AT Habitat question.

I have been a lurker on this forum for longer than I remember. I have seen so many inspirational builds and have made two attempts at my own. I first bought a previously loved Four Runner while we had one child. Then twins came and we were suddenly a family of 5. I then bought an older 4 wheel drive ford van and while I loved it to death, it needed more work than my schedule or space would allow. I have sold the van and am planning on selling the 4 runner and am contemplating a Power Wagon -AT Habitat combo. My thoughts are to build a platform on the floor for the boys to sleep on and my wife and I could sleep in the bed. My question for the group is, what features of ATs list would you consider vital. If I start adding to their 8800.00 base price things get pricey quickly. I’m not opposed but I don’t want to spend a bunch unnecessarily. I would assume that windows in the sides and rear hatch would be appropriate. But I see a lot of photos on the internet that have no windows at all. Keeping prying eyes off of your stuff would certainly be easier. I figure carpeting and lightening are a must. How about paint? Would you leave yours raw? Or paint to match? Thanks for your opinions in advance.


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Pax2525

Adventurer
Hey Misplaced,

Here are my thoughts...all the extras are great...IF you want them and "need" them. The build should be based on what you can afford and what you're willing to spend. I think windows in at least the front and rear are needed to help with driving and vision. You could skip those is you are comfortable without seeing out those. You've been driving a van so you may already be used to not using windows and relying on mirrors or backup camera.

Carpeting is now standard on the campers with a slight price increase in the base price. Lighting is handy but you could also easily add some battery powered lights or re-chargable ones. Any 12V item you add to the habitat is draining your main driving battery (unless of course you add another battery to your truck battery) so keep that in mind.

The color matching paint is really nice and then helps keep the Habitat in better condition since the raw aluminum can be scratched. Also depends on your truck color. Mine is silver so it doesn't really make a difference.

As far as the side doors I would think ahead as to what you'll also be using your truck for. Is this a daily driver that constantly has gear/tools in the back that needs accessibility? Also think about which side if you do 1 door. One side of the truck is the "street" side so you risk being hit when accessing it while the other side is the "sidewalk" side. When camping it doesn't matter really.

Roof Racks depend on if you have gear to be storing or needing to be carried.

Ok thats a decent thought process for you..I think. Let me know if you have more questions.

You should enjoy the Habitat, its quite a cool camper.

Thanks,
Dave
 

rgio

New member
I took delivery of my Habitat this winter and have been able to get out quite a bit so far this year. I ordered mine with several options, including lighting, Euro style window, sliding window, roof rack and carpet. I probably would not do the sliding window over again, I ordered it because I thought I would use it to access the cab through my truck's rear slider, turns out I just don't use it. Also, since I didn't order a rear window I don't need the front slider for visibility (I rely on the rear camera). I use the roof rack as an awning mount and also for a hammock, but have not really used it for anything else. I would say it is not essential. I do love the Euro style side window, it adds light, but comes with a blackout screen. The interior lighting is nice, but my truck has a rear bed light that has a switch in the bed so the lighting is not critical for me. I did add lighting to the top of the Habitat so when open I have lighting under the "awning" which is amazing. I did not have my Habitat painted, my truck is charcoal and the bare aluminum looks great.

With respect to sleeping, I have three boys and we camp together all the time. I ordered one fixed sleeping platform and one folding (goose-gear). The combo is great as I can sleep 4 easily up top and can use the folding sleeping platform form to get in and out of the sleep area. If trying to keep cost down I would say a bare bones Habitat would be all you would need along with a couple of sleep platforms and, for me anyway, lighting added to the roof.

I am sure you already know this, but fit and finish are top notch and AT's customer services went way beyond my expectations.
 
Thanks for the reply and this is the information I was looking for. RGIO do you have a picture of your rig?


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Last edited:

Taco502

New member
Just finished a 2 week trip out west and Habitat was great! I have the following options and wouldn't really change anything; Front and rear windows, carpet, lighting kit, folding goose gear platform, and roof rack. I have a silver Taco so the paint option wasn't really important to me. My truck has Kentucky pin-stripping and the Habitat has held up better than my paint and barely shows any "character". I use the windows constantly to scan what is behind me. I had windoors on my old topper and never used them so don't miss side access windows, but as Dave stated it depends on what you envision as future usage. The roof rack utilizes 2 L-tracks to mount and honestly the tracks are what i use the most. I mount lights, awning, shade cloth, etc to those and they are truly handy. Hope my 2 cents helps but as RGIO and Dave said you cant go wrong with any of the options as long as its the Habitat!

I 2nd what RGIO said about the AT Overland Team. I have bugged them with all sorts of questions and they have been amazing. The best Customer experience i have had in a very long time. IMG_5401.JPG
 
I’ve been processing this information and thinking about my needs. I will likely have a dog in the back, so side windows I will likely need to keep her cool. But has far as front/rear windows, how well can you really see out of them anyway? The pictures I’ve seen of the rear window make it look small in comparison to the size of the hatch.


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Taco502

New member
I really rely on them to see vehicles that are following close directly behind me and to monitor for vehicles that are approaching from the rear at higher speeds. I even have a fridge cabinet in the rear that partially blocks my visibility but still greatly rely on them to maintain situational awareness (constantly scanning mirrors).
 

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