Want to buy an Offroad 4x4 overland expedition camper? † Tips and what to watch out for

After a search of more than a year, I finally managed to buy a real offroad 4×4 overland expedition camper within my set budget. Purchasing this beautiful machine was quite a process! In this article I will take you through the entire process that preceded it, why certain choices were made and what I paid attention to when purchasing this motorhome. There are quite a few things you should pay attention to when purchasing such a 4×4 expedition camper. In this article I will tell you all about it.

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Table of contents

Buying a motorhome – what do you want with it?

This is actually the first and most important question you should ask yourself when purchasing a motorhome. What do you want with it? The whole #vanlife happening is currently hipper than hip and thousands of people buy or build camper vans nowadays. Especially now that corona brings many travel restrictions, campers are really no longer available.

So before you buy or build a motorhome, you first investigate what your wishes are, and what you want to achieve with it. No motorhome is perfect! Know that you therefore always have to make concessions in one way or another. Below I have listed the most important and most obvious differences between the different motorhome types for you.

Different types of campers

A 'normal' camper

A normal motorhome may have everything your heart desires in terms of luxury, but that luxury comes with a price. Campers are often large and bulky. They are heavy and often do not fit in a normal parking lot. You are then mainly dependent on campsites or large parking spaces and you absolutely cannot leave the paved road. This limits your travel options, so research first if you're comfortable with campsites and large parking lots.

A camper van

A camper van is faster, smaller, more agile and cheaper in terms of fuel consumption. You can park them almost anywhere and you can drive in busy cities with ease. But at the same time, they are also very limited in terms of space, so you will regularly have to choose which 'features' you do or do not want in your camper van. For example, do you want a decent clean and gray water tank in combination with a hot shower in your camper van† Or do you rinse with a jerry can (provided you are in a warm country of course). These are really important questions to ask yourself before purchasing.

A 4×4 off-road expedition camper

A 4×4 off-road expedition camper can go where the roads end. You can go further and deeper into nature, drive unpaved roads, onto the beach, into the desert, into the mountains, into the snow and so really off the beaten track. But this camper, whether you travel with a roof tent or with a 'deposit unit' like we have, has its limitations. Space is very limited! And they are (especially with such a demountable unit) anything but agile or fast. They also consume quite a bit of fuel due to the usually heavy construction and large diesel engines.

Mitsubishi L200 4x4 with demountable unit | The ultimate offroad overland expedition camper! — Mitsubishi L200 4×4 with demountable unit | The ultimate offroad overland expedition camper!

My experience with motorhomes

Now I have gained some experience with motorhomes over the years. My father has always had a motorhome. In my youth that was a beautiful, old-timer Mercedes 406D camper bus (big and spacious!), and when I got a bit older a more luxurious Peugeot camper with a semi-integrated Burstner construction. A few years ago, it was exchanged for a beautiful HYMER 6-meter motorhome on a Fiat Ducato chassis. A lot more manoeuvrable, but also a lot more limited in terms of space. I have had the opportunity to drive and experience all 3 of these campers a few times, so along the way I learned a lot about the different types of campers.

My father's (sold) beautiful old-timer Mercedes 406 D camper bus

Although I have had great holidays in all my father's motorhome variants, something was missing. My adventurous self, who traveled year after year to exotic countries with only a backpack and about 10 kilos of luggage, wanted more than campsites and paved parking lots. I therefore decided to make concessions in my search for a camper: less luxury in exchange for unlimited possibilities, a real off-road 4×4 overland expedition camper.

Search terms for finding overland expedition campers

Now came the hardest part. You hardly see expedition campers in the Netherlands! Finding a nice and affordable copy can be called a challenge to say the least. For over a year I searched various websites for off-road campers. Gradually I realized that you really have to use a lot of different search terms for this. There is no real unambiguous name for it! And because you don't want to miss a single advertisement due to the enormous scarcity, you will really have to use the right search terms.

Looking for a 4×4 off-road camper yourself? Then regularly use the search terms below on websites such as marktplaats.nl and Facebook Marketplace.

4×4 motorhome
4wd motorhome
Expedition camper
Expedition motorhome
Expedition truck
expedition truck
Off road camper
Overland motorhome
Overlander
Dispenser
Camper demountable unit
World trip camper
Globe camper

My wishes for the expedition camper

First of all, I had to settle for the fact that I only have a normal driving license B. So I could not buy a camper for which a C1 (motorhome driver's license up to 4500 kg) or C driver's license (truck / truck) was required, unless I first took lessons and took an exam. What I mainly hoped for during my search were real 4×4 trucks under 3500 kilos or pickups with a drop-off unit or roof tent. A motorhome with four-wheel drive, original or retrofitted, would also be fine. Below is a summary of my most important wishes:

Requirements

Up to 20.000 euros
Four-wheel drive (4×4, 4WD)
Max 3500 kilos (ie driving license B)
Warm water
Indoor shower
Fridge on 12v and gas
Insulation
Heating
Must be able to drive comfortably at 100 kilometers per hour

Additional wishes

Solar panels
Extra household batteries
Airco
Cruise control
Major maintenance
Light interior

4×4 expedition campers are expensive

Of course I can't look in your wallet, but I found out that expedition campers are really pricey. A normal camper is already expensive during corona, but in my opinion you really pay the top price for the good 4×4 variant. You pay 4 euros for a self-converted Mercedes Sprinter 4×50.000 camper. The more luxurious variants even go towards 70.000 to 100.000 euros.

The real expedition trucks with all the trimmings often sell for more than 100.000 to 150.000 euros. Unfortunately I don't have that much money, so I was actually mainly dependent on very basic 4×4 bus campers, or 4×4 pickup trucks with a built-up camper unit or a demountable unit.

General tips and questions when purchasing

When you are going to view an expedition camper, there are more things that are important than you would usually expect. You have the technical part, such as the car, engine and chassis that require your attention. But you should also inspect the motorhome unit well. Are there any leaks, do the windows open and close properly, do all electronics work, etc. etc.

Below I have two handy lists with questions for the seller and things that you can check yourself when buying. Print out the two lists before you go to view a camper, that saves you a lot of thinking and so you can cross everything neatly so that you don't forget anything!

Questions for the seller

Is it a Dutch car, or an import?
What is the mileage?
Is there a NAP pass included?
Is there a maintenance history?
Is it a damaged car?
Has the car been treated for rust?
Are there any rust spots that might need attention?
Is the engine leaking or consuming oil or coolant?
Is the car ready to go like this?
What is the registration and insurance (car, van or camper?)
How long owner?
How many owner?
Reason for sale?
Are there points of attention for later?
Waterproof? Has there ever been water damage?

Things to check yourself

Rust is your worst enemy. Check the bottom carefully! Don't just trust the seller, see for yourself!
Service history – flip through the booklets. Request and view the various receipts and invoices.
View timing belt and belts (if possible). Are the letters on the straps still legible, do they look good? No drought cracks?
Is the engine dry? Check for traces of oil.
Check the hoses for dryness cracks.
Check if you see any leaks. Also at the bottom!
Check the wheel arches for rust on the inside.
Check the lighting, both indoors and outdoors.
Test the air conditioner.
Test the heating.
Test the water pump.
Press EVERY BUTTON that you see and check if everything works.

With these two lists in hand, you're ready to check out motorhomes. Good luck!

4 Nissan Patrol 4×1985 Camper

Of course we also took these lists with us when we went to look at campers. The first expedition camper that we really went to see was this super cool Nissan Patrol from 1985. It was a real motorhome construction, so relatively much space, cleverly laid out and built by a real motorhome builder. The price was good (12.000 euros) and although we didn't expect air conditioning or too much luxury given its age, we decided to take a look.

Nissan Patrol 4×4 Expedition Camper from 1985

Once there we were immediately sold! How cool is that thing! There was quite a bit of work to be done both inside and out, but the tough appearance with those large all-terrain tires really made us dream. The 1985 engine started poorly and needed major maintenance. The camper itself was very dated, had water damage, some rust spots and it really needed to be replaced, refurbished and repaired.

We still had a few months, so we saw a nice project during corona despite all the flaws. It seemed as if we were blinded by the rugged appearance.

We took all the flaws for granted (and there were quite a few…), that's how we fell in love with this device. Let's make an offer! Full of enthusiasm we decided to walk to the dealer, but unfortunately it turned out to be just in front of us. arg!!! Someone had just closed the deal for us. On the long way home (a two-hour drive) we were really fed up. So, cry out and start over.

Mitsubishi L200 4×4 with demountable unit

In hindsight, I'm actually glad we didn't buy the Nissan Patrol above. After all, several weeks passed. I looked and searched daily for new expedition camper ads! There was hardly any supply within my budget, so I almost wanted to give up hope. See you last week! Then this gem suddenly came online and I was quick to find it. I immediately called and made an appointment. The private seller (it was Friday afternoon) had already spoken to many people, his telephone and e-mail were red hot and several appointments had already been made for viewings for Saturday and Sunday. I asked the best man if I could come by right away on Friday afternoon, and that was fine. I didn't hesitate for a second and set off! Again on to Groningen, another 2 hour ride. I would be there at the end of the afternoon.

Once there I saw this beast standing. And because the Nissan Patrol we went to see for this had a lot of work, I honestly didn't expect too much from this Mitsubishi 4×4 camper. Once I arrived I was fortunately really positively surprised, what a beautiful thing! Perhaps not as tough and compact as the Nissan Patrol, but a lot had been done in terms of (major) maintenance and the construction was fresh and less dated. The inside also looked very good. It was clean and hardly needed anything done! Only the boiler was broken and the front tires worn, so that was not so bad. Below are some pictures of the interior as I found it.

The kitchen of the off-road 4 × 4 camper is neat

I did miss a few important things like solar panels and real off-road / all terrain tires. But of course I can also put it on myself. The car itself was good enough to get in and drive away. Major maintenance had just been done, including timing belt, belts, pulleys, fluids and even a new clutch. I had to have that! After a short negotiation we agreed on the price, it was mine! As happy as a small child he went home, and the big plans could begin.

Motorhome upgrades

Of course there are things we still want to change about our expedition camper, and we also want to add some upgrades. First of all, we want to give the interior a new lick of paint or wallpaper, because here and there it is coming loose or has become a bit dirty. below is a list of improvements, fixes and upgrades that we will be doing or having done in the coming weeks.

What we are going to do ourselves

Beautiful Wereldreizigers.nl stickers on it! The beautiful round 'Discover The World' logo will be on both the front and back of the motorhome!
New wallpaper
Lick of paint here and there
Different color curtains
Different color sofa (upholstery)
Pimp toilet and shower cabin – Remove the sink (unnecessary in our opinion, because we also have one in the kitchen). New mats, treating walls and new skylight.
Install a small TV for, among others, NetFlix.

What we have done

Install an LED BAR on the 30.000 lumen bullbar for extreme light when the (off-road) situation demands it.
Check entire electronics system
Repair water heater
Check water pump system
Check heating system
Install new hub/switch unit
Solar panels on the roof
Install new inverter
Installing two new heavy-duty household batteries
4x new tough, super solid BF Goodrich All Terrain, Install all season tires.
Check rear air suspension system
Install heavier springs (rear) to make the carriage more stable.
Replacing step ladder

Gradually we will probably get more ideas for our beautiful expedition camper. For example, there is an awning on the motorhome, but it is dated and you have to manually roll it in and out, which is quite difficult. Possibly a new one that you can turn with a stick, or even one that works completely electrically.

Everything is possible! And of course we will keep you informed. Until the next blog!

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