Layout & Options

So where does that leave us:

• 

  The very first, rough sketch

  Trucks – too clumsy, too slow, problems in many parks and reserves

• Bus – unless Iglhaut or similar, which aren’t the cat’s hat either – will be utterly useless as soon as the going gets somewhat tough
• Camping out of the box and/or the back of a SUV or Bakkie is not our cup of tea … the same goes for all kind of tents including roof-top tents
• We would like to be flexible and self sufficient for at least 5-7 days and/or 1000-1500 kilometers or so – I will come back to this issue in more detail, as I think it’s an interesting and important one
• On top of it all, the destinations and routes we have in mind necessitate sound off-road capabilities without much room for compromise
• On a positive note, Namibia’s and most of southern Africa’s climate will allow us to “live outside” most of the time, meaning we do not really need fully equipped living quarters inside a vehicle
• We would like to travel in some sort of comfort and safety, and be able to go to bed and sleep without hassle. A seating arrangement that allows some interaction and socialization, both while driving and while stationary, is a bonus.

Which brings us to the Wohni Wishlist, so to say.

Normally, as a sort of standard conversion, Schroeder Motorhomes stretches the chassis by 500mm and builds a cabin with an alcove on top of it, the alcove containing the main bed as usual. On the inside they fit a seating arrangement behind the front row seats, a full fledged kitchen and a very decent bathroom – yes, it is quite amazing what they squeeze into such a rather confined space.

Having been on another through-the-dunes desert trip recently, the chassis extension seemed like a bad idea. After consulting and discussing this with some of the “boffins”, we decided not to compromise on departure and brake-over angles.

Foggy Cold Morning

The very same desert trip, by the way, made it again all the more evident to me that I prefer to sleep inside the vehicle and on an easy to be made bed (it was cold and wet in, especially in the morning), without much unpacking and unloading and deploying action required.

Flip-top Cabin with "Heckgarage" (spares still at the back)

On the other hand and apart from the above, we won’t mind having a shower and/or going to the toilet outside, as long as it is a somewhat decent pot and a practical, easy and ready to use shower.

Also, cooking, meal preparation and dining outside is no problem whatsoever (on the contrary). Again, as long as it does not involve unpacking countless of boxes, digging for stuff and deploying half an assortment of IKEA type kitchen components.

Sooo, I suppose that deducting from the above, the layout as seen on the attached sketches and drawings starts making sense:

• We decided to have a flip-top roof cabin (the much better pop-up roof idea actually came from Claus Schroeder) in order to keep the height of the vehicle, and with that the centre of gravity, as low as possible. In this much lower and narrower alcove Doris and I will be able to sleep in comfort, mainly because we will be lying lenght to the vehicle’s longitudinal axis, as opposed to across.
• 

  Still Flip-top, on Vehicle (with spares at the front)

  The above mentioned allowed us to conceptualise the vehicle much narrower than usual. Normally you will need at least two meters in width to sleep comfortably, especially if you are tallish. Add 50mm of wall thickness to that and you already looking at a 2,10 meter wide cabin. Again, due to gravity and in this case especially horizontal stability, we limited the total width to 1,80 meters (Inside 1,70 meters).

• The second row seating will consist of two permanent seats for the boys with 3-point seatbelts and Isofix type chair brackets. The space underneath will be utilized for storage and water tanks respectively. Each seat will have a foldable table in front of it, both of which will also function as part of the “downstairs” bed conversion. Between the two seats will be the walk-through, alternatively a nifty, foldable, board can be inserted which will serve as kind of a jump-seat for two more people – one facing forward and one backward . The co-driver seat will rotate, so that mommy can look into their eyes when addressing the “where are we going?” and “when are we there?” questions for the 100th time.
• 

  Now pop-up roof (with canvas enclosure)

  Behind the second row seats will be mainly cupboards and storage with an Engel fridge, sliding out at a comfortable hip-height. On the vehicle’s left hand side will be the main entry door.

• Outside is where it gets interesting. For starters, right behind the door and basically crafted into the oblique end of the cabin extension, will be a slide-out kitchen with two-burner gas stove and a sink. Above that we will have a sort of spice rack/shelf combination, hidden behind a door manufactured to the same standard as the entry door. The door, once open, folds out a second wing as a windbreaker/protection for the gas stove.
• The entire section above the slide-out kitchen will be one huge boot (or Heckgarage in German), accessible via one large vertically opening door flap. The “Heckgarage” will store, amongst other things, four ammo boxes with miscellaneous stuff, the cool box, table and chairs, generator and porta potti.
• 

  The"Missing Corner"

  The door flap itself will have rip-stop canvas fitted around the rim on the inside, which can be easily released and let down to form the perfect shower and toilet tent. Also fitted to the inside of the door flap will be a wooden floor board (Lattenrost), which will be the bathroom tent’s floor so that we don’t have to stand in the dirt and thorns.

• Inside the “Heckgarage”, on the right, will be the warm water tank (which I will explain in detail in another post) and the water tabs, shower hose and hand shower.
• Alongside the top of the cabin will be an approximately 4 meter wide canvas awning in a zipper lock bag, which will extend outward by about 3 meters. These type of awnings, by Howling Moon consist of aluminum rods around the edges for support and two vertical aluminum poles to stand on. We will have three sidewalls made which we might attach as and if necessary i.e. weather permitting and/or should we stay somewhere for longer than just the night. Additionally we will have two pieces of canvas made, which can be attached to fill out the “missing corner” in front of the bathroom. With that the entire back and side of the car will be basically wrapped and hence form quite a large and enclosed living space.
• 

  LC70 Detailed Concept

  Attached to the front of the alcove will be the spare wheels rack for two spares. The decision to have the wheels at the front was again due to weight shift and centre of gravity considerations. The rack will be supported by connecting it to the bullbar.

I will go into more detail about water and electricity, as well as recovery and endurance issues in other posts to follow. Again and as usual, your input and feedback is most appreciated.

So long,

Tommy