Is a demountable the right choice for me?

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Gary W
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Joined: March 19th, 2015, 8:01 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset. UK
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Re: Is a demountable the right choice for me?

Post: # 16475Post Gary W
January 5th, 2017, 12:14 am

RobYorkshire wrote:Really appreciate the replies gents, thank you.

I'll definitely be looking for a super cab model of a pickup to minimise any chassis damage. I was hoping a double cab Ranger and one of the Northstar 700DLX / Skarosser EC6L models would be an ideal "safe" combination but it seems fulltimers Chris & Rachel have suffered the dreaded chassis problems. Sure I read a post on here from Tony saying the same for him too.

The cylinder head also seems a fairly common issue on the Ford trucks too, I appreciate most people take to the Internet when they have a problem rather than to sing praise but a quick Google brings up lots of forum posts on it.

I've ruled Navaras out, Isuzu Rodeo's seem quite high priced for what they are. The L200 is in budget, will have to research them. Same goes for a Hilux, albeit it'll have slightly higher miles.

I must admit, part of me is tempted to go for a LWB Sprinter or similar and work on converting it myself. Would work out a lot cheaper, probably just as capable in 90% of situations (always the option to convert to 4x4 and install a lift kit too) and would allow me to build the interior to my fancy, however buying something "off the shelf" and ready to go, really does appeal. Hmmmmm, decisions!

I'm not keen on the idea of travelling abroad to buy although this is looking like the common thing to do? I've been checking eBay and on here on a daily basis and nothing really suitable coming up although I suppose it's the wrong time of year. A look back through the for sale thread shows some old adverts that would be suitable, and in budget, so I guess it's just a case of waiting.

Itching to get something and get on my travels! I've spent the last 2 days working on a map of climbing / cycling / kayaking spots along with possible stopover places across the Highlands, so that'll be my first month away!
Hi Rob

I'd love you to come and buy a spanking new model from us, but you can't win them all!

Never mind, maybe I can help anyway. Given what you want to do with your camper you need a particular style of demountable and being on a budget need not be an obstacle, especially since you seem happy to do some work yourself. May I suggest you find yourself a decent Hilux or Isuzu extra cab (or single cab if you can manage with it) and an old Suntrekker 2 camper. That's the fibreglass one like this.

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It will be at around 20 years old now so will be cheap but don't let the age that put you off, being GRP the body is light, strong and lasts forever.
The body was great, the entrance door was awful and the inside was marmite. It's easy enough to replace the door with a new one and if you strip out the inside you have a blank canvas. You could build yourself a really nice, bombproof camper for sensible money. Maybe it's just me but I reckon the old Suntrekker body is timeless too, it still looks modern today.
If you could manage with something a little smaller the little Tandy from the same era shares many of the same attributes. With either body you may have to use a little ingenuity to match the body to the truck, but nothing major. The jacks will likely be missing or knackered, but we sell universal stainless steel replacements so that's not the end of the world either.

I would not recommend an old coach built (timber framed) camper at all, and definitely not for off-road use. We'll happily take take a used GRP or fully Composite camper in part exchange against a new one, but I wouldn't touch an old coachbuilt of any make. I have good reason for that: having started selling demountables in the 80s I have a fair bit of experience to draw on. We have a fair bit of info about different construction methods on our website if you're interested http://sbsadventurecampers.com/wp/demou ... n-methods/

Finally old Navaras and L200s are not good base cars for demountables. The Toyota and Isuzu cost more mostly because they are worth more, but there is a bargain out there and it is in the form of the old model Ranger. They don't break the chassis normally, it only breaks if abused (overweight campers for example) and the motor is not known to be any more problematic than anything else. They're a little thirsty but otherwise are really underrated so they tend to be relatively cheap.

I hope that's helpful, good luck and all the best

Gary

SBS Adventure Campers

Mobile: +44 (0) 7595 368 422
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Web: sbsadventurecampers.com
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zildjian
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Joined: September 8th, 2013, 3:30 pm

Re: Is a demountable the right choice for me?

Post: # 16479Post zildjian
January 5th, 2017, 6:56 pm

And in one of those odd coincidences this arrived on the used market this afternoon

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Check out page 300 in demountable campers for sale today

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derestrictor
Posts: 2342
Joined: November 18th, 2014, 7:21 pm
Location: gotham Nottingham

Re: Is a demountable the right choice for me?

Post: # 16501Post derestrictor
January 7th, 2017, 3:17 pm

that looks quite an interesting old fibreglass camper pretty expensive all the same not sure its worth it

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