Living room

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VW Amarok with a bimobil cabin
Lance RV on a Dodge Ram Truck 2500
A cabin on a Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck
Toppola living room on a Saab 99
Morris Minor with living room

A living cabin (also called demountable camper , American truck-camper ) is the term used to describe living structures that can be placed on a pick-up or similar vehicles. Normally, these are not permanently connected, but the living room is only put on and attached when necessary, e.g. B. on the weekend or on vacation. Therefore, one can use the vehicle during the week normally and only when necessary one is RV (Engl. Motorhome ) thereof.

Versions

The living cabins are divided into two main groups:

There are the hardwall campers , with solid walls and a rigid construction. The Lance shown on the right is one of the largest of its kind. In Europe these cabins are, of course, somewhat smaller, corresponding to the pick-ups, but offer almost all imaginable extras from the camping area on customer request. Hard-wall campers are often only partially off-road, the high center of gravity and size often make maneuvering in the tightest of terrain impossible. But these cabins offer the greatest comfort at the holiday destination. Popular brands in Germany include Artica, Tischer, Nordstar, Travel-Lite, Northstar, Bimobil and Mabu.

On the other hand, there are the “pop-up” or “folding” campers. This category is usually a light and compact version of a living room. With this type of cabin, the roof can either be fully raised or folded up at an angle. As a result, the center of gravity remains low and the dimensions compact when driving, but these cabins also offer plenty of space and comfort when camping. This type of cabin is often built for off-road use and is often used for long-haul trips or off-road tours. The insulation is not as good as in a "hard-wall" camper due to the use of tarpaulin or tent material, but it can often be upgraded with the appropriate accessories (additional insulating curtains). Popular brands in Germany include Tischer, Northstar, Explorer, Nordstar, Four-Wheel Camper and ExKab.

Facility

Most of the cabins have all important devices such as heating, refrigerator, cooking facilities, sink, fresh water tank, etc. In the alcove there is a large bed for two people. Furthermore, the seating area in most of the living cabins can quickly be converted into an additional sleeping space, if necessary. Depending on the size of the living room, there is a toilet with a toilet room, and some models even have a shower.

Put on and take off

Old drop-off cabin

In order to lower the cabin, extendable supports are screwed to the cabin, with which the cabin can then be raised to drive out the car. Various supports with mechanical, electrical or hydraulically operated mechanisms are common. The vehicle is secured with wire ropes, tension belts or chains. In order to attach these, load hooks are mounted on the loading area of ​​the base vehicle. Alternatively, booms can also be screwed to the frame of the pick-up, which allow the cabin to be braced towards the outside.

Care and use

Since a mobile home, unlike caravans and mobile homes, does not have a stable steel frame as a platform, it is exposed to stronger torsional forces. This is reinforced by the fact that the cab is usually braced to the body of the pick-up at four points. Over a longer period of time, this weakens the connections between the body parts and water can penetrate.

Roof boxes and luggage racks that are screwed to the roof in particular tend to leak at the screw connection points and allow water to penetrate into the ceiling area. This also applies to retrofitted awnings and bike racks.

advantages

One advantage of this type of structure is the simple possibility of separating the cabin from the vehicle. So you can travel to the holiday destination with the cabin attached. Once there, you put down the cabin and have a vehicle available. There are no fees for the general inspection and emissions test and no taxes that would have to be paid for an extra motorhome. Insurance is lower as the vehicle is now viewed as a motorhome .

Since most 1-1 / 2-cabin pick-ups as Registration open truck box , however, have one applies to them with a trailer Sunday operations (this applies from 1 April 2009 by special permission for pick-ups as repealed). Here it was then advantageous to have the cabin entered. This then results in an open box truck or a special motorhome and you could pull a trailer on Sundays.

Another advantage of this combination of cabin and pick-up is the better off-road mobility thanks to the all-wheel drive. Travelers to Scandinavia in particular appreciate a cabin because there are no extra costs for a caravan on the ferry. You can also z. B. take your motorboat with you on the trailer and then have your cabin as a domicile, the pick-up as a flexible exploration vehicle and your boat for fishing.

disadvantage

Due to the type of construction, the cabin is much narrower than that of a normal motorhome . Likewise, due to the high center of gravity and the cabin attachment on a relatively small level (applies particularly to Japanese double cabins), driving on very poor roads despite all-wheel drive is not recommended. Even older living cabins with a wooden frame structure tend to cracks in the seals and loosening of the structural connections when used frequently away from paved roads. There are special off-road cabins for this, which have a lowerable roof and thus keep the center of gravity low. The welded aluminum frames used by some manufacturers or comparable non-wooden constructions are ideal here.

Basic vehicles for living cabins

Pick-ups such as the VW Amarok , Nissan Navara , Mitsubishi L 200 , Isuzu D-Max, Mazda B-Series , Toyota Hilux , Chevrolet Silverado , Dodge Ram , GMC Sierra , Land Rover , Ford Ranger , Ford F-150 are used as base vehicles used up to F-350, as well as flatbed vehicles . For example the VW Transporter , which was one of the first basic vehicles.

A very small variant is the Toppola , which is used in normal hatchback sedans. By removing the tailgate, it can be used in the loading area. Toppolas were made for Saab 99 , Saab 900 , Saab 9-3 as well as Ford Sierra and Scorpio .

Expedition vehicles

The combination of living room and base vehicle with 4 × 4 or 6 × 6 drive, which gives a so-called expedition vehicle, is particularly popular. These motorhomes are specially built for off-road use and are primarily used for long-distance trips and trips on tracks or trails.

The Mercedes Sprinter in particular has established itself as the base vehicle in the 3.5 t class, as it was the only flatbed vehicle with all-wheel drive available ex works for a long time. For the further development of the factory all-wheel drives or the initial equipment with all-wheel technology, large off-road suppliers have therefore specialized in the Sprinter.