So you want to get into car-camping? What are the things to consider when purchasing a vehicle for this purpose?
You have to first decide what kind of routes you want to do with your vehicle. Hard Core Offroading, Moderate off-roading, mild Soft-Roading or pure Highway runner. Second consideration is will this vehicle be dedicated solely for your weekend road trips or is this a Daily Driver that will do double duty on the Weekends? How important is "Stealth" to you?
I can't afford to keep 2 cars. So my objective was to build a Daily Driver that would double up as a Weekend Jungle-Camper with the ability to do Moderate level off-roading. I narrowed the choices down to Maruti Gypsy and the Mahindra Bolero GLS variant. I ultimately went with the Gypsy for a simple reason - many Tiger Reserves in India do not (or did not) allow Diesel Vehicles for a number of good reasons.
Today we have many more choices in India. Tata and Mahindra are both coming out with Uni-body SUVs to replace their Safari and Scorpio. There is still some speculation whether Mahindra will continue to offer the original Ladder-Frame design as the "Scorpio Classic". What should you choose?
I will now discuss some of the key parameters that you should evaluate when making your decision.
Type of Construction
Basically, we have 2 choices. Most modern cars are of Unibody Monocoque design where the whole car is built as a single unitary piece. The body and chassis are manufactured as a single piece. Unibody designs are safer because its easier(cheaper) to incorporate safety features like crumple zones, offer better ride and handling on road with better fuel economy and so on.
The second type of vehicle is the Ladder-Frame or "Body on Frame" type of design where the Body is mounted on a separate "Ladder frame". The engine, transmission and suspension is mounted on the Ladder-Frame rather than the Body. BoF or Ladder-Frame vehicles are average ride on tarmac roads but really come into their own off-road, offering better durability and ride quality in these conditions. Body-on-frame vehicles are good for off-roading because the body is "disconnected" from the road. I was clear from the outset, that I wanted a BoF vehicle only.
Horsepower & Torque
Torque is the ability to do some work. HP is how fast it can do that work! We need both to get moving. The Torque will help us get moving (starting force), the HP will keep us moving! That is the easiest non-scientific way to explain it!
For Highway use, a decent HP number means it can efficiently travel at higher speeds - useful for the Highway. A higher Torque number OTOH is useful in Off-Road situations for crawling over Rocks, Sand and Ice. In general, Diesel vehicles tend to have higher torque numbers in India. The Mahindra Bolero with a diesel engine has 2.25x the torque of the petrol Maruti Gypsy but only 10HP more! What this means in practice is that the Gypsy will have to rev the engine harder to get out when stuck, while the Bolero with 2.25x the torque only requires mild application of the throttle.
An added consideration is Power to Weight Ratio. This is important when comparing HP & Torque. The Bolero had 90HP but weighed almost 2 tons. The Gypsy King (MPFI) had 80HP but weighed only 985 kg with the Hard Top and the Phase III camping setup! I have gone Jungle Camping with a friend who owned a Bolero GLX with 4WD. He tended to get stuck in many places where my Gypsy could easily cruise through! Being much lighter, the Gypsy doesnt get stuck as often!
Do I need 4WD/AWD?
Well, Depends! In most cases, a 2WD vehicle with decent tires and good ground clearance can get you to most places! Having a 4WD is like having added assurance that you can get to almost anywhere! An example to illustrate my point - one of our "Secret Spots" for Jungle Camping in South India is "Switchback-19". Folks who bring their Sedan/Hatchback type car have to park their cars at a certain spot, unload and trek the last 3 miles. A 2WD Bolero which has decent ground clearance could make it all the way to the final spot for most of the year. In monsoon season however, it would most certainly get stuck on the way while a 4WD would get through all through the year.
In all the years that I have owned the Gypsy, I really needed the 4WD on only 2 occassions - both times in the monsoon in Southern India! In practice, the way I used it, I would slot it into 4H mode as a precaution when I felt the terrain needed it and slotted back to 2H mode otherwise! 4L mode was to be used to get out if I got stuck and 4H was insufficient! Used this way, I rarely got stuck!
For most use-cases, A vehicle with decent ground clearance is all you need! Ford Figo, Brezza, Renault Duster being 3 examples of very good 2WD touring vehicles in India.
4WD or AWD
4WD and AWD are 2 different ways of doing the same thing - providing power to all 4 wheels. The way they achieve this is very different though.
In an AWD or All-Wheel-Drive system, an onboard computer controls the power output to the 4 wheels. There is no guarantee on how this power is delivered though or how much power is delivered to each wheel as the actual AWD implementation varies from manufacturer and model. Most AWD systems default to RWD (Rear Wheel Drive) mode by default to achieve higher fuel economy and better handling and send additional power to wheels as they detect slippage. All of this is controlled by the Transmission "computer" that continuously monitors individual wheel rotation speed. Depending on the changes, the system adapts to deliver as much traction as possible. Some AWD systems also have various "Modes" that change the way the Software handles this power distribution to better handle Snow, Sand, Mud, Wet Roads etc. For most use cases, AWD works fine and can be used by almost anybody.
4WD on the other hand, or more accurately, "Part time 4WD" is usually RWD by default where all engine power is sent to the Rear Wheels. When we require output to be sent to all 4 wheels, we have to stop the car, switch from 2WD to 4WD. Power is then split 50/50 by a Transfer Case to front and rear axles. Most 4WD vehicles, with some exceptions, usually also have a "LOW" range which is used when you need higher torque to get out of really sticky situations. Think of Low Gear as dividing by 2. 1st Gear in 4L is like 1/2 gear, 2nd Gear is like 1 gear and so on.
On most modern cars, the 4WD is either a Toggle Switch or more commonly a rotary knob. The Safari 4WD variant uses this sytem. In these type of 4WD system, the activation of 4WD mode happens with an electronic component under the bonnet.
On the Gypsy and Mahindra 540 and older Boleros, we had the old style "Ram-Laxman" gear system with 2 gear levers. "Ram" was the regular Gear lever for the 5-speed transmission. A second smaller lever "Laxman" controlled the activation of 4WD mode. Unlike the Safari/new Bolero, the system was purely mechanical. The default was 2H mode where power went to Rear Wheels. We could switch from 2H to 4H mode and back on the fly as long as speed was below 30kph. But shifting to 4L mode required us to stop, engage and drive again.
Are mechanical 4WD Out-dated? I would use the term "Reliable"! The Electronic components can be notoriously unreliable and an additional failure point. On one occasion, we were driving back from Rajasthan in a friends Tata Safari 4WD. We had done a fair amount of Water fording that day. He was sleeping in the rear seat while I was driving the vehicle back to Delhi. We were cruising at 80kph on the Highway when the vehicle on its own shifted to 4L mode. The Rotary knob was untouched and remained in the 2H position! An examination after reaching delhi showed that the electronic actuator component located under the bonnet had become damaged after the Water-Fording earlier that morning. On many other occassions in Ladakh, 4WD on Safari/Bolero would just not engage and then start working again once we got to a lower altitude. The completely manual 4WD system on the Gypsy worked whenever required. Sometimes, older is better! However its a losing battle! Even the Bolero comes with Electronic 4WD now. Right now only the Gypsy and the Force Gurkha have manual 4WD! The Gypsy replacement, Suzuki Jimny is also likely to come with electronic 4WD only!
Ground Clearance
Having adequate space between your vehicle and the ground ensures that you can easily traverse rugged terrain without damaging vital components like the oil pan, gas tank, differentials and other vulnerable parts of your vehicle on obstacles like boulders, rocks or stumps.
Approach, Departure & Breakover Angles
Along with ground clearance, we need to check the figures for Angles. Approach Angle is the steepest angle at which the vehicle can climb without slamming its front bumper against the slope. Departure angle is the exact opposite - it is the steepest grade the vehicle can descend without hitting the rear bumper against a slope. Both of these angles depend in turn on ground clearance & front or rear overhang. A vehicle with short overhang coupled with sufficient ground clearance ensures the vehicle can easily ascend or descend steep inclines. The Maruti Gypsy sold in India was mostly based on the Suzuki Samurai but the Indian variant had a 12" overhang in the rear enabling it to carry stretchers in the military ambulance role. This meant we had to specifically watch out for our departure angles when climbing up a gradient.
The breakover angle is another factor to look for. It indicates the steepest crest a vehicle can climb without high centering and maybe tipping over. It depends on good ground clearance and the right wheelbase. A short wheelbase coupled with adequate ground clearance means that the 4×4 will easily travel over sharp inclines.
Wheel articulation
Articulation is the distance travelled by the wheel. Knowing how far your wheels can travel is important because when off-roading, We always have to plan to keep atleast one tire on the ground for maximum stability & traction. For serious rock-crawl type off-roading, most experienced people prefer having a solid axle over independent suspension because it gives us more wheel articulation and better traction. However, for highway driving or mild-off roading (Soft Roading), Independent Suspension is better because it gives much better handling and a smoother ride.
Right size & tread of Tyre
When overlanding on the Gypsy, 90% of the time I was on Highways and 10% of the time doing rough/soft offroads. An H/T rated tire provides the best ride on the Highway but would be severely compromised when we go off-road.
At the other extreme, Pure offroad M/T tires are also available. But while these are excellent off-road, these can be noisy and real uncomfortable on the Highway. They also tend to wear out the treads quickly when used on road. Some rich boys in our overlanding group keep 2 sets of tires - one A/T set for use throughout the year and one set of M/T tires specifically for the month long Ladakh Trip. But not all of us can afford that can we?
So All Terrain (A/T) tires are the absolute minimum when building our Car Camper. Look for tires that have tough sidewalls, deep treads and the right rubber component to give you the max traction possible on the trail while being decently efficient on road. Depending on where all you plan to go to, you may also want to check the tire performance in Snow/Ice conditions. Find the middle ground depending on your use. Larger tires can help get us some extra ground clearance and help with stability. But be careful when upsizing - Larger tires may require cutting in to the Vehicle Body when fitting out. It can also affect Vehicle Dynamics by making steering more difficult.
For example, the Gypsy came stock with MRF 185/85/R16s with Nylon-Rubber compound. These were excellent offroad but had a bumpy ride on the highway. The hard Nylon-Rubber compound handled sharp rocks etc very well but tended to develop cracks easily after 3 years, especially if exposed to sub-zero temperatures. In 2008, Upgraded to Yokohama Geolandar 215/70R16s - the largest that could be fitted without cutting the Vehicle Fender/Wheel Wells. The difference in Ride comfort and Road Noise on Highways was dramatic! Vehicle certainly felt more stable and "planted" on the road with the wider tyre. Off-road, the narrower Nylons were better, but the Yoko was very decent overall here too! Surprisingly, mileage actually improved with the Yokos! The Gypsy didnt have Power Steering so the one negative was that the wider tyre required more arm-wrestling especially when negotiating tight turns or parking. Good way to develop arms! :) Switched to slightly narrower Yokohama Geolandar 205/R16 in 2013 for improved mileage as well as easing steering effort. The Geolandar A/T tread also handled snow/ice better than Gypsies fitted with MRF or Bridgestone 205/215 tires. But that is my opinion based on my experience.
As I said, A/T tires are a compromise we have to make between Off-roadability and Highway use. There are a wide variety of A/T Tires available, some of which are more tilted towards Off-Road use. Ultimately it depends on what you want to prioritise. The Geolandar A/T worked best for my needs.
Differential Lockers
Having Differential Locker can vastly improve a vehicle’s off-road performance. While off-roading, sometimes our vehicles can get stuck at an angle with one or more wheels spinning in the air or slipping uselessly in loose mud/ice, unable to get enough traction to get unstuck. This is called "Wheel Slip".
An open differential - the most common type - ends up sending more power to wheels with least resistance which does not help at all in a "Wheel Slip" kind of situation.
A Differential locker OTOH works by detecting "wheel slip" and sending more power to the wheel with more traction. They work by physically locking together both wheels on an axle so that they spin at the same speed and get the same amount of torque to keep them moving forward. Having a vehicle equipped with a locker often determines whether a particular spot you like to camp at will be accessible or not!
Proper gearing
Another component that can help you determine a vehicle’s off-roading capability is whether it has the right gearing. Proper gearing coupled with low end torque combine to give a vehicle more power to traverse terrain, especially the kind of terrain that has sharp inclines and descents.
When it comes to gears, having a low range transfer case will multiply torque making it easy for your vehicle to go over obstacles, crawl rocks or make ascents, sometimes without even touching the gas pedal. Low gearing also comes in handy when you have differentials as well as larger tires on your 4×4 vehicle.
The Low Range on the petrol Gypsy is particularly useful in the Jungle. The engine is suprisingly refined as compared to the clattering noisy Diesels on the Mahindra. See a tiger on the trail? Slot the Gyp into 4L and just leave the brake/clutch to silently "Walk" alongside the Tiger. You cannot do THAT in a Bolero! 🤣
Robustness & Reliability
When checking a vehicle to see if it’s off-road worthy, focus on its robustness and reliability. A robust off-roader can take the high-stress that comes with driving over all kinds of tough terrain. Mahindra has built solid off-road capable vehicles like Major & MM540. Even the more refined Bolero and Scorpio are strongly built to handle tough terrains even without 4WD. You dont want to be stuck in a isolated place with a broken axle or worse. Second is reliability. Mahindra is a solid product but is it 100% reliable?
When we used to go off-roading every week, the guys with Mahindras would head straight to the workshop after the ride. Gypsy guys OTOH went to the Car wash to hose down and drove straight to Arbor or Toit to get beer! Our "Jap-Crap" is reliable. Parts are also significantly cheaper. The 1.3L Engine is basically the same as the one used on the Maruti Swift. The Air conditioning system, which i installed myself, was borrowed from the Maruti Esteem! Parts and Mechanics are available EVERYWHERE! There is a Maruti Spare Parts shop in Nubra Valley and also in Nyoma - and yes even Gypsy specific parts are available. I once had to change the entire Dashboard after an experiment to fit a 2DIN DIY "Carputer" went badly wrong - Cost of replacement was 800 rupees (2008)!
Place to Sleep
Sleeping in the car, as in proper Lie-down sleeping, can be a very liberating experience once you get used to the idea! Basically you can setup camp within Minutes! It would take me all of 10 minutes from coming to a halt to switch the rear cabin into proper 74"x44" bed! No more worrying about setting up a tent, tying it down and dismantling everything the next morning. Sleeping in the car can also be safer!
But it is not essential. Many people I know have been touring in Scorpio/Safari etc but using Hotels/Lodges to stay in overnight. It all depends on what you want to do! the Car should be big enough from back of Driver seat to Tail Gate with the seats fully folded down, to accommodate 1 or 2 persons sleeping lying down. Maruti Ertiga is a good example of something that could work.
In Closing
So what platform should you get for Car Camping? We have newer models coming in every year. So this is a decision you have to take by yourself based on the parameters I have listed above.
You dont need to have a Gypsy to do Ladakh! In 2004, on our first ladakh trip, I met a European backpacking couple who reached Khardung Pass (18000 feet ASL) in a Rickshaw (Tuk-Tuk) they had purchased in Jaipur! The same year, we met an Uncle from DRDO who had ridden down from Pune in his 1970s vintage Lambretta scooter. In 2008, met a bunch of senior ladies working in SBI who drove down from Pune in 4 Tata Nano cars as a retirement girls trip! My friend saw my Car Camping trips to Ladakh and built his touring camper van with a 2nd hand Maruti Van! He has done Ladakh 4 times on that! And have you ever seen how a Maruti Alto kicks even the Gypsy's ass in Ladakh?
The Ertiga and Brezza are 2 platforms I have tested out both from the drivability and sleepability parameters. Both very decent! The upcoming Jimny and Thar will be too small to allow for sleeping inside, though a Roof Top tent option is possible. Be warned though that a Roof Tent significantly changes the dynamics both on and off road.
Just try Car Camping for one night in whatever Car you have now. And then decide whether this is for you!
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