What is the deal with fixed top camping rigs?

Have to stay off Craigslist.

 

This is my second one, the first need a complete restoration, and the lower part of the shell portion was broken pretty bad...so I sold it. Then regretted it. Have been looking for another for a couple years.

Amazingly found the current one only 2 hours up the road from us. It is in really good shape, all I did was put stainless hinges and a new bulb seal on it. The tent is in good shape too, but found a place to do a replacement tent for only $1300, when the time comes.

Like I said only complaint is the wind, but a simple cheap solution is to close it up and sleep in the bed of the truck.

 

The buses had good ground clearance, good all around vehicle. When I was in West Germany they were used as a multi-purpose vehicle, they were all over the country, utility vehicles. Flatbeds, pickups, farm vehicles. Always in the slow lane on the autobahn, but so easy to rebuild the engine.

 

Cop cars.

 

If you just need a basecamp that you make day trips from, your options expand considerably.

Here is mine:


All the different options are great, and each suit different peoples needs and desires. The trick is matching up your needs and desires with what equipment best meets those needs and desires. My bus works great for me. I tow my Tacoma behind it. Plus my grandson and dogs love it.

 

Woh there comrade!!! How dare you make such revolutionary comments!!


As for the previous comments regarding the flip forward vice back.

There are a few folks that have replaced the torsen bar for a solid tube and allow it to just pivot. This means the user has to hoist the weight of the bed from horizontal, past vertical, and back to horizontal with no assistance. For those of us broke asses, our shoulders would NEVER make it more than one day.

The habitat uses gas shocks to make the flip happen, then two tubular struts to hold it in the deployed position.

You could, in theory, flip the habitat forward, and I was more fond of that idea. Like I said, flipping back has advantages, like it makes an instant awning to keep out of the rain... and I am currently working on making a screen room.

Here is my proof of concept.


I can also vouch for the habitat's stoutness.



Two days after we got home. Tree falls on the truck.

 

I can get my truck in the garage, but there's not a lot of overhead space. Length-wise, I only have about a foot of extra space.

I measured the height at the door, and it's only 82". A Palomino SS500 is 80" from the ground if completely lowered as low as the jacks will go. I'd want an AC on it because it's hot AF in Texas... and that adds 12" to the height... so no, I couldn't fit one in my garage.

 

Pretty nice conversion! So do you ever flash the red lights as a joke in traffic, or have parents and kids run after you thinking they missed the bus?

 

Now why didn't I think of that... may try that this weekend.

For the thread, I like that it was set up in <5 minutes in freezing temps and the gf was comfortable. I've slept in truck beds, creek beds, rocky terrain, windy and rainy fjords, etc, and the RTT has been my favorite setup yet. Wind brake aspect sucks, but my back loves me in the morning and I don't roll off the sleeping pad or get tangled in my sleeping bag (active sleeper.)

 

Thanks, it was a fun project. Well actually still is. Just like most truck builds it’s never really done. I thought about leaving the stop sign on it so I could really muck traffic up.
In reality I try to be considerate. We do get panicked looks when we pull up to a nice quiet camp spot. They are probably expecting a bunch of noisy kids to pile out. I do have a hard time not stopping at railroad crossings when driving it because my day job is school bus driver.

 

I really should've put together a build thread for them as people stop and ask us about them everytime we set them up, they're always surprised to learn we built them lol. My roommate started the project for outdoor nightime volleyball but we mostly now use them for the desert.

Here's some general pics of them setup, first pic we have the lights mounted UNDER the flags pointing up, so it served as a beacon for other offroaders since we were kinda in the middle of nowhere (flag light mode), but doesn't cast too much light in the tents or directly nightblind anyone.

The other pics the lights are at the very top pointing DOWN so they really lightup the campsite (volleyball mode), but also ruin your night vision and light up the tents so hard to sleep until you turn them off.

In pic #2 you can see the little battery box (re-purposed ammo box actually)

Actual mobile lighting setups like this are ridiculously expensive, like literally like $2-$5k!! With all materials each light pole (two LED light packs on each pole) with battery and storage boxes costs us about $450 per pole and each battery has about a 12hr run time.

I could get a parts list if you want to build one for yourself.

 

Yep 67 down for the old air cooled vws . You had the last of the good ones. Nice.

 

What you're missing is an open mind. What I don't get is why people like you can believe that only their way is the way to do things, and only see the negative in the way everyone else does things. Even when I disagree with someone I can usually find several reasons to support their arguments or beliefs. All that should really matter is people are out enjoying their lives like they wish to do. But since your mind is closed, i'll help you out.

RTT
Pros: level insulated base, real mattress, no guy lines, up in minutes, down in minutes, can be setup in rocky areas, gear can be stored inside when closed
Cons: Cost, size, attention

Ground tent
Pros: cheap, compact, setup anywhere,
Cons: Need to clear setup area of rocks roots etc, need pads for insulation from ground, mud, time consuming to break down, guy lines
Trailer

Pros: more cargo capacity, less setup, kitchenette, toilette, can be detached as basecamp
Cons: More difficult to get to remote locations, less fuel efficiency, harder to reverse in tight situations

RV
Pros: house on wheels
Cons: house on wheels

Truck bed
Pros: sleep under the stars, easy to set up
Cons: weather, need to empty truck bed to sleep in it

Rock
Pros: Cheap, no setup, sleep under the stars
Cons: weather, uninvited nighttime guests

 

This thread is rather comical. It is hilarious that the OP pointed out how ridiculous it is to invest in a camping rig and pointlessly drive around with it. While I agree with the sentiment, I have to ask you to think about it for a minute. How many people on this site have any actual need for their uncomfortable, lifted 4x4 taco? 99% of the members of this site do nothing more than drive to an office or retail job with a big load of empty over-modified truck. So desperate to achieve the perception of ruggedness and some poor man's status symbol that you compulsively spend thousands of dollars modifying an off road version of the truck when you all know that the RWD base model would satisfy all of your true needs. Being honest, you all know a Honda Ridgeline is more truck than most everyone on this forum actually needs. You know full-well your modified truck will rarely, if ever be used for more than (expensive) highway miles and Facebook selfies, is a total waste of money and leaves most people with the impression that the driver is an idiot desperate for attention. How can you possibly criticize someone else for doing the same exact thing? Do you see the irony?

 

Yeah, reversing a trailer out is a pain if you get in too far.

 

T-MINUS 2 months til back on the action. Purge time at work is a killer for ADD.

 

I would worry about wind up that high.

 

Quite the first post. Like I've said before. Once I see ridgelines in the woods and hauling toys in my area, I'll take them more serious. On paper is one thing. Real world is another. Nothing against them and if they start showing up I'll willingly stand corrected.

What up high?

 

Naw, I used to drive a BMW 1600 that was only 13 feet long and 4.5 feet high around on windy mountain roads with a 16-foot kayak tied to the top and barely felt it. Those things cut through wind the same they do with water.

 

Agreed. People just need to watch a Kia Sorento go up Hells Gate and realize a bone stock Tacoma can accomplish quite a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WjpzubCoBo