Overland Hadley
on a journey
....my wife was in the camper and its now a go to story when she wants to tell everyone what an idiot I am
That must be a great story, even if you are the butt of it.
Sportsmobile vs. XP Camper -- Why the XP Camper Won For Us
- Thread starter drodio
- Start date
That must be a great story, even if you are the butt of it.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
ALWAYS lock the top when its up. Even if you just go in the camper for a minute or two. The remote was in my pocket during one of these one minute trips and I was out of sight, the remote turned on and the top came down. The rams ripped out of the ceiling (no limit switches) After that the top was never aligned and it eventually cracked in both rear corners. That noise & vision is not fun. Hopefully he has a better quality switch and some limit switches now, my wife was in the camper and its now a go to story when she wants to tell everyone what an idiot I am
Is it ok to point and laugh at you when I see you?
I'm glad she didn't get hurt!
I'm glad you didn't get hurt!(skillet to the face like in Throw Momma From The Train)
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
Oh yes. Pregnant, tired, it was the perfect storm.
Is it ok to point and laugh at you when I see you?
I'm glad she didn't get hurt!
I'm glad you didn't get hurt!(skillet to the face like in Throw Momma From The Train)
She threw a phone at me, cost me a lot of $$ for dinner that night!
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
That is a bit obvious from your comments. I made my choice having seen both. Based on that, I would not put a Tiger a notch below Earthroamer. Smaller and less expensive, yes.
Once you set the ability to separate the vehicle and the camper, then you are no longer comparing the XP with either a Sportsmobile, an Earthroamer, or a Bimobil, for that matter. The key point here lies in your thread title, "for us."
For us, on the other hand, the following were more important:
-- Pass through between cab and camper. In the reverse of your requirements, this ruled out all slide in campers, although I did look hard at a North Star or a side door Lance on a two ton truck.
-- No larger than one ton truck, for size on European roads and fuel economy. This ruled out even the smallest Earthroamer.
-- Full four season insulation. (Spent too many nights on the Altiplano to ever want to be cold again.) This ruled out any pop up camper.
-- Permanent shower/toilet.
-- Full queen size bed.
-- 500+w of solar and 600AH of batteries for maximum independence from shore power.
This is what I ended up with:
More photos, including construction, here: http://www.pbase.com/diplostrat/ndeke_luka
As I said, we all have different requirements. (And yes, I did consider the XP, but ruled out all pop up models because of the lack of insulation.)
Congrats on your purchase and keep us posted on your travels! That is why we all hang out here!
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drodio
Entrepreneur & Lifehacker
@DiploStrat, that's a beautiful looking rig! Just browsed all your pics, thx for sharing. What do you use this for? http://www.pbase.com/diplostrat/image/153977280 How hard/easy is it to get from the front seats into the back with that center console? Are you based in the DC area? I saw some VA parks. I grew up in Herndon; went to TJ & UVA.
Yeah agreed re: "for us". Although there are a bunch of stories of XP owners using their rigs in subzero temps and they seem to be doing fine: http://forum.xpcamper.org/index.php/topic/23-cold-weather
@ujoint -- ah man that sucks. You had a V4, right? Was that a prototype XP or a modified V1 production model to fit an E line van? I'm just wondering if what happened was due to it being a prototype, or if those were production issues that other XP owners might've had. I'll ask Marc and some other XP owners to chime in to see if this is something others have experienced too. Sounds like you ended up selling the XP?
Yeah agreed re: "for us". Although there are a bunch of stories of XP owners using their rigs in subzero temps and they seem to be doing fine: http://forum.xpcamper.org/index.php/topic/23-cold-weather
@ujoint -- ah man that sucks. You had a V4, right? Was that a prototype XP or a modified V1 production model to fit an E line van? I'm just wondering if what happened was due to it being a prototype, or if those were production issues that other XP owners might've had. I'll ask Marc and some other XP owners to chime in to see if this is something others have experienced too. Sounds like you ended up selling the XP?
Super Doody
Explorer
DROdio,
First of all, congrats on your camper!
I'm going to be a little blunt here and ask if is this post really a review/comparison/analysis of pop campers? Its seems to me that this is more of a review and documentation of your XP camper. The review/comparison/analysis is biased towards XP camper due to your personal/business relationship with XP campers. Its obviously that you spent more time and have more knowledge on the XP camper than any other camper.
I have read your previous posts and I feel like your criteria changed and your budget more than double. Your comparisons isn't apples to apples.
Happy Camping,
Jim
First of all, congrats on your camper!
I'm going to be a little blunt here and ask if is this post really a review/comparison/analysis of pop campers? Its seems to me that this is more of a review and documentation of your XP camper. The review/comparison/analysis is biased towards XP camper due to your personal/business relationship with XP campers. Its obviously that you spent more time and have more knowledge on the XP camper than any other camper.
I have read your previous posts and I feel like your criteria changed and your budget more than double. Your comparisons isn't apples to apples.
Happy Camping,
Jim
Kowboy
Adventurer
I agree with this statement and disagree with the opinions the OP has on other options.
Hope the OP is happy with his purchase and it brings him years of enjoyment, but don't try to push it on the rest of us. Nothin' wrong with braggin' 'bout what ya got ... but it's ridiculous to try to make a case it's the absolute best option out there. I, for one, certainly wouldn't trade my rig for his. Matter of personal preference.
Carry on.
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
All of us who have invested a lot of time and effort in the selection of an overland vehicle will come across as phanbois or shills. The only requirement is that you be reasonably honest in why you made your choices and respect the fact that others may have different needs or requirements.
Tiger owners tend to be a bit clannish and to share a lot of information. My Tiger is based on years of communications with, and in some cases, visits with other Tiger owners. The cabinet behind the driver's seat is my take on this:
The owner built a very nice structure to serve as storage and the base for his toaster oven. Behind the fire extinguisher it is actually a book shelf system into the camper. I put it on the driver's side and used it to cover a Sterling Alternator to Battery charger (the black thing that you can just see on the lowest level and to provide three shelves, two enclosed. (The original idea was a hanging wardrobe, but that moved back into the camper body.) While the original Tigers were only available on a standard cab, for many years now, most Tigers are built on extended cabs. Most Tiger owners remove the seats behind the driver and passenger and use the space for storage of some type of storage. Our goal was to do just that, but to avoid clutter as much as possible. So, what goes there? Well, the truck is so new that the paint isn't dry yet. So far has been a great place for camera bags and coats. The nice thing is that the space is usable from both within and without the camper.
Back in the day:
-- All Tigers were built on standard cabs.
-- The vehicle manufacturers put nothing between the seats.
-- Tiger cut out much of the cab roof.
This made it relatively easy to stand up from the driver's seat, directly into the camper. Today, however,
-- Most Tigers are built on extended cabs.
-- GM and Ford, at least, place huge engine control modules on the floor between the seats.
-- Tiger no longer cuts away the roof. (Stronger, and the first two elements of this list make it largely moot.)
So you are left with a crawl through. I am over 60 years old and over 6 feet tall and (a little) over 200 pounds. Can you do it? Yes, you just have to do it the same way every time. Do I do it every time? No, we walk around unless it it raining, etc. Is the crawl through still worth it? Just ask anyone who doesn't have one to talk about getting into a camper that has been in the sun or cold all day. As always, YMMV.
Final note on interiors and camping systems. We went to two RV shows and visited a dealer or two. The range of quality in interiors is tremendous. (You can, after all, get a Chevrolet van camper for about $55,000, all in. My bare truck cost more than that.) Tiger, Earthroamer, and others offer much, much higher quality interiors and systems. They are better designed to put up with rough use, but they cost a lot more.
Tiger owners tend to be a bit clannish and to share a lot of information. My Tiger is based on years of communications with, and in some cases, visits with other Tiger owners. The cabinet behind the driver's seat is my take on this:
The owner built a very nice structure to serve as storage and the base for his toaster oven. Behind the fire extinguisher it is actually a book shelf system into the camper. I put it on the driver's side and used it to cover a Sterling Alternator to Battery charger (the black thing that you can just see on the lowest level and to provide three shelves, two enclosed. (The original idea was a hanging wardrobe, but that moved back into the camper body.) While the original Tigers were only available on a standard cab, for many years now, most Tigers are built on extended cabs. Most Tiger owners remove the seats behind the driver and passenger and use the space for storage of some type of storage. Our goal was to do just that, but to avoid clutter as much as possible. So, what goes there? Well, the truck is so new that the paint isn't dry yet. So far has been a great place for camera bags and coats. The nice thing is that the space is usable from both within and without the camper.
Back in the day:
-- All Tigers were built on standard cabs.
-- The vehicle manufacturers put nothing between the seats.
-- Tiger cut out much of the cab roof.
This made it relatively easy to stand up from the driver's seat, directly into the camper. Today, however,
-- Most Tigers are built on extended cabs.
-- GM and Ford, at least, place huge engine control modules on the floor between the seats.
-- Tiger no longer cuts away the roof. (Stronger, and the first two elements of this list make it largely moot.)
So you are left with a crawl through. I am over 60 years old and over 6 feet tall and (a little) over 200 pounds. Can you do it? Yes, you just have to do it the same way every time. Do I do it every time? No, we walk around unless it it raining, etc. Is the crawl through still worth it? Just ask anyone who doesn't have one to talk about getting into a camper that has been in the sun or cold all day. As always, YMMV.
Final note on interiors and camping systems. We went to two RV shows and visited a dealer or two. The range of quality in interiors is tremendous. (You can, after all, get a Chevrolet van camper for about $55,000, all in. My bare truck cost more than that.) Tiger, Earthroamer, and others offer much, much higher quality interiors and systems. They are better designed to put up with rough use, but they cost a lot more.
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Darwin
Explorer
The OP and his wife found the XP to be so much nicer than the other options, can't say I am surprised. Looking at a camper that costs 30k vs. 75K, I would hope the one that costs 75 thousand to be a whole lot nicer. When you have that kind of money to spend I see no reason to NOT get an XP, as long as it doesn't sit in the driveway only being used once or twice a year, which I hope doesn't turn out be the case.
It's nice see folks like "song of the road" actually going out and using their XP camper.
It's nice see folks like "song of the road" actually going out and using their XP camper.
cjken
Explorer
Nice looking rig, but for me there is something about 4x4 vans that is just infinitely cooler. Maybe it is because they for the most part don't come that way from the factory. I'm not sure what it is, but the one vehicle that makes me turn my head every time is a 4x4 van. Practical or not I will always own one.
The XP is a really nice unit and has many things about it that look desirable (if we wanted to jump into that price range). The thing about the design that bothers me is the large opening to the elements on both sides of the soft top as the roof slowly raises. I watched the video on the OP's blog and the soft sides are pulled away from the sides of the roof for over 40 seconds until Marc enters the camper. Some of the places off of I-5 in central CA where we have popped our Northstar driving up to Washington from LA have been in virtual bug storms. We encounter this in the hot summers at fuel-ups and I cannot imagine how the XP would not have quite a few of those guys flying in. It is hard to not get too many with just a quick opening of the door on ours. Other than that I like the design.
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
The "V" thing just happens to be a coincidence between Ujoint & XP. I number all of my vans so I don't have to come up with clever names anymore. V4, V5, etc. He #s his versions, just a bit confusing on this one rig. V4 is my flatbed van that we put the XP on. It was not a prototype, regular production XP. We built the bed to accept the camper. I sold the camper back to XP in April of last year.
As a former XP owner I can add a bit. After one night on that bed we went to the nearest store to add some foam. Much better after that, threw that plastic in the garage as soon as we got home. The storage is a nice bonus but most of it is only accessible outside. Very little inside and you're constantly moving things around as you go to bed, put the bathroom up, etc. The under bed storage is nice but plan ahead if you need something under there while the significant other is sleeping or laying down! The heater is great! Not so much on the diesel cooktop. Give me a $50 Coleman stove any day.
ALWAYS lock the top when its up. Even if you just go in the camper for a minute or two. The remote was in my pocket during one of these one minute trips and I was out of sight, the remote turned on and the top came down. The rams ripped out of the ceiling (no limit switches) After that the top was never aligned and it eventually cracked in both rear corners. That noise & vision is not fun. Hopefully he has a better quality switch and some limit switches now, my wife was in the camper and its now a go to story when she wants to tell everyone what an idiot I am
Keep a good eye on the top seal. Not sure if others have had an issue but ours would get sucked under the top when coming down and it tore (twice). Bringing the top down became a much slower process walking around pulling the seal back down in several places. On our last trip the interior had a ton of bugs in it due to the gaps.
I haven't had any trouble with the limit switches, but I can talk about the rest..
The screens on all the windows of the XPCamper are mosquito-sized screens. The benefit is that they allow more airflow and you can actually see outside. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bugs smaller than mosquitos and they can get inside. They can come through the windows, but also in some areas on the sides where the tent is velcroed to the camper (some small gaps here).
I'd rather have the mosquito screens for most cases, but it would be nice to have something to protect against the little bugs when they come out. I'm planning on buying some noseeum netting and making some velcro patches to place over the windows and other areas for cases like this (after 6 months of living in the XP, I've wished we had finer-meshed screens perhaps 6 nights -- so you can see this is really an edge case for us, but it depends on where you are camping!).
Re: story about the remote.. I no longer use the remote. I had multiple scenarios where the remote went off while in my pocket (leaning against a counter for example), raising/lower the camper when I didn't want it to. So I put them away where I can't do that to myself. Now I only use the manual control inside the rear cargo area. In addition, when dropping the XP, I use the pressure release valve... and I always walk around the XPCamper when it's 1/2 way down to make sure everything looks ok. I sometimes tuck the tent in just a bit, but this is more just me trying to get good folds to form in the tent hehehe.
sam