Japanese home-brew truck camper could give us ideas

Some enterprising Japanese students built what they describe as a "camping car," that might give truck camper manufacturers--or home building enthusiasts--a few ideas. The genesis of the idea came to the three high school students as envisioned a trip to a Japanese island. With the glowing ideas of youth, things got a little bigger. As they put it, "The talk swells greatly. After all, we decided to go on a round-the-japan trip!!"

As the plan unfolded, more and more equipment for camping had to be included in the plans. From their web page, "However, the bed space has disappeared when various equipment is packed. Then, the idea adjusted to two stories appeared." Working on their project for a couple of years, the completed camper is a two-story model--using compressed air to deploy the upper story once the rig is on place.

The eventual product has turned out to be an inspirational recreational vehicle. Complete with LP stove, shower, a traditional Japanese-style "sleeping room," and of course, an LP-fired rice cooker. Here's a new thought, too. The rig is fully self-contained, including a removable, wheeled black water tank. No more fussing with transferring icky stuff to "blue boys" to haul away your sewage, just disconnect the tank and wheel it off. While the body of this big camper is a free-standing construct and was lifted onto the truck chassis, no ordinary pickup truck would accommodate the big camper.

The entire project is a fascinating look into building a reality from a dream. Check out more pictures and the whole story on the ingenious engineers' website.