In 2009 I quit my job and set out on the adventure of a lifetime. After reaching the Arctic Ocean in Alaska I turned south, and over the next twenty-two months I drove 40,000 miles to the southern tip of South America in Tierra Del Fuego. Needless to say it was the adventure of a lifetime and it changed me forever.
After years of planning and saving I built my ultimate Overland vehicle and set out on my second major expedition. After shipping the Jeep across the Atlantic I circumnavigated Africa, covering 54,000 miles through 35 African countries over the course of three years. The adventure was bigger than I ever dreamed possible, and I'm more throughly addicted than ever before.
Now, join me as I show and teach you how to get out and live your own dreams!
@TheRoadChoseMe yes sir I'm one of 3 maybe on the road full-time, I actually met you at Overland Expo Flagstaff, and you signed your book for me. I've been a subscriber when you had less than a 100 and was one of your Patreon highest membership subscribers. But being full-time now, I need all the money I can get, so had to unfortunately stop Patreon.
All good, I understand completely - thanks for the support I really appreciate it. I hope we can meet up again down the road! I won't be in Flagstaff in '25, maybe in '26. Depends where I get to next!
I'm really impressed. The only fasteners I don't have issues with on my cycling shoes are Velcro. Boa's break as well as laces. The Velcro straps are glued and stitched on. Stitching on aluminum would require a big sewing machine, but I'm guessing you probably won't need it.
Your setup is absolutely fabulous!!!!!! when crossing africa in HZJ80 I was always looking at these setups (cel on HZJ79 or Defender 130) with a lot of envy. None were as well laid out as yours, they often needed lots of fiddling with panels to build a bed for example. The very little downside of their setup is the weight on the rear axle. From experience (this is not tyre pressure but load of the tyre on the sand) <1 kg/cm² is great in dunes and fesh fesh <1,5 kg/cm² good on the trails >1,5 or 2,2 kg/cm² for the road (these pressures might look low but my rig was 2,5 tons all in, including 150l diesel total and 60l of water, needles to say it was on serious diet, for example making cabinets in poplar multiplex, no massive bullbars, etc) in order to get sufficient tyre surface on the sand deflation is most often required the rest still applies (balance front and back and centering the masses)
So awesome… looks great….your video is perfect timing for me… I bought some thinsulate from DIYvan.. some 200 and 400 thickness. I figured the 600 is too thick… do you know what size thickness yours is? Any info on the canvas would also be super appreciated… thank you… have a good evening….
Are they really named after Alexander Supertramp? If so that’s pretty ironic, he would absolutely hate those things but I’m sure he’d be very proud of your project.
Christopher McCandless and the British rock band both got the name Supertramp from a 1908 autobiography of W.H. Davies, the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp. I don't know for sure why they named their company Supertramp, but guess it's the autobiography and the spirit of adventure that went with it.
Very nice! I do think that to ensure long term durability and stability, it would be a good idea to use hard fasteners on the Velcro to metal interfaces. I don't think that adhesive alone, subjected to thermal stresses will hold up.
Dan, I feel like you could even have a rectangular strip of 3/4 aluminum around the outside of the velcro-ed fabric to lock it in, without ever having to drill holes through it. It would be like a rectangle clamp.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Yes I know, just forgot the en transl. A friend of mine uses the same mechanism @ 4 corners INSIDE the cabin, NOT visible or in the middle of it. It´s a selfmade cabin.
I love it ! I wish I had the time, the skill and the money to build some thing similar with an Hilux Xtra cab and no pick-up bed, just the camper. I look foward seeing this splendid build in your journey.
this project is turning out amazing. It's true that buying it finished is the quickest solution and for what I understand, you want to jump into adventure asap. However, I believe there's a good bit of satisfaction in making it yourself, it's true custom human work, and best of all, it's your own making. So I contratulate you, I think this content is great
Thanks very much. I've learned so much along the way too. Even if I didn't wind up with a sweet camper at the end it has been worthwhile for that alone
Really coming together beautifully. I’ve lusted after supertramp campers before, and can see your envy, but still think you’re making something special.
I started from Calgary when I drove up to Alaska and then down to Argentina! I lived there for a couple of years and I swing through from time to time these days
I'm commenting at about the 3 minute mark...so I better wait before I ask my question... Okay, question. Is the insulation the 'Thinsulate' 3M insulation, as in the same used in some beanies and snow gloves, boots, etc?
I really liked this video! Seeing how it's made and getting more details on why the canvas pop-top is designed the way it is was fascinating to watch! Great Job and I can't wait to see your EcoDiesel JL on it's maiden voyage! Also for your comment on why would you build your own, cost and wanting to learn a new skill. For some people it's worth just buying it outright but for some of us, building and learning your rig has value as well.
Kinda unrelated to the video, but can't wait to see how you like the new Yokohama AT4s. Saw they were on the Jeep in a few shots here. I'm looking at those for my next set. I have the X-ATs because of your videos.
Looking awesome, Dan. I’m starting to feel like this build is “the one”, which will likely only need a few refinements with time and experience. Perfect size, and retains great trail capability.
It’s fun to watch you bump into very similar issues and celebratory moments as when I designed and built my fiberglass wedge popup. Looking really good! You’ll find that the canvas adds likely more lateral strength than the gas struts do. This thing is going to be insanely strong- don’t worry about that one bit.
This has been a great build series, I really like the use of a Eco Diesel Rubicon Wrangler, that was a great starting point. Looking forward to seeing what adventures this rig takes you on!
