Phoenix Pop Up Campers’ Mitsubishi Fuso Adventure Camping Rig

Overland extreme adventure camping is a growing trend worldwide with more and more people wanting to take their camping into remote areas. While some overland campers resort to old Jeeps towing highly mobile yet primitive camping trailers, more luxury overland adventure camp rigs have been cropping up lately. Rob Rowe is the president of Phoenix Pop Up Campers in Denver, Colorado, a company that has been building off-road campers dating back to the early 70s, long before they became popular. Rob and his wife Cari wanted to build a new demo vehicle to promote their business and the over-land extreme adventure lifestyle at rallies and shows across the country.

A NEW RV

The couple wanted to design an RV that would be a comfortable traveling rig that would be able to go off road and still get good fuel mileage. They teamed up with Mitsubishi Fuso dealer Mike Holtzhower and Southeast Diesel in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to blend their two specialties into what could be the perfect adventure RV. Starting with a 2014 Fuso FG4X4 cabover dually cab and chassis truck, the Rowe’s designed their perfect RV. After the design work was complete, the build team in Colorado went to work fabricating the welded aluminum cage frame for the camper and began work on the rest of the camper body. Once the assembly was ready, it was mounted to the Fuso and the interior components and furnishings were installed. The entire process took about six months to complete while the shop was also cranking out customer orders.

All Phoenix Pop Up Campers are custom built to the owner’s design specifications, and they can create campers for just about any vehicle imaginable. Since this one would be a demonstrator for the company, they were sure to equip it with many of the luxury offerings including a flat screen TV, complete audio/video system with speakers inside and outside the camper, plush UltraLeather upholstery, solid surface countertops and high-end wood cabinetry throughout the camper. Once the over-land adventure RV was completed, the Rowe’s lived in it for several weeks while touring across the country to various shows and events—and they love it.

LOOKING AT LUXURY

The luxury camper rides on a standard Mitsubishi Fuso FG4X4 chassis and seats three up front in the cab. It rides on traditional straight axles both front and rear with leaf spring suspension to reliably handle heavy loads and long term use. A 4-cylinder 3.0L turbo diesel engine is at home under the cab; it propels the truck with a modest 161 horse-power at 3,400 RPM and 295 lbs-ft. of torque at only 1,300 RPM. When compared with the performance numbers, we see from performance-built modern trucks the engine may seem underpowered for a rig this size, but it does very well largely in part due to being mated to the Mitsubishi Fuso DUONIC 6-speed OD automatic transmission which does not hunt for gears and keeps the engine in its power band to motivate the big RV down the road well. We had the chance to drive the rig on some trails at the Adventure Off Road Park in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, as well as on the freeway and in city traffic, and it performed very well. Since the camper has a pop-up top, it is not overly tall and the high seating position and large mirrors give the drive an excellent view of traffic all around the RV.

IT’S A BIG WORLD

For those that feel adventurous, a custom FG4X4/Phoenix Pop Up combination might be just the ticket for your camping needs. Check this one out, and if you think it might be the right fit for you and your family, give the Rowe’s and their crew at Phoenix Pop Up Campers or the team at Southeast Diesel a call and tell them your friends at Ultimate Diesel Builder’s Guide sent you.

Where can you go in an adventure camper? Maybe a better question would be where can’t you take your adventure camper? It’s a big world, and most of it isn’t paved; one of these rigs would be a great way to explore. UDBG

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