Landcruiser 70 series Rust-o-Mod: "OLBETSY ZX"

Rolled up 300k kms on the way and had a glorious couple days in the wild.



Itā€™s time to switch things up again! After running the typical two drawers, fridge on top etc, for a few years, Iā€™m going to switch things up. But blank slate first.

1 Like

Wellā€¦ I got several quotes to cut off my roof and install a pop top. Both were north of 22 thousand dollars. I just couldnā€™t do it. Thatā€™s a lot of scratch for what is essentially a bespoke rooftop tent with no bottom in it not to mention a truck thatā€™ll never get its value back.

Soā€¦ Iā€™m moving in a different direction. Instead Iā€™m going back to an overland trailer. But this one is going to be different.

Iā€™m going AUSSIE STYLE. Itā€™s a Kamparoo Camper, now made in Canada but based off the old CUB camper. So rear fold out tent made of high quality Aussie canvas and a tub thatā€™s 5ā€™x8ā€™ when folded in, at around 900 pounds. Seriously overbuilt galvanized frame and all metal walls.

Deposit has been made, specs have been decided and now I wait. Probably finished by the end of March.

But my frame has already been welded up.

Newly turboed olBetsy will shed her rooftop tent and pull this instead!

2 Likes

Pretty quiet around hereā€¦ How about some Aussie rear folding camper goodness?
Kamparoo_July0616_sm-595x397

Itā€™s gonna be a long wait till March.

2 Likes

And to finish it off (because heating my rear tire with my exhaust doesnā€™t really improve road holding on this brick)ā€¦ I fashioned a new tailpipe, ie a 90Ā° bendā€¦

Video was too big and crashed my pic upload, so here is my tailpipe againā€¦

1 Like

Thatā€™s really cool Phil. The pop-up roof is a neat piece of kit, but no easy feat. I seem to remember Tim and Kelsey (DirtSunrise - now living on a catamaran) found a guy in Canada who was selling his, then drove from Phoenix to his place, to cut the roof off THEIR 80 in his garage, installed, and drove home right after.

Neat setups but so much work!

1 Like

$22,000!?!?! Yikes! Iā€™ve had an off-road trailer for years and itā€™s been great. Mineā€™s very simple but has storage and an RTT on top. Mineā€™s a Dinoot (out of Salem, OR). Solid axle, leaf springs, no shocks. Square-tube frame, pressure-treated plywood base, and fiberglass sides. It got towed behind my old Pajero on the '22 Overland Adventure with Four Wheeler. The trailer did GREAT even over terrain in which I expected to flop it. It gave me a lot of confidence in traveling with an off-road trailer. Granted, without shocks, I think it spent 50% of its time without the wheels touching the ground, but still. Off-road camper trailers can be great.

2 Likes

I forgot about the Dinoot! Such a cool trailer! I had an M101CDn for a while too if you recall. It really adds a bit of fun to a trail, for sure!

My new one is going to be specced with shocks and brakes, so it should spend a little more time in contact with terra firma. :slight_smile: And itā€™s going to have some indoor space, where you can stand, sit, etc, without being in/on the bed.

We still have the Wolfpup travel trailer, but this is for a different kind of campingā€¦

1 Like

@CrankshaftCulture Andy! Good seeing you!

And how long has it been since Iā€™ve seen ā€œDinootā€ mentionedā€“or thought about Philā€™s old military trailer? Damn.

I feel like Iā€™ve always been a trailer kinda guy, but have never had one. Mostly because of entry cost, but also because Gen 2 Monteros arenā€™t known for their towing performanceā€“especially uphill, right? The two of you have been rocking turbo diesels for years now, so I know your towing experience is better and worse than mine would be at the same time. And then you need somewhere to store it when not in use (which seems even more problematic than RTTs), too.

For me, the draw is having base camp sorted and both easily deployed and stowed. No back-of-the-truck sleeping platform or air-mattress-in-a-tent comes close to the sleep I got in a friends dual-pop-out trailer. You just canā€™t beat opening a real door, walking past a real table, and climbing into a more or less proper bed.

How often have you trailer camp boys been disappointed with your trailers? Whatā€™s really need-to-know?

PS: Did you get an email about my reply, here? Iā€™m not sure theyā€™re going out. Thanks.

1 Like

They are going out. Worky work email notificationsā€¦ :ok_hand:

Iā€™ve had trailers for many many years now, and except for the current V8 to tow the big (relative to our others) travel trailer, its always been behind turbo diesels.

The primary reasons for this latest iteration of camping glory are two-fold:

  1. To reduce the height of my roofline:
    I want to always BE ABLE to park in my garage, even if I donā€™t. Even with boards and seals removed, my 84.5 inch RTT only JUST squeaked in, without snow on the apron, without any racks on the tent, without air in the airbags, and WITH fuel and supplies on board. To raise the garage height is possible but stupid expensive, and besides: a headwind makes a rooftop tent on an underpowered diesel turn into a brick wall.

  2. Inside space.
    RTT means you get up, do calisthenics to get dressed (probably in damp clothes), then descend a ladder in the cold. Then go back up to retrieve your dog and your phone, then go back up again to get your keys, all the while rain is dripping down your neck, and youā€™re being careful not to slide off the ladder. (Okay, yes wah wah wah)

A rear fold trailer conversely, gives one space to stand, get dressed, walk out of an actual (zippered) door upright, like an evolved homo sapiens. LOL. The actual towing of it, as long as I keep it light-ish, probably wonā€™t be much different than smacking through the wind with an RTT, and possibly better in a headwind?

Downsides:
-city parking needs two inline spots.
-backing up in crowded parking lots is a no-go, and sometimes even small things like fuel stops need to be carefully curated for entrance and exit plans.
-storage needs to be accounted for, although this one might be a wash since unless you are running your RTT fulltime, RTT storage is also a thing, and painful in a different way. thankfully my garage allows pass through so storage is multi facetedā€¦
-fuel economy will suffer although compared to an RTT, it may again be a draw.
-offroadability is semi compromised, although I see it as a worthy challenge, and can make mild trails more funā€¦?
-cost. Yep. Call it 10 times more expensive, if you wanna be fancy. Or maybe 50 times if you start going really fancy schmancy.

NEED TO KNOW?

  1. Keep it light, and you ā€œwont even know its thereā€. When I was bringing my M1010CDN back from Ontario, we were bombing down some fireroads at speed, and suddenly I saw something in my rearview as I took a fast chiccaneā€¦ realized I had forgotten about the trailer and it was doing a little drifting. Woohoo! LIKE I DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT WAS THERE. Light. Keep it light. Or tow with a V8.

  2. Trailer brakes: Even on a little guy, trailer brakes are huge advantage, esp offroad. All kinds of tricks can be employed, from tank turns, to jack knifing, to hill descent control.

  3. Wheelbase: A short tongue makes backing up almost impossible. If you can match your hitch to axle length to your truckā€™s wheelbase, you have almost the perfect towing match, and all maneuvering is easier. My M101CDN was uber short, and backing it up was an exercise in very small movements and concentration, and 3 times out of 10 Iā€™d have to pull ahead and readjust (after I got real good).

  4. Articulating hitch - pintles are effective but noisy AF and I wonā€™t be doing one this time around. There are a few good ones now, but Iā€™m buying a max coupler. YMMV.

  5. Tongue jack - one that can hold the weight and actually roll on uneven ground is huge. My last one felt like it would fold under itself anytime I tried to move the trailer by hand. This time around Iā€™m getting an ARK XO500 jockey wheel. Aussies have most things dialled and this is no exception.

Okay, thatā€™s maybe TMI, even if it is need to know basis. LOL.

Drawers are back in along with their new sister ā€¦ the slid out KITCHEN! WOOHOO!

And a new molle pocket for the back door.

1 Like

Dayum boyeee! That looks so good. And used. I love thatā€™s not NIB shiny.

Man I hope this happensā€¦

1 Like

Two weeks ago I finally added some fuel. Just a Ā¼ turn on the fuel screw. Then last week I added another Ā¼.

Dude! Suddenly Iā€™m making boost way sooner and when I shift to third I actually can feel a little thrust! Ooooh yeah.

1 Like

Aww yeah!

Car Driving GIF by MotorTrend

1 Like

Last weekend I put in new glowplugs and also replaced the instrument cluster glass, which I was able to buy brand new. LOL!

Hereā€™s the old cloudy lense:

New one installed and old one on top for comparison. Much better. Also replaced a few (24V) bulbs at the same time.

1 Like

That cluster lens!

Stick Around Bob Ross GIF by Originals

I am legit jealous.

1 Like