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Someone converted a Jeep Comanche (in their driveway) into a go-anywhere camper truck with some cool features for the nomadic life!
The craze of campers is at an all-time high thanks to the shift in the way of living around the world due to COVID. But not everything can afford a factory camper or a fully-fledged exclusive RV. These ready-to-go creations can range anywhere between $36,000 to $135,000 for the most affordable and less feature-packed ones. And that is where DIY comes to the rescue, as shown by Jim Barber and his 1987 Jeep Comanche-based camper.
It sure demands a lot more money and time commitment but the results and, more importantly, knowledge is well worth it. The Jeep Comanche is often touted as the spiritual successor to the Jeep Scrambler. And it was in 1987 that Chrysler, the then-parent company of Jeep, started building Comanche's. Before that, it was built by American Motors (AMC). This pick-up is lauded for being an immortal and its fame has slowly caught up to it.
Nowadays, Jeep Comanches are a rarity in the used car space and their value is going up and close to those of exotics of the time. And Jim used two Jeep Comanches to create his homemade camper truck. While a lot of design and components had to be changed from his initial design, Jim managed to create a camper with a very strong quotient for space management.
It even houses an almost-queen-sized bed and many custom-fit components. Jim has already completed a trip from Alaska to Baja in his Comanche. And he is already planning on creating a bigger and better camper next. Check out the video below to be mesmerized by the sheer knowledge this man possesses.
Someone converted a Jeep Comanche (in his driveway) into a go-anywhere camper truck with cool and sensible features for a nomadic life!
Jim Barber is from Alaska, and he works on a boat which also explains how he is comfortable spending time in such a tiny Comanche-based camper out on the road. He wanted to travel with his wife but wanted to have an affordable stance on it.
Buying a camper for his Jeep Comanche was pricey, and he was also let down by the overwhelmingly negative reviews. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and build his dream "home on wheels". Jim didn't have any prior experience in building one, but he used his occasional hobby and college skills of welding and fabricating to get started.
He mentioned that the camper truck is nothing like what he had initially intended for, and he feels that it is the perfect learning curve to know that not everything works out the way we want. Things like wanting an oven for the kitchen area, an external shower curtain, and having a hardtop layout instead of the canvas pop-up design were decisions that Jim had to let go of along the construction process.
The best part was that he built the whole rig in his driveway. He bought the Jeep Comanche as he had experience working on Jeeps from his college days. Funnily, the first used Comanche he bought blew its engine on its ride back home. He then bought another one and fused the good parts.
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The whole camper box is made out of aluminum. The entrance of the camper is a cool flight-style layout with a split opening. The lower opening has embedded stairs which makes it easy to get in via the highly-mounted door.
The interior of the camper is an apt example of the sensible use of space. The lower section holds two seating areas, one L-shaped unit and the other a simple straight bench. The L-shaped unit gets a swiveling table that can be used to hold snacks and drinks for up to five people.
Both these seating areas have storage compartments embedded under them. All the camper's electronics, including the water heater and cabin heater, are embedded under one such compartment of the L-shaped area. The camper has a six-gallon water heater tank on the left side and a ten-gallon water storage tank on the right, under the seats.
The tiny kitchen space is well-equipped as it gets a deep sink with a faucet and drinking water provision. It also gets an extendable head to pull the pipe outside for a makeshift shower head. Then it gets a two-burner stove.
The biggest element in the kitchen space is an 85-Liter Snowmaster fridge that comes with dedicated freezer and fridge compartments. The rest of the space is for storing pans, and other utensils. The whole cabin gets custom windows made by Arctic Turn which come with a built-in sunshade and bug screen.
The cabin also gets a pass-through area into the cockpit which Jim says is mostly used by their trio of dogs. Added more to the "wise use of space" is an almost queen-sized bed of 7.5-feet in length. The sleeping area gets a cozy and romantic layout with fairy lights.
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Jim completed the build in about six months, of which two-and-a-half months were indulged in building the camper. The initial three months were used up to get the mechanical components souped-up, like giving it a jacked-up suspension and chunkier wheels.
This time was also used up to build a custom front bumper with integrated auxiliary LED lighting and a winch. Jim shows us that you don't need to get a pricey camper or have the experience to build one. You can learn things as you go along. Just be prepared to fail, a lot! But he mentions that the result is well worth the intense work.
Sources: Tiny Home Tours Via YouTube, Jeep, Bring a Trailer
Tijo is an engineer, mechanic, and an avid content creator. He is a grease-monkey who loves tinkering with automobiles every now and then, when not busy penning down his passion for them. He has always had a soft spot for JDM and is keen on diving deep in for anything that involves wheels and engines.