Demountable camper group

Try the link
http://www.helpfindmea.co.uk/vans/specs/
Cheers

Thanks Mike, that's working for me.

Welcome to the forum earthman. Whereabouts are you based ? I'm sure that we have a member somewhere close enough for you to have a look around. Or you could come along to our 1st Social in June, where you inspect pretty much every manufacturer that's available in the UK. Failing that, then just keep firing those questions at us

Andy

earthman wrote:Just joined here, looking for advice on getting an Hilux and demountable unit in the future, always been into camping, currently have a small panel van conversion.

Hi Earthman

If I might add my comments...

If you are planning any sort of off-road work you should try to avoid double cabs. The entire load is carried behind the axle which is technically horrendous. The Hilux will cope but there are numerous reports of L200 chassis breaking behind the axle on long trips with a demountable. Even for road only use many demountable cabins will be heavy enough once loaded to need air or upgraded rear suspension - but most owners seem happy once that's done. You need to be cautious of axle weights though, it is very easy to exceed them if you're not very careful with your loading. You get an individual factory weight certificate with every Lelycamper but generally manufactures claimed weights should be taken with a large pinch of salt. I would always advise a trip to the local weigh bridge once you've filled your tanks and loaded your gear. It can be scary but it can be a great excuse to treat yourself to some nice titanium cookware! If you did decide you really needed a double cab and a decent size cabin, plus some off-road ability, the Landrover 130 seems to cope well.

The single cab 2WD truck is the best basis for a road going demountable, but if resale value is going to be a concern at some point (when isn't it!) then you might find it to have somewhat limited market appeal when the time comes unfortunately.

The best compromise is undoubtedly the extra cab style truck. You can have a decent camper body with all facilities and the weight will be carried that bit extra forward which really does make a difference. The extra occasional seats and secure storage in the cab as mentioned elsewhere is all good stuff too. All modern pickups are nice to drive but the Hilux version makes a particularly good basis for a demountable with well suited engine characteristics, a powerful heavy duty alternator, and robust build which copes with the weight well. With the right camper they will cope with fairly adventurous off road stuff too.

One option which is nearly always overlooked in the UK is to go for the Ozzie style flat bed with a camper on top. We offer this variation on most of our standard cabins. Advantages include much better storage, better centre of gravity (it doesn't look it but is is due to storage being so much lower) and a much greater choice of layouts as you can have the side door pretty much where ever you like. The only real disadvantage is a slightly higher cost, mostly as you need the flat bed too, but the cost isn't horrendous. We offer an Ozzie made, outback proven all alloy flatbed for less than £2000 fitted. The Landrover unit below is a nice example and is available as a fixed or demountable unit.

Hope that's helpful

Best wishes

Gary

Peaky wrote:Welcome to the forum earthman. Whereabouts are you based ? I'm sure that we have a member somewhere close enough for you to have a look around. Or you could come along to our 1st Social in June, where you inspect pretty much every manufacturer that's available in the UK. Failing that, then just keep firing those questions at us

Andy

Hi Andy, I'm near London/the top of the M25, where is this social event that you speak of? We like getting away for a weekend etc, what date is it on?

Gary W wrote:

earthman wrote:Just joined here, looking for advice on getting an Hilux and demountable unit in the future, always been into camping, currently have a small panel van conversion.

Hi Earthman

If I might add my comments...

If you are planning any sort of off-road work you should try to avoid double cabs. The entire load is carried behind the axle which is technically horrendous. The Hilux will cope but there are numerous reports of L200 chassis breaking behind the axle on long trips with a demountable. Even for road only use many demountable cabins will be heavy enough once loaded to need air or upgraded rear suspension - but most owners seem happy once that's done. You need to be cautious of axle weights though, it is very easy to exceed them if you're not very careful with your loading. You get an individual factory weight certificate with every Lelycamper but generally manufactures claimed weights should be taken with a large pinch of salt. I would always advise a trip to the local weigh bridge once you've filled your tanks and loaded your gear. It can be scary but it can be a great excuse to treat yourself to some nice titanium cookware! If you did decide you really needed a double cab and a decent size cabin, plus some off-road ability, the Landrover 130 seems to cope well.

The single cab 2WD truck is the best basis for a road going demountable, but if resale value is going to be a concern at some point (when isn't it!) then you might find it to have somewhat limited market appeal when the time comes unfortunately.

The best compromise is undoubtedly the extra cab style truck. You can have a decent camper body with all facilities and the weight will be carried that bit extra forward which really does make a difference. The extra occasional seats and secure storage in the cab as mentioned elsewhere is all good stuff too. All modern pickups are nice to drive but the Hilux version makes a particularly good basis for a demountable with well suited engine characteristics, a powerful heavy duty alternator, and robust build which copes with the weight well. With the right camper they will cope with fairly adventurous off road stuff too.

One option which is nearly always overlooked in the UK is to go for the Ozzie style flat bed with a camper on top. We offer this variation on most of our standard cabins. Advantages include much better storage, better centre of gravity (it doesn't look it but is is due to storage being so much lower) and a much greater choice of layouts as you can have the side door pretty much where ever you like. The only real disadvantage is a slightly higher cost, mostly as you need the flat bed too, but the cost isn't horrendous. We offer an Ozzie made, outback proven all alloy flatbed for less than £2000 fitted. The Landrover unit below is a nice example and is available as a fixed or demountable unit.

Hope that's helpful

Best wishes

Gary

Many thanks Gary for all that info,....we are leaning towards the extra cab model I must say and I can see the advantage of a side door on the camper unit rather than a rear door, we also have a rack with bicycles.

earthman wrote:

Peaky wrote:Welcome to the forum earthman. Whereabouts are you based ? I'm sure that we have a member somewhere close enough for you to have a look around. Or you could come along to our 1st Social in June, where you inspect pretty much every manufacturer that's available in the UK. Failing that, then just keep firing those questions at us

Andy

Hi Andy, I'm near London/the top of the M25, where is this social event that you speak of? We like getting away for a weekend etc, what date is it on?

Take a look at the link below, there's going to be at least 15 demountables there during the last weekend in June

2015 Social

Andy

Looks like it will be a good event, we do hope to come up and have a look, let's hope the weather is kind to us.