Bigger vans

[Corradobrit]

A few of those tricked Sprinters have come a cropper off road. They are inherently top heavy - can’t cheat physics even with great suspension. I wouldn’t say no to one of those though!


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Well sure, which is why I said almost anywhere. But with the wide wheelbase, proper suspension, 4WD, diff lock, with appropriate rubber, it's probably about as sure footed as a chassis like this can be.

 

[wildslammer22]

Loosely linked to the Sprinter, as a relative novice can anyone tell me why the Hymer Sprinter conversions are generally a lot more expensive than practically all other conversions. Are Hymer regarded as the Rolls Royce of this type of conversion?

Many of the Sprinter based conversions in the US are $200k plus (Winnebago, Story Teller etc). I think part of the reason is there is a massive amount of aftermarket off road & internal accessories available a bit like for the Cali/Transporter in Europe.


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[kave]

Loosely linked to the Sprinter, as a relative novice can anyone tell me why the Hymer Sprinter conversions are generally a lot more expensive than practically all other conversions. Are Hymer regarded as the Rolls Royce of this type of conversion?

I would say they are in the middle regarding Sprinter vans. Im personally prefer the Frankia Yucon ober the Hymer Grand Canyon do to its more intelligent design. The price is more or less the same.

 

[Corradobrit]

I would say they are in the middle regarding Sprinter vans. Im personally prefer the Frankia Yucon ober the Hymer Grand Canyon do to its more intelligent design. The price is more or less the same.

Can't see the appeal of the Yukon. The rear seats look super uncomfortable for one thing. Typical dubious MDF interior build quality.

 

[kave]

Is the rear seats any different from the Hymer? At least they can be moved apart on the Yucon.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I would say they are in the middle regarding Sprinter vans. Im personally prefer the Frankia Yucon ober the Hymer Grand Canyon do to its more intelligent design. The price is more or less the same.

I've looked at the Yukon, they're owned by Frankia who I know make ultra luxury motorhomes not seen any of their vans. I have seen the £250k Hymer Venture and it's the motorhome equivalent of a yacht!

There are some Sprinter & Crafter conversions out there for north of £150k but I put that down to a bespoke build rather than van for your money. But of the more established converters Hymer seem to have have the most expensive conversions. As a relative newcomer, I'm not sure whether the adage of you get what you pay for applies, but most I've seen are over £115k

 

[soulstyledevon]

There are Sprinters...and there are Sprinters. This one I would take almost anywhere

I think all these “off road” conversions are a load of ballcocks…
For anyone who has ever done any serious off-roading or travelled parts of Africa will know, even the best 4x4 Land Cruiser gets shaken to death, dealing with proper terrain.
Having cupboards, kitchen and bathroom seems an oxymoron for this sort of vehicle and expedition.

If I wanted to do some serious all terrain roads, I would kit out a Suzuki Jimny with a roof tent and minimal kit.

It’s all marketing BS…

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I think all these “off road” conversions are a load of ballcocks…
For anyone who has ever done any serious off-roading or travelled parts of Africa will know, even the best 4x4 Land Cruiser gets shaken to death, dealing with proper terrain.
Having cupboards, kitchen and bathroom seems an oxymoron for this sort of vehicle and expedition.

If I wanted to do some serious all terrain roads, I would kit out a Suzuki Jimny with a roof tent and minimal kit.

It’s all marketing BS…

Fair call but the old Jimnys were dreadful and used to topple over on some gradients. The new defender would be very capable and you can get a custom roof tent for that, but with there's too many electronics to go wrong. For me only the original Defender or an Old Land Cruiser for that job

 

[Jimmylondon07]

I think all these “off road” conversions are a load of ballcocks…
For anyone who has ever done any serious off-roading or travelled parts of Africa will know, even the best 4x4 Land Cruiser gets shaken to death, dealing with proper terrain.
Having cupboards, kitchen and bathroom seems an oxymoron for this sort of vehicle and expedition.

If I wanted to do some serious all terrain roads, I would kit out a Suzuki Jimny with a roof tent and minimal kit.

It’s all marketing BS…

Well of course, but it's no different to VW offering a 'Sports Pack' on a California.

 

[ArunAlec]

Well of course, but it's no different to VW offering a 'Sports Pack' on a California.

Surely the rear spoiler helps around the corners?️

 

[The Merle]

Fair call but the old Jimnys were dreadful and used to topple over on some gradients. The new defender would be very capable and you can get a custom roof tent for that, but with there's too many electronics to go wrong. For me only the original Defender or an Old Land Cruiser for that job

The new jimny would topple over with roof tent on it too! They use trailer tents.
Roof load on a jimny is 30kg!

 

[soulstyledevon]

The new jimny would topple over with roof tent on it too! They use trailer tents.
Roof load on a jimny is 30kg!

Wow, that’s not a lot really?

For the price of a Defender, I’d get the Suzuki with this trailer and still have plenty of cash for travels.

Mini Caravan by Blackcamp – Enjoy real adventures

Go on an adventure with Blackcamp! Use your own car to go on a journey together with one of the smallest mini caravans.

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[The Merle]

Fair call but the old Jimnys were dreadful and used to topple over on some gradients. The new defender would be very capable and you can get a custom roof tent for that, but with there's too many electronics to go wrong. For me only the original Defender or an Old Land Cruiser for that job

The new jimny would topple over with roof tent on it too! They use trailer tents.
Roof load on a jimny is 30kg!

View attachment IMG_6007.jpeg

View attachment IMG_6010.jpeg

 

[The Merle]

I use the tailgate for my stuff. There’s a few on YouTube that have roof tents, main guy is geordie jimny camper he made a roof tent in the end to get the weight down, lots have uprated suspension too which would help.
It’s a fun cheap toy, love driving it but rarely ever venture on motorways (none up here which is lucky).

 

[Blackbrogue1962]

One of the best, certainly most fun, vehicles I’ve ever driven off road was a 2CV. Massive suspension travel gave great articulation and the lack of 4 wheel drive more than compensated for by being so light. Obviously this has little relationship to the off road campervan discussion other than that I tend to agree with those arguing for small and light vehicles as the best go anywhere solution.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

Do they do a John Deere camper conversion as I feel that would be perfect?

 

[wildslammer22]

I think all these “off road” conversions are a load of ballcocks…
For anyone who has ever done any serious off-roading or travelled parts of Africa will know, even the best 4x4 Land Cruiser gets shaken to death, dealing with proper terrain.
Having cupboards, kitchen and bathroom seems an oxymoron for this sort of vehicle and expedition.

If I wanted to do some serious all terrain roads, I would kit out a Suzuki Jimny with a roof tent and minimal kit.

It’s all marketing BS…

In my experience the rattling furniture is the biggest inhibitor for the Cali. Even then you would never take one overlanding in Africa because of the complexity and scarcity of parts. It is though inherently more capable than a Sprinter (weight and size). Many of the tricked out Mercedes 4x4 campers weigh well over 4 tons and with racks etc 3m+ in height. Good luck taking one of those down a green lane in Wales!

The Sprinter 4x4 conversions would be great for many of the relatively manicured off road trails in the US (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California, Baha etc). But the phenomenon is driven mostly by van life Instagrammers. In a recent video I watched a couple of high profile YouTubers left their vans behind on a gnarly section of trail and travelled in an Ineos Grenadier instead. In typical American style they marvelled at how capable the “little Ineos” was, the Grenadier would be considered a behemoth in Europe!


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[The Merle]

In my experience the rattling furniture is the biggest inhibitor for the Cali. Even then you would never take one overlanding in Africa because of the complexity and scarcity of parts. It is though inherently more capable than a Sprinter (weight and size). Many of the tricked out Mercedes 4x4 campers weigh well over 4 tons and with racks etc 3m+ in height. Good luck taking one of those down a green lane in Wales!

The Sprinter 4x4 conversions would be great for many of the relatively manicured off road trails in the US (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California, Baha etc). But the phenomenon is driven mostly by van life Instagrammers. In a recent video I watched a couple of high profile YouTubers left their vans behind on a gnarly section of trail and travelled in an Ineos Grenadier instead. In typical American style they marvelled at how capable the “little Ineos” was, the Grenadier would be considered a behemoth in Europe!


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I do like them grenadier, one with a poptop roof would be very tempting

 

[Barry Chuckle]

Could this be a solution to the offroading challenge?????

 

[wildslammer22]

I do like them grenadier, one with a poptop roof would be very tempting

I’m sure Alucab will make one in time, probably for a bargain £15k! The skylights might be problematic though, don’t know if you can get a Grenedier without them? I think there is a commercial version?


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[Ch1pbutty]

The Wedge - Space Campers

Take a deep dive into our wedge-style camper for the Cybertruck. Final design pending the Cybertruck's 2023 release.

spacecampers.com

 

[Jester]

Could this be a solution to the offroading challenge?????

View attachment 120249

Looking Australian to me.

 

[Corradobrit]

I think all these “off road” conversions are a load of ballcocks…
For anyone who has ever done any serious off-roading or travelled parts of Africa will know, even the best 4x4 Land Cruiser gets shaken to death, dealing with proper terrain.
Having cupboards, kitchen and bathroom seems an oxymoron for this sort of vehicle and expedition.

If I wanted to do some serious all terrain roads, I would kit out a Suzuki Jimny with a roof tent and minimal kit.

It’s all marketing BS…

Being top heavy hasn't hurt these guys too much. And they pack some serious stuff onboard. Some of these 'off road' conversions are serious bits of kit. Of curse then there are the faux off-roading types. All looks and no go like the couple's Sprinter that came a cropper in Spain.

 

[andyinluton]

Good off road, brilliant on road, low centre of gravity, only downside is a speed limit of 180kmh with the tent on top.

 

[wildslammer22]

Being top heavy hasn't hurt these guys too much. And they pack some serious stuff onboard. Some of these 'off road' conversions are serious bits of kit. Of curse then there are the faux off-roading types. All looks and no go like the couple's Sprinter that came a cropper in Spain.

Look at the wheel track on that vs a conventional van - wheels pushed out in all four corners. Solid axles etc different gravy off road.


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