An indian camper anyone?

superavi · 29th August 2007, 20:40

A day out in the wilderness!

One of my dreams is to camp on a farm underneath a clear sky full of stars, with no one – and I mean no one (ok ok that special someone) for company. I can visualize bright stars – millions and millions of them, with the smell of fresh green grass, and the sounds of insects fiddling.

About a week or so ago, I had the opportunity to see how a lot of my fellow Indians can do something like this – a camper – yes an Indian camper that will allow 4 to travel, camp, cook, sleep, drink (a fridge is included), go potty – a chemical portable toilet even, shower, anywhere (built on a 4x4 platform).

T-Bhpian Great Guy has gone ahead and as a dream project built this

A camper based on the Tata TL 4x4 Pick up.

It’s big. and long (no double meanings here)– mighty impressive in real life –

It has a motor to raise and lower the roof – the roof can be raised by about 5 feet to form a more voluminous interior – and it houses this:

The mattress behind the fan above is a double bed, when the roof is raised, you can comfortably sit in that area. The mattress/bunk to the left is a pullout, so you have a double bed.

The box immediately to the right above is the refrigerator, and the portable pullout toilet is the box on the right below.

Another view:

This view shows the basin, the steel table can be raised to reveal a twin burner stove and the shelves below are storage areas.

The motor that raises the roof is stored below the sink area – (I might be wrong here) and the charging is done by solar batteries on the roof:

Another view of the solar panels –

Add good rubber and butch alloys -

With a neat, very attractive (my opinion) way of storing the spare –

Throw in other things that fit in the back of the camper – 4 chairs,

A dining table –

Add foldable tents, sleeping bags, other miscellaneous gear and you have a completely equipped 4 person camper that you can use to go to Ladakh or Thar or wherever the goddamn hell you choose.

Interesting aint it? And it’s all done by T-BHPian Gr8Guy. He showed me around his workshop and it felt absolutely great to see this labour of love.

I hope you enjoy reading this, i certainly enjoyed typing it!

Superavi

Monster_BHP · 29th August 2007, 21:05

Great stuff Super Ravi! The attention to detail is very interesting and off course the body work is very well made. Which city is this from?

1100D · 29th August 2007, 21:09

The neck exercise was really refreshing! Feeling a lot better now. Somehow had a shoulder pain which vanished after reading (er seeing) your post. So thanks a lot.

However, this camper is so cool, I cant wait to take it for camping. Now , where are the camping sites? It was alsways my dream to see the whole country (especially the northern parts) travelling in a caravan. Looks like the dream is going to come true.

caliper · 29th August 2007, 21:12

Looks great! How about some pictures or description of the building process? What did you use, where did you get hard to get parts, what about putting solar panels on, integrating fridge, etc. Was anything custom made?

alankarm@sancha · 29th August 2007, 22:33

cost?? Where? material sourcing?

rohan_fonseca · 30th August 2007, 01:40

Nicer camper.Reminds me of the campers of we used to get around here. Will post pics in the future when i find another for sure if you guys are interested. Amazing campers have been things of the eighties here in Goa. Unfortunately they are rare to find of late!

speedy · 30th August 2007, 01:58

superravi that is some great stuff there, did not mind the neck exercise at all. the camper is a work of genious.
where was it built and are you planning to mass produce it or was it a one off project.
i am sure there would be alot of people like me who like to spend time away from the daily chores of work and need time to relax with nature. i love going trecking and camping and the camper sure looks nice. i have often thought of getting myself a 80's landcruiser and makeing one of these campers but never had the time.

amtak · 30th August 2007, 09:17

Good Work and nice choice of color.

dinar · 30th August 2007, 09:36

this is not the first time this is done in india on such vehicle, there was one red colour camper built in belgaum [karnataka] it was featured in most of the auto mags, in early 90s, I don't remember the name of the company , but they did not have any taker that time. it was on the than newly launched tatamobile crewcab....except for the solar panels the design was identical and one more great thing was that it had a full size bed in the top front area as compared to just space for the bedding here.it' cost was some where in the region of 3 lak, for just the conversion.

moralfibre · 30th August 2007, 09:53

Ohh GR8Guy from Overlanders specialty vehicles eh? Nice one that. Now when can we take a look?

rishibravo · 30th August 2007, 09:57

loved it.... wish I could get one ..like the way the sparewheel is put. overall very nicely done and pretty useful

GR8guy · 30th August 2007, 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Ohh GR8Guy from Overlanders specialty vehicles eh? Nice one that. Now when can we take a look?

Hi everybody,
The vehicle is in Pune and we can decide when all the interested guys can come together and we can see the vehicle. I will be able to explain all the features and its working at the same time. ( No Neck-pain then!!)

Moral, I have not confirmed abt the Pune meet as I am still not sure if a will be in Pune that day, but will come to know by 31st morning!

Cheers!

GTO · 30th August 2007, 16:09

Excellent job, and congratulations to your friend "gr8guy" on a purposeful car. There is something about personalised machines that makes them so appealing. The Tata looks great and very proportionate for a camper, while the motorised roof and solar power show the effort & engineering thats gone into this beast.

Have some great holidays....and do add a well-stocked bar in there

superavi · 30th August 2007, 19:04

Thanks GTO,

Btw Gr8Guy is on this forum, he's posted below.

Others, there are some technical questions asked by other members - I defer to Gr8Guy to answer them as he's the one who's worked on the Camper.

Thank you for your comments!

Thanks to Samurai San for having "righted" the images.

Superavi

GR8guy · 30th August 2007, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Excellent job, and congratulations to your friend "gr8guy" on a purposeful car. There is something about personalised machines that makes them so appealing. The Tata looks great and very proportionate for a camper, while the motorised roof and solar power show the effort & engineering thats gone into this beast.

Have some great holidays....and do add a well-stocked bar in there

Thanks GTO,
That is quite encouraging!
I would be more than happy to show it to fellow Bhpians interested, and share my little knowledge about it.
I am sure I will get some encouraging and insightful inputs too!
Our factory is in Chinchwad,Pune. We can plan for it too!

29th August 2007, 20:40	#1
superavi BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London Posts: 286 Thanked: 29 Times	An indian camper anyone? A day out in the wilderness! One of my dreams is to camp on a farm underneath a clear sky full of stars, with no one – and I mean no one (ok ok that special someone) for company. I can visualize bright stars – millions and millions of them, with the smell of fresh green grass, and the sounds of insects fiddling. About a week or so ago, I had the opportunity to see how a lot of my fellow Indians can do something like this – a camper – yes an Indian camper that will allow 4 to travel, camp, cook, sleep, drink (a fridge is included), go potty – a chemical portable toilet even, shower, anywhere (built on a 4x4 platform). T-Bhpian Great Guy has gone ahead and as a dream project built this A camper based on the Tata TL 4x4 Pick up. It’s big. and long (no double meanings here)– mighty impressive in real life – It has a motor to raise and lower the roof – the roof can be raised by about 5 feet to form a more voluminous interior – and it houses this: The mattress behind the fan above is a double bed, when the roof is raised, you can comfortably sit in that area. The mattress/bunk to the left is a pullout, so you have a double bed. The box immediately to the right above is the refrigerator, and the portable pullout toilet is the box on the right below. Another view: This view shows the basin, the steel table can be raised to reveal a twin burner stove and the shelves below are storage areas. The motor that raises the roof is stored below the sink area – (I might be wrong here) and the charging is done by solar batteries on the roof: Another view of the solar panels – Add good rubber and butch alloys - With a neat, very attractive (my opinion) way of storing the spare – Throw in other things that fit in the back of the camper – 4 chairs, A dining table – Add foldable tents, sleeping bags, other miscellaneous gear and you have a completely equipped 4 person camper that you can use to go to Ladakh or Thar or wherever the goddamn hell you choose. Interesting aint it? And it’s all done by T-BHPian Gr8Guy. He showed me around his workshop and it felt absolutely great to see this labour of love. I hope you enjoy reading this, i certainly enjoyed typing it! Superavi Last edited by Samurai : 30th August 2007 at 17:37. Reason: Pics - need to upload the pics and remove the img tags.
	(17) Thanks

29th August 2007, 21:05	#2
Monster_BHP BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 190 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	Great stuff Super Ravi! The attention to detail is very interesting and off course the body work is very well made. Which city is this from?
	(1) Thanks

29th August 2007, 21:09	#3
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,117 Times View My Garage	The neck exercise was really refreshing! Feeling a lot better now. Somehow had a shoulder pain which vanished after reading (er seeing) your post. So thanks a lot. However, this camper is so cool, I cant wait to take it for camping. Now , where are the camping sites? It was alsways my dream to see the whole country (especially the northern parts) travelling in a caravan. Looks like the dream is going to come true.
	() Thanks

29th August 2007, 21:12	#4
caliper BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: India Posts: 160 Thanked: 3 Times	Looks great! How about some pictures or description of the building process? What did you use, where did you get hard to get parts, what about putting solar panels on, integrating fridge, etc. Was anything custom made?
	() Thanks

29th August 2007, 22:33	#5
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	cost?? Where? material sourcing?
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 01:40	#6
rohan_fonseca BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Panaji Posts: 984 Thanked: 9 Times View My Garage	Nicer camper.Reminds me of the campers of we used to get around here. Will post pics in the future when i find another for sure if you guys are interested. Amazing campers have been things of the eighties here in Goa. Unfortunately they are rare to find of late!
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 01:58	#7
speedy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Meri Jaan Posts: 6,197 Thanked: 1,026 Times View My Garage	superravi that is some great stuff there, did not mind the neck exercise at all. the camper is a work of genious. where was it built and are you planning to mass produce it or was it a one off project. i am sure there would be alot of people like me who like to spend time away from the daily chores of work and need time to relax with nature. i love going trecking and camping and the camper sure looks nice. i have often thought of getting myself a 80's landcruiser and makeing one of these campers but never had the time.
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 09:17	#8
amtak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai - The city of Sea Link!!! Posts: 2,983 Thanked: 1,108 Times	Good Work and nice choice of color.
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 09:36	#9
dinar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: goa Posts: 1,066 Thanked: 57 Times	this is not the first time this is done in india on such vehicle, there was one red colour camper built in belgaum [karnataka] it was featured in most of the auto mags, in early 90s, I don't remember the name of the company , but they did not have any taker that time. it was on the than newly launched tatamobile crewcab....except for the solar panels the design was identical and one more great thing was that it had a full size bed in the top front area as compared to just space for the bedding here.it' cost was some where in the region of 3 lak, for just the conversion.
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 09:53	#10
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,565 Thanked: 14,474 Times	Ohh GR8Guy from Overlanders specialty vehicles eh? Nice one that. Now when can we take a look?
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 09:57	#11
rishibravo BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 579 Thanked: 12 Times View My Garage	loved it.... wish I could get one ..like the way the sparewheel is put. overall very nicely done and pretty useful
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 16:09	#13
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,772 Thanked: 322,401 Times View My Garage	Excellent job, and congratulations to your friend "gr8guy" on a purposeful car. There is something about personalised machines that makes them so appealing. The Tata looks great and very proportionate for a camper, while the motorised roof and solar power show the effort & engineering thats gone into this beast. Have some great holidays....and do add a well-stocked bar in there
	() Thanks

30th August 2007, 19:04	#14
superavi BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London Posts: 286 Thanked: 29 Times	Thanks GTO, Btw Gr8Guy is on this forum, he's posted below. Others, there are some technical questions asked by other members - I defer to Gr8Guy to answer them as he's the one who's worked on the Camper. Thank you for your comments! Thanks to Samurai San for having "righted" the images. Superavi
	() Thanks