DinoEvo and the 2010 Abenteuer & Allrad Show

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Michael Wendell

Moab

The DinoEvo website follows the adventures of a German couple who relocated to Vancouver, and then decided to drive south, to Ushuaia, Argentina, in a heavily modified Mitsubishi Delica van. Currently, according to their Flickr page, the couple is in Panama, the seventh country on their itinerary, and the amazing little Delica is still chugging south.

Costa Rica

If you enjoy this sort of thing, and if you’re reading this blog you probably do, you should check out their website, or for the latest information, their Flickr page.

Mexico

The real prize on the DinoEvo website though, especially for those of us based in the States, is a virtual visit to the 2010 Abenteuer & Allrad Show in Bad Kissingen. This is probably the biggest, baddest, most impressive off-road and expedition camper show in the world. DinoEvo’s gallery is extensive, with over 200 great photos from the show (I only wish it were easier to step through them as a slideshow UPDATE: You can simply use your arrow keys to easily step through the entire gallery!). I’ve included a few below as samples, but definitely visit the site and check out the full gallery.

Categories: Class B - Van, Mitsubishi | 2 Comments

The Beast from Bribie Island

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Michael Wendell

Look at this thing… just look at it. If this isn’t the ultimate makeshift zombie apocalypse survival vehicle, I don’t know what is!

An all-too-brief auction description claims that this (clearly) home-built rig sits on a rugged 4×4 Bedford military chassis, and sports an all aluminum frame, with (if I’m reading this correctly) aluminum sandwich walls. Seller claims that the camper is almost done, runs and drives, and that the Chevy 350 can push it up to 90kph (~56 mph). With all that raw power, it’s good to know that the brakes have been relined and surfaced.

The camper already has 120 watts of solar panels, folding awnings Melbourne, and a 20 amp regulator. It’s got a TV, a big leather couch, a Dometic 3-way fridge for beer, and what appears to be a set of church windows on the back. While it still needs the propane and water lines installed, the seller is including the uninstalled carpeting and a toilet in the auction.

I’ll be honest… I’m intrigued. If I was in Queensland, AU, I’d want to see this one in person. I think the photos, and the trash littering the ground around the vehicle are probably selling it a bit short. This could be a great Outback explorer for some intrepid Aussie.

Currently the listing is at $15,000 AUD, no bids, no reserve. This 4×4 camper is located near scenic Bribie Island in QLD, Australia, currently in an rv storage. See and read more about it on eBay Australia.

Categories: Bedford, Custom | Leave a comment

No, that’s not a Unimog

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Michael Wendell

Generally, I find sarcasm detestable. It seems to be the favored writing style of the jealous and insecure. So naturally, I found this post on Driving Inertia to be somewhat ugly. In it, the author describes this great looking Mercedes 914-based expedition camper (that they thought was a Unimog) as a ridiculous “homage to over-preparation”, adding a snarky comment about the fact that it was parked in a campground, instead of on a mountain top somewhere. The post goes on to bash the owners of kitted-out 4×4 Sportsmobiles as well, sarcastically referring to them as “rugged non-conformist(s)” and calling the rig a “dot-com millionaire’s traveling circus”.

Now I don’t know the Germans who own this camper, nor do I know where their travels have taken them, but I’d bet that they’ve gone to quite a few places that you simply cannot get to in a Toyota Sienna. The world is an amazing place, full of all kinds of people. If you’re open to the experience, rather than simply resorting to sarcasm, you might enjoy meeting a few of them.

Oh, and if by chance the owners of the Mercedes 4×4 camper pictured above read this… Get in touch, I’d love to feature it in a future post!

Source: Driving Inertia

Categories: Mercedes-Benz, Off Topic | 5 Comments

Zeppelin Expedition Camper Box

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Michael Wendell

The great looking 4×4 Mercedes-Benz 914 shown above is not for sale in Walpertskirchen, Germany… at least not all of it. The truck is not for sale, however the camper box mounted on top of it is. The box is a ACE II (FM2) military-grade, ruggedized aluminum shelter built by Zeppelin Mobile System GMBH in Germany, and is 4.25 meters long, 2.2 meters wide and 2.1 meters high (13.9′ x 7.2′ x 6.9′).

The box has been built out with a good looking, bright interior featuring oil-treated pine cabinetry and stainless hardware, as well as insulated Seitz windows with mosquito screens. 500 Watts of Unipolar solar panels feed a 360AH Varta battery pack, new in 2011 and a Studer 1000W inverter. The full kitchen and bathroom are supplied by a 300 liter (79.25 gallon) fresh water tank, and a 15 liter (4 gallon) electric water heater (230V/12V). Outside you’ll find a Fiamma awning, a shower, and a large externally accessed storage locker. Cab access is provided by a small crawl-through opening measuring 60 x 70 cm (23.5″ x 27.6″). At Shoppok you can find many options if you can buy a special camper.

Source: eBay Listing

Categories: Mercedes-Benz, Project, Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GMBH | 2 Comments

Drive this to Mars?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Michael Wendell

Because driving on Mars, after all, would require one hell of an expedition motorhome, I give you this. It was actually created by artist Tom Sachs, for his SPACE PROGRAM: MARS installation at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.

Reading over some of the exhibition material, this is referred to as the MQF, or Mobile Quarantine Facility. So even in the artist’s fancy, this 1972 Winnebago Brave wouldn’t have been Mars bound… but in my mind, I can picture this thing rolling across the Martian landscape. That fits right in with the crazy Airstream-punk™, 1950’s-technology science fiction movie that’s running in my head most days.

Interesting fact… NASA actually used modified Airstream trailers, mounted to pallets for installation aboard the recovery ships, as quarantine facilities for the moon astronauts back in the day). Specially modified classic-model Airstream motorhomes have been employed for many years by NASA to transport astronauts to the launch pad as well.

(Yes, I know that the motorhome pictured above is a Winnebago, but I’ll find any reason to steer the conversation to Airstreams).

Sources: ‘Space Program: Mars’ — Artist Tom Sachs’ Vision (Photos) on space.com, Tom Sachs SPACE PROGRAM: MARS official website.

Categories: Off Topic, Quick Snaps | Leave a comment