 |
 |
                    
|
 |
              
  
|
| The Hackneys Part Two: The Basecamp Expedition Vehicle |
| Angela White | Tuesday, 18 August, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
|
The Basecamp Expedition Vehicle (BEV) pushes the truck camper way beyond the demountable definition and into new territory. Check it out the Basecamp Expedition Vehicle ...  Camp site view on the cliffs above the Cordillera del Sol (mountains of salt). San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Photo by Douglas Hackney Most of us think a truck camper is a pickup truck with a standard pickup bed and a demountable truck camper. Doug and Steph Hackney's Basecamp Expedition Vehicle (BEV) challenges this definition and makes us take a new look at how versitile a truck camper can be. Here's Doug and Steph on their extraordinary camper and what it took to make it happen.
TCM: At the heart of your Basecamp Expedition Vehicle (BEV) is a Mitsubishi Fuso FG 140 and Bigfoot 10.11FR. How did you choose this combination? Steph: We were originally looking at a Bigfoot trailer. We were leaning towards Bigfoot because they are so well made for extreme weather conditions, something we knew we would be facing in places like Patagonia. We came across the pick-up camper on our initial test of the camping/overlanding concept while we were in Canada in a rental camper. I suggested we take a look at one and we really liked what we saw. The inside space was drastically different from those made back when Doug was camping with his family and the quality of the Bigfoot was superb. But, the biggest plus of the truck camper was that the overcab area in the front of the camper enabled us to create a garage underneath where we could store motorcycles, riding gear, parts, chairs, etc. Doug: When Steph decided she could not go out on a sailboat, I had just a few weeks to research and design a solution. I had spent years (literally) researching sailboats, so I felt that I came into the expedition vehicle concept under-researched, under-experienced, and under-prepared. Our first option was a Toyota Land Cruiser with a roof-top tent, commonly used in Australia and Africa for expedition travel. We ended up with the Fuso and the Bigfoot. It was a very intense, short time period between those two points. Once we became convinced that a Land Cruiser size vehicle was too small (along with the fact that Steph declared herself “not a tent kind of girl” for a two to three year expedition) I was pushed upward in truck size. We needed something with worldwide parts and service. We needed a cab-over/forward-control truck to maximize the payload. We needed diesel for worldwide fuel availability. We were convinced that we needed a four wheel-drive chassis. There is only one four-wheel-drive, cabover, diesel, medium-duty truck sold in the United States; the Mitsubishi Fuso FG 140. Once I had the chassis, it was a very short leap to proven combinations. Carl and Mary Hunter went around the world and then a year in South America in a Fuso/Bigfoot trailer combination (photos here: http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/index-samples.htm). Once I discovered their vehicle, I felt I could reproduce it and we could get underway quickly. Based on our financial planning, at that time we should have already been on the sailboat going over the horizon. So, every day we spent in California meant many fewer days traveling. We rented the smallest camper we could find and spent six weeks in British Colombia as a proof of concept on the lifestyle. While there, we toured the Bigfoot factory with the intention of using a trailer on the truck, as Carl and Mary had done. On the way to the factory we stopped by a Bigfoot dealer and Steph stepped into a Bigfoot pickup camper. She soon stuck her head back out and said, “Hey, you should check this out, it’s really nice inside.” I replied, “There’s no way we’re using a pickup camper.” I hadn’t been in a pickup camper since the tent camping days of my youth, when my Uncle Dick and Aunt Wanda had one. All I remembered was the typical camper construction and materials of that era. Steph, as only she can, wore me down and I finally agreed to step inside. Needless to say, the truck camper market had come a long way since the 1960s.  BEV alpha test. Sunrise over the Sea of Cortez, Bay of Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico, Photo by Douglas Hackney TCM: After exploring with motorcycles and tents, what was it like to switch to the BEV? Steph: It was pure luxury in terms of living. We had plenty of space and it was so nice to have our home with us. It does restrict us in terms of places we can go (the bikes can go virtually everywhere) and can make integrating oneself into a community a bit more challenging. But, the benefits are that we could stay almost anywhere without having to worry about finding a hotel, we could make meals ourselves using the fresh ingredients we found along the way, we always had a comfy bed and clean shower, we had a nice place to recover in case of illness or injury, we always had a warm or cool place to be in the event of extreme weather, and the costs are minimal: fuel and groceries (well, and wine, of course!). Doug: The biggest downside to a truck, or really of any four-wheeled vehicle, is that you tend to cocoon yourself inside the vehicle. The more comfortable the vehicle, the greater is the temptation to cocoon. A motorcycle, by contrast, is an instant icebreaker anywhere in the world. Every guy you meet has almost always had an uncle, father or cousin with a scooter or motorcycle, and they all want to talk about the bike. When the women see Steph take off her helmet and realize she’s a woman, they all want to talk to her about her experiences. The truck, in contrast, is its own little world, and does not serve as a conversation starter (with the exception of campgrounds in the United States and Canada). A truck the size of ours (length: 27.17' / 7.98 meters, height: 12.04' / 3.67 meters, width: 8.58' / 2.62 meters, weight: LOTS) is inherently self-limiting on where we are willing to take it. Note that the truck is capable of going to places we would never venture because (a) we’re not super-experienced 4x4 people and (b) it’s our only home and we’re not going to risk it on an unknown two-track shelf road. We mitigate those limits with the two small dirt bikes we carry in the garage (Honda CRF150F, street licensed), which allow us the freedom to explore anywhere, even, and perhaps especially, where four-wheeled vehicles cannot go. Our truck and camper are extremely comfortable and easy to drive and live in. The luxury of having safe (filtered and sterilized) water everywhere, of being able to store and cook our own foods, and of having our own berth and head (bed and bathroom – sailing terms die hard) is very meaningful over the span of a two to three year expedition. TCM: What extremes have you put the BEV through - temperatures and road conditions? Steph: Patagonia. Enough said. No, really, it has been through a lot. Between very rough and pothole-riddled roads, non-stop rain and wind like nothing we had ever experienced (there is no wind like that in Patagonia), it has been tested again and again. And, Fuso has come through it all. But then, we built Fuso for this kind of adventure. Doug: Distance: ~28,000 miles/ 45,062 kilometers. Days: 648. Nights in camper: ~559. Roads: mix of freeway, one and two lane paved, one and two lane unpaved, gravel, silt, sand, dirt, mud, rock, two-track, non-maintained, and no-road. Terrain: flat, rolling and mountains, grades greater than 16%; temperate, deserts (including the driest in the world), rainforests. Temps: 14.5F / -9.7C to greater than 110 F / 43.3 C. Elevation: sea level to greater than 16,000 feet / 4,877 meters. Deepest water crossing: ~ 46 inches / 116.84cm - 1.168m. (This data is excerpted from our route data here: http:www.hackneys.com/travel/index-routemap.htm As these numbers from last year attest, we’ve checked the boxes on many of the extremes that people fret about so much when they consider a journey overseas.
TCM: Tell us about your experiences with loading and unloading the BEV onto flat racks for shipping. Doug: Two words: shipping sucks. We’re currently living through a very special version of shipping hell, so my feelings are a little raw, but even so, shipping sucks. TCM: Have you needed to use the integrated self-recovery and extraction capabilities of your rig? Steph: We did winch another overland vehicle out of the mud, and then used them to winch ourselves out. But, that was the only time... and it was in a "campground!" Doug: The reality of overlanding (unsupported travel by vehicle) is that you spend most of your time on market town roads - the roads that connect market towns together or with cities. Those roads are used by the medium and heavy-duty trucks that carry the goods to and from the market towns. You use the market town roads to go from one interesting place to another. While some of those market town roads would certainly not be considered roads by a typical American, Canadian, or European, they are no problem for most vehicles. The fact is you can see at least 95% of the world’s interesting places in a two wheel-drive Volkswagen van. Almost all the capabilities you build into a vehicle to handle the extremes go unused for almost all of your travels. For the rest, it makes more sense to rent something local (burro, Toyota HiLux, etc.) than to attempt to build all that capability into your vehicle or suffer the effects of a very capable vehicle (noise, vibration, ride, handling) for the 98% of your journey where you don’t need it. TCM: How have your global voice and data systems worked out? Doug: We have three different forms of satellite communication (Skymate, Iridium, and Inmarsat BGAN) that use three different satellite constellations and we used all three to good effect. Based on our experiences, I would rate each of them as expensive but essential.  Pacific ocean sunset at camp site. North of Taltal, Chile, Photo by Douglas Hackney TCM: Other than to read your website, what would you tell someone who wanted to build a similar vehicle to your BEV? Doug: Buy a Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter based RV and go now. Go earlier with less versus later with more. Every single penny you spend on your vehicle is almost certainly better spent on your travel. Fly into your destination and buy a local vehicle (local parts, locally serviced, local resale market, etc.) and start exploring. Four-wheel-drive is highly overrated. Über capable vehicles such as a Unimog are usually reflections of the owner’s ego or incorrect perception of vehicle capability requirements, not of the realities of overlanding. And most importantly - it’s not about the vehicle, it’s about the experiences. TCM: Tell us about your protective design and capabilities. Have they worked? Doug: I’m assuming you are referring to the security systems we implemented. Everything has worked. I think they have been largely unnecessary. The thing that is almost impossible to know or realize inside the United States/Canada/Europe fishbowl is that the world is a very warm and welcoming place. Aside from a very few rare exceptions, you are much safer overseas than you are in the United States. And I’m including in that assessment traveling via motorcycle in the Middle East just after the war started. Your biggest challenge outside the post-development countries (United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan) is fending off the generosity and welcome of the locals. TCM: Tell us about your energy self-sustainability. Doug: As you might expect, our static carbon footprint is a fraction of what it was in our house in Carlsbad, California. However, when you start driving around the planet at 10 miles per gallon / 23.59 liters per 100 km, it isn’t quite as impressive a savings. Two of our goals for this chapter of our lives were to explore living more simply and to learn more about being energy independent. We discovered that simple living greatly aids the goal of energy independence, and that surprisingly, you can become much more energy independent without significant impact on your quality of life. Keep in mind that we chose comfort and convenience over ultimate vehicle capability every time during the design and construction of our vehicle, so we have what can only be termed a “Hyatt in the Woods” living experience. We essentially lack for nothing in the way of modern conveniences, save a garbage disposal. And even with that very comfortable lifestyle, we use a tiny fraction of our previous lifestyle’s daily energy.
TCM: How has the camper fared so far? Has the performance and durability matched your hopes and expectations”? Steph: Personally, I could not be happier. It has done everything we asked of it and provided a cushy home for us in diverse climates and environments. Doug: My repair and maintenance on the Bigfoot camper has consisted of; one, tightening the handle on the bathroom roof vent twice, and two, re-packing the insulation above the berth (bed) ceiling due to condensation while camped in one of the wettest spots on earth for several straight weeks of rain and high humidity. We had no issues with the Bigfoot camper other than things that were installed by our dealer. It is very, very sad that Bigfoot as a company did not survive the commercial credit crisis. TCM: Your calendar timeline has a lot of “design, create, and install” – who was doing all this designing, creating, and installing? Steph: Doug, Doug, Doug! The build was a long process during which time I only saw my husband when I came to work on some internal projects (like organizing and procurement) on the rig at the shop, or on the nine days he took off in those nine months. How he kept up that pace is beyond me! He did have a wonderful shop to work in, and some very talented and helpful people working alongside him. I'm sure that was key to him surviving the build without losing his mind... completely. Doug: Really, the whole nine-month (twitch), ten to fourteen hours a day (twitch) build process didn’t have any noticeable effects (twitch) on me at all (twitch). Just kidding. Mark Johnson of Metal Tech Innovations, Riverside, California, did all the metal work (engineering, fabrication, welding, etc.). I did all the other systems. I don’t recommend the experience. The upside of the experience was that I knew every nut, bolt, wire, and hose that made up our rig. The downside is that it took much too much time and cost way too much money. Of these two, time was by far the greater loss. As I mentioned earlier, since our financial plan was based on sailing over the horizon in mid 2006, every day we spent in California burning through our money while building the rig meant many days less travel. This is an important lesson for people considering how to structure and manage a life chapter of full-time world overlanding. Time is the enemy.
For more information about the truck camper manufacturers and gear companies, please visit our Buyers Guide. If you would like to learn more about Doug and Steph's BEV, visit their website at www.hackneys.com/travel. |
||||||||||||||||
