The reality is that I couldn’t find a rig that met my criteria for a RTW overland adventure rig, at least with a reasonable price tag. While I’ve really enjoyed the van life for the past 2+ yrs, my Sportsmobile just wasn’t right for me in a number of ways. After tons of research, discussion with experts, a few years experience under my belt and the opportunity to work with XPCamper presented itself, the EEXP concept was born.
My RTW Overland Vehicle Requirements:
Overall-
Must fit in a shipping container while being as small, light and nimble as possible. Must be able to handle single vehicle travel in remote tough off road environments. Must have international parts availability. Must be able to get from drivers seat to bed without leaving the vehicle. Must be able to carry all my adventure sports gear; 3-6 kayaks (6’-10’ L), 2 mtn bikes, kiteboard setup (size of Golf Bag), climbing gear (2 backpacks), paddles (up to 200cm L), paddling gear (2 duffles) and biking gear (1 duffle). Must be capable of carrying, and provide living space for, 2 full time passangers and their supplies.
Vehicle-
4×4 with low range, able to be registered in the US, 800+ mile range, preferably diesel (does not need emmissions inspection in MD and for torque and durability), 3+ seats w/seatbelts, 2 comfortable seats, fog lights, offroad driving lights, backup camera, quality sound system, loud horn
Camper-
Sleeping: minimum of full sized bed (54”x75”), bed must be able to be used with living space in normal transport configuration
Kitchen: outdoor gas stove that can also be used indoors (1 burner, 1 grill/griddle surface), 3.2cu ft+ fridge, outside cooking surface, indoor sink, outside faucet/sink
Power: house battery/s, solar recharge system, LED lighting, 2,000w+ inverter
Inside Office: table (can hold 2 laptops at once), seating for 2+, multiple 120v power outlets
Bathroom: toilet (cartridge, no plumbing), shower (outside, maybe inside as well), fresh drinking water tank w/faucet
Outside: awning, area lighting, spare tire carrier
There are very few options on the market that meet these criteria. A few of the Fuso based rigs meet all the criteria, but start at over $200K. You for sure could make an argument for a 7.3L diesel powered Ford RB E350 van, with powered pop-top, a 4×4 conversion with 6” lift and a custom fabricated interior, but the price tag would easily push $100K+. Other van options like the Delica and VW Syncros are tempting, but they are pricey for what they are in the US, don’t have a track record for reliability and are really poor in off camber off road situations. Exotics like the Land Rover FC101, Pinz and Volvo 303 are options that I drooled over, but pricing for a quality one, on road manners and worldwide parts availability steered me away. I also considered a midsized truck with a flatbed camper, like the Four Wheel Camper or XPCamper V2, but no US diesel option and no easy way to do a pass through made me look elsewhere. Another direction you could make an argument for is a wagon style SUV with custom interior featuring a bed and storage system; older Troopy, 100 series, G Wagon, Defender 110/130, LR3/LR4, etc… The thing you give up is indoor living space and some comforts, although you do gain quite a bit of off road capability. Diesel is also extremely hard to get on these platforms in the US, unless you’re willing to lay down some serious coin.
My Sportsmobile appeared to most like a great choice for my style of travel, but it had quite a few downfalls that I just wasn’t happy with. It was based on an EB Ford E350 with the 7.3L diesel Powerstroke engine. While the engine and driveline are extremely solid, the van itself had some drawbacks. The EB had a large overhang in the rear, which made for a horrible departure angle, greatly limiting the rig’s off road capability. The Ford vans also aren’t known for being well sealed, which means that it was always dusty in the cabin while driving down dirt tracks. The Quigly 4×4 system on my van, while extremely capable, required some unique parts that aren’t easy to source, without big shipping costs. While Sportsmobile does a few things really well, like their 4×4 system (which I didn’t have), the pop-top and the RV layouts, they also fall short in a few areas, like interior and living systems build and install quality. On my rig I also had the manual pop-top design, which I couldn’t raise without removing all my adventure sports gear from the roof. The Sportsmobile’s built in propane also isn’t a good choice for RTW travel, as it is hard enough to find drive up and fill propane in North America.
With ALL of those thoughts swirling around in my head over the past few years I wanted desperately to find a rig that would be affordable and meet my unique criteria. Luckily I know some experienced people in the overland industry that helped me narrow down my options to what might suit me and my style of travel best. In the end, the opportunity to work with Marc at XPCamper, developing my own custom camper, was just too good an opportunity to pass up. While I’m not all that handy around vehicles, tools and the like, I am a quick learner and feel that I need to have a much better grasp of these basic mechanical skills in order to be successful at my overland travel aspirations. With this build I will be hands on the entire time and documenting the entire process, which should better prepare me for any issues that arise while abroad.
I decided to build the EEXP on a short bed ext cab 4×4 Dodge 5.9L Cummins diesel platform for many reasons. The first and foremost is the 5.9L Cummins engine, which is reliable, durable and has been used in many industries around the world for many years, which means their are parts and mechanics familiar with it almost everywhere. Besides the quality engine, the overall size is large enough to build a comfortable camper on while being small enough to still negotiate many trails and smaller streets around the globe. The ext cab was essential since a regular cab wouldn’t allow my tall frame to be comfortable for long distance drives and a 4 door truck has too long a wheelbase for the types of off road environments I’d like to be able to negotiate. The downfalls of this platform are the unavailability of parts for the truck, besides the engine, around the world and the inherent weaknesses in the automatic transmission and steering systems. The mechanical issues can be addressed by aftermarket upgrades, but are expensive to sort out properly. In the end, every choice on a vehicle like this is a compromise and the second generation Dodge ext cab short bed diesel 4×4 truck checked more boxes on my criteria list than the competitors.
Stay tuned for much more to come. The base vehicle prep has already begun, parts are being sourced and the camper will start to take form over the next few weeks.
Huge shout out to the sponsors who have already stepped up to the plate on this build:
Please contact me if you’d like your company to be involved with this build and the marketing opportunities that come with it (bryon@exploringelements.com).
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