Old thread, but still interesting. ASPW has, as we know, sold that Cruiser and is back to a troopy. I think the mistake he made was the design of that rear box combined with the flatbed. Although it has a popup sleeping area, it does not work like a troopy/van rear, as it has little living space.
Like some of you above, I like the idea of being able to go from the back to the front in an emergency (like waking up to something really shady and needing to book it out of there. However, if you have your camp set up with gear outside, awning out, tent up, it better be really, really bad to justify destroying those items and leaving your things behind.
I am building up an HJ45 pickup into a sort of Troopy hybrid. My idea is a lightweight box with a similar pop-up, but keeping thebed, which allows about the same area as a troopy back there. For 99.9% of the time, I will be accessing the back/front by getting out of the vehicle to do so.
I was turned off at first by having to get out, but then remembered driving a van with no center console: super easy to get to the back, and driving in a minivan with a center console: to access the back, both the driver and I got out of the van-every single time.
Being able to go from the front to the back is only really practical if you don't have a center console, or anything else in the way, or you'll be crawling over everything to go to the back/front. This is hardly something one would do by choice-at least I wouldn't. Look at his Troopy, like when he is driving: center console and another cabinet back there, not to mention gear etc. Not easy access by any means.
But for the case of an emergency, my idea is to replace the rear window of the cab with a hatch that swings up into the cab or box, and sealing the joint between cab/box with one of those gasket things used on many trucks. In the case of a serious emergency, I can then crawl (almost 100%) from the back into the driver seat, start up, and take off.
But short of a lava flow or collapsing sinkhole, or marauding scumbags from Mad Max, I'll opt for getting out and heading to the cab, albeit maybe with some bear spray, a big knife and hawk, and a 12 Gauge.