The concept is basically a camping/caravan box / 'Camping Cube' that slides onto the back of the bakkie, replacing the standard double cab bak section.
The box is basically a 1.8 meter cube containing an entire fold out caravan. The cube can be folded out on 3 sides when resting on the back of the chassis, but, the vehicle can drive out from under the cube, leaving the caravan in place while you go play 4x4.
Acces is from the front through a door cut into tha back of the cab. When the vehicle is detached, the entrance is out to the outside world with a simple walk in set of steps that fold down.
When driving you have an open area inside the box which is basically the size of a double bed. This can be used for passengers or for a co driver to sleep, or even for a basic pull over and sleep configuration.
The forward section over the cab contains home entertainment / dstv decoder, storage for lightweight accessories and mounts the solar panels. On the inside a mini widescreen give you a home theatre for the back bedroom.
Now when you make camp, the 2 sides and the rear fold down.
Each of the sides becomes a half tent sleeping 2, the back rest folds flat to become the top half of a double bed and the centre section lifts up to form a table top that gives you seated or lying arangement while parked or traveling.
The back section folds down to form the kitchen working surface as an extention of the internal table. A small two burner gas stove is mounted in the fold out panel. This panel is accesible from inside or outside as a working kitchen surface or as a general table extention. Knives, forks, plates, pots and pans are in the overhead racks. Accessible when folded or deployed. Food is stored in a custom cooler unit under the seats/beds, giving you a 2meter x 0.5meter x 0.25 meter cooler boxe/fridge on each side which are primarily cooled by the aircon, and with secondary cooling by peltier cells driven by the solar panels.
This cube would give me all the advantages of a caravan, with sleeping place for 6 when the two side panels are folded out. Considerably more robust than a tent, with none of the chassis, axle and wheel weight of a caravan. Easily detatchable at you destination, your 4x4 with a flatbed and two plywood fold up sidepanels is fully usable as a 4x4, while the 'camping cube' remains at the campsite as a lounge / kitchen / dining area or tripple bedroom. Two cavities at the back provide storage space for a small 1KW genset, Spare batteries, Water and fuel container. Solar panels on the roof, folding out provide 9 square meters at 40W/SQM = 360 watts with supplementary genset capacity. I am even thinking of a collapsable shower toilet cubicle.
The collapsable dish gives me DSTV / Radio for those extended uithang kuier sessions. It also doubles as a hatch cover that i can pop my head and shoulders out of when parking off next to a water hole, allowing me to use the rooftop as a camera platform.
But, that is the basic concept. It will extend the overall length of the vehicle but not by too much. It will still be able to tow a trailer. And i dont see that it would compromise my 4x4 capablility to any significant degree. I gould still take on anything but the most extreme trails.
Material : Carbon fibre panles on a stainless steel frame.
Just thinking about it at the concept stage currently. Thoughts, Ideas, Suggestions?
(actually the correct way to go when travelling). I have seen one of these before someone made / had made, not sure. The advantages are huge.
