Morning coffee at Shaar Tzanip.
In two months the silver Hilux will wander through completely different landscapes (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
At the beginning of May, the silver Hilux will be loaded onto a ferry to Greece, and will set sail for a long and fascinating journey.
Two days later, Naama and Nimrod Mordechai will take off with their three children (one and a half years, 5 and 8 years), who will embark on what appears to be an adventure of a lifetime that will last close to a year.
Their dream will lead them to the east, to Central Asia and the ancient Silk Road connecting Europe with the Far East.
Befitting a true adventure, Naama and Nimrod set out on their journey without a defined route, certainly without a commitment to reach China;
The only thing that is clear is that the adventure they will have aboard the truck camper, which we took for a three-day desert tasting.
Hemad's corner in the Nahalim al-Hadidim (photo: Rami Gilboa)
Little House On The Prairie
Overland tours (Overland = motorized tours on cross-continental terrain tracks) have many faces - starting with the tent thrown in the trunk of a Forester, and ending with an 11-ton truck cruising the African Bush.
Truck Camper is an excellent intermediate solution for long-term travelers, from two happy travelers to a family of five.
The campers that "Itache" imports are produced by the South African Alu-cab, a manufacturer with a global reputation of decades.
During the three days of the test, we discovered that the campers are high quality and durable, completely sealed against dust.
The internal equipment is firmly fastened in place, a wine glass did not move, a fork did not fall.
Each camper has a 60-liter refrigerator/freezer, about 70 liters of water with a pump, water heating and a diesel heater for the passenger compartment, a charging system and a 220-volt converter, an independent battery.
Four side storage compartments open up in 'gull wings' style and contain kitchen equipment, rescue, outdoor shower and more.
There are also internal storage compartments for food, personal equipment, clothing and more.
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At night, the bed is placed at the height of the orange stripes.
In the morning you can lift it up and get a spacious room to protect from the cold, a field kitchen, or a children's playroom (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
In their closed position, the campers do not protrude much above the roof of the van, no more than a standard roof tent.
In the open state, they provide an internal space that allows standing upright for two people, cooking and various organizations.
The bed is lowered for the night, its dimensions are 1.92x1.22 meters.
You can open an extra bed on the lower level, to accommodate a couple of friends or children.
There is also a double version that includes a kitchen suitable for the Desert Master Chef competition.
You can purchase the campers as an empty shell, which you will pack yourself;
With a decent price plus you will get the camper equipped with everything from a refrigerator to cutlery, with a sophisticated electrical system, 270 degree grill and more.
The living room can be turned into a spacious family room, with the help of optional tarpaulin sides (Photo: Itache) (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
One of the great advantages of the Toyota camper is the ability to remove it from the van.
If you don't plan to travel in the coming weeks, you can disassemble the camper and leave it in the parking lot of your house, standing on four telescopic legs.
40 minutes of tinkering and the van will slide forward under the detached trailer, returning to being a relatively compact vehicle.
This versatility gives the van two different identities: on the weekend it is a dedicated travel vehicle, the rest of the time it is a standard work van.
To travel through the Negev for long days and weeks, discovering deer and rams (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
local route
The Mordechai family's journey will take them to the 'Silk Road', we were content with the ancient 'Perfume Road';
From the path of the perfumes we continued to wander through the channels of Nahal Nekrot, Nimiya, Tzanif, Faran, Chava, Tsichor, and other Israeli classics.
Elisha and Orit settled aboard the Dodge Ram with an AluCabin camper.
This camper arrived in Israel with no internal gear and now they are working with the importer for a complete model.
This is a larger camper than the Toyota, but the general contents are similar.
Dorit and I locked onto the Toyota with a more compact Khaya camper, which came fully kitted out by the Alu-cab factory in Cape Town.
Combine a 'short' gear, lock the rear differential, and the camper will climb any reasonable route.
BF's AT tires provide excellent grip and high resistance to collisions (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
The Khaya's own weight is 400 kilograms, ready for the road it weighs about 850 kilograms.
This is less than Toyota's maximum load, but it is highly recommended to upgrade the suspension - this is because the weight of the camper is concentrated in the back of the van, some of it is even outside the box.
The Outback company installed improved EFS suspensions in the Toyota and the result impressed me very much - the van is comfortable and irons out road and path obstacles well, so much so that in the gravel sections of the 'Nekrot' we felt comfortable enough to cruise at 80 km/h. The van wobbles a little more than usual, but considering the weight And in its position, the result is impressive and extremely comfortable. The Ram also sits on upgraded suspensions, but its dimensions and weight create a less indulgent and accurate feeling. On the road, the vehicles behave like a fairly standard van; we were surprised to discover how little wind noise the camper produces, and there is no problem cruising at triple-digit speeds. Fuel consumption is high More, but it's not bad - in a calm cruise of 100-110 km/h, the Toyota will travel 7.5-8.5 kilometers on a liter of diesel.
In terms of offenses, the vans have hardly lost their original capabilities.
The chassis angles and transmission ratios were not affected, and even with the Toyota's modest 2.4 engine (150 hp), we did not feel a lack of power. On steep climbs, the concentration of weight in the back may cause the van to wave a little in its front wheels, it really does not interfere. I suppose that the added weight also hurts In the dunes, but there is no problem moving forward even on muddy paths.
In the overnight campers we met interesting people;
Here, a professor from the University of Haifa, walking the Israel Trail alone (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
Bedouin love song
But what am I talking to you about motoring and offenses?
The greatness of the truck campers flourishes during bohor breaks or overnight camping.
After a day of adventures we would find ourselves a horizontal surface for parking, next to an acacia tree.
Pull out in 20 seconds a solid aluminum table, with legs that open with quality pistons.
One of the hikers arranges four folding chairs, someone else arranges happy hour snacks.
Within minutes we are sitting and talking to ourselves, until sunset.
Beer or wine improves the mood, and we start to get ready for a night in the frozen desert.
Cook something hot or heat a home-made stew, unload wood for the fire.
What more could we ask for?
"The wind blows coolly, added a toothpick to the fire."
The winter nights are long, you have to bring a lot of planks for the fire.
The LED lighting provides generous light (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
On a non-motorized-adventure trip, the overnight parking and day breaks are the highlights of the trip.
Good company, disconnection from telephony and the news, good food and two travel vehicles with extreme capabilities.
In the evening we huddle around the fire and count stars, waiting for the moon to rise.
Everyone flaunts their culinary abilities - one brings out bread she baked at home, another stirs noodles on the fire, homemade pastrami is sliced into thin slices.
I turn on the boiler and go in for a short wash in the shower tent - windproof, equipped with a clean standing surface, there's even a shelf for shampoo and soap.
The Toyota has a boiler with a nice volume of 10 liters of water.
Ram only has 5 liters, it's not enough for a long time.
Two hours after leaving the parking lot for the night, we stop at a calm Buzuriim, in the shade of an acacia tree (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
The wind blows cool, the desert night broken only by the chirping of birds, or the eyes of a fox shining in the darkness.
Whenever we run out of energy, one by one retires to the top floor of the camper.
The bed is comfortable and spacious with lighting at hand, storage compartments for phones and glasses.
We cover ourselves with pampering duvets and despite the cold outside, we don't bother to heat the tents.
Large windows give us a great view of the moonlit river channel.
We fall asleep like logs and in the morning I get up first, arrange for myself an hour of lonely silence, with a cup of fragrant coffee.
The rest of our heroes slowly wake up, drink something and have some morning chatter.
The side cabins include a fully equipped kitchen, rescue equipment and an electrical cabinet.
You can add fuel carriers, an extra spare wheel, a large gas tank, roof box and more (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
In the morning, the equipment is loaded, and the vans are organized.
When you understand the patent, closing the roofs does not require physical effort.
The Toyota wagon is more convenient to operate, it is not too tall.
The gable ram requires long arms, or a small stool/ladder for assistance.
The folding operation is simple and fast and in the end you know that a grain of dust will not enter the equipment, and nothing will collapse or fall.
It's time to go for another day of experiences, encounters with deer herds, we even saw rare rams.
Along the way we chat with jeepers, cyclists and walkers of the Israel Trail, this is the good and sane Land of Israel.
The comfort of driving a Toyota with EFS suspension pleasantly surprised us (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
Price per camper
There is an extensive and lively community of cross-country hikers in Israel, people who go hiking many times a year.
Some of us go to the Negev with basic and useful equipment, others invest in roof tents, equipment drawers and water tanks, refrigerators and mobile kitchens.
Some travel in an old Patrol or Discovery, others flaunt a modern Land Cruiser, many travel in Japanese-Thai vans.
The truck campers give the off-road traveler a significant and extremely luxurious upgrade.
Their great advantage is the interior space where you can cook, dress, or relax on a cloudy day.
Beyond that, these are off-the-shelf products built at the highest level.
There are no improvisations or malfunctions, everything is tight and closed, as expected from a product that has already been tested in thousands of desert trips around the world.
The dust remains outside the camper (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
The camper mounted on the gray Toyota is an Alu-Cab Khaya 4 Sleeper, the price is NIS 106,000 (including VAT) - loaded with everything necessary for four determined hikers: a bed with a mattress, a water system, rescue and cooking equipment, a shovel, a compressor, a water heater and cabin heating the living quarters, and much more. In the double version, Khaya will also include an elaborate kitchen, and then the price will reach NIS 111,000. You already have a car refrigerator, do you want to build the carpentry and interior furniture yourself? A Khaya camper without equipment will cost you NIS 58,000, including a bed and mattress, and internal wiring for the lighting systems .
A bush of idlers in a desert grove (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
The AluCabin installed on the black Dodge comes empty of equipment, the price is NIS 66,000.
These days they are completing the Zivod Camper, here too they are talking about a final price of a little over NIS 100,000.
To complete the package, the van suspensions need to be upgraded;
They will direct you to a recommended workshop.
They upgraded the suspensions of the silver Toyota at Outback Technologies;
The price for four EFS racks will vary between NIS 10,000 and NIS 15,000, depending on the specifications you request.
Upgrading the RAM suspension will cost about NIS 20,000 or a little more.
The production quality is very impressive.
On the top right, the shower tent is installed (photo: Rami Gilboa)
Is the camper worth the money?
It is easy to argue that in a small country like Israel there is no need for such sophisticated and expensive camping products and the truth is that you can really travel even without such an investment.
But I hang out with Overland travelers who improve and refurbish vans and SUVs for very high amounts, replace cars and refrigerators, upgrade roof tents and other items that allow them to enjoy a positive hobby and love the Land of Israel.
From this point of view, the price of the track campers of your area is very reasonable - less than it would cost you to make a parallel Zivad in an organized workshop.
Fine travel vehicles, just get going! (Photo: Rami Gilboa)
There is an abundance of 4x4 touring products in Israel: dedicated workshops that prepare and improve off-road vehicles, there are manufacturers and importers of off-road trailers.
Every product has a right to exist, but I really like the Truck Camper because it provides very high versatility during and after the trip, and it does not require towing in the field, which is not an easy process.
The van-campers of Iteach behave like standard vehicles, and they provide an excellent solution for overnight parking.
I loved the high quality of the South African campers, the wisdom of the years instilled in them, their organic connection to the vans - and the ability to remove them after the big trip.
From my many years of familiarity with Eitach I also know that the service the buyers will receive will be good and personal, in case they want to upgrade or repair something.
Truck campers are an attractive addition to the market of promenades in Israel.
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