The ace of FT truck campers tells all: Pt. II
BKA, the legend in full-time TC-ing gives us details you will find no where else. paste this in your browser: http://mellomikeswolfcreekcamper.blogspot.com/2014/08/interview-with-extreme-boondocking...
Forum Discussion
One of the great things about the overlanding/RV community is that we each have different goals and that there are many ways to get there.
I gave serious consideration to using a Lance 1191 as the basis for my vehicle and corresponded extensively with Bryan, precisely because he actually had one and had addressed the handling and other issues. I am impressed with what he has done. I absolutely love the storage offered by the service body. The trailer is a show stopper for me, but then I'm not trying to full time or carry a motorcycle.
I am a bit less impressed with some of the other comments in this thread. Specifically, each of us has a space/storage/4x4 cutoff point. In my calculations, for example, I rejected a Sportsmobile as being too small on the interior for extended overland travel. Was I "right?" Perhaps; I have had Sportsmobile owners drooling over the space of my Tiger. At the same time, there are any number of Sportsmobiles happily wending their way around South America and other places on multi-year trips.
I have looked at a lot of Class "C" campers, but most of them are way too long and wide for any extended dirt road travel. Ignoring for the moment all of the issues of weight and traction, the systems and cabinetry, etc., of many Class "C" are not up to hard use.
Similarly, I looked at a lot of truck campers, besides the Lance 1191 and rejected almost all of them as too wide, top heavy, and lacking in floor space. That said, you can find any number of reports of truck campers wandering around South America, Europe, and North Africa.
Scholars differ on all of this, but the idea that a couple cannot live comfortably in a Tiger is simply incorrect. This couple have been in theirs for years (and over 50 countries):Travelin' Tortuga
These folks have moved on to a Unimog (which has had its own problems) but were in their Tiger all around South America:White Acorn
Finally, we have just completed a sixty day shake down cruise in our Tiger and are still speaking to each other and busy planning future trips: Ndeke Luka
Would you make the choices that I made? Probably not. For example, most people are happy with propane and a generator and many do not have air conditioning. And most people also want full hookups and are willing to live with a black tank. I spent a lot of time and effort to avoid these things. Your choice.
But I find myself at a loss to understand what I am not understanding.
I gave serious consideration to using a Lance 1191 as the basis for my vehicle and corresponded extensively with Bryan, precisely because he actually had one and had addressed the handling and other issues. I am impressed with what he has done. I absolutely love the storage offered by the service body. The trailer is a show stopper for me, but then I'm not trying to full time or carry a motorcycle.
I am a bit less impressed with some of the other comments in this thread. Specifically, each of us has a space/storage/4x4 cutoff point. In my calculations, for example, I rejected a Sportsmobile as being too small on the interior for extended overland travel. Was I "right?" Perhaps; I have had Sportsmobile owners drooling over the space of my Tiger. At the same time, there are any number of Sportsmobiles happily wending their way around South America and other places on multi-year trips.
I have looked at a lot of Class "C" campers, but most of them are way too long and wide for any extended dirt road travel. Ignoring for the moment all of the issues of weight and traction, the systems and cabinetry, etc., of many Class "C" are not up to hard use.
Similarly, I looked at a lot of truck campers, besides the Lance 1191 and rejected almost all of them as too wide, top heavy, and lacking in floor space. That said, you can find any number of reports of truck campers wandering around South America, Europe, and North Africa.
Scholars differ on all of this, but the idea that a couple cannot live comfortably in a Tiger is simply incorrect. This couple have been in theirs for years (and over 50 countries):Travelin' Tortuga
These folks have moved on to a Unimog (which has had its own problems) but were in their Tiger all around South America:White Acorn
Finally, we have just completed a sixty day shake down cruise in our Tiger and are still speaking to each other and busy planning future trips: Ndeke Luka
Would you make the choices that I made? Probably not. For example, most people are happy with propane and a generator and many do not have air conditioning. And most people also want full hookups and are willing to live with a black tank. I spent a lot of time and effort to avoid these things. Your choice.
But I find myself at a loss to understand what I am not understanding.
