Green lane capable camper

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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Oh yes, that certainly counts!


Are you legaly permitted to drive on headland/ beaches in UK?
Snow covered roads? Of course you do not need a 4x4 offroader, or even a standard 4x4.
You think we use horses or Reindeer in Scandinavia unless we ion a 4x4 off-roader?

Norwegian roads are superiour to the Swedish ones these days. They have a somewhat better economy.

I did many green lanes in the south east, most were fine with a normal car. The odd destroyed part of the lane needed an offroad capable vehicle or a shovel, pickaxe and muscles. On a few green lanes.

My point was - as I am sure all intelligent people here understand - is that very few of us need an offoroad capable vehicle as we never do any off roading. In UK you can go on prepared iffroad courses, or green lanes.
In Scandinavia ( where many of you guy go or plan/dream of going) it is illegal.

Be buy them for the coolness factor.

It may sound strange to you young guys, but loads and loads people used to travel all across Europe in a small, rear wheel drive car with 65 hp, map, no radio. With a tent, sleeping bags, children and spouse. Some sort of burner, foldable chairs and table.
When Nescafe became common in the shops, it was a happy revolution!

No, I do not talk early 1900’, but 1970’s.

It worked. They saw lots, had lots of fun. Grass was just as wet and slippery then. Roads were just as icy and snow covered then.
 
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Broch

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Jan 18, 2009
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www.mont-hmg.co.uk
Oh yes, that certainly counts!
Are you legaly permitted to drive on headland/ beaches in UK?

I've never asked :)

My point was - as I am sure all intelligent people here understand - is that very few of us need an offoroad capable vehicle as we never do any off roading.

Did you mean that to sound derisory? :) (only joking)

It may sound strange to you young guys, but loads and loads people used to travel all across Europe in a small, rear wheel drive car with 65 hp, map, no radio. With a tent, sleeping bags, children and spouse. Some sort of burner, foldable chairs and table.
When Nescafe became common in the shops, it was a happy revolution!

No, I do not talk early 1900’, but 1970’s.

It worked. They saw lots, had lots of fun. Grass was just as wet and slippery then. Roads were just as icy and snow covered then.

Oh how I wish that opening sentence was aimed at me :)

But, you're right, my first Sahara trek was in a Renault 4 in the 70's :)
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
I did a two week trip starting in Marocco to Tunisia. Driving from Marrakesh to Tunis.
Across the Atlas Mountains, then skirting south of them.
We had the Spanish version of the Defender, the Santana.
It was interesting for a few days, but to be frank quite boring.
I hated the heat, the flies, ( and to be truthful, the locals).
We had two accompanying cars. F@&$#@ Citroen vans with rear wheel drive!) that did like 75% of the same tracks.

It was in 88 or 89.
 
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Broch

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Jan 18, 2009
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Back to the OP's question though - it's something I have been looking into for the last year. I'm not ready to go the camper route yet but in another five years or so (well maybe ten) I will struggle to load the Oz tent on the Landy so seriously need to think about alternatives. I don't care about on-board sanitation but I do want good ground clearance, low range box, and at least 20mpg. It's that last one that's the real killer in all the solutions I've identified. A VW Syncro based vehicle would be good (but no low range and now getting very old). The 4x4 Iveco Daily is certainly very capable (I worked on a military version at one time) but not cheap and not good on fuel.

I'm seriously beginning to think I may have to build one :)
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
All wheel drive is inherently more energy using than two wheel drive.
Also noisier, wear the tyres more and as it has more parts - higher risk for failure.

If you want an allwheel drive vesrion of a car - compare the diving comfort and turning ability with a two wheel drive version, see if you are happy with the difference.
 

Nomad64

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Nov 21, 2015
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UK
The 4x4 Iveco Daily is certainly very capable (I worked on a military version at one time) but not cheap and not good on fuel.

I met a very elderly British couple in Nairobi a few years ago who had an Iveco 4x4 camper which IIRC had originally been built as Iveco’s unsuccessful tender for British Army a military ambulance - is this what you worked on?
 

Broch

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Jan 18, 2009
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www.mont-hmg.co.uk
I met a very elderly British couple in Nairobi a few years ago who had an Iveco 4x4 camper which IIRC had originally been built as Iveco’s unsuccessful tender for British Army a military ambulance - is this what you worked on?

No, the vehicle we worked on was an armoured 'up-rated' vehicle :) - fun but impractical.
 
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Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
There are tens of thousands of those truck campers here. Lots of them with a jack-up roof for occupation.
Just a luxurious and warm/snug in pouring rain as a house.

Many of them have been built with little care and attention for any weight-saving measures.
Added to that, the trucks get bigger but they have diminished load bearing capacity.

So your next confrontation is with the police and insurance checks because you are driving overloaded!
Impound if you don't take it off and park it right there on the spot.
 

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
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W.Sussex
I have a Pinzgauer all terain (go anywhere) motorhome auto, turbo diesel 6 x 6 on the fly. It is slightly longer wheelbase than the Landrover 110 and approximately 12 feet high. Inc rooftop luggage rail
It has a full wetroom, manual/12volt sea toilet, washbasin, shower. LPG hot water and central heating (which can also heat the radiators from the engine)
4 x fresh water tanks, 1 x grey water tank, 1 x black tank. Raise and lower double bed, (stowed in ceiling above cab and rear facing bench seat) single 7’ long bed)
Seating (with seatbelts) for 6
Roof-top observation deck. Onboard generator. Kitchen area, sink, 4 ring hob, I have removed 3 way fridge and LPG oven.
Wind out awning N/S and full awning room for O/S
It’s a absolute pleasure to drive on or off road.
I fitted simex jungle trekker 2 tyres on a spare set of tubed rims and they are very noisy on tarmac, but with the windows closed, sound less like a Lancaster bomber on the tarmac runway. However I bought a set of six wheelspacers that allow me to fit Landrover discovery wheels and tyres for lighter road/ off road use.

Pics or it didn’t happen, it’s the rules :deal:. I’d love to see that beastie.
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,438
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W.Sussex
There are tens of thousands of those truck campers here. Lots of them with a jack-up roof for occupation.
Just a luxurious and warm/snug in pouring rain as a house.

Many of them have been built with little care and attention for any weight-saving measures.
Added to that, the trucks get bigger but they have diminished load bearing capacity.

So your next confrontation is with the police and insurance checks because you are driving overloaded!
Impound if you don't take it off and park it right there on the spot.

I’ve driven around Alberta, BC Oregon in a RV, your country is geared towards it, living with nature, it’s ingrained, acceptable, and encouraged. Even the family RVs like we rented were superbly catered for with nicely secluded pitches, barbecue area, log supply, often hook ups. Here the problem isn’t likely to be overloading, it’s generally illegal to just park up anywhere for the night. I do see a lot of smaller camper vans in lay-bys, but you take a chance of the police being a bit too busy and bossy in the middle of the night and banging on the door.

Best camper type vehicle I ever met ever was a converted Bedford horse box. It belonged to a friend who had kept all the original wood outer, but had cut sections out and refitted them to form shutters over proper glass windows. From the outside you’d never have known there was a mini wooden spiral staircase up into the Luton section, and a couple of old leather armchairs fixed to the floor next to the woodburner with its periscope type chimney and rain flap. But, back in the mid to late eighties, if you wanted to live like that, you needed to be camo. I’ll not go into the politics, but travelling, non-conformists were persecuted for their lifestyle choice. I think it’s affected the situation ever since, only the rather staid Caravan Club are acceptable. It’s sad really.

Apologies, this hasn’t much to do with 4x4 proper off-road adventures. I’ve done some green laning in The Lake District in 90s and 110s, but it’s not a case of park anywhere and spend the night, we had to rent a field and use it as our base. I’m tempted, as I’m needing a bigger vehicle, to try and find a 110 at a good price while I consider the more attractive options of kitted 4x4 Toyota or Mitzi, fully kitted van like a Sprinter, or pick up truck snail shells (I’d rather put up the bell tent than fart around with those shells I think. I’d have cooked, eaten and been on a glass of single malt while that guy was still winding his legs down.)

The reason for wanting to grab a good nick 110 is to dump a mattress, tent, everything in it and just have a try out with it for a few weeks, see which options suit me, my wife, and two dogs. Big bell tent for a few days somewhere nice, back of the Landy for easy overnight stop. I figure a careful buy of a 110 should give me most of my money back, while I warm my hands on the RAC vans blower, watch the wipers actually wipe the windows, sit in a comfortable seat and marvel at headlights that light up more than a few yards in front. :D

I do love off-roading, but it isn’t freedom driving in England, it’s more bloke fun and back to base for the night. I’d like to find my/our needs and take the right vehicle off to places where I’m not paranoid about being moved on, and with a view to putting it on a ferry and taking off abroad for a while.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
HA! I've sometimes wondered about refitting a horse float, a big one. Clever disguise.
The live-in snowmobile trailers almost look like that. More money than brains.
$100k for the truck, $20k for the sled and NOX mods, etc, $30k for the live-in trailer.
Maybe 50-100 each night around McBride like that.

At least you can mess around and never worry about a Grizz tearing off your door for the smell of food at night.
That's what keeps me coming home, as the wilderness is 20+ minutes away.
Getting up for a whizz in a cold rainy windy night is no problem at my place!
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Nice65, you need to get that 110 and spend some quality time in Scandinavia.
If you have a few weeks, you can enjoy yourself as never before.
I can recommend places seldom visited by tourists, hidden gems! Both cultural and natural.

No risk of nocturnal bears ripping off the door for that opened can of HP best beans.
No risk of blonde locals in gum boots brandishing a shotgun interrupting your beauty sleep!
(Well, that can be arranged too, but can cost coin.:) )
 
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GuestD

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 10, 2019
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There is also the Mazda Bongo 4 x 4 camper, and the VW Syncro, and these are good.

 

SaraR

Full Member
Mar 25, 2017
1,631
1,177
Ceredigion
The 4x4 abilities aside, surely you'd be able to get an ordinary mobile home that sleeps two to four, with toilet/ shower, that is less than 3.5 tonnes?! A lot of the modern ones are a lot lower to the ground, but older ones often have a bit more ground clearance. Just need to find one with less of an overhang.
 

Bazzworx

Full Member
Mar 5, 2009
461
148
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North Wilts
Back to the OP's question though - it's something I have been looking into for the last year. I'm not ready to go the camper route yet but in another five years or so (well maybe ten) I will struggle to load the Oz tent on the Landy so seriously need to think about alternatives. I don't care about on-board sanitation but I do want good ground clearance, low range box, and at least 20mpg. It's that last one that's the real killer in all the solutions I've identified. A VW Syncro based vehicle would be good (but no low range and now getting very old). The 4x4 Iveco Daily is certainly very capable (I worked on a military version at one time) but not cheap and not good on fuel.

I'm seriously beginning to think I may have to build one :)

Our Syncro has low range, It also has a decoupler so you can select 2 or 4 wheel drive and cross axle diff locks. They are really capable off road too. I agree with them being old now, our one is 1986 but the benefit is that road side repairs are easier to diagnose and rectify.

We've been building ours into an expedition vehicle but parts and accessories cost a fortune because of the VW scene tax and the Syncro tax. So far the restoration has taken us a year but we couldn't commit many weekends to it last year, we're hoping to have it finished with in the next six months or so.

This is ours a few months ago, it's got quite a few extras now like an expedition roof rack and new wheels and tyres.

384373_cada627a931b4f06b3c709d4fb767e3f~mv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.webp
 

Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
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I have a 2WD VW T6. it's built for adventure. Pop top, fridge, eberspacher night heater. Rear bike rack adapted for fuel cans and bits and bobs. Fridge, cassette toilet, portable pump shower, cooker.... I regularly go off tarmac. Gravel tracks, forestry roads, across fields. Even drove down a wide, shallow river once or twice. Standard ride hight, slightly bigger tyres. Totally capable for everything I've driven it on. I've done over 40,000 miles in less than 2 years. 4x4 would be awesome I guess, but I've not needed it yet and it's rather bloody expensive!

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
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Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
We're now looking at something similar Van Wild for very similar kind of locations really.
I'd be interested in seeing how you've customised the bike rack- again we're thinking of doing something similar.
Have you been anywhere outside the UK?
 

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