Grand Tour

What is this camper that I have bought?

To start off it’s on a Toyota Hilux truck cab. The truck features the well-regarded and bulletproof 20r engine. The odometer reads 10,000, but only reads 5 digits, so my best guess would be that it has 110k miles on it. It’s a 4 speed manual. Top speed is about 65mph on the highway, more like 45mph going up a hill (depending on how weighted down you are). Back in 1977 when they were first made, they boasted a camper that got 29mpg highway. With aging, the weight of stuff in the back, and maybe the fact that I need a carburetor rebuild, I have been averaging about 17mpg. Still pretty good for a home on wheels!

Lets see, up front I’ve got a CB radio, a cassette player (with an AUX input!), a house speaker hooked up to the radio, seats and dash in pretty good condition. I’ve got two batteries, a car battery and a house battery with an isolator that keeps my house battery use from draining my car battery. Upgrades in store for the cab include new carpeting, a new dashboard (has a crack), and maybe a radio upgrade… we’ll see.

Thats the truck part… Moving on to the house part…

Over on the port side I’ve got my dining room, living room and bedroom all in one! Here’s a shot in it’s different forms:

  

The table drops down between the benches and the cushions are placed on top to transform into a bedroom! The table top is pretty cool, it’s a checker board, I love the idea, but it’s not really that well done. I’m in the process of enlaying a chessboard I got in India into some beautiful hardwood. Stay tuned for that post!

On the starboard side we have my closet;

  

And the kitchen;

  

The kitchen features a three burner propane coleman stove with an oven (pretty rare to have an oven in a camper), an Icebox that keeps things cold enough for me on my 6 day adventures, a sink with a pump that brings water from the tank below one of the benches and drains into a grey water tank underneath (has a hole, fix is on the to-do list). Below the sink in my fuse box and a switch where I can either run off my house battery or off a hook up if I am at an RV park or close to a house (I haven’t hooked up yet and tried it).

Last but not least… My guest bedroom! All are welcome to come and stay and join the adventure!