You can have extreme, a growing segment here in Australia, but not that practical in the US, maybe if travelling to South America. Camper element is about 5000lbs. Vehicle has Unimog like gearing
The RVs in Robert's two photos are the same construction style as the Tiger motorhome - with a coach area similar to that of a truck camper, but unlike a TC the coach is permanent and built right onto the the truck's frame.
Years ago those used to be called a "chassis mount" RV. Here's a 1969 2WD Chinook model built on a GMC 3500 that we had way back as our first RV:
Years ago those used to be called a "chassis mount" RV. Here's a 1969 2WD Chinook model built on a GMC 3500 that we had way back as our first RV:
Tiger4x4RV wrote:Lwiddis wrote:
Four wheel drive Cs are aftermarket only...because they would make lousy off road vehicles...too low, too heavy, underpowered, too high, too wide etc.
I disagree and my Tiger proves it. However, I don't want to hijack this thread.
Not here, you can get a " Tiger Provan" type of rig, that are pretty comfortable on fairly rough off road tracks,as well as paved roads. Depends on what you want to do. Larger 2wd units are limited to mainly smooth dirt roads
Lwiddis wrote:
Four wheel drive Cs are aftermarket only...because they would make lousy off road vehicles...too low, too heavy, underpowered, too high, too wide etc.
I disagree too, with caveats ... as Class C off road capability depends upon 1) what one means by "off road", and 2) what type and construction quality of Class C one is talking about.
Most standard/classical Class C motorhomes (with an overhead cab queen bed) need to be converted to 4WD by an aftermarket shop, and it's best done on the Ford and Chevy chassis used for these kind of Class C motorhomes.
The Tiger motorhome is somewhat of a different type motorhome from the "standard/classical Class C" that most folks have in mind. Since it's built starting out on a pickup truck frame, it can be built onto OEM 4X4 setups from Ram, Chevy, or Ford by Provan Industries at construction time. As such, a Tiger motorhome built on one of these rugged OEM pickup chassis can make a very capable off-highway motorhome (superior to a truck camper, IMHO) - but their models probably are somewhat small from what the OP seems to have in mind (especially bunk beds in the back).
We take our small 24 foot overhead queen bed + rear queen bed Class C off-highway as needed for our exploring and drycamping rockhound hobby - but it does not have bunk beds in the rear like the OP prefers. We have great ground clearance with it's over-kill E450 Ford chassis with no low hanging generator parts, no low hanging tanks, no low hanging plumbing, no low hanging compartments, and no low hanging step mechanisms. Our coach's exterior wall edges in the rear are also up-swept starting right from the rear duals on towards the back bumper, so it's departure angle is a bit improved over that of most Class C motorhomes - for situations such as crossing of mild road washouts. All of the coach's heavy items are down low at chassis frame height for a low overall center of gravity even though the motorhome looks "overall tall" (but combined with the E450's wide rear stance for good lateral stability), most interior doors have double catches, all drawers have gravity locks, and we keep padding in between cabinet contents, and we do not have slides so as to maintain good wall structure strength (aluminum wall framing). We even some time ago changed out the stock tires for larger ones to provide more ground clearance.
Here's a couple of photos of our rig out in the desert boondocks - one camped, and one with us following our friend's Class C ahead of us:
