Tough decisions but I think he is wrong (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Threads
169
Messages
19,120
Location
Perth Western Australia
Andrew St Pierre White is a South African 4x4 journo who has moved to Perth, not that far from me.
A few weeks back he bought a dual cab 79 series and began to deck it out for overlanding and producing his YouTube videos, but now has his doubts about it.
The bit where he thinks it will have too much weight on the rear doesn't make much sense when you have a steel bull bar, V8 diesel up front to offset the camper
Bad call I think as he originally bought the dual cab for his daughter to come along.

 
Andrew St Pierre White is a South African 4x4 journo who has moved to Perth, not that far from me.
A few weeks back he bought a dual cab 79 series and began to deck it out for overlanding and producing his YouTube videos, but now has his doubts about it.
The bit where he thinks it will have too much weight on the rear doesn't make much sense when you have a steel bull bar, V8 diesel up front to offset the camper
Bad call I think as he originally bought the dual cab for his daughter to come along.



I thought it strange that he mentions taking it on scales without mentioning the weight on both axles, instead of talking about the weight on the rear axle only.
 
I thought it strange that he mentions taking it on scales without mentioning the weight on both axles, instead of talking about the weight on the rear axle only.


Exactly, I was going to add that but forgot.
 
Troopy is better suited for building living quarters. Can spread the weight better . I do not like over landing vehicles that have the cab and living quarters separately. Going from sleeping position to the drivers seat without exiting the vehicle is quite a nice thing. I think he is trying to build a pop top camper like his previous Troopy. Ouh also Troopies do have seats in the rear
 
I think his proposed camper puts too much weight behind the rear wheels. For two person travel, I'd choose the troopie as well. But if he wants the luxuries of this camper, I'd opt for the single cab 70. Perhaps, an 'Extra-cab' would be more ideal.

tray.jpg


Slide on Campers Perth Australia | Quick Pitch Campers

 
Last edited:
This was really heavy and it did the Canning Stock Route just fine...
70-double-cab-375a8cc08e7643a50e7b6cecf0bf4498.jpg
 
The guy in the Hilux vid said the camper weighs 550KG (~1210 lbs), dry.
 
A Troopy will fit 2 people fine, no?

In his earlier videos he said he wanted it for his wife and daughter as well, hence the extra doors.
 
When I had this set up it was around 400kg fully loaded with water,food and camping gear.
dyno figures 074.JPG
 
I haven't/can't watch the vids.

I think rear axle weights can get to be a problem but it depends what terrain you intend to cover. I don't think it's a massive problem, more of a mental one. Rodney (wholesale automatics) and Glen Hadden (AAMS) on the 4WD action and low range DVDs both run very heavy rear ends in their DC VDJ79s and they sure make hard work of things from time to time even with quite heavily modified trucks (35s, auto, twin locked). Still, most people wouldn't drive the sort of things they do that far from home. Though Glen getting so very bogged on that beach in the gulf shows it, if he was by himself the tide would have ate it.

I think a lot of these people trying to build family campers where everyone sleeps in or on the car would be a lot better off with something like an Iveco Daily or just using tents/roof topper/camper trailer with the family 4x4 wagon/IFS dual cab like everyone else does.

I like Roscos setup. Simple, clean, (relatively) cheap. Easy to remove and have a functional tray too. Obviously not good for more than 2 people but it would suit me well.
 
This was really heavy and it did the Canning Stock Route just fine...

I was just about to post a picture of SherpaII. While it has uber massive rear leaf springs to accommodate the load (9 fuel drums in the rear for the CSR) it rides and handles surprisingly well.
 
Six wheel drive may have suited his off road camper plans but to late now.

That was one of his options but when he got the price for the conversion it was almost as much as another landcruiser.
The benefits of the slide on camper is you can remove it when you don't need it. On mine pictured above, it could be left at a camp site on its 4 wind up legs.
The benefits of being able to climb from the front of a troopy into the back is not really much. When you stop somewhere to camp is would be uncommon not to get out and walk around before turning in.
 
The benefits of being able to climb from the front of a troopy into the back is not really much. When you stop somewhere to camp is would be uncommon not to get out and walk around before turning in.

I imagine the scenario where People/ Large animals are charging at your campsite while you sleep. Then not having to go outside to get behind the wheel is a great plus!
 
I imagine the scenario where People/ Large animals are charging at your campsite while you sleep. Then not having to go outside to get behind the wheel is a great plus!

If I had people and animals charging my camp site, I would probably go find somewhere else to camp.
 
The camper certainly complicates the use of a VDJ79 imo, still a fantastic truck but I don't know how I would have liked a slide-on? The pass-thru wouldn't be a huge concern for me personally, while I can in fact imagine a plethora of scenarios it would be useful... I can't recall any I've personally had happen :D
 
Hello,

A while ago he bought and built up a single cab HZJ79, only to find out that it was a bit too heavy and underpowered. If only he had low-pressure turboed it...

The weight he usually puts on the front should compensate for the weight on the rear, more so with the 1VD engine.

On the other hand, a Troopie always makes a sexier trail/overland rig than a double cab, but that is just my opinion. More body space to play with, I think. Alluring indeed.

It is also possible that he still has bad memories from his time with the HZJ79, and found himself not wanting to deal with a 79 again.

Regarding people/animals charging on my campsite, I agree with @roscoFJ73 Solitude is a non-negotiable condition to be considered when choosing a campsite, and it applies to both wildlife and humans.






Juan
 
I wonder what the rear axle weight of the camper fully loaded would be given the moment of what's aft of the rear axle?

Also, it is my understanding that the weight on the front such as the bullbar would bring your center of gravity fore a bit, but you're still increasing the psi exerted onto the ground so you'll increase how much you sink.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom