4/28/11 Overland Expo Report (Rigs)

[NotAMog]

Just strolling through the camping area was a show by itself. There were all kinds of rigs there, many of them unusual ones never seen before. They ranged from triple axel diesel pusher motorhomes, Earth Roamers, and Medium duty 4x4 truck chassis motorhomes on the high end to a very well used flat fender Jeep with everyday camping equipment, pickups with all sorts of campers, adventure motorcycles, and even some old military duce and halfs (6x6). Here are some highlights -

This picture gives you an idea of the range of rigs present. In the foreground is an old Toyota pickup with a Wildernest camper purchased off Craig's List. In the background is a 3 axel diesel pusher motorhome. It didn't matter what kind of rig you had. Everyone was very friendly and lots of people were going around asking about each other's rigs.

Range of Rigs.jpg (61.34 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Here is a second Wildernest camper. I had only heard of these recently and these were the only two I've ever scene. Unfortunately, they have been out of production for some time. There is a company considering bringing them back. Here is a link to their survey site for anyone who is interested - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LGBDN3L

Wildernest1.jpg (56.9 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

These were really cool! They are Land Rover Dormobiles. I've seen pictures of them but never saw one in person. They show that small overlanding rigs are nothing new.

Dormobiles Exterior.jpg (55.52 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Here are some pictures of the interior of the Dormobile

Dormobile Interior 1.jpg (49.74 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Definitely period appliances (except for the Engel)

Dormobile Interior 2.jpg (55.19 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Dormobile Interior 3.jpg (51.57 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Here's something similar in concept but more modern, an Ursa Minor ECamper on a Honda Element.

Ursa Minor ECAMPER.jpg (70.14 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Both Adventure Trailer JK Habitat prototypes were present.

Here is the original prototype on a Jeep J8 military chassis. This Jeep is right hand drive with a diesel engine.

http://www.adventuretrailers.com/page/v ... k_habitat/

JK Habitat Prototype 1.jpg (43.65 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

They did a lot of work to improve the tent on the second prototype. The second prototype top was made by Nemo Equipment (http://www.nemoequipment.com/). Apparently, they will be making the tops for the production units.

JK Habitat Second Prototype.jpg (52.27 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Here is another camper unit on display in the vendor area, the DuraCozy -

Opened.

Dura Cozy Open.jpg (43.02 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Closed.

Dura Cozy Closed.jpg (57.29 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

I'm not quite sure what this was. It was in the back of the motorcycle vendor area. I should have taken the time to check it out. It looks like the perfect thing for a whole Scout Troupe to stay up off the ground away from the Lions and Hyenas -

Group Roof Top Tents.jpg (53.5 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Not all of the rigs present flipped open or were tents. Here are a few others -

Unicat -

Unicat.jpg (37.06 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Unimog -

U500 Unimog Motorhome.jpg (36.27 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Mitsubishi Fuso -

Mitsubishi Fuso Camper.jpg (55.95 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Military Trucks -

Military Trucks.jpg (39.04 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

Adventure motorcycle camp -

Adventure Motorcycles in Camp.jpg (54.51 KiB) Viewed 13810 times

My favorite sticker from the group of Unimogs in the campground -

Unimog Camp.jpg (43.86 KiB) Viewed 13812 times

[adventureduo]

Great net so far Bruce.

Here's our coverage too.. http://www.adventureduo.com/2011/04/ove ... erage.html

[NotAMog]

I was wondering what the name of the Saint Barnard was. I got a picture of him on Friday. He didn't look too happy in the 103 degree heat.

I was curious about what was in that keg . Brandy would be traditional but cold beer would really have come to the rescue there.

There certainly was an overload of cool stuff to look at and interesting people to talk to.

[Rallyroo]

70 Series Land Cruiser. Couple from Australia if I remembered correctly.










I want one of these! It's a EarthCruiser based on the 4WD Fuso. Why do I want one? It fits inside a 20' high cube shipping container

[Rallyroo]

[Rallyroo]

Oh look, an ultralight is flying over my rig.