All Terrain Warriors campers

[1leglance]

John will you guys have shirts, hats or any way we can ID you boys?
Then again you might not want to get mobbed by all the folks who want to pick your brain about the killer builds you guys put together

[haven]

I think of myself as pretty well informed about goings-on in the adventure travel industry. But I sure missed this announcement:

All Terrain Warriors and Sportsmobile West have agreed to a partnership! Under the agreement, ATW will ship campers to SMB for assembly on USA-legal truck chassis. The first two chassis will be the Ford F450 and the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter.

ATW is working on an all-new camper design. The ATW web site says the new camper is different from current ATW designs, and that it will be a "super tough off-road and international tourer." The web site gives a hint of what the design will look like.

"The first unit will have an electric-lifting hinged roof, but there will be a later option of a hardtop that can be removed for shipping in a container."
http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au...tor-homes.html

The first SMB-ATW products will be available next Spring, hopefully in time for the next Overland Expo.

Here's the press release
http://www.expeditionportal.com/vehicules/camper.html

[kerry]

Wiow. Interesting news there.

[haven]

The choice of F450 (which offers V8 with 800 ft lb of torque, and a two speed transfer case) vs Fuso Canter (4 cylinder, 295 ft lb, no low range in current model) will be interesting. The F450 chassis/cab offers the choice of a double cab, while the USA Canter is available in single cab only. If you stick to the XL work truck trim, the price of the F450 is similar to the Canter, about $49000. That price will go much higher if you upgrade to single rear wheels and a longer travel suspension.

In the Canter's defense, it will have shorter overall length for the same camper size, and will probably have a tighter turning circle. The Canter has a longer warranty, and it probably will offer a couple of mpg advantage in fuel consumption if you drive on secondary roads at lower speeds. However, there are far more Ford truck dealers than Canter dealers in North America.

[kerry]

Parts are probably cheaper for Ford also. Just paid $38 for an oil filter for my FG at NAPA.

[Deansco]

When I talked to SMB West on Friday, they said it will be the Canter or an E450 cutaway not the F450.

[mhiscox]

When I talked to SMB West on Friday, they said it will be the Canter or an E450 cutaway not the F450.

Whatever gets produced, I'm very enthusiastic about All Terrain Warrior's work being available over here. I've admired John's work for a long time and thinks it's great that it may be coming to the U.S.

[Ford Prefect]

So now we know the real reason John spent the time and money to fly out here for the Expo. Little meet and greet in person eah?

I think the E450 is a more sound choice, but the fact that the 4x4 is a pricey upgrade is not too cool to me. At least the F450 is already set up and easy, plus every ford dealer in the world has seen an F450 4x4.

Ah well, just seeing better variety on the USA market is a big thing for me, and it makes me happy...

[whatcharterboat]

I've admired John's work for a long time and thinks it's great that it may be coming to the U.S.

Gee Mike, don't give me a big head. It is a team effort here. We all throw in our 10 cents worth however our boss is the one with the real vision and at the end of the day he is the one that takes the risks............but as always Mike, (even going right back to your reply to my first ever post) , thank you sincerely for your comments.

Re Chip, Kerry, Nathanel , etc posts on the Sportsmobile West / All Terrain Warriors USA venture.

Thank you. Yes. Overland Expo was a meet'n'greet and a chance to show the concept of our new expedition-style camper. We had always talked about exporting into other markets and that is now very close to becoming a reality. You could say the timing is right......well almost. We still have a little way to go with the Australian prototype yet but it has been a HUGE investment with over 1500 hours of CAD logged up alone and more than 40 new CNC-tooled plugs/moulds to date, so we are VERY committed to the success of this project.

The development will obviously be ongoing with many different versions planned including the North American LHD models, firstly to suit the Fuso and then the E450 Cutaway.

The step from Right-hand Drive to Wrong-hand Drive is relativly simple...once you see the design it will be come clear but there is a door on both sides of the camper module. One door opens to reveal the entry which converts to shower/toilet and the other door opens to a locker for a stack of Maxtrax, shovel, recovery bag, outside shower, water inlets, etc. and they are fitted to the appropiate side during production. Apart from that, we only have to redo a couple of moulds to make the swap for the LHD market.

It's been driving me crazy ...not being able to post anything about this but please be patient .....Chip, I think I said to you once before in an earlier post that the ExPo members would get first peak....well that is still the plan. We should have something worth looking at in about 4 weeks and OvEx next year is the target date for the USA version. At this point, I believe that we will probably only be selling the LHD bodies as a flat packed kit to be assembled by Sportsmobile West using mainly American components in order to make the package more affordable in light of the current high Aussie dollar.

As far as Sportsmobile West go ..... they are now officially our North American agent and any enquiries for that region should be directed to them. There are still plenty of details to finalize but we are very confident with the partnership and are expecting big things to follow over the next few years. Personally, I do not think we could not have found a more reputable company and I thank those ExPo members that helped bring us together.

[haven]

"When I talked to SMB West on Friday, they said it will be the Canter or an E450 ..."

I stand corrected. We'll have to get that mistake corrected in the announcement.

The E450 is a less interesting chassis. When Ford changed to the 6.4L diesel, there wasn't enough room for it in the E-Series van. So the engine choices are the 5.4L V8 and 6.8L V10 gas motors. No factory 4x4, either, but Sportsmobile does a 4x4 conversion in-house that seems to work OK.

Ford is transitioning from the E-Series to the T-Series based on the European Transit van. The E-Series vans stopped production in 2012, but production of the cutaway chassis will continue for at least two more years. At first, the new T-Series will be powered by the EcoBoost 3.5L turbo V6 gas engine. The Ecoboost produces power similar to the 5.4L gas V8 and offers the promise of better fuel economy if you can keep your foot off the accelerator. The Transit uses diesel engines in Europe, but Ford has not said which diesel will be coming to USA.

I think I like the F450 idea better ! Roomy cab, crew cab available, diesel and factory 4x4, low range, F550 available if you want a stronger rear axle...what's not to like about the F450?

Another surprise is that the F450 has a turning radius several feet tighter than the E-Series chassis. The F450 has a wider track, which permits the front wheels to turn more sharply. The Fuso chassis is much better than either Ford in this regard.

Maybe Ford's T-Series will be available with diesel and 4x4 in a couple of years, when the E-Series cutaway production ends.