For Sale: Truck Camper 4x4 - our beloved home, travel companion and mode of transport What: 4x4 pick-up truck (Nissan Terrano) with camper on the back (Mujica) Where: Santiago, Chile When: End of January until mid-february 2018 Why: our two-year trip ends How much: 11,5 million Chilean pesos (+/- 15 thousand Euro) How many seats: 5 How many beds: 3.5 Who are we: Joost & Greta, a Dutch couple going back to the Netherlands The Truck Brand: Nissan Model: Terrano / Frontier Model: 4x4 double cabin (seats five) Engine: 3.2 L (QD series) Fuel: Diesel (80 L tank) Year: 2005 Km: +/- 200k at the time when we will sell Extra s: airco, kill switch (secret thing you have to do before starting) Country: Chile Registration: on our name The truck is not the most beautiful one you will ever encounter (there are some small bumps on the side which it already had when we bought it) and the paint on the hood has some sun damage (also, this was already there when we bought it). BUT we are very happy with it. The truck has proven very reliable and in two years and 50k km, we have never ever encountered any engine problems whatsoever. The motor is very simple and robust. This means you won t have problems with polluted diesel in Bolivia or Ecuador. And if anything will break down, this is one the most common cars on the South American roads, meaning spares and reparations are easy. And a big plus: in almost all South American countries, diesel is much (much!) cheaper than gasoline! Maintenance & reparations we have done on the car: - Oil and filter changes in between every five and ten thousand kilometres (depending on the longevity of the oil we bought). - Other general maintenance according to the maintenance guide from the car, such as braking pads and fluid, differential and gearbox oil, etc. (All records and receipts available in this guide.) - Six new tires (two in February 2016 those are almost done, two in July 2016 (still good) and we buy two more soon (so, you will have four good tires!!) - Airco - New wheel bearings at the back - Replaced radiator (heater core, inside)
- Replaced battery What can YOU expect to pay for maintenance? - Oil and filters: around 50 euros per service (every 5 to 10 thousand km). - If you drive a lot, you might need two new tires after a year (+/- 100 euro per tire) - Because the camper is heavy, it could be that the wheel bearings on the back need to be changed one point in time again: costs were 200 euros. - The car has 200k km. Although we ve never had problems, according to the statistics the clutch is about the next thing to replace. We ve asked the price when in Ecuador: 200 euros. - On average we have spent around 1000 euros a year on maintenance and parts. We think it is likely that you will also have these costs (and any other second hand car will have them too). Before we sell, we plan to do a thorough revision at a Nissan dealer, so there will be a report on the state of the car and upcoming reparations if any. The camper The camper is two years old and fabricated by Francisco Mujica, the oldest camper manufacturer of Chile (we bought it new). The state is very good, except two parts on the outside back, where the metal has reacted with something (we don t know yet what). We will have the affected panes changed by the manufacturer once we get back to Santiago. The camper is comfortable with ample space to relax and move around. It might look small on the outside, but it is designed very smartly and for two it really is more than enough space. (People are always so surprised when they look inside: No way! I thought it had to be much smaller! ). The ceiling height is 1.90 and we (1.70 and 1.80 m) have never felt it as restraining. There is a fixed bed of 1.35 x 1.95 m (you never have to make this bed because it is stretched out over the front of the pick-up; space you wouldn t use for something else). The table and the sitting corner form a second bed. The kitchen (2-pit stove, sink, running (hot!) water, electrical cooler) is fully equipped for four persons. Items range from espresso maker to blender, from kitchen towels to cutting boards. Everything you need is in there. Storage of food, kitchenware, clothes, books etc. is mainly in cupboards. Bulky stuff like hiking gear and surfing gear we stored in the shower (oh yes, forget to mention: HOT shower ) or in the backseats of the car. In summary: - Fully equipped kitchen - Electrical cooler (note: this one runs on the solar panel, which means that there is not always energy to have it on all day. Backup options are ice, or not buying so much perishable food. Or buying a fridge on gas. Up to you ;)) - Hot shower - 90 l water tank - Nine cupboards - Fixed bed of 1.35 x 1.95 including blankets, pillows and sheets. - Additional bed of 1.10 x 1.95 - Sitting space for up to five (with more it might become a bit too cosy )
- Removable table - Removable additional workbench for kitchen - Solar panels - Second battery (also connectable to the car battery to charge while driving) - Transformer to 220 V - Roof rack - We don t have an official toilet, but instead a homemade mini version of a composting toilet. We could leave you this, or you could buy a chemical camper toilet (we didn t want that, but they re quite cheap) or nothing at all. Up to you The truck-camper combination We have chosen the truck-camper combination mainly because we wanted to have an affordable 4x4 camper with some living space inside, otherwise very difficult to get by. We then choose the smallest possible camper combination, because 1) we did not want to have a big truck which uses a lot of diesel, 2) we did not want to show off in a big fancy combination, 3) we wanted to have something with is easy to manoeuvre, also in tight city streets and narrow mountain roads and because 4) smaller is cheaper than bigger and 5) we did not need something bigger anyway. On all those points this combination has proven its value. For example, on normal roads on flat terrain, we use 1 l diesel on 10 km. This is much less than what other camper travellers we met used! (In the mountains, this will go down to 1 l on 8 km, which is still okay.) BUT, what people won t tell you (and this actually also counts for bigger truck-camper combinations): A camper on the back of a pick-up means a lot of weight hanging pretty far to the back. Our camper weighs about 600 kg, which in itself is well within the load range of the truck. But: you re also carrying water, a lot of stuff and perhaps some guests. And not all the weight is equally divided over the car. When we first bought the car, we had the recommended adjustments of additional springs and the bars to hold the camper done. However, when we started travelling with it, we realized we needed to enforce the whole pick-up to ensure the longevity of both the camper and the car. Here s what we ve had done: 1) reinforced the chassis on the points where most of the weight rests and 2) reinforced the whole back. This caused the back of the pick-up to be a tiny bit higher, but seriously stiffened everything and made the movements of the back relative to the front much less. We ve had everything professionally done and are still happy with the results. As people normally tend to change nothing on their car except for the springs, we believe you won t find any camper/truck combination which is better adapted than ours. Another BIG advantage that we hadn t even thought about before is safety. The camper windows are high, making it difficult to reach and even look inside. We won t say it is completely impossible to throw in those windows (although we think they re really strong, it s not just glass) and enter, but we think it highly unlikely and people will need some acrobatic skills. Car windows, however, are an easy target. We ve had a window thrown in once when we (stupidly) left a backpack in sight, but because you keep everything of value in the back, thieves will never get to that + when are you consequent not leaving anything looking valuable in the car, nobody will even bother to throw in that window (because know they won t get to the real stuff anyway).
A note on the driving: you ll probably have to get used to driving a combination like this the first day, but then it s perfectly fine. Almost all roads and tracks will be available to you due to high clearance and 4x4 (just be careful with very deep sand and very slippery mud). In the low gearing we even crept up impossible Bolivian city streets with a 45 degree angle (seriously, this exists. No joking). Lastly, taking the camper off and on takes about twenty minutes. We will show you how. The extras We ve lived and travelled for two years in our camper, which means that we ve collected a whole range of stuff that might be useful to you as well (and will save you a lot of time and money). - Outside chairs and table - Complete bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets) - Complete kitchen equipment - Towels - Hooks to hang stuff - An extended toolbox (we have so much, it doesn t even all fit;)) - Fishing rod - Camping/trekking gear existing of one warm sleeping bag, matrasses & tent. (Note: If you plan to do a lot of hiking, you might consider bringing your own stuff because it will be smaller and lighter than the gear we have; all bought in Chile. However, we did a lot trekking with this stuff and were fine). - 5 kg gas bottle (lasts about one to two months, depending on how much hot water you use, easily replaceable for less than 10 euros) - Heater (works on separate gas canisters, very cheaply available in Chile (+/ 1 euro for a whole evening use), more expensive in other countries) - If you re interested we can leave a surfboard and a women s wetsuit (S) - Mountain bike - Set-up for an outside kitchen The car has Chilean plates, which means that selling and buying will be official and legal in Chile, also for foreigners. We can however not sell the car legally in another country. We made some 3D sketches and added photos below for a full impression of how the camper looks! Interested? Any questions? Email us at joostsjoukes@gmail.com or whatsapp at +31629163455
Camping in the most beautiful spots!
More people? No problem! For city camping (or kids), there is the extra bed made from the table, but what s better than making a small camp with tents? The car comfortably transports four, but there is space and seatbelts for five. Water? No problem! Just put the camper on a boat (we crossed the whole Amazon river!) or drive through in 4x4.
Make a real big mess inside? No problem! Space enough And of course we ve taken really good care of our travel companion.
And finally some photos from the inside. The bed is comfortably big enough for two (mattress size 1,35 by 1,95 + some extra space on the side). Enough windows for light and fresh air, and if that s not enough: ventilator in the kitchen and above the bed + an extra one to put wherever you want. The space inside is really more than big enough for two people to cook, chill out, work etc. With four of five, movements become a bit more restricted (don t change clothes all at the same time ;)) but it s still relaxed. Standing up straight with 1.80 m length is no problem!
There is the option to make a big table, or to take it away and have all the floor space free to move around. We really like to cook and therefore made an additional workbench to have all the space for cutting and preparation etc. ánd all the space for moving around. The additional workbench is easily installed or removed (and for example stored in the shower). The table is used to make the extra bed (1.10 x 1.95).