Possible new Dodge owner

[PhysEd]

Hi everybody,

my name is Mike and I'm from Basel, Switzerland. My (and my families) dream is to take a year off a travel the world in a 4x4 camper.

If possible we'd like to start in three years from now. New York - LA - and than down the Panamericana to Patagonia. So far so good, but in what vehicle? Up till a couple of days I thought a VW T3 is the car to have, but with two adults and two infants a T3 just seems too small.

Now I got the idea of a Dodge Ram Mowag B300. Bigger, stronger than a T3, maybe even more reliable and affordable. Our budget is 20'000€/CHF incl. the camping construction (e.g. elevating roof).

What do you think of my idea? Has anyone experience with this car, especially when used as a camper? I'd be interessted in any advice.

Looking forward to an interessting discussion
Cheers
Mike

 

[MADDOG]

That would work quite well, IMHO.

I have seen quite a few MOWAG type conversion done here in the US on the Dodge vans.

Would you be thinking to get a 4WD unit? Obviously MOWAG can do the conversion easily enough. I'd look into the following:

1. Diesel engines available
2. 4WD specifications - gear ratio
3. Fuel capacity

I did see a MOWAG conversion that basically was a pop up that lifted the whole roof of a Ford van some time ago. I was impressed with the work but thought that eventually the seal of that joined area would fail.

Let us know how you get along with this project.

 

[Harley Harrold]

 

[BBartow]

 

[Buddy]

Welcome to the site!!

 

[1ATony]

Welcome to the site it's great to have you here

Tony

 

[PhysEd]

Thanks for the warm welcome. At the moment, I can't be online on a regular basis, but keep in touch and keep you posted about any news.

CHeers
Mike

 

[PhysEd]

Hi there,

Mowag doesn't exit anymore, at least not with the old structures and doesn't do conversions no more.

The B300 Mowag is only available as old fire dep. vans. They have 4WD and gear reduction. Unfortunataly the are only available with gas engines, but additional tanks are available.
At the moment I'm not sure how reliable those cars are, but they seem to give me the best price-performance ratio.

Other options could be a Ford E350 or a F350 with camper, but the E350 seems not be available for my budget and the F350 might be just too small.

I'm open for any recommendations.
Thanks
Mike

 

[CMil527]

welcome!

 

[Irongoats]

Welcome!

 

[PhysEd]

Hello everybody,

today I could testdrive the Dodge Mowag 4x4 (1986, 16'000km, former firetruck or van, same body like the Chevy G20). I'm thrilled. It's in superb condition, no rust, everything runs smoothly only the steering needs an adjust.
Now, the only problem is to find a specialist who can do a pop top. No one seems to have experience with this car type and a custum made top would be about double the price of the van itself.
Do you have an adress/ contact in Europe where I might be lucky to find a cheeper option?

The only other option would be a roof tent with a hatch to the interior.

I'm thankful for any advice.

Cheers
Mike