My personal dream vehicle, rather than being some hot sports or classic car, would be an RV based on some high performance cross country truck.

Most likely something like a Unimog, Tatra or Kamaz, but I'd consider something like a converted BRDM-2 if I was feeling altogether swaggish.





The idea with these is exploring the wilderness, or anywhere really, in reasonable comfort, though not making a point of taking it through the nastiest terrain like the 4x4 rock crawling and mud bogging crowds.

Nice vehicles, seen a lot done with the Unimog, we had one as a test bed that we were building for the Saudi Army back in the early 1990s.

Unimogs are great off road vehicles, you do get two different basic types tho, the agricultural version has some really low gearing and a not very high road speed, Mercedes did make a Brabus Black Edition a while ago that looked quite nice



I had a bit of involvement in converting Stonefield trucks, a few were made up as RVs

This is one that was done as a communication, command and control vehicle, based on the Stonefield P5000 4x4 with a Chrysler 4.2l V8, it tipped the scales at under 2.5t so had an excellent power to weight ratio.


Same truck as it was got from testing with the MOD and before it was converted into the CCC vehicle


Hidden behind it is an Esarco 8x8 based on two sets of landrover running gear. not got a better pic of it tho, that one was used as a support vehicle for offroad competition

this is similar

There is a company that converts BRDM,s
My guess mostly for mafia types. LoL
http://www.stuffthatilike.com/motors/russian-armored-suv-pimped
http://www.stuffthatilike.com/motors/russian-armored-suv-pimped

Another doner vehicle we looked at was the Pinzgauer 4x4 and 6x6, ultimately the smallness of the chassis was the limiting factor along with the high cost of a bare chassis put us off (�50k back in 1992, 6x6 was �70k on the road) and stuck with the Unimog, they both used the same type of running gear, portal axels etc.




I got to drive the 4x4 and the 6x6 they were very good off road, the armoured 4x4 was a bit of a pig with all the extra weight of the steel on it but it still had good manners off road.

I've always admired these folks vehicles and their craftsmanship. Earth Roamer

Their latest looks like a beast for sure.

Now THOSE are truly manly vehicles.

The rear engine setup might make it difficult, but I think an airport crash truck would make a good starting point.

There can't be that many places that are inaccessible by regular vehicles but still accessible by these that are actually worth visiting.

Unless you have a favorite place that you visit 2+ times per year, it seems like a big investment for very little return.




The Jedi Master

The country is full of places like that! Keep in mind, these also take the place of hotel rooms and more comfortable than regular camping.
Check this out:

There are plenty, in fact there are lots of places where most of these vehicles might be marginal, or at least be risky to bring.

You could of course save a lot of money and hassle if you were willing to step down to a less off-road capable base vehicle, but we're talking an ideal dream project here! Also, if I were to drop that kind of money on a vehicle I'd be living in it, at least for a few years.

Very interesting Alicatt!

I never heard of Stonefield, or Esarco for that matter, are they uncommon?

Pinzgauers are actually relatively cheap over here, at least the older models are.

There's a canvas top '74 on the local Craiglist for only $10000 for example.

Not sure what they'd be like to get parts for at this stage however, that might be why the asking prices are so low?

The Stonefield company went bust quite a while ago, there are quite a few around, most of the 4x4s have a Ford 3.0 V6 engine, some the 5.2 V8, and even fewer a diesel.

http://www.4wdonline.com/Stonefield/Stonefield.html

The last one I ran had a 6.2l V8 diesel from a Hummer in it,
This one, it is a 6x4 with a lazy rear axle


This was the first one we built as a concept vehicle.


Interior during the build:


later it got well used at public events, pop concerts etc. around the UK, there was a 2.5kVA altenator on the PTO of the transfer box, a 1.5kVA petrol generator in the lower rear compartment, and a battery pack in the right side of the vehicle charged from a split charging system from the engine.

I used a Toyota Landcruiser which could be a bit more discrete.



The Stonefield had a spaceframe chassis and quite a low centre of gravity, mad it easy to build up various options, the 6x4 in the picture weighed in at 5.5t not a light weight! she had an 8kVA generator in the rear compartment.

The Esarco is even rarer than the Stonefield, the one we had, had flotation tyres made for a very low ground pressure for use on peat bogs or soft sand

http://www.4wdonline.com/SS/Esarco.html

I like the Earthroamers also:





very nice unassuming one that I would drive all day:



I really like this one and would love to see a real tour of it:

https://youtu.be/YqfQGvIV890?t=4m6s

The Earthroamers appear to have engineering and detailing on par with a luxury yacht, though at luxury yacht prices.

I'd probably be inclined to go with an actual yacht if I was going to spend that kind of money however.

I'd be good with something less refined, but not go Full Gopnik like some of the former Soviet conversions;

http://sovietarmor.com/catalog/armored/brdm_tuning.html

Some interesting random examples here;

https://gearjunkie.com/adventure-mobiles-overland-expo-2015

LOL! Not one mention of a PTO winch anywhere in this thread. Good luck with that.

Here's my dream RV ...

The engine has to be running to use a PTO winch, I'd rather have an electric winch and multiple batteries on an isolator.

You expect all that crap to run when needed?

If your engine isn�t running, you�re fu*ked anyway.

I would, yes. A battery powered motor setup has a lot less that can fail on it than a PTO arrangement. A battery and motor is the last resort backup for propulsion on a nuclear sub for just that reason. When the stuff hits the fan, having something simple that you can count on can make all the difference.

IMO, concentrate all your resources on keeping the engine running.

Sure... put all of your eggs in one basket. That's always been the most reliable approach.

If your engine / PTO happened to crap out while you were crossing moving water, or in deep enough mud... it would seem preferable, and safer, to winch the vehicle out of that water/mud before attempting to work on the engine/PTO.