Two-story camping car
December 21, 2008 7:21 AM Subscribe
"We were classmates in high school... And we spoke the plan to go to Yakushima Island. However, the talk swells greatly...We decided to make a camper for a round-the-japan trip. We thought that various equipment was necessary to long trip. However, the bed space has disappeared when various equipment is packed. Then, the idea adjusted to two stories appeared." More on the truck and the trip. (via Dinosaurs and Robots)
Why, oh why doesn't Toyota bring cool little trucks like that over to the States?
That is so, so cool.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:48 AM on December 21, 2008
That is so, so cool.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:48 AM on December 21, 2008
The coolest part about that truck was that it was street-legal.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:07 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by infinitewindow at 8:07 AM on December 21, 2008
The only people hardcore enough to build something like this are the Japanese, the Germans, or those attending Burning Man.
posted by gman at 8:26 AM on December 21, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by gman at 8:26 AM on December 21, 2008 [2 favorites]
The day I first read about an Earth Roamer truck on a blog, about two hours later when I went downtown for lunch, one was parked on the main street. I couldn't believe it.
posted by mathowie at 8:57 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by mathowie at 8:57 AM on December 21, 2008
A Dutch company, Tonke, makes a nice one but it's only one story.
posted by grounded at 9:07 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by grounded at 9:07 AM on December 21, 2008
Tonke is very nice. Classy, like an old wood boat. The off-loading is cool, if you need to service the truck while traveling, set up camp somewhere nearby. It's also pretty affordable for these types of things. I would prefer to have an empty space and add my own furniture and no bathroom/water system, but it depends on how one prefers to travel.
posted by stbalbach at 9:46 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by stbalbach at 9:46 AM on December 21, 2008
The Times had a nice piece on the Sportsmobile, which is what I'd look into myself: CUSTOM-MADE; Mixing Rough Roads With Home Comforts
posted by gen at 10:11 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by gen at 10:11 AM on December 21, 2008
DO WANT
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:12 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:12 AM on December 21, 2008
Why, oh why doesn't Toyota bring cool little trucks like that over to the States?
Toyota does, or rather their wholly owned subsidiary, Hino Trucks, does.
posted by gen at 10:16 AM on December 21, 2008
Toyota does, or rather their wholly owned subsidiary, Hino Trucks, does.
posted by gen at 10:16 AM on December 21, 2008
Look at the manufacturing pictures... if this is what high school kids in Japan can do it's pretty obvious why Detroit is fucked.
I mean look how perfect the frame they built is.
posted by geos at 10:28 AM on December 21, 2008
I mean look how perfect the frame they built is.
posted by geos at 10:28 AM on December 21, 2008
Heh, I was just thinking about Sportsmobile when I saw this: they did a very nice conversion for a project I was working on, converting a standard Ford van into a off-road vehicle/mobile computer lab.
posted by Upton O'Good at 10:54 AM on December 21, 2008
posted by Upton O'Good at 10:54 AM on December 21, 2008
Oh I want that goddamn truck so bad.
posted by Divine_Wino at 11:04 AM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Divine_Wino at 11:04 AM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
This is SO what I want to do -- I've drawn plans up very similar to this conversion, but with the expansion going laterally too not just upwards.
Why, oh why doesn't Toyota bring cool little trucks like that over to the States?
Nissan is working on the NV-2500
The Toyota Coaster bus is the perfect base for an RV.
posted by troy at 11:10 AM on December 21, 2008
Why, oh why doesn't Toyota bring cool little trucks like that over to the States?
Nissan is working on the NV-2500
The Toyota Coaster bus is the perfect base for an RV.
posted by troy at 11:10 AM on December 21, 2008
The Monster Garage rules are simple: 1) When completed, the monster machine must appear to be stock. 2) The team can spend no more than $3000 cash for parts
I can't believe they're selling it for as little as $5500. The parts alone must have cost that. And they didn't finish it in five days, either ....
But really, they should auction this off for an ungodly sum.
posted by dhartung at 11:17 AM on December 21, 2008
I can't believe they're selling it for as little as $5500. The parts alone must have cost that. And they didn't finish it in five days, either ....
But really, they should auction this off for an ungodly sum.
posted by dhartung at 11:17 AM on December 21, 2008
Good God I want that Earthroamer. I'll never need real estate again.
posted by penduluum at 12:24 PM on December 21, 2008
posted by penduluum at 12:24 PM on December 21, 2008
Europe has the lead on both the US and Japan in camper vans. Check out UNICAT and Ex-Tec from Germany, Austrian Allrad-Christ, Lyndi and Action Mobil and Swiss Safaricentre.
I guess it's two reasons for this: Europeans are more prone to travel far and it's easier to take a period off from work. Having a land connection to Asia and Africa just a ferry ride away probably doesn't hurt either.
posted by Harald74 at 1:01 PM on December 21, 2008
I guess it's two reasons for this: Europeans are more prone to travel far and it's easier to take a period off from work. Having a land connection to Asia and Africa just a ferry ride away probably doesn't hurt either.
posted by Harald74 at 1:01 PM on December 21, 2008
I remember being on a hill in Germany, looking out over the plains towards Poland and thinking "gosh, you could totally drive to Russia from here". Some other dude had that idea first, of course.
posted by Artw at 3:49 PM on December 21, 2008
posted by Artw at 3:49 PM on December 21, 2008
I'm disapponted that the articles left out the part about the extra button that transforms it into a robot to fight crime.
posted by happyroach at 10:11 AM on December 22, 2008
posted by happyroach at 10:11 AM on December 22, 2008
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posted by leotrotsky at 7:44 AM on December 21, 2008