Camper/MH vehicle heights question

  • Thread starter landyrubbertramp
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landyrubbertramp

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hope some one could help on the site. im about to decide on the height of my new landrover top so i can stand up in the back, see pic of similar 130 vehicle mines a 110 slightly shorter wheelbase,
land-rover-defender-4x4-1867563150-640x480.jpg

i wont realt have any cog centre of gravity probs and im going to reduce drag a bit by sloping the roof more at the front. after ive accounted for the higght to stand up how high should i go. i need to fit solar panels on roof as i plan do try and not do campsites and stay in a location for a few days at a time so i need to account for that too,

questions

in the uk and esp eupore what is the average height for a ow bridge of course hier are sum bridges i wont get under and of course parking height barriers.also re the ferries is ther a hieght to keep under before they want to charge me for a much longer vehicle

thanks lee
 
If you are under 12 feet I cannot see it being a problem with most bridges, however every gram of weight you put on top makes you less stable. You say your centre of gravity is no problem but what do you base this on. You have to think about high winds as you corner in wet weather while buffeted by a lorry. Sorry to be the profit of doom but how many tall commercial landrovers do you see. Also I am guessing that you are going to be off road.

Richard
 
Tbear said:
If you are under 12 feet I cannot see it being a problem with most bridges, however every gram of weight you put on top makes you less stable. You say your centre of gravity is no problem but what do you base this on. You have to think about high winds as you corner in wet weather while buffeted by a lorry. Sorry to be the profit of doom but how many tall commercial landrovers do you see. Also I am guessing that you are going to be off road.

Richard
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hi Richard thanks for your reply, ur right you dont see many. your of course right about weight up top and high winds etc, i was looking in to going down demount able camper route , while i dont ahve the specs for a demountable to hand given that you can stand up if your 6ft in most and given you can put them on a landrover or other 4x4 it wont be any more than a demountable. if i account an extra foot on top of me for the roof lining and solar panels and given the heights put on the landrover where i want to stand from the floor is about 2.5 feetand my height i would say 9.5 feet. re the cog with the exception of the solar panels thier will not be much weight after 6 footfrom the ground floor. all the weight i,e batteriers water etc will be undr my bed at floor level to help cog. while id lke to go off road etc iit will only be light stuff nothing serious
 
I am 3.4m (13') & have had problems at Caernarfon and one or two other places - never hit anything (yet) always been alert so far, but it can be a nuisance having to reverse out, turn around & find another route.

From my BT planning days 12' was the minimum height we were allowed over a field entrance for our overhead cables & 18' over a road, but many bridges date from centuries ago when there were no such standards. The bridges at Caernarvon are 700 years old thro the walls or converted from a railway tunnel!

Personally, I would aim for the lowest height you can stand in & maybe consider shoulder height cupboards & bunks if you do decide to go a little higher. That should keep you under 9' at a guess & I have not seen any bridges lower than 10' (a typical caravan height) altho I'll bet there are some lower ones somewhere in the UK!
 
Smaug said:
I am 3.4m (13') & have had problems at Caernarfon and one or two other places - never hit anything (yet) always been alert so far, but it can be a nuisance having to reverse out, turn around & find another route.

From my BT planning days 12' was the minimum height we were allowed over a field entrance for our overhead cables & 18' over a road, but many bridges date from centuries ago when there were no such standards. The bridges at Caernarvon are 700 years old thro the walls or converted from a railway tunnel!

Personally, I would aim for the lowest height you can stand in & maybe consider shoulder height cupboards & bunks if you do decide to go a little higher. That should keep you under 9' at a guess & I have not seen any bridges lower than 10' (a typical caravan height) altho I'll bet there are some lower ones somewhere in the UK!
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thanks fory our reply steve and good chatting the other day will get in touch soon when i get to work to get my diary, ur post is a good one, i de do tho want to be able to stand up it makes such adiffrnce cooking moving around getting changed etc ive my last camper i couldnt and when i hired a hightop for a weekend last year it made such a diffrence
 
landyrubbertramp said:
thanks fory our reply steve and good chatting the other day will get in touch soon when i get to work to get my diary, ur post is a good one, i de do tho want to be able to stand up it makes such adiffrnce cooking moving around getting changed etc ive my last camper i couldnt and when i hired a hightop for a weekend last year it made such a diffrence
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PM me your E-mail & I will send you more info. The young enthusiastic guy I said I was initially dealing with was Phil Chatterton. At the time he reckoned there was 60K earmarked for the project, but that is probably lost by now or spent elsewhere. Regards Steve K
 
Our first van was a 1972 CI Commer Wanderer with a hard sided pop top & a stretcher bunk sliding out either side. It folded like a box top, sides pulled in & then ends as the roof came down & clipped tight. All teh sides & ends were fully insulated with rubber draught proof seals so it was much warmer than my Dad's 1969 Suntor Siesta (based on a 5cwt Fiesta van) with a fabric pop-top.

The Commer was a fat little thing with tucked in wheels (ie narrow wheel base) & could be driven with the pop top up, but did roll quite a bit when cornering. The hand book said "you mustn't drive unless the roof is firmly fastened down". :rulez:

But the pop-top made it good for general & pic-nic use, & when camping, the headroom was excellent, alto with the roof bunks both out, there was only just enough room to walk up & down the centre aisle.

I fastened a roof rack to it to carry a canoe & that just made it too high for multi-storey car parks. Unfortunately, when I discovered this I had just entered one & had to go all the way up to the roof in oder to get back down again! I managed by braking aard just ahead of each beam to drop the fron a bit & then accelerating hard to drop the back end as I passed the beam! I did miss-time a couple of beams, but made it out without damage!
 
thanks for your reply david ive ruled out a pop up of any kind due to two main things of course evry situstion is diffrent and diffent to each person but even tho the advantages you mentioned are coreect thier are two big draw backs, 1st if its hard sided it will look more steath as if you have a pop top up in a car prk or side of a road u will know sumones in it, also you lose storage space by have it harded sided you gain the storage from chest to head hight even tho it will be light stuf its still almost doubles the storgae area.
 
Smaug said:
Our first van was a 1972 CI Commer Wanderer with a hard sided pop top & a stretcher bunk sliding out either side. It folded like a box top, sides pulled in & then ends as the roof came down & clipped tight. All teh sides & ends were fully insulated with rubber draught proof seals so it was much warmer than my Dad's 1969 Suntor Siesta (based on a 5cwt Fiesta van) with a fabric pop-top.

The Commer was a fat little thing with tucked in wheels (ie narrow wheel base) & could be driven with the pop top up, but did roll quite a bit when cornering. The hand book said "you mustn't drive unless the roof is firmly fastened down". :rulez:

But the pop-top made it good for general & pic-nic use, & when camping, the headroom was excellent, alto with the roof bunks both out, there was only just enough room to walk up & down the centre aisle.

I fastened a roof rack to it to carry a canoe & that just made it too high for multi-storey car parks. Unfortunately, when I discovered this I had just entered one & had to go all the way up to the roof in oder to get back down again! I managed by braking aard just ahead of each beam to drop the fron a bit & then accelerating hard to drop the back end as I passed the beam! I did miss-time a couple of beams, but made it out without damage!
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will pm my e-mail later steve thanks
 
i have out today in the sun and done sum mesuring on the roof if i want to be able to stand up in all of the vhicle it will need to be 6ft inside as im 6ft the distnace from the floor to the landrover floor 2ft 8" so it looks like with the solar panel we are looking at 9ft 4" ish

thoughts welcome

given that and looking at the ics below of lanrover demountable i dont see a problem

imagesCAHPKATH.jpg
normal_100_4289.jpg

saw this but i think it a foot too wide at the top and about a foot too high

med_gallery_163_9_36275 (1).jpg

mine should be alttle like this below
th_KGrHqMOKpgE1q5EFTFBNoq5Sgo_12.jpgth_KGrHqIOKiYE1dZbfQzBNooSc2g_12.jpg
 
hi david yeh its nice im not dissing it as its personal choice but thier are several factors i considered, as my s a staion wagon its down on the v5 as a car not comercial so tax is cheaper mot is 182.oo a year uder classic car insurance i can go the tip and altough im stpoed at the gate and told im not alowerd in wth that as ita commercial when i how them on a copy of the v5 thats its down as a car they have to let me in also im putng the double seat back in at the back which is folderable so with the 3 sets at the fron its can carry 5 ppl legally, also my retain its windows the one in the pics have very little windows seems a waste also i already have the vehicle.
 
3,5 v8 nice davis but lets be honest not good on fuel mines been done as a 300 tdi non ecu and i run at the momment in the summer on 30% sunflower vegtable oil cash and cary price with vat 79pence per litee
 
its a good question its a kind of the revese of ppl trying to get dlva to change to a m home as its just the roof and given its a landrover the insurance company said its fine as im keeping as a car. they see it no more than puting a seeping bag and 12v fridge in a car which i surpose it is, also by keeping it as a car it should help wiht parking and the law ive seen loads of signs saying no commercial vehicles or motrhomes thease sigs are prob not leagl anyway and alot seem to have gone down the no sleeping in your vehicle which would then include me but given the top is bolt on wth a few hours i can convert it back as ive brought a 100 roof and a 90 roof ready fro the conversion so i can keep the original roof
 
the iam am but ore of a overlnd vehicle i want to be able to stand up as i ant to put a couter above the drvers seat so i can stand and eat and get cheanged etc
 
The lowest bridge I have come across was 9ft 6. I only just made it under, we found out we are 9ft 3 that day! :D

Just a thought but are you stuck on the idea of converting your landrover? Have you thought of going down the van conversion path, maybe that would give you more inside space but keeping the stealth look? :)
 
lotty said:
The lowest bridge I have come across was 9ft 6. I only just made it under, we found out we are 9ft 3 that day! :D

Just a thought but are you stuck on the idea of converting your landrover? Have you thought of going down the van conversion path, maybe that would give you more inside space but keeping the stealth look? :)
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hi lotty hope your well, yes im def stuck on the idea of my landrover ive had a panel van in the past a high cube xlb transit your right about the space, im not planning on full timing in it but want to spend mainly on my own 2 weeks at a time in it. also i fancy going off the beaten track in morroco over the winter.

its prob more an overland expedtition type vehicle than a m home.
 
landyrubbertramp said:
hi lotty hope your well, yes im def stuck on the idea of my landrover ive had a panel van in the past a high cube xlb transit your right about the space, im not planning on full timing in it but want to spend mainly on my own 2 weeks at a time in it. also i fancy going off the beaten track in morroco over the winter.

its prob more an overland expedtition type vehicle than a m home.
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Morroco, wow. I wish I was that brave, France is a major expedition to me, :lol-053:
 
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