Graeme, congratulations on your detective work and what you have achieved so far. Having a slide-on camper is either brilliant, or very pedestrian and this is usually down to either vehicle choice, or construction of the slide-on. For your intended use, I think you are on a winner.
For the last 10 years we have had a Davsher slide-on camper, first it was on our Isuzu D-Max cab chassis tray back ute. Basically the ute was disintegrating due to the workload and that fact it was always running at it's GVM. In 2019 we were actively looking at replacing the ute with either something completely different, or finding a suitable vehicle to take the slide-on camper.
The NLS featherweight truck you have chosen was also something I very closely looked at, especially as it runs the same 4JJ1-TCS engine we have in the D-Max ute. Albeit modified slightly for the power curve and with the great addition of an exhaust brake. As we are into a slightly different touring style than you are, we eventually went to the larger NPS 75/155 4x4 unit.
You mention parking as an issue with a larger vehicle than what you chose, you are right, but with some selective parking bay choices, one can pretty much get along quite nicely. We are 500mm shorter than the Mercedes Sprinter, which surprises many people. In fact the bare bones truck is 5985mm in length, our tray is just slightly longer than the chassis rails and then we have the bull bar up front. We are wider than you at 2200mm on the tray, which is legally required to cover the rear wheels.
One thing that greatly interested me, was your fuel consumption figure. Over some extended trips, think 3 months at a time, every trip had high fuel consumption times and low fuel consumption times. However at the end of every trip one thing was pretty certain, our overall trip fuel consumption figure was always 13.9 l/100. This was a remarkably consistent figure, one which took a few trips before we realised how consistent the fuel consumption was. For the last 3500 klm's in our NPS we have returned a consistent 17.1 l/100 to 17.5 l/100 for around town stuff and flat highway touring. It climbs for hilly stuff, very strong wind and of course when running in 4x4 mode for whatever terrain requires that mode. Your vehicle with it's reasonably rare all wheel drive system is very good as you can use it on wet roads and like situations, something we cannot do.
We transposed our slide-on camper to the NPS and couldn't be happier, it outperforms anything we put in front of it, and then some. As for cabin height from the tray, which can be a sensitive figure for adding a slide-on if you wish to go over the cabin, the NPS is a surprise as it is only 40mm higher than the NLS. We chose a different solution as we have a longer tray at 4.2m compared to what I believe you may have. It seems our unit is lower than yours as our overall height is 3250mm to the top of our small rooftop air conditioning unit, I use 3300mm as my absolute minimum clearance requirement
As for attaching our slide-on to the tray, this was done by All Terrain Warriors (ATW) using a relatively simple method; which may be feasible for you to entertain. Our tray is aluminium sitting on a steel frame, the camper is bolted to the steel frame through the aluminium tray material, very simple and straight forward. ATW sent 3D CAD drawings of the proposed fastening method for our approval, which we gave. As the drawings are the property of ATW I cannot post them, but I should be able to take some pictures of the brackets they manufactured in due course, if you think this may be a suitable method for your slide-on unit that is.
In full touring mode, we are running around 1100kg under our rated GVM, which is 7000kg and that is with 240litres of water and 280 litres of fuel on board. Our truck was down rated from 7500kg to 7000kg due to the fitment of super singles.
As a bonus for you, most, if not all ancillary equipment is straight from the larger truck, with the alternator being a prime example at a little over 2000W capacity. You shouldn't have any electrical power issues, eh?
Graeme, congratulations on your detective work and what you have achieved so far. Having a slide-on camper is either brilliant, or very pedestrian and this is usually down to either vehicle choice, or construction of the slide-on. For your intended use, I think you are on a winner.
For the last 10 years we have had a Davsher slide-on camper, first it was on our Isuzu D-Max cab chassis tray back ute. Basically the ute was disintegrating due to the workload and that fact it was always running at it's GVM. In 2019 we were actively looking at replacing the ute with either something completely different, or finding a suitable vehicle to take the slide-on camper.
The NLS featherweight truck you have chosen was also something I very closely looked at, especially as it runs the same 4JJ1-TCS engine we have in the D-Max ute. Albeit modified slightly for the power curve and with the great addition of an exhaust brake. As we are into a slightly different touring style than you are, we eventually went to the larger NPS 75/155 4x4 unit.
You mention parking as an issue with a larger vehicle than what you chose, you are right, but with some selective parking bay choices, one can pretty much get along quite nicely. We are 500mm shorter than the Mercedes Sprinter, which surprises many people. In fact the bare bones truck is 5985mm in length, our tray is just slightly longer than the chassis rails and then we have the bull bar up front. We are wider than you at 2200mm on the tray, which is legally required to cover the rear wheels.
One thing that greatly interested me, was your fuel consumption figure. Over some extended trips, think 3 months at a time, every trip had high fuel consumption times and low fuel consumption times. However at the end of every trip one thing was pretty certain, our overall trip fuel consumption figure was always 13.9 l/100. This was a remarkably consistent figure, one which took a few trips before we realised how consistent the fuel consumption was. For the last 3500 klm's in our NPS we have returned a consistent 17.1 l/100 to 17.5 l/100 for around town stuff and flat highway touring. It climbs for hilly stuff, very strong wind and of course when running in 4x4 mode for whatever terrain requires that mode. Your vehicle with it's reasonably rare all wheel drive system is very good as you can use it on wet roads and like situations, something we cannot do.
We transposed our slide-on camper to the NPS and couldn't be happier, it outperforms anything we put in front of it, and then some. As for cabin height from the tray, which can be a sensitive figure for adding a slide-on if you wish to go over the cabin, the NPS is a surprise as it is only 40mm higher than the NLS. We chose a different solution as we have a longer tray at 4.2m compared to what I believe you may have. It seems our unit is lower than yours as our overall height is 3250mm to the top of our small rooftop air conditioning unit, I use 3300mm as my absolute minimum clearance requirement
As for attaching our slide-on to the tray, this was done by All Terrain Warriors (ATW) using a relatively simple method; which may be feasible for you to entertain. Our tray is aluminium sitting on a steel frame, the camper is bolted to the steel frame through the aluminium tray material, very simple and straight forward. ATW sent 3D CAD drawings of the proposed fastening method for our approval, which we gave. As the drawings are the property of ATW I cannot post them, but I should be able to take some pictures of the brackets they manufactured in due course, if you think this may be a suitable method for your slide-on unit that is.
In full touring mode, we are running around 1100kg under our rated GVM, which is 7000kg and that is with 240litres of water and 280 litres of fuel on board. Our truck was down rated from 7500kg to 7000kg due to the fitment of super singles.
As a bonus for you, most, if not all ancillary equipment is straight from the larger truck, with the alternator being a prime example at a little over 2000W capacity. You shouldn't have any electrical power issues, eh?
Mick.
Excellent vehicle , well set up , beautiful to drive - will handle anything you point it at with ease ........should not have a worry for the next 800,000 to 1,000,000 kms. (lightly loaded , doing it easy)
Trailer Sailer said
04:54 PM Feb 12, 2021
Hi Mick Yes I very carefully examined exactly your solution and think it is a very good one. In the end one of the things that swayed me was being able to purchase the NLS AWD Alloy Trayback brand new at $52,500 on road which seemed a very good deal and along with the extended 2 years and 150,000 klms factory warranty extension I also purchased it has given me some mechanical security especially intending to tow my large yacht at times having a factory warranty seemed like a good idea. To date I am still running in the engine and doing generally 100kph on very hilly areas it has averaged about 12.5litres per 100klms since fitting the slide on. I would love to see your attachment methodology. I am hoping to develop one that both is easy to fit and remove that also allows some give to cope with body and tray flex. My photos show the current placement of the slide on right up against the cab protector but shortly I intend to have an alloy lock up box of around 50-60cm wide built and move the camper back to butt up to this providing a better weight balance, more storage and a less vertical front profile with the front of the overcab bed being that amount further back. For the difference in cost of purchasing a new NPS trayback we have just purchased our like new slide on which due to its being built for an overcab truck configuration has extremely generous headroom inside which is a bonus as I am very tall. Yes we will have many more height problems than you but I doesnt appear to affect the on road drivability and my yachts highest point is also just under 3.7 metres so I am already adapted to working with that height. The previous owners had forgot to measure the aircond and tv aerial meaning it did come in nearly 400mm higher than I was thinking it would be. My current vehicle is permanent 4x4 and already driving this one in AWD configuration on slippery surfaces inter spaced with regular bitumen without concerns about transmission windup has proved a bonus. I figure I will be running much closer to fully loaded to our 4500kg GVM than you are to yours but it does mean my partner and daughter can drive it on a regular car license and it was pretty cheap to insure with a car insurer rather than specialist truck insurer. My tray is 3.5 metres long and my slide on is longer than many other standard ones again as it was originally custom built for a small truck rather than the usual one tone Ute. Any info on your attachment method or other tips from a fellow slide on on truck owner would be greatly appreciated.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:45:46 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:47:15 PM
Optimark said
07:36 PM Feb 12, 2021
KJB wrote:
Excellent vehicle , well set up , beautiful to drive - will handle anything you point it at with ease ........should not have a worry for the next 800,000 to 1,000,000 kms. (lightly loaded , doing it easy)
KB, thank you for the compliment. It really is very agile and more of a surprise at how agile it has turned out to be. That said, it is not a small vehicle but it has already done some things far easier than what was originally thought on a hard to do factor, if you know what I mean.
As for the next 800,000 or more kms, unfortunately I won't see anything like that as I somehow reckon I won't last that long; although I'm working on it................
Mick.
KJB said
08:02 PM Feb 12, 2021
Trailer Sailer wrote:
Hi Mick Yes I very carefully examined exactly your solution and think it is a very good one. In the end one of the things that swayed me was being able to purchase the NLS AWD Alloy Trayback brand new at $52,500 on road which seemed a very good deal and along with the extended 2 years and 150,000 klms factory warranty extension I also purchased it has given me some mechanical security especially intending to tow my large yacht at times having a factory warranty seemed like a good idea. To date I am still running in the engine and doing generally 100kph on very hilly areas it has averaged about 12.5litres per 100klms since fitting the slide on. I would love to see your attachment methodology. I am hoping to develop one that both is easy to fit and remove that also allows some give to cope with body and tray flex. My photos show the current placement of the slide on right up against the cab protector but shortly I intend to have an alloy lock up box of around 50-60cm wide built and move the camper back to butt up to this providing a better weight balance, more storage and a less vertical front profile with the front of the overcab bed being that amount further back. For the difference in cost of purchasing a new NPS trayback we have just purchased our like new slide on which due to its being built for an overcab truck configuration has extremely generous headroom inside which is a bonus as I am very tall. Yes we will have many more height problems than you but I doesnt appear to affect the on road drivability and my yachts highest point is also just under 3.7 metres so I am already adapted to working with that height. The previous owners had forgot to measure the aircond and tv aerial meaning it did come in nearly 400mm higher than I was thinking it would be. My current vehicle is permanent 4x4 and already driving this one in AWD configuration on slippery surfaces inter spaced with regular bitumen without concerns about transmission windup has proved a bonus. I figure I will be running much closer to fully loaded to our 4500kg GVM than you are to yours but it does mean my partner and daughter can drive it on a regular car license and it was pretty cheap to insure with a car insurer rather than specialist truck insurer. My tray is 3.5 metres long and my slide on is longer than many other standard ones again as it was originally custom built for a small truck rather than the usual one tone Ute. Any info on your attachment method or other tips from a fellow slide on on truck owner would be greatly appreciated.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:45:46 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:47:15 PM
I agree, this is a tow vehicle that a lot of potential caravanners should be considering " in the mix" when looking at mid weight utes ( which seem to have some "mysterious capacities " as far as towing and carrying , at times) but are "flavour of the month " currently.
Optimark said
08:09 PM Feb 12, 2021
Graeme, when our slide-on was on the ute, it was mounted loosely. This however required a strong tray, hence the ute had a steel tray. The camper didn't move that much, nor did it have that much play, but it had enough to reduce stress on the chassis rails, to a point.
Now that it is on the truck, it is firmly bolted to the tray, the tray has 8 spring loaded mounting points, 4 either side, which allow for the NPS chassis rails to flex while the tray more or less stays perfectly flat. The NPS also has live axles front and rear, which greatly aid in very uneven terrain. This is something that is of no concern to you as your usage is different.
Cost is an ever present thing and what you have paid for your unit is really, really good. I don't think there is anything else in that price range able to carry and tow what you are carrying and towing, with the bonus of AWD. The NPS 75/155 cab chassis ex from the bond yard a year ago for us, was $68,495 then you need to fit a tray or whatever. But the essentials needed are the cab chassis and a tray, with a cheap tray being around $6,500 you are looking around $73,495 plus GST and on road costs; our tray was not that cheap.
I wonder about your seating though, do you have a suspension seat on the driver's side? I pretty much know the passenger side will be a bench seat, probably a dual seat, although I could be wrong. We have fitted aftermarket mechanical suspension seats, which are manufactured in Australia. They are alright and heaps better than nothing, but if you are short legged, then their increased height could be an issue. I believe they are 70mm higher than the OEM seat on the drivers side in the NPS. Physics really, if you are going to have a seat moving up and down, you need some lift.
I was a passenger in your truck, or its predecessor in late 2019 for a test ride, to suggest that the passenger seat was primitive and harsh, is probably being complimentary. While the ride in our truck is not car like, on normal surfaces including gravel roads and reasonable tracks, the mechanical suspension seats pretty much make the ride what it is; pretty alright.
Mick.
Trailer Sailer said
08:38 PM Feb 12, 2021
Hi Mick I have already purchased a new secondhand suspension drivers seat for $500 and intend to reupholster the passenger bench seat with thicker memory foam. Unladen the NLS was very, yea ha, bucking bronco on very bad surfaces but laden with the slide on it was very acceptable for our recent around 1000klms in one day drive. I even think I might of jumped earlier than I needed in buying the new drivers suspension seat. I drove several recent but not newest model NPS SLR expedition vehicles and on city streets these were way worse than the current NLS AWD link arm front suspension. I do believe however that at least one was being sold to upgrade to the newer more compliant NPS revised suspension you probably have. The difference in the quality of the ride with the slide on mounted (by currently 3x 2.5 ton Rachet straps) was truly remarkable. Thanks for the advice and anything else would be really appreciated. Regards Graeme
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 08:45:28 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 08:48:22 PM
Hi All Both the NPS 4x4 and my NLS AWD are excellent potential choices in my view for the slide on camper solution. I have attached links to the ISUZU specifications for both here for comparison purposes. Regards Graeme
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 09:38:25 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 09:38:45 PM
HunnyBunny said
10:39 AM Feb 23, 2021
This is my Camper, it sits on a 13ft flat tray F250. The camper weighs 900klg empty, as for mileage I get 17klms per 1ltr of deisel with the camper on. The height can be restrictive although so far it hasn't stopped me going where I want to. The F250 is 2 w.d. I do tow a boat or trailer, the people I bought it from used to two a horse float with two horses on board. I love my camper but just like anything with camping, it's a matter of "horses for courses"
Trailer Sailer said
11:57 AM Feb 23, 2021
Hi Honey Bunny Great that you found a tray back F250 as most of those I reviewed were style sides meaning rear door on the slide on only, this also means narrower base areas and slightly awkward sliding on and off with the legs barely clearing the body. I found all the 4x4 ones of these and F350s were all prohibitively expensive even well used second-hand. Do you take your slide on, on and off at all? It is my intention to leave the slide on behind for some of the more extreme inland 4x4 stuff due to its extreme height needing just under 3.7m clearance. What's your out of interest? I also really wanted at least an AWD if not 4x4 as my yacht can be difficult to retrieve from slippery boat ramps given the poor vehicle can have well over 4 ton to drag up the ramp if I haven't been able to dump the 750kgs of water ballast and some extra cruising gear before loading it onto its trailer and retrieving up the boat ramp. I need about 10 minutes of over 8 knots motoring to drain my Imexus 28s of water ballast on the water and many boat ramp areas have extensive areas of 4 knot speed restrictions. After the water drains on the ramp ( only if necessary) and some stuff is unloaded it weighs around 3.3 ton on trailer and at 10.8 meters from tow ball to propeller it is a very big package to tow. I will leave the yacht in transport yards, farms or disused areas of caravan parks and the like when we go inland ( hopefully for a small fee ). Some yacht clubs also have reciprocal arrangements with my own club as well. Based on my current fuel economy figures with just the slide on I am hoping for about 16/17 litres per 100klms when towing my yacht with my 3 litre turbo diesel truck spec engine which is very similar to the Isuzu D Max one but a bit more load pulling tune focussed. Currently with just the slide on I am getting just under 14 litres per 100klms. Are you sure about your fuel consumption at 1 litre for 17klms as if so this is about the best I have ever heard of! That would be about 6 litres per 100klms and that is almost impossible I would have thought so perhaps it is 17 litres per 100klms which is what my research for those would have indicated depending on what engine you had. Some F250 and F350s can go over 20litres per 100klms with the really big engined 4x4s. Happy travels and hope to run into you somewhere out there!
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Tuesday 23rd of February 2021 11:58:29 AM
yobarr said
12:23 PM Feb 23, 2021
HunnyBunny wrote:
This is my Camper, it sits on a 13ft flat tray F250. The camper weighs 900klg empty, as for mileage I get 17klms per 1ltr of deisel with the camper on. The height can be restrictive although so far it hasn't stopped me going where I want to. The F250 is 2 w.d. I do tow a boat or trailer, the people I bought it from used to two a horse float with two horses on board. I love my camper but just like anything with camping, it's a matter of "horses for courses"
Great looking unit...well done! If it does indeed get 17km per 1 ltr of diesel,that would fantastic! (48mpg) but I suspect that you mean 17 litres per 100km,or 5.9km/litre? Still good economy,I'd say.Happy travelling! Cheers
HunnyBunny said
10:30 AM Feb 25, 2021
The fuel consumption should indeed have read 17klms per 100klms, don't I wish it was the other way around. Although for an 8.3 ltr turbo deisel I don't think it's too bad. The height of my camper would be around the same as yours, 3.8m is what I allow for when going under low heights.The tray is actually wider then the camper so it sits solidly on the tray. I do take my camper off the truck, it's not difficult to do but can be a bit of a slow process at times. I use the truck around the property when I'm not on the road. When I'm away I don't bother to take the camper off, I have a stand alone gazebo so no need to bother with awnings, that way it's easy to just wind up the legs & go wherever I want. It's easy enough to park & no bother to take wherever I want to go, as long as there are no low bridges or trees. It's also easy to park so getting around is no worry, I can also take my tinny. I do a lot of camping on my own as Hubby isn't really interested. I love to free camp & spend a lot of time on the mighty Murray.
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Thursday 25th of February 2021 10:31:55 AM
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Thursday 25th of February 2021 10:35:01 AM
Trailer Sailer said
08:39 AM Feb 28, 2021
Hi Honey Bunny Just out of interest how do you get your camper off your tray when the tray is wider than the camper.
I had to remove all my tray side mounts to give myself some more leeway when backing in under mine using the conventional remote controlled happijac legs. Fortunately these mounts were just bolted on not welded making that task fairly simple. I now have about 80mm clearance each side where as with the fold down side mounts fitted it was a very tight 20mm clearance each side. Yes shame about the fuel consumption but I feel 17litres per 100klms is still superb for that monster engine. I have heard many with the 4x4 version of your F250 truck and the F350 regularly not getting under 20 litres per 100klms. Out of interest for me and perhaps others what is the total length of you truck with camper fitted and what is its turning circle? The ISUZU NLS AWD is 5.75m long and one of the other features that attracted me was the 10.1 turning circle. Regarding the Murray River, Clare and I hope to tackle sailing the length of this as one of our earlier adventures. I have a 28 foot trailable hybrid yacht/powerboat with retracting keel and one person lowering mast which we will tow behind our slide on package. Being such a monster yacht and a float off trailer it needs a big quality boat ramp for launching. Do you (or anyone else reading) know any of these high up the Murray you have seen that might be suitable? We would also need a secure place to leave our camper and attached trailer for a couple of months.
Just before our first load of the newly purchased slide on. It was an interesting exercise as a previous owner had wired up the legs all wrong making figuring out which button controlled which leg challenging.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:45:20 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:53:48 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:56:13 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:57:12 AM
The people who we bought the slide on from had made modifications. They added two heavy duty bars along the bottom of the camper running length ways. They then added another one across the front, this brings the legs out, the legs have also been modified to bolt into the cross bar on the front, when attached the front legs sit outside the tray. It sits the camper up about 12 inches off the tray, this enables me to store camping gear underneath. The turning circle on my Effie is extremely good, not sure about the radius but I can do a "U" turn easily. As for the length of the camper & truck overall, it would be approx 6.4 mtrs Hope you can understand my vague description. :)
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 08:51:23 AM
HunnyBunny said
08:52 AM Mar 2, 2021
The Murray River in N.S.W is quite shallow in places these days. I would suggest, if you plan on sailing on the Murray look at the S.A. stretch.
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 08:53:35 AM
Trailer Sailer said
11:09 AM Mar 2, 2021
Hi Honey Bunny Thanks for the info and your thoughts. Re the shallows on the river my yacht can retract its keel and rudders and sail in about 30cms of water which is less than the commercial river traffic and shallow draft houseboats so it should be fine right up to above the very top functional Loch. I have other friends who have done this trip but many many years ago in a trailable yacht with similar swing keel that kind of acts as a backup depth sounder as it folds back into the hull of it hits anything. Hope to catch you out there somewhere.
Gary and Barb said
05:38 PM Mar 2, 2021
I have a slide on (Trayon) and love it. Some brands do flex quite well, but others, well.... they break!
For attaching it to your tray, it might be best to consult with the seller. They should give you some good advice. Trayon help you fit it and I guess many others do as well, so that would be the first port of call.
Slide ons have numerous advantages. Safer and easier than towing, better fuel, more off-road spots are accessible and easier on the tug. Check your dry weight and loaded weight when packing. Often the tug and camper can take you over the GVM. If you are unsure, find out what the GVM is for your tug and take the full rig over a weighbridge. Some states are very hot on being over the GVM and fines can be extraordinary!
You will really enjoy the freedom and adaptability of your setup, so go for it!
Trailer Sailer said
08:35 PM Mar 2, 2021
Hi Gary and Barb Both previous owners of my slide on barely used it the last ones never using it on their vehicle except the pickup journey. The first I believe used it under 10 nights. My Isuzu NLS AWD Truck is also a different proposition from many close to overloaded utes having a 4500gvm and 8000gcm. I understand the quality and weight advantages of your Trayon but for me I was looking for a more quickly usable and weatherproof and larger unit and chose a truck to carry it.
Gary and Barb said
09:28 PM Mar 2, 2021
I wasn't trying to sell you to Trayon. You need to have horses for courses and you have picked what suits your needs. That's why you will love it.
I have a Rodeo (Isuzu) and the attendant GVM problem, so went for a light unit that would serve my needs, get me anywhere I want to go and have some creature comforts. I use the tug as my daily commute. We hope you get your attachment issue worked out and can really enjoy the freedom of a slide-on as much as we do.
Best wishes!
Trailer Sailer said
09:51 PM Mar 2, 2021
Hi Gary And Barb Sorry, written communication is so prone to misinterpretation. I was just saying I knew what a great unit the Trayon for those with the usual weight constraints of many conventional utes. Most full height Hardwall slide ons like mine are often just too heavy for standard utes unless significantly upgraded and I mean possibly more than just uprated springs and shocks and airbag helpers. Many have axles with carrying capacities right in their limit and chassis frames capable of carrying the loads static or on good roads but perhaps not on the really rough or corrugated roads that many would like to explore. Your Trayon puts far less load on the vehicle than something more like my large Hardwall unit. I am hoping using the larger truck I have chosen will allow me the combination of a capable tow vehicle and more like a fixed wall caravan accommodation rather than a slide on more like a camper trailer.
Gary and Barb said
09:55 PM Mar 2, 2021
...and you will love it!
BTW, I am aN Isuzu fan and like the look of the NLS. A great unit and handy around the home.
Graeme, congratulations on your detective work and what you have achieved so far. Having a slide-on camper is either brilliant, or very pedestrian and this is usually down to either vehicle choice, or construction of the slide-on. For your intended use, I think you are on a winner.
For the last 10 years we have had a Davsher slide-on camper, first it was on our Isuzu D-Max cab chassis tray back ute. Basically the ute was disintegrating due to the workload and that fact it was always running at it's GVM. In 2019 we were actively looking at replacing the ute with either something completely different, or finding a suitable vehicle to take the slide-on camper.
The NLS featherweight truck you have chosen was also something I very closely looked at, especially as it runs the same 4JJ1-TCS engine we have in the D-Max ute. Albeit modified slightly for the power curve and with the great addition of an exhaust brake. As we are into a slightly different touring style than you are, we eventually went to the larger NPS 75/155 4x4 unit.
You mention parking as an issue with a larger vehicle than what you chose, you are right, but with some selective parking bay choices, one can pretty much get along quite nicely. We are 500mm shorter than the Mercedes Sprinter, which surprises many people. In fact the bare bones truck is 5985mm in length, our tray is just slightly longer than the chassis rails and then we have the bull bar up front. We are wider than you at 2200mm on the tray, which is legally required to cover the rear wheels.
One thing that greatly interested me, was your fuel consumption figure. Over some extended trips, think 3 months at a time, every trip had high fuel consumption times and low fuel consumption times. However at the end of every trip one thing was pretty certain, our overall trip fuel consumption figure was always 13.9 l/100. This was a remarkably consistent figure, one which took a few trips before we realised how consistent the fuel consumption was. For the last 3500 klm's in our NPS we have returned a consistent 17.1 l/100 to 17.5 l/100 for around town stuff and flat highway touring. It climbs for hilly stuff, very strong wind and of course when running in 4x4 mode for whatever terrain requires that mode. Your vehicle with it's reasonably rare all wheel drive system is very good as you can use it on wet roads and like situations, something we cannot do.
We transposed our slide-on camper to the NPS and couldn't be happier, it outperforms anything we put in front of it, and then some. As for cabin height from the tray, which can be a sensitive figure for adding a slide-on if you wish to go over the cabin, the NPS is a surprise as it is only 40mm higher than the NLS. We chose a different solution as we have a longer tray at 4.2m compared to what I believe you may have. It seems our unit is lower than yours as our overall height is 3250mm to the top of our small rooftop air conditioning unit, I use 3300mm as my absolute minimum clearance requirement
As for attaching our slide-on to the tray, this was done by All Terrain Warriors (ATW) using a relatively simple method; which may be feasible for you to entertain. Our tray is aluminium sitting on a steel frame, the camper is bolted to the steel frame through the aluminium tray material, very simple and straight forward. ATW sent 3D CAD drawings of the proposed fastening method for our approval, which we gave. As the drawings are the property of ATW I cannot post them, but I should be able to take some pictures of the brackets they manufactured in due course, if you think this may be a suitable method for your slide-on unit that is.
In full touring mode, we are running around 1100kg under our rated GVM, which is 7000kg and that is with 240litres of water and 280 litres of fuel on board. Our truck was down rated from 7500kg to 7000kg due to the fitment of super singles.
As a bonus for you, most, if not all ancillary equipment is straight from the larger truck, with the alternator being a prime example at a little over 2000W capacity. You shouldn't have any electrical power issues, eh?
Mick.
Hi Mick Yes I very carefully examined exactly your solution and think it is a very good one. In the end one of the things that swayed me was being able to purchase the NLS AWD Alloy Trayback brand new at $52,500 on road which seemed a very good deal and along with the extended 2 years and 150,000 klms factory warranty extension I also purchased it has given me some mechanical security especially intending to tow my large yacht at times having a factory warranty seemed like a good idea.
To date I am still running in the engine and doing generally 100kph on very hilly areas it has averaged about 12.5litres per 100klms since fitting the slide on.
I would love to see your attachment methodology. I am hoping to develop one that both is easy to fit and remove that also allows some give to cope with body and tray flex.
My photos show the current placement of the slide on right up against the cab protector but shortly I intend to have an alloy lock up box of around 50-60cm wide built and move the camper back to butt up to this providing a better weight balance, more storage and a less vertical front profile with the front of the overcab bed being that amount further back.
For the difference in cost of purchasing a new NPS trayback we have just purchased our like new slide on which due to its being built for an overcab truck configuration has extremely generous headroom inside which is a bonus as I am very tall.
Yes we will have many more height problems than you but I doesnt appear to affect the on road drivability and my yachts highest point is also just under 3.7 metres so I am already adapted to working with that height. The previous owners had forgot to measure the aircond and tv aerial meaning it did come in nearly 400mm higher than I was thinking it would be.
My current vehicle is permanent 4x4 and already driving this one in AWD configuration on slippery surfaces inter spaced with regular bitumen without concerns about transmission windup has proved a bonus.
I figure I will be running much closer to fully loaded to our 4500kg GVM than you are to yours but it does mean my partner and daughter can drive it on a regular car license and it was pretty cheap to insure with a car insurer rather than specialist truck insurer.
My tray is 3.5 metres long and my slide on is longer than many other standard ones again as it was originally custom built for a small truck rather than the usual one tone Ute. Any info on your attachment method or other tips from a fellow slide on on truck owner would be greatly appreciated.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:45:46 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 05:47:15 PM
I agree, this is a tow vehicle that a lot of potential caravanners should be considering " in the mix" when looking at mid weight utes ( which seem to have some "mysterious capacities " as far as towing and carrying , at times) but are "flavour of the month " currently.
Graeme, when our slide-on was on the ute, it was mounted loosely. This however required a strong tray, hence the ute had a steel tray. The camper didn't move that much, nor did it have that much play, but it had enough to reduce stress on the chassis rails, to a point.
Now that it is on the truck, it is firmly bolted to the tray, the tray has 8 spring loaded mounting points, 4 either side, which allow for the NPS chassis rails to flex while the tray more or less stays perfectly flat. The NPS also has live axles front and rear, which greatly aid in very uneven terrain. This is something that is of no concern to you as your usage is different.
Cost is an ever present thing and what you have paid for your unit is really, really good. I don't think there is anything else in that price range able to carry and tow what you are carrying and towing, with the bonus of AWD. The NPS 75/155 cab chassis ex from the bond yard a year ago for us, was $68,495 then you need to fit a tray or whatever. But the essentials needed are the cab chassis and a tray, with a cheap tray being around $6,500 you are looking around $73,495 plus GST and on road costs; our tray was not that cheap.
I wonder about your seating though, do you have a suspension seat on the driver's side? I pretty much know the passenger side will be a bench seat, probably a dual seat, although I could be wrong. We have fitted aftermarket mechanical suspension seats, which are manufactured in Australia. They are alright and heaps better than nothing, but if you are short legged, then their increased height could be an issue. I believe they are 70mm higher than the OEM seat on the drivers side in the NPS. Physics really, if you are going to have a seat moving up and down, you need some lift.
I was a passenger in your truck, or its predecessor in late 2019 for a test ride, to suggest that the passenger seat was primitive and harsh, is probably being complimentary. While the ride in our truck is not car like, on normal surfaces including gravel roads and reasonable tracks, the mechanical suspension seats pretty much make the ride what it is; pretty alright.
Mick.
Hi Mick
I have already purchased a new secondhand suspension drivers seat for $500 and intend to reupholster the passenger bench seat with thicker memory foam. Unladen the NLS was very, yea ha, bucking bronco on very bad surfaces but laden with the slide on it was very acceptable for our recent around 1000klms in one day drive. I even think I might of jumped earlier than I needed in buying the new drivers suspension seat.
I drove several recent but not newest model NPS SLR expedition vehicles and on city streets these were way worse than the current NLS AWD link arm front suspension. I do believe however that at least one was being sold to upgrade to the newer more compliant NPS revised suspension you probably have.
The difference in the quality of the ride with the slide on mounted (by currently 3x 2.5 ton Rachet straps) was truly remarkable.
Thanks for the advice and anything else would be really appreciated. Regards Graeme
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 08:45:28 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 08:48:22 PM
Hi All Both the NPS 4x4 and my NLS AWD are excellent potential choices in my view for the slide on camper solution. I have attached links to the ISUZU specifications for both here for comparison purposes. Regards Graeme
https://www.isuzu.com.au/Isuzu_Files/Spec_Sheets/Current_spec_sheets/NLS%2045-150%20AWD_AWD%20CREW_ARK1343_v02.pdf
https://www.isuzu.com.au/Isuzu_Files/Spec_Sheets/Current_spec_sheets/NPS%2075_45-155%20CREW_ARK1351_v02.pdf
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 09:38:25 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Friday 12th of February 2021 09:38:45 PM
This is my Camper, it sits on a 13ft flat tray F250. The camper weighs 900klg empty, as for mileage I get 17klms per 1ltr of deisel with the camper on. The height can be restrictive although so far it hasn't stopped me going where I want to. The F250 is 2 w.d. I do tow a boat or trailer, the people I bought it from used to two a horse float with two horses on board. I love my camper but just like anything with camping, it's a matter of "horses for courses"
Hi Honey Bunny
Great that you found a tray back F250 as most of those I reviewed were style sides meaning rear door on the slide on only, this also means narrower base areas and slightly awkward sliding on and off with the legs barely clearing the body. I found all the 4x4 ones of these and F350s were all prohibitively expensive even well used second-hand.
Do you take your slide on, on and off at all?
It is my intention to leave the slide on behind for some of the more extreme inland 4x4 stuff due to its extreme height needing just under 3.7m clearance. What's your out of interest?
I also really wanted at least an AWD if not 4x4 as my yacht can be difficult to retrieve from slippery boat ramps given the poor vehicle can have well over 4 ton to drag up the ramp if I haven't been able to dump the 750kgs of water ballast and some extra cruising gear before loading it onto its trailer and retrieving up the boat ramp.
I need about 10 minutes of over 8 knots motoring to drain my Imexus 28s of water ballast on the water and many boat ramp areas have extensive areas of 4 knot speed restrictions.
After the water drains on the ramp ( only if necessary) and some stuff is unloaded it weighs around 3.3 ton on trailer and at 10.8 meters from tow ball to propeller it is a very big package to tow.
I will leave the yacht in transport yards, farms or disused areas of caravan parks and the like when we go inland ( hopefully for a small fee ). Some yacht clubs also have reciprocal arrangements with my own club as well.
Based on my current fuel economy figures with just the slide on I am hoping for about 16/17 litres per 100klms when towing my yacht with my 3 litre turbo diesel truck spec engine which is very similar to the Isuzu D Max one but a bit more load pulling tune focussed.
Currently with just the slide on I am getting just under 14 litres per 100klms.
Are you sure about your fuel consumption at 1 litre for 17klms as if so this is about the best I have ever heard of! That would be about 6 litres per 100klms and that is almost impossible I would have thought so perhaps it is 17 litres per 100klms which is what my research for those would have indicated depending on what engine you had.
Some F250 and F350s can go over 20litres per 100klms with the really big engined 4x4s. Happy travels and hope to run into you somewhere out there!
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Tuesday 23rd of February 2021 11:58:29 AM
Great looking unit...well done! If it does indeed get 17km per 1 ltr of diesel,that would fantastic! (48mpg) but I suspect that you mean 17 litres per 100km,or 5.9km/litre? Still good economy,I'd say.Happy travelling! Cheers
The fuel consumption should indeed have read 17klms per 100klms, don't I wish it was the other way around. Although for an 8.3 ltr turbo deisel I don't think it's too bad. The height of my camper would be around the same as yours, 3.8m is what I allow for when going under low heights.The tray is actually wider then the camper so it sits solidly on the tray. I do take my camper off the truck, it's not difficult to do but can be a bit of a slow process at times. I use the truck around the property when I'm not on the road. When I'm away I don't bother to take the camper off, I have a stand alone gazebo so no need to bother with awnings, that way it's easy to just wind up the legs & go wherever I want. It's easy enough to park & no bother to take wherever I want to go, as long as there are no low bridges or trees. It's also easy to park so getting around is no worry, I can also take my tinny. I do a lot of camping on my own as Hubby isn't really interested. I love to free camp & spend a lot of time on the mighty Murray.
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Thursday 25th of February 2021 10:31:55 AM
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Thursday 25th of February 2021 10:35:01 AM
Hi Honey Bunny Just out of interest how do you get your camper off your tray when the tray is wider than the camper.
I had to remove all my tray side mounts to give myself some more leeway when backing in under mine using the conventional remote controlled happijac legs. Fortunately these mounts were just bolted on not welded making that task fairly simple. I now have about 80mm clearance each side where as with the fold down side mounts fitted it was a very tight 20mm clearance each side.
Yes shame about the fuel consumption but I feel 17litres per 100klms is still superb for that monster engine. I have heard many with the 4x4 version of your F250 truck and the F350 regularly not getting under 20 litres per 100klms.
Out of interest for me and perhaps others what is the total length of you truck with camper fitted and what is its turning circle?
The ISUZU NLS AWD is 5.75m long and one of the other features that attracted me was the 10.1 turning circle.
Regarding the Murray River, Clare and I hope to tackle sailing the length of this as one of our earlier adventures. I have a 28 foot trailable hybrid yacht/powerboat with retracting keel and one person lowering mast which we will tow behind our slide on package. Being such a monster yacht and a float off trailer it needs a big quality boat ramp for launching. Do you (or anyone else reading) know any of these high up the Murray you have seen that might be suitable? We would also need a secure place to leave our camper and attached trailer for a couple of months.
Just before our first load of the newly purchased slide on. It was an interesting exercise as a previous owner had wired up the legs all wrong making figuring out which button controlled which leg challenging.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:45:20 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:53:48 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:56:13 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 28th of February 2021 08:57:12 AM
The people who we bought the slide on from had made modifications. They added two heavy duty bars along the bottom of the camper running length ways. They then added another one across the front, this brings the legs out, the legs have also been modified to bolt into the cross bar on the front, when attached the front legs sit outside the tray. It sits the camper up about 12 inches off the tray, this enables me to store camping gear underneath.
The turning circle on my Effie is extremely good, not sure about the radius but I can do a "U" turn easily. As for the length of the camper & truck overall, it would be approx 6.4 mtrs Hope you can understand my vague description. :)
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 08:51:23 AM
The Murray River in N.S.W is quite shallow in places these days. I would suggest, if you plan on sailing on the Murray look at the S.A. stretch.
-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 08:53:35 AM
I have a slide on (Trayon) and love it. Some brands do flex quite well, but others, well.... they break!
For attaching it to your tray, it might be best to consult with the seller. They should give you some good advice. Trayon help you fit it and I guess many others do as well, so that would be the first port of call.
Slide ons have numerous advantages. Safer and easier than towing, better fuel, more off-road spots are accessible and easier on the tug. Check your dry weight and loaded weight when packing. Often the tug and camper can take you over the GVM. If you are unsure, find out what the GVM is for your tug and take the full rig over a weighbridge. Some states are very hot on being over the GVM and fines can be extraordinary!
You will really enjoy the freedom and adaptability of your setup, so go for it!
I wasn't trying to sell you to Trayon. You need to have horses for courses and you have picked what suits your needs. That's why you will love it.
I have a Rodeo (Isuzu) and the attendant GVM problem, so went for a light unit that would serve my needs, get me anywhere I want to go and have some creature comforts. I use the tug as my daily commute. We hope you get your attachment issue worked out and can really enjoy the freedom of a slide-on as much as we do.
Best wishes!
...and you will love it!
BTW, I am aN Isuzu fan and like the look of the NLS. A great unit and handy around the home.