
Also, will the battery system support induction cooking? I believe it requires a lot of power. However, if it works for you - it’s amazing. I’ve got induction cooking at home is just so much quicker than conventional heaters. I don’t even have an electric kettle anymore, an pot of water heats up within a minute
Love your videos Andrew and looking forward to seeing the build take shape. Gwen will love the Outback and great that you will now have the extra space to make camping even more pleasant! My wife and I did an extended trip of 10 months and covered 42,000 k's with a Nissan Patrol and a OZ tent and would do it all again "tomorrow". Enjoy the new vehicle!
Very nice Andrew perfect for Australia and Africa I think. We would miss the opportunity too cook and fridge access from inside. And I don’t understand why they don’t isolated the inside of the box for condensation.. And the smell of the tires would make me sick probably.
Very nice, I like every bit of that camper. Can't wait for you to put it to the test. I would like to know what the 'single cab' camper will be like, and pro and cons. You started the video at 60 years of age and ended the video looking 50. Shaved 10 years off.
Andrew, here's a tip for if you're traveling alone... just stick in a single mattress. It will give you heaps of space over half the bed area. To keep the mattress from sliding around, use some flat plastic containers (for nick-nacks) to act as spacers and/or for the open, foot end, use a thin rubber backed carpet, extending under the mattress.
Safiery makes some interesting lights that are very low profile and on a side note, they also do 48V hybrid systems that might be worth looking at with induction cooking.
Liking your cruiser, dont know if it will be any better than your troopy or just a different way to skin a cat. Keen to see what the weight of the rig is all up when your finished. I remember you wanted someware to edit while your away, will this build give you that??
great vid! have you checked out Safiery for the electrical? they do awesome work and are leading the charge with lithium, higher voltage setups and induction cooking and electric hot water etc!!
Spare wheel inside? Why not? I am having a re-birth of my F150 Super Crew at present and the proposed 35" tyres won't fit in the original spare tyre well so I am considering a chase rack for the back of the cab, Looking forward to see how this build develops Andrew.
Only problem I can see is second wheel inside camper. Wheels are heavy and I wouldn't want to be taking one in and out? Are you planning on a third spare to chuck in the back of your tray when camper is off? Not really thought about it but how about spare inside double cab. At least it's a lower height to remove, and weight is lower. Enjoying the content, between work in lockdown in UK. Best wishes, Ben.
Looking forward to seeing how you lay it out... myself, I would want a pull put secondary bench over a sink. That way you have bench space and a cooker space... sinks are a one use piece of real estate
"What do I do with all this space?.."
You run out of it Andrew, just like the rest of us 🤣
Can't stress enough how much I appreciate Andrew's constant desire to challenge conventional wisdom.
Rather than just rolling a vehicle in bits from the ARB catalogue, it's always "How can I make it lighter, smaller, more useful, more efficient?"
Doesn't matter how capable a vehicle is, it'll perform better if everything is optimised AND, more importantly (?), finding better ways to do things has the trickle-down effect of creating improved products for the rest of us who don't, necessarily, have the space for all the shiny toys.
Si Crewe I agree - but i was surprised by how often he seemed ‘surprised’ and said “don’t know yet what I’ll do with this space”. I think i would have designed much of the setup pre construction (shower, kitchen, cooking, fridge etc).
Maybe not? Maybe working with what arrives produces the best result - i look forward to following the build 😁
Admirable especially considering I'm sure he has the money to go full blase and buy the biggest, the best, the shiniest, but instead takes the time to look for efficient and realistic products.
i said the same thing hoop bar to high only need 1 inch of room above the cab.
everist22 : I think those are set in stone. The kitchen is where it is, the fridge space is where it is. Etc, it's not like they'd nake a different product anyway
I would drill a series of holes in the ladder extensions to be able to adjust for uneven ground as well.
I was thinking the same. With metal (brass/copper?) sleeves for more durability.
Me too, also with the vehicle heavily loaded for a big trip will alter the ride height.
Also for the voids in the rear door, how about elasticated cargo netting. I'd also paint all the inside metal surfaces with a bright enamel, perhaps white or cream. That would make it feel airy and more spacious.
Make some slide out tables, to open either side of the truck. Put them on some heavy duty sliders and fix it to the bottom of the tommy camper.. Gives you the 30-50mm you need plus have two work spaces.. just an idea.
...and those tables can be part of the 40mm lift.
@@denisgately4701 I think that's what Pardeep was getting at...and it's a great idea!!
Love the sliders on the steps. I would recommend drilling holes every couple centimeters. This would allow for adjustment on uneven terrain. Awesome build. You have me looking into a tommy camper.
Like a child in a candy store 😂 Your excitement is infectious. Looks fantastic - very happy for you and more than a little envious. Wish you all the best on your build.
LOCATION OF SPARE WHEEL? Many have suggested I locate them between the camper and cab. Doing so would mean moving 400 kgs backwards by 350mm, to replace it with 80kgs wheels placed forward. I extended the chassis by 300mm to move the weight forward. Moving it backward to behind its original position behind the rear wheels, I might as well not have done the chassis extension. I therefore have some choices: Roof? Solar will go up there, and it's unsuited to support this weight. Back of camper? Only location for one wheel there. On roof-rack on cab? Not enough space because roof-rack length is 700mm and tyre diameter is over 800mm. Anywhere else? Inside the camper, well forward in a location that uses the least amount of useful real estate. And so that's why I have chosen that location.
“In ten years tine, or in fifteen years time...”
I really admire your optimism as well as your enthusiasm!
hahaha...especially considering he never keeps a vehicle more than about 17 minutes!!! hahaha
Put the second spare tyre on the bonnet...?
I would mount both spare tires/wheels in place of the chrome rack with swing up scoops to hold the wheels. It moves the camper back the width of the tires minus the rack but puts them at easy access and not hanging off the back. The swing up scoops allow you to roll the tire out and down making loading and unloading much easier. A ratchet strap over the top tying the two scoops together secures the tires and holds them immobile. If you must hang something off the back make it a fuel can or two you can fill as needed and empty into the tank when space is available, lightening the back end. For your camper work table make it slide out from under the bed.
Yeah I am in this camp. Tires up front outside the camper by far makes the most sense.
Came here to say this!
@@MarkRose1337 me too. It just makes so much sense....like Roothy has done with Milo 2.
Agreed. Tyres between cab & camper. Slide out table from under the bed would be ideal.
Because you have to raise the camper up some anyway you could put a spacer in the shape of a capital " I " in the middle. A square tube across the front ( left to right ) and in the back. Then on the sides have a slide out shelf in between the spacers running the length of the camper. Then you'll have even more shelf / work space. It shouldn't increase the weight that much , but i don't know how much you have to work with either. Just a thought. Good vid
Could be that the side-rails on the flatbed would be in the way?
Andrew, mate I am absolutely loving this series. I'll be honest, I was one of the "not another bloody 79 build" but boy o boy have you proven me wrong. This is so interesting! Love the camper, over the top 12v? Why not you've earnt it. Cant wait to watch the progression. Going to be an amazing build. Thanks mate
Andrew, you think like an ultralight backpacker! I can relate to this. Always looking to find efficiencies, save weight, save bulk and eliminate fuss factor. While my 'overlanding' is nothing more than car camping, my wife and I carry over our 'ultralight' techniques to vehicle camping. Portable fire pits, screen rooms, separate stoves/grills/ovens, chainsaws AND axes, countless alu-boxes strapped to every square inch... this is akin to the novice backpacker toting a 60 pound pack for a weekend getaway! Weight, clutter and fuss detract from the experience, they do not enhance the experience.
Regarding your comment on Induction Cooking , on Jan 9th 2020 Drifta 4x4 Released a Video of his new eDOT 400 with Induction Cooking with Victron Electronics as part of his Setup
The other things with electric induction are no gas bottle (weight and fire/explosion risk) and no open flames (fire risk). But if the sun don't shine it's cold baked beans straight from the can.
or ask Pat Callinan from Mr4x4 fame who fitted one last year to his Amarok tourer build
I just ordered an induction cooktop to run on my setup to answer that exact question. I think for some things I will still use gas, but my gas footprint is very small it’s the jet boil genesis system, so it takes up no room at all. I am running 2 battle born batteries and a 2200 continuous pure sine wave inverter (that I will be installing soon) so we will see if the induction cooktop will fully replace my gas system. For my camper I’m running the Snap Outfitters Treehouse, its an American company and is built like a tank. Not quite as refined as what you have there, but it’s still on point.
If you use a bolt on your sliding legs of the steps you might need a few holes in the plastic slide outs for when you might have uneven ground and then you won't need to take things to pack under the legs. There might be times when one leg is lower than the other and extra holes to adjust the legs might be handy.
We’ve had no condensation in WA at all.
That being said, you’ll get condensation on the metal rails below the canvas and below the mattress pretty quick and unless you wanna sleep with the “windows” open the canvas gets a bit damp below 0*C.
The mattress itself is utter rubbish. We got a thick foam topper on it and a sort of mesh below to stop condensation. Been really happy with that setup. Might go with a thicker mattress plus the mesh in the future tho.
We’ve also got an upright fridge which works like a dream and is fairly light. For true remote touring we where missing a proper freezer chest tho.
Oh and you might wanna put some luminescent anti slip strips on the steps.
Busted my chins quite hard twice before I put them on
Look at Fanello matresses from the yachting world. They have real slats under the foam which makes it super comfy & helps with condensation 👍
Have you looked into the stand up fridges? Instead of the problem of having a fridge and fridge slide…
They dump all the cold air out the instant you open the door. Not terribly efficient design. Fine for weekend camping and short trips but not great for long term use.
dont think this will be a problem with the amount of power this thing will generate by the sounds of it, no different to the amount of cold air your home fridge loses when you open the door
@@emilrozkoszny3935 Ah, but that's the rub. Power consumption is everything. Just like saving weight, you also want to conserve power. Stand up RV fridges are extremely poorly insulated and eat gobs of power. In your house, you are trading ease of use for efficiency (plus, it is inside your house and already somewhat protected from heat.) There is a reason that home freezers used for longer term storage are chest freezers and not stand up ones like your kitchen fridge.
I have a 100L front door opening, 12 volt Isotherm in my rig. It uses about 2 AH of power average, that’s about 50 amps a day. Front opening isn’t a big deal. The mass of the refrigerated stuff inside quickly cools everything back down after the door has been opened. And when you say “Rv fridge” you have to be specific. There’s a big difference between how an RV is equipped and an overland rig should be equipped. There are plenty of high quality, mostly marine, refrigerator/freezers out there that run on DC current and can stand up to overlanding. Especially if you locate the fridge somewhere in the middle of your rig to minimize bouncing and your food flying about.
Andrew addressed that in a much earlier video. He's been doing these builds and living out of them in the bush for decades and he swears by the better efficiency of the top loading fridges because they don't spill out the cold air when opened. Makes a big difference in hot climates.
One thing I noticed is that if you have the side doors open to cook and work and have lights on in the camper it will fill with mosquitos or flies. So I would maybe put a wall separating the inside of the camper from the side accessible area.
60? No way! It shows adventure has kept you ageless. Enjoying this. Hope this build is as fun as it looks. Im envious. Congrats on your hard work, being able to do this.
4:05, the ground won’t always be the same height or density, and therefore wouldn’t leave your ladder extensions at the same length at every stop; how would you allow for the variation in the extensions’ lengths if you drill a hole and set the extensions at a specific length?
They are normally supplied with numerous holes and Lynch pins once fitted
Never ever need to change the length. Maybe dig a hole in sand to even it out or put a rock under the raised part of we’re crooked. Otherwise an absolute non issue
Never been an issue in two years fixed ladder legs
Hann Film cool
Graeme Stewart cool
Love your videos because my wife is South African and I like Toyota, Solo travel and the way you do things. Thank you for all the great builds and I look forward to this detailed build . No need to rush, Hope to see you in the bush . By the way if you want to throw in that little bit of SA accent , very cool.
Yes, South Australian accent is very good.
@@Bennyboy-dog He means Saudi Arabian!
Andrew, I ABSOLUTELY love the size of the bed. The whole setup is being well thought out. Can't wait for "OUR" first trip...🤠
Very nice camper with a lot of room to set it up to any needs. My only observation is not enough insulation which can be an oven in the top end or a deep freezer in Tasmania. Regarding the induction stove once you have it you will never go back to gas. If needed a little butane stove can be stored as a back up if needed.
Happy days Andrew. Not much time left for a July trip, you'll be flat out with the build now but it will be fun and exciting doing it all.
Have you thought of stacking 2 x 30/40 drawer fridges instead of fridge slide and 60lt fridge ? Run one as fridge one as freezer ?
I replaced standard fridge with drawer fridge and dumped heavy fridge slide, best mod yet.
Hello Andrew;
The camper looks great!
There is another TH-camr who installed high voltage panels on his bus, and he will be carrying a couple of extra panels to place as needed when off grid. He has 4 LiFo batteries, and two 2500W Xantrex inverters. His wife runs a cooking TH-cam channel in the bus using a single induction burner, a convection microwave, and an Instant Pot. They also run the water heater, and air conditioning off the inverters, and are still able to bank power to the batteries even on a cloudy day. The nice thing about an induction cook top is that the surface does not heat up. The cooking vessel comes up to temp very rapidly, and you can very quickly change the cooking temp, similar to a gas range.
I am looking forward to watching you build this camper unit to your own specifications.
Great work in supporting a little Ballarat company. I would assume they are using another local BALLARAT company (Bartlett Canvas) to do canvas. I looked at one & door issue was problem I had with design, good to see new model has addressed that problem. Why not put upright fridge in if there is room?
I love the concept and it would check most boxes on my wish list. It seems the measurement between the camper and tray rollbar was a afterthought. I would consider that measurement very important and a spacer being needed unacceptable on a built from scratch build. Why not make that camper a bit taller to clear the roof and rollbar? If that wasn't possible space the tray higher off the truck chassis which would allow for a shorter rollbar. The first option being preferred to keep the weight lower and center of gravity lower. Was the lack of clarence a oversight or did you knowingly build it to require a spacer?
Induction cooking is really good (50 bucks from Big W if you are on a budget, but I did see a really dual burner unit somewhere)
- not impacted by wind etc, no LPG or other fuel
- if inverter goes down, have an alternative- we have travel buddy marine and a 24V RAK15-4 military foodheater / water boiler.
- run a 24V battery system as the high power draw stuff like kettle and induction heater draw a fair bit, Victron make a nice and very efficent 70 Amp 24 to 12V nominal converter
Fantastic camper. Brilliant, I wonder how much customisation they'll allow. I'll check if they have a lower profile top. But I like it.
Drill and tap some holes on the ladder for those extensions. Use some wingnut bolts so you can adjust the extension when you inevitably will park on uneven ground.
As for the table, maybe go a vertical hinge?
I think you might regret putting the tyre inside. It's going to make everything smell. Instead of chopping the drawer in half, maybe see if you can make it into an L shape? Or maybe remove that drawer entirely and put a stand up fridge instead.
Induction cooker is going to be a game changer I'm willing to bet, especially compared to gas on windy nights.
Instead of raising the camper 30mm can you chop the roll bar down 30mm?
I agree in regard to the roll bar. Why increase your centre of gravity just to keep a bar in place. Shorten it or notch it
Well done with the choice of camper! I am truly impressed!
Why not consider a front-opening fridge? I did that on my truck....got rid of 100kg of weight (60 lt fridge + HEAVY drop slide + "cage") and replaced it with a upright Engel weighing 23kg!!
Fridge drawer weight issue: ask them to laser cut or drill holes to lose material.
Just left of camper door outside: good place to mount gas bottle/s.
If camper is lifted over rollbar won't you have an awkward looking gap above cab?
Maybe a freezer on drawer under bed and small fridges in camper and in cab. It is a tourer after all.
I'd approach the Quickpitch guys to drill a hole towards the bottom of each leg of the ladder and weld on a nut. In the nut have a thumb screw that can be tightened by hand in order to hold the leg extensions in place to account for uneven terrain.
Mr. White could you give your opinion about the new off roader tourer trend, by using a bigger plataform, like the Mitsubishi Fuso 4wd. With more payload, and bigger room inside. For an older person, it's quite a confortable way to go touring.
Induction cooking is the best! Make sure your pots are induction ready. I don’t need gas bottles anymore for anything. Love it. Just like those old gas lights are redundant now, so would gas be soon with solar and lithium batteries.
Andrew - "So much space, how can I fill it?" Love your planning process and thanks for sharing
I would need to get a second small fridge for inside the camper . I would go mad if I needed to climb out and around every time to get a drink
toast4242 I was thinking a fridge slide that could go both ways or something if they switched the layout of the kitchen setup
This Tommy Camper is one very nice solution for a touring 79 .... that is one hell of a nice truck you are building there Andrew :)
Why don't you get an upright fridge, Engle are responsiblly priced. You save the weight of the fridge slide and your setup is a perfect heigh with the same 12/240v
Two spares - my immediate thought was why not at the front of the camper behind the cab. Then they're always with you whether the camper is with you or not plus the weight is up front. You'll lose a bit of depth but no more than storing the spare inside. Could you fit two side by side? Just a thought.
That was my idea too. Slot the camper behind the spares on the tray
Then all the weight will be too far back. The entire point of the chassis extension was to move weight forward. If I put the wheels there, Ive wasted all that effort.
Alu cab fridge slide that also tilts is great option Andrew it's the lightest on the market.
For the spare tire, I realize you aren't as tall as I am, but would you be able to see over it if it was mounted flat on the hood or vertically on a rack in front of the grill? It would bring more weight forward and you would have your spare even without the camper.
What happens with the rear door when sleeping Andrew? Can you close it easy enough whilst inside?
Your excitement and and enthusiasm for the potentials and possibilities is wonderful.
You could get a canvas cover made for the spare inside the camper with loads of small pockets for "stuff". :)
Hi Andrew, I have also been following a guy in Canada, he stays permanently in his little station wagon. And he uses an Induction set up, if you are interested to go see what he does. You can just type in Foresty Forest. Fun to see what he did. Enjoy your truck. Stefan
Been waiting for this video for ages, so excited it's finally out
I'm binge-watching this series and the urge to do the exact same thing with an IVECO Daily 4x4 is growing. A lot.
Great show and tell. Thanks for sharing
Justin and Bec from “trip in a van” have been successfully using induction for a while and love it. Not need to carry gas and unaffected by wind
Hello Andrew , maybe I'm thinking to much out of the box but why not something like a corridor in the middle to fit the 2 spare tyres one behind the other?
I viewed a Tommy Camper camper vid after watching this review. They had an front opening upright fridge. This would solve the fridge issue Andrew mentioned and save weight on mountings.
On a serious note, if you do upgrade the bed, look at Fanello matresses. They're from the yachting fraternity & you get real slats under the foam for support & there's probably no comfier mattress for a rooftop tent 👍
I completely agree with you on the fridge drop-down. I am a mechanical engineer based in Somerset West South Africa, with quite a bit of experience in sheet metal design. With covid and lock down I find myself with a bit of extra time, would be happy to help design a custom fridge drop-down mechanism (free of charge of course). I have a few ideas and I am sure you have too, let me know if you would be interested.
If you need to put a spacer underneath, why not use the space? You can put a drawer under the camper. Or a space to store the legs.
And, why two spare wheels. How many spares have you fitted on your recent trips?
Curious about a couple things.
1) The slides in the bottom of the ladder, do you have to drill a single hole and have them fixed? Or can you drill multiple holes so that when the terrain is uneven, you have some adjustability?
2) It might be easier to shim the camper to fit over the roll bar, but that creates an extra wide gap between the camper over hang and the vehicle cab causing a lot of air to get sucked into that space. Are you going to do anything about that gap?
3) instead of putting an extra bench, is there a folding chair you could use?
Andrew are you putting any battery systems in the camper?
Maybe ive missed something bit it looks like its all in the cab if the vehicle. Thats all good, but what happens when you remove the camper? The fridge stops. No lighting if you go to work in it while on the back lawn ect...
Also take the vehicle with no camper and you have no solar to top up for the internal fridge and inverter/charging station.
Dont worry, been addressed in your new video.
Good work on keeping the weight forward as much as possible Andrew. These are a nice unit. Mark
I like the camper a lot and I would fit it out to be independent electrically, so if I was working remotely I could set up camp and still use the vehicle. This is an exciting build.
Firstly what an amazing camper!! Exactly what I would like! I would agree with some of your viewers putting it inside in my opinion has to many negatives the largest being the need to adapt that internal draw! When you opened the camper it seems that the gas struts had SO much lift! Could you not mount the spare permanently up there? Depending on you dolor Pannel size obviously. If that doesn’t work is there space for a short rack forward of the camper on the car roof? I definitely wouldn’t slide the camper back and stick it on the headboard of the truck bed, that defeats the entire purpose as you would shift more than 80km backwards.
Fixed mosquito nets are not handy, when you hide inside for wildlife photography. The table can be mounted on a slider under the bed. The spare wheel in the load space and the camper on top. Away from the sun light and you don't need to lift the wheels too high. Just some ideas.
Cool stuff. Regarding the spare wheels...I don't want to kill your enthusiasm about having one wheel inside but did you consider the smell that a tyre while leave inside? (And dirt in case you have to put a used one). All the best! :)
Hi Andrew, I’m unsure if the canopy and tray lengths allow this but why not do something similar to Roothy and have both your spare wheels mounted to your headboard between the tray and camper? Keeps weight forward and mostly protected by sun when the camper is on. Build’s coming along great, loving the series
I had the same idea! Probably too long of a canopy though
Then all the weight will be too far back. The entire point of the chassis extension was to move weight forward. If I put the wheels there, Ive wasted all that effort.
Good point, thanks for the the reply
I which these type of canopies and truck trays where more common in South Africa. I absolutely love it. 👍
Hi Andrew.
Can you please share what drop down fridge slide you got, and how well it performs.
I really like how you filmed your thought process and verbally work through the layouts!
Would be interesting if these kinds of products came without a roof but instead slots for solar panels; with modular non-solar panels to infill if required. Perhaps an interior sliding curtain/fabric 'roof' to cut the condensation and act as access hatch. Everyone seems to cover the roof of these campers with solar panels anyway, weatherproof it and save materials/weight?
Agree your thinking re drop slides - I use an AluCab tilt slide (with National Luna52l). Have a look at it.
Mate I have built a camper van that runs only on 12v DC and uses an induction cook top. I have 390ah of batteries and the induction cooker is the only way, it uses very little power due to the cooker being so efficient. There is not wasted heat as the heat is generated inside the pan/pot, cooking is very fast as it is instant, no need to wait for it to heat up. And due to it being so efficient we never need to have it turned up more than 50% to cook with out burning. The only down side is the size of the inverter, is have a 2800/5600w inverter installed, because we also run an electric jug etc. The induction cooker would use less than 5% of the 390ah to cook a meal. Message me if you want more info.
Could a table to work on flip out or slide out of the drawers under the bed. As in pull the drawer out in front of you then slide a small table towards you.
Looking good Andrew. Just had a thought on the ladder extensions - why not try and do some spring catches with holes drilled at varying lengths? I mean, doing it on a hard / flat surface to set the ladder length is great, but what if the surface isn't level? Wouldn't it be good to adjust each side of the ladder legs independently to get it level for the surface your on? Just an idea ... :)
Hi Andrew love your clips ... your spare tyre problem is one i found a answer from the Australian Roo Shooters and there Toyota's they have 2 spares slid under the tray between the chassis rails ..Thanks Again
I have a water tank and drawer there already.
Clear top canvas bags like grabmegear (Perth local) or Drifta make would be great in the kitchen on those shelves. Light weight well organised.
The problem with any Hot-Water system is the energy use. You have to have a LOT of battery power to run electric shower (and the induction cooker if you go that route) plus the fridge . Sure, its rechargeable "free" energy from solar, but can you really recharge it faster than you'd draw down in a day if you're using it to heat water, cook and run fridges? On another note, if you're putting the shower "cubicle" anywhere near your Electric control board, I'd be going the extra mile to ensure it is way more than just splash-proof.
I'm half-way thru your video, Mr. White. And not one mention of the modern truck with what appears to be a US market 1978 Toyota pick up bed on it.
Apart from your coy-ness, that Tommy Camper is right on time. Room Room Room indeed. Best on the market, looks like to me. Wish we could get it. :\
Nice job Andrew. I am watching the build from Sydney. Could see you out on the tracks some day! 👍🇦🇺
Love it! But... what is jumping/crawling there in the background at 21:05???
Also, will the battery system support induction cooking? I believe it requires a lot of power. However, if it works for you - it’s amazing. I’ve got induction cooking at home is just so much quicker than conventional heaters. I don’t even have an electric kettle anymore, an pot of water heats up within a minute
Can those canvas flaps for the windows be rolled up away from hanging down and in front of the door entry?
Can you wrap it to match the LC color?
have you considered an upright fridge? Less power efficient by a bit but very efficient on weight, Bushmans make a nice compact one.
Love your videos Andrew and looking forward to seeing the build take shape. Gwen will love the Outback and great that you will now have the extra space to make camping even more pleasant! My wife and I did an extended trip of 10 months and covered 42,000 k's with a Nissan Patrol and a OZ tent and would do it all again "tomorrow". Enjoy the new vehicle!
Very nice Andrew perfect for Australia and Africa I think. We would miss the opportunity too cook and fridge access from inside. And I don’t understand why they don’t isolated the inside of the box for condensation.. And the smell of the tires would make me sick probably.
Very nice, I like every bit of that camper. Can't wait for you to put it to the test. I would like to know what the 'single cab' camper will be like, and pro and cons. You started the video at 60 years of age and ended the video looking 50. Shaved 10 years off.
Andrew,
here's a tip for if you're traveling alone... just stick in a single mattress. It will give you heaps of space over half the bed area.
To keep the mattress from sliding around, use some flat plastic containers (for nick-nacks) to act as spacers and/or for the open, foot end, use a thin rubber backed carpet, extending under the mattress.
Safiery makes some interesting lights that are very low profile and on a side note, they also do 48V hybrid systems that might be worth looking at with induction cooking.
I don’t own a 4x4 , just love the way Andrew explains what he doing . Enjoy the show
I just love watching when your going through the thought process
Yes, it's like a cross between a 70's porn and a trainwreck...I can't look away.
Liking your cruiser, dont know if it will be any better than your troopy or just a different way to skin a cat. Keen to see what the weight of the rig is all up when your finished. I remember you wanted someware to edit while your away, will this build give you that??
Would you mind posting the brand and model of your cook top which fits so sweetly in the camper?
Andrew, how does the camper fix to the tray and are you going to need to do an upgrade so it handles corrugations
Looks the gear Andrew, Im enjoying watching this build. Stay safe. Cheers Steve
great vid! have you checked out Safiery for the electrical? they do awesome work and are leading the charge with lithium, higher voltage setups and induction cooking and electric hot water etc!!
Spare wheel inside? Why not? I am having a re-birth of my F150 Super Crew at present and the proposed 35" tyres won't fit in the original spare tyre well so I am considering a chase rack for the back of the cab, Looking forward to see how this build develops Andrew.
Only problem I can see is second wheel inside camper. Wheels are heavy and I wouldn't want to be taking one in and out? Are you planning on a third spare to chuck in the back of your tray when camper is off?
Not really thought about it but how about spare inside double cab. At least it's a lower height to remove, and weight is lower.
Enjoying the content, between work in lockdown in UK. Best wishes, Ben.
Cheers Andrew! I don't like canopies, but yours is pretty fine! Well done!
What about bonnet mounted spare wheel? Is the visibility the problem or are there more? Intercooler air duct? Seems like a good position weight wise?
It is a good location weight wise. But for every other reason one can imagine, it's a bad idea. A non-starter.
Is all that metal going to make it hot or cold? Does not seem to have any insulation in it, unless I am missing something. Thanks for sharing! George
Looking forward to seeing how you lay it out... myself, I would want a pull put secondary bench over a sink. That way you have bench space and a cooker space... sinks are a one use piece of real estate