A lifetime's dream
Join me on my journey to building the ultimate off grid expedition camper.
A lifetime's dream
Join me on my journey to building the ultimate off grid expedition camper.
You only get one life, live it.
Don't sit and dream about what life could be like. Change it. Make it happen.
big news update!
After 18 months delay due to loosing the original workshop and vehicle storage barn I had, finally I have found new facilities locally. This consists of a huge barn and an area for containers, for storage and another as a workshop. This will now enable the project to continue.... Or will it!
While my HX60 truck was parked up in a local car park, UK road registered and taxed I was contacted by another fellow off road camper builder who was in desperate need of a HX60. After a few calls and a final met I decided to sell the HX60, at a nice profit.
So no truck, so what next?
Like all men and there wish for bigger boys toys, it has been decided to go even bigger.
I now have a MAN HX77 8x8 as the base vehicle. This has meant a complete up scaling of all CAD work which is now near completion. Some of which are shown below as a taster of what's to come.
renders for the HX77 build
further updates to come.
With the major changes to the base vehicle the remainder of the website will be updated in due course.
Frequently Asked Questions
After having van campers right up to long wheel base sprinters. I felt that the vehicle was always close to its weight limit and just wanted that reassurance that a truck brings. Other benefits are you have a better view of the road and can go places a van wouldn't be able too.
Basically anything that can take the riggers of military life must be good. After looking around in the commercial world for a truck. The only closest contender was another MAN truck the TGS 8x8. But these where older and had far higher mileage. There wasn't anything with the same specification and features to match the MAN HX77, so made it the obvious choice.
Yes the truck is designed to have a total weight of 44 tons. Although my total build will be nowhere near that. In the UK you will need to take a category C+E Test. The current cost of taking the test including all fees and medical is around £2,000. The course takes around a seven to ten days. You will not need to take Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) as you are using your truck for private use only.
In some cases yes it will. A lot more planning on routes etc will need to be taken into consideration. It will be UK road legal and within the size limits required. I have been lucky enough to travel for a bit with another 8x8 conversion. An older MAN KAT 1 V8. I found it was sharp corners and tight village streets that restricted it the most. But with modern GPS Sat nav these this can be worked around. Its also not going to be the biggest build compared to the UNICAT's 8x8 of this world.
This sliding storage rack was required for three main reasons. I originally wanted a Quad bike on the HX60 project but I just couldn't get the length right to allow this. Now with the longer HX77 I can have a Quad. This is loaded once the rack is lowered via the side using two small ramps. The second is to store and load and unload two spare wheels. These are heavy and require a good solid frame to carry and transport, especially across rough ground. Lastly I needed more external storage which is located above the quad with lockable, heavy duty, water proof boxes. The rack is also equipped with rear and side lighting as well as HD cameras to help with reversing. The whole rack is currently raised and lowered via a 24v electric winch, but I am looking at changing this over to to twin hydraulic rams.
I have re-done all the CAD design work for the longer HX77, the habitation box has a new layout that that can sleep 5/6. Although there will only ever be 1+1. I spent many months producing new layouts. But it was worth it in the end. I have chosen the box manufacturer and plan a visit to them soon to finalise the specifications. All systems within the build have been done with schematics for electrics, water and heating and air conditioning. It's very important to have this done as it saves so much time and money later.
This is the question I'm asked all the time. I have a figure in mind. I am building it all myself except for the sub frame chassis and habitation box. These are being done by a specialists companies. The HAB is specifically designed for extremely cold conditions. I will at a later date start to share the costs for items and eventually have a total build cost break down.
I had planned for it to take around 24 months. But having a delay of over 18 months I'm only just starting the actual build.
chosen manufacturers
Sponsors
moosejamoffgridandoverland
Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes