[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by LVDS

HI, has any one been able to make a caravan or a camper van here in india. Ideal for 2 adults and 2 children.
Can you give me some leads please.
Thank you. Lourd Vijay

Originally Posted by anjuna mark

It's been many years now since I built mine; companies have gone and new ones sprung up.
My experience is that those shops can produce good looking things but they aren't very good with the technical parts. If you know what you want, someone there can make it for you.

http://www.executivemodcartrendz.net...otor_home.html

The above link shall help you in realizing your dream.

I am building one of my own in a Tempo Traveler 3350 but it is not a full blown Caravan. All I am doing is putting some custom built recliners with two recliners that can turn into flat beds.
Single cabinet pantry with fridge, microwave, tea kettle & a micro basin is for the WET area.. I am not going to separate the driver cabin as it will be a self driven vehicle.
The idea is to have comfy traveler wherein I can travel with my friends & family and that everyone is not tied down to a seat.
In short it will just be an EXPANDED car.

Will post pictures (or a thread) once the traveler starts taking some proper shape. As of now its moving at snail speed due to monsoons & of course funds.

Meanwhile I am upgrading my DL for Heavy Vehicle so that I don't have issue while making some cross-country travelogues.

Regards-Sonu.

[LVDS]

Please do keep me posted.
Thank you

[Jeeper1941]

Motor-homes and RVs are okay, not caravans. People who tow these things hold up traffic ALL the time. I simply cannot imagine the chaos these things will cause on Indian roads.

[dr. sen]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

Motor-homes and RVs are okay, not caravans. People who tow these things hold up traffic ALL the time. I simply cannot imagine the chaos these things will cause on Indian roads.

Hello

to All fellow brethren bhp-ians, and congrats to start this thread again. I always thought, sooner or later people will come and restart this thread, as the amount of travelling done, and travelogue posted by our fellow brethren, in the past 4-5 years, was huge.

I am sure we all had missed the comfort factor in our usually small hatch or mid level suvs or muvs. The only person who felt most excited was the driver and the kids, the better half and the parents were too terrified and horrified by the traffic and usually had a prayer on their lips, till they reached the destination and then back home.

Now coming the need of a rv/motorhome or caravans. The motorhome is ok, as long as they are 4 wheeler or max 6 wheeler (with smaller dia wheels) like traveller 26 or ashok leyland boss / mitra / mahindra cabking etc.

But caravan is totally different cup of tea, altogether, IMHO. Do we have the vehicles to pull them comfortably @ 40-50 km / hr. The scorpios, Safaris, innovas, taveras dont have the requisite torque to pull the caravans in incline and neither they have the stopping power or weight to stop in the declines / incline. Except d-max and 3 litre Tata cab. ( the experts can come in). IMHO, these glorified suvs/ muvs are at best, good enough to pull a generator or water tanks, on plane. . .

Moreover, do we have wide enough SH's to cater them to the popular tourist destination, not to talk about secluded, unknown but great tourist destination, which abounds in the himalayas, nilgiris and the western coastal region.

IMHO, we can have rvs / motorhomes at present, and can look forward to caravans, in near future.

Regards

dr.sen

[jaysmokesleaves]

Ive been toying with the idea of building a mini motor home on the Force Traveller 3700 platform. Ive chosen the 3700 for more space since i plan to carry a Honda Activa at the back (ofcourse concealed within the compartment with an opening on the left side to eject it - it will be parked transversely at the back end).
This is a DIY build in the planning stage. Ive been busy making notes and and accumulating data and working on layout plans for the build.
Primary considerations being -
Light weight of the build and durability. Choice if alluminium instead of wood for frame sections. Insulation options. Modular storage option. Elelctrical concerns and power generation. Generator and or solar panel. Shower cubicle with porta potti. Gas / induction cooking. ventilation options.

I want to know, is it possible to register a Force traveller as private registration? Has it been done before ?
Im also looking for information on concealed automated racking system that can be installed to park the scooter in and out of its compartment.

Please share your views and ideas or links.

[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

I want to know, is it possible to register a Force traveller as private registration? Has it been done before ? Please share your views and ideas or links.

1) You can REGISTER 3700 as PV. My registration work is in progress. The vehicle was registered as PV earlier too.

2) Your LIST will not fit into 3700. This is a MONOCOQUE body so you cannot cut it from wherever you wish.
WC & Washroom can be procured as single ready-to-fit units in India. Just look them up on Google. The WC disposal is one job that you may hate, so be ready for that too.

3) You can buy portable gensets which can support air-conditioning when the vehicle is parked (fitted to slide out when required). Check NEWS VANS for idea. But buy the SILENT one. They cost upwards of 40K.

4) The one thing you have to keep in mind while building them is even distribution of weight all over the vehicle, including free surface effect of water tanks. Cannot help much on rack system for carrying scooter but again there are billion ideas out there on Google. Pick any.

Regards-Sonu

[amitpatnaik]

I too have been dreaming of a caravan since the time I saw one in the bollywood movie Swadesh. Thanks to all fellow BHPians who have started this thread and provided immense in depth knowledge about caravans & their application with respect to Indian environment. Would be glued to the threads by ariesonu & jaysmokesleaves to see their Force Traveller 3700 take a new dimension.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by ariesonu

1) You can REGISTER 3700 as PV. My registration work is in progress. The vehicle was registered as PV earlier too.

2) Your LIST will not fit into 3700. This is a MONOCOQUE body so you cannot cut it from wherever you wish.
WC & Washroom can be procured as single ready-to-fit units in India. Just look them up on Google. The WC disposal is one job that you may hate, so be ready for that too.

3) You can buy portable gensets which can support air-conditioning when the vehicle is parked (fitted to slide out when required). Check NEWS VANS for idea. But buy the SILENT one. They cost upwards of 40K.

4) The one thing you have to keep in mind while building them is even distribution of weight all over the vehicle, including free surface effect of water tanks. Cannot help much on rack system for carrying scooter but again there are billion ideas out there on Google. Pick any.

Regards-Sonu

Thanks for the pointers. will keep them in mind. Weight distribution is a relevant concern and ive given it a lot of thought. The final outcome should be good when it does.
The electricals is the most confusing and finding a reliable knowledgeable chap in bombay who will take up the electrical project will also be a challenge.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Thanks for the pointers. will keep them in mind. Weight distribution is a relevant concern and ive given it a lot of thought. The final outcome should be good when it does.
The electricals is the most confusing and finding a reliable knowledgeable chap in bombay who will take up the electrical project will also be a challenge.

If you plan on hiding an Activa inside, think about a bare frame chassis either from Force or a Mahindra CabKing. These days any bus body shop can make fibre glass light weight panels for you to turn that chassis into a comfortable Caravan. Cutting up the monocoque body will leave gaps to be strengthened which will add weight and ungainliness.

[Makesh]

It seems 3350 cannot be registered as a PV in Tamilnadu, just got of phone with Force dealer in coimbatore. Price quote is 11.64 Ex show+ 15k Handling + 175K for reg (tax) + 20 Reg charges + 45 Insurance. total 14.18 L for 3350 with Ac/PS/ABS 13 seater EDC17. I plan to purchase this vehicle once registration as PV gets cleared.

Can we put 6 Haritha seats used in volvo? I only want two rows with passage in-between and if so how much luggage space will be there at the rear.

[tanwaranil]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Ive been toying with the idea of building a mini motor home on the Force Traveller 3700 platform. Ive chosen the 3700 for more space since i plan to carry a Honda Activa at the back (ofcourse concealed within the compartment with an opening on the left side to eject it - it will be parked transversely at the back end).
This is a DIY build in the planning stage. Ive been busy making notes and and accumulating data and working on layout plans for the build.
Primary considerations being -
Light weight of the build and durability. Choice if alluminium instead of wood for frame sections. Insulation options. Modular storage option. Elelctrical concerns and power generation. Generator and or solar panel. Shower cubicle with porta potti. Gas / induction cooking. ventilation options.

I want to know, is it possible to register a Force traveller as private registration? Has it been done before ?
Im also looking for information on concealed automated racking system that can be installed to park the scooter in and out of its compartment.

Please share your views and ideas or links.

Dear jay, I came across this link before reading your post. Probably you might be interested.

http://www.indiancampervan.com/gallery_tour.html

PS : I do not have any financial interests in this. Writing this only in pure team bhp spirit.

[Anwesh]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

i plan to carry a Honda Activa at the back

Do you plan to park your motorhome inside Mumbai municipal limits? You may have problems at the octroi checkpost if you drive in with a scooter loaded in the vehicle.

Regards,

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by tanwaranil

Dear jay, I came across this link before reading your post. Probably you might be interested.

http://www.indiancampervan.com/gallery_tour.html

PS : I do not have any financial interests in this. Writing this only in pure team bhp spirit.

Thanks for the link. Surely looks interesting. I wonder though if the rto allows carrying a bike externally.

[anjuna mark]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Thanks for the link. Surely looks interesting. I wonder though if the rto allows carrying a bike externally.

I did carry a motorbike [a heavily modified rd350] on the outside of my Swaraj Mazda motohome .

The legality was unclear; I no longer have the road rules book, but I remember there were 2 contradictory rules; one was that cargo cannot be carried outside the body of the vehicle.
The other was that luggage CAN be carried outside the body of the vehicle.
So if your motorbike is cargo, it's not allowed, but if it's luggage then it is.
Luggage is personal goods of passengers; so if it's your own bike then it must be ok.

Just to be on the safe side, I avoided letting the rto inspector see the bike rack until after the vehicle was passed. Luckily he never walked around the back!

Driving through many state borders and being stopped and checked a few times, no officer ever queried the legality of it.

The bike rack was powered by a modified reversible starter motor, and lifted the bike up 1.4 meters on the rear. It was not a subtle thing.

[shankar.balan]

Sadly the whole concept of Caravanning never really caught on here. Though as I remember it, some of the cognoscenti in the '70's and '80's did have caravans. At least, one tended to see one or two in Ooty and similar places, now and then.

Saying that, in order to make the Caravanning experience successful then one needs proper camp sites as well, with proper sluicing facilities, sewage cleaning facilities and so on. Else, if not this, one at least needs accessible Yacht Marinas where these services can be availed of.

Basically, along with Caravanning, goes a whole pile of infrastructure. All these years, we Indians of the protectionist economy lacked both exposure and the spirit of adventure and will to go at it.

With the rapidly changing psychographics and demographics around us, there is no reason why caravanning can't become more accessible.