Vehicle Pondering

[Furaites]

Good day folks,

I am after already planning and ordering stuff to build one overlander. Sadly there was an issue and the camper portion was written off during shipping. At the same time I got a great offer and sold the M35A2 I had to go with it.

So now I am back to planning. Anyways this rig will travel (hopefully) around the world, and with that in mind I want to keep it short and light.

Gonna custom make it using composite panels and extrusion to try to keep it light but durable. Trying to keep it around 7700lbs. The best vehicle I can find is an f150, it will have roughly 2800lbs of payload.

Is an f150 gonna be too big for some of the places? Heck is it likely to be able to carry 2 lg gents in 2 separate beds, while being self contained(cassette toilet)?

Anyone have a better option or idea for 2 gents and 2 separate beds?

Anyways open for all opinions

Forgot to mention, assembly is taking place in Newfoundland Canada

 

[alanymarce]

Hi: I suggest that you look at the "Full Size Overlanding In Namibia/Botswana?" thread, which touches on some the points which are relevant. Short answer - in my view the F150 will restrict you if you want to go to some more remote places - tracks are narrow, bridges may not be big enough. The size may also be an issue if you enter some cities - narrow streets, parking size limitations. This is less of an issue than the previous one, since you can park outside town and walk or take public transport, however in some national parks around the world you can't do this, obviously. Next point is that an F150 is not a vehicle sold in many places, and so if you need spares/replacement parts you will be out of luck. Even finding tyres may be a problem. In some countries importing spares is illegal so if you can't source them locally, you'll have to put the vehicle on a truck and take it to a country where you can either find, or import, spares.

re "I want to keep it short and light... Trying to keep it around 7700lbs." If you can keep it below 3500 Kg GVM you'll have fewer potential problems. You should also try to keep it within standard shipping container dimensions. Once you start loading more you may run into legal requirements in some places.

re "Anyone have a better option or idea for 2 gents and 2 separate beds?" - the obvious alternative solution is one bed inside the vehicle and a rooftop tent/pop-up shell. There are lots of 70 series LCs with this combination, and you could do this with an 80 series or Prado, a Patrol or a Montero easily enough.

 

[Furaites]

Well our smaller trucks here in Canada do not have a lot of Payload to play with. Best I have seen is 708 kg.

As for RTT, that may work for some people, but as two retired Veterans with Medical issues, they are the absolutely last thing we are looking at.

 

[Darwin]

You need to decide what you are willing to compromise on then go from there. Personally I wouldn't get an F 150, if you are going full size you might as well get something with some payload and that can also handle some abuse with the weight, an F150 isn't it. They are more your highway easy gravel road vehicle with a light four wheel camper. Not something, i personally would take to africa

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Lots of good stuff here..... http://epicycles.com/
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[sg1]

I have traveled in Africa, North and South America and Europe with my camper since 2010. I build a composite camper on a Ford Transit AWD chassis and stayed within 3500 kg at least on paper. In reality I had 3700 kg wet fully loaded with all our gear and ourselves. This combination was very reliable and a good compromise between weight, comfort and just enough off road capability. Ford and the Transit are available in almost any country. The gas engine deals better with 3rd world fuel than modern diesels with their emission control systems. If you want more offroad capabilities a F 150 single cab with heavy payload package and a light composite cabin is not a bad choice. It is just under 3500 kg and has decent payload. The size will not be a problem. It isn't bigger than a van even with a 8 ft cabin. It is sold in almost all countries in Latin America but in the rest of the world it is much less common than the Transit. In Europe you will see some privately imported F 150, in Africa it is practically unknown. The Ranger is the pickup truck sold by Ford in the rest of the world.