If you're one of those take-no-prisoners off-road types, then we've found the perfect camper trailer for you. It's called the Tvan, and it's made by Track Trailer. The company, Australian-based and located outside Melbourne, has been in business since 1982. Their Tvan model is specially engineered to eliminate the problems found with conventional flip-over type campers (which stow the tent on the bed). With the Tvan, the tent is stowed in the rear hatch allowing your bed to be kept clean and dry. Even better, a hard roof over your head ensures a better night sleep.
As Track is experienced building military trailers, much of their heavy-duty technology finds its way into the Tvan. Features such as an asymmetric link suspension with Koni shock absorbers, 10 inches of wheel travel, and a 30-degree departure angle allow the trailer to follow the tow vehicle over nearly every terrain. With a hot dip galvanized steel frame, it is also built to take abuse and last. Of course, the kitchen appointments are stainless steel with abundant power outlets, lights, and ventilation to take the edge off of roughing it. It even comes with a 70-liter "food grade" water tank as standard equipment. Now, we found you the camper, you just have to figure out how to get it here... unfortunately, the Australian company isn't shipping to the States.
In Parts 1 and 2 of his 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout, Mike Levine and his cohorts from Pickuptruck.com compared the acceleration of gas three-quarter ton and diesel one-ton pickups from Dodge, Chevy/GMC and Ford on flat surfaces, both unloaded and loaded with 10,500-lb trailers. For the third and final report, however, Levine introduced grades of 7% and 15% to the equation.
The results were surprising, and really had the most influence on Pickuptruck.com's final conclusions. We won't spoil the dramatic tail of each hill climb at Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds, but the 2007 Ford F-250 with its 6.8L Triton V10 was particularly impressive in the gasser category, and as anyone who has driven one would expect, the 2007 Chevy Silverado 3500 and its 6.6L Duramax diesel/6-speed transmission combo proved overly dominant among the oil burners. That said, the conclusions are only half the story, as Pickuptruck.com follows each truck through every gear as they climb their grades. These rigorous tests brought every truck's weakness, which were glaring in some cases, as well as their strengths.
Click the Read link below to read the conclusion to the 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout and learn once and for all what pickup these guys would park in their garage.
Mike Levine from PickupTruck.com is our go-to guy for truck news. His brain is like the bed of a Ford F-450 filled with the esoteric details of heavy duty diesel pickups and 3/4-ton gassers. Plus, he's from the old school of automotive journalism and has made a successful transition to the web, which means his reporting is always knowledgeable and balanced despite it being delivered digitally. When Levine told us he was planning on doing a comprehensive comparo of today's heavy duty pickups, however, we were unprepared for the depth of the final product.
The 2007 PickupTruck.com Heavy Duty Shootout pits six HD pickups from Chevy/GMC, Ford and Dodge against each other on a totally level and unbiased playing field. Levine went so far as to hire a third-party company to perform all of the instrumented testing to remove any trace of subjectivity in the results. The players are three gas-powered 3/4-ton pickups including the 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT Quad Cab 4x4, 2008 Ford F-250 FX4 Super Duty Crew Cab 4x4 and 2007 GMC Sierra 2500 HD SLE Crew Cab 4x4, and three diesel-powered one-ton pickups including the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 LT Crew Cab 4x4, 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 SLT Quad Cab 4x4 and 2008 Ford F-350 King Ranch Super Duty Crew Cab 4x4. Ford also threw in a 2008 Ford F-450 Lariat Super Duty Crew Cab 4x4 so that Levine and his team could attempt to prove how powerful this big rig really is.
We've just finished reading Part 1 and 2 of the three-part series, which includes an extremely knowledgeable and fact-filled introduction as well as the first battery of tests, including a "squat" test and 1/4-mile performance runs. Each part may appear like a lot to read, but we flew threw it faster than an unloaded GMC Sierra 2500 through the quarter mile.
Check out Part 1 here and click here for Part 2. The final installment should be out sometime this week, and we'll be eager to find out definitively which of these pickups outperformed its competitors in PickupTruck.com's battle royale of heavy duty trucks.
Click the Tundra for a high res gallery suitable for wallpaper
The new Toyota Tundra has not had a particularly smooth launch so far this year, and that could play into future plans for the full-size truck. There have been complaints about the quality of the interior materials, the lack of a fully boxed section frame, and basic design lapses like the bolt heads in the bed that stick up too high. It's now being reported that plans for the heavy duty version for the Tundra are now on hold inside Toyota. The HD pickup hasn't been canceled but it's not approved at this point, according to Toyota Motor Sales VP Bob Carter. Nissan has reportedly canceled its plans to create heavy duty version of the Titan earlier this year. One could speculate that the combination of high gas prices and other Tundra issues (like the camshaft matter) could cause Toyota to do the same, but Toyota has so much invested in the Tundra already (in terms of money and pride), we can easily see them addressing the aforementioned issues down the road, perhaps after a mid-cycle enhancement, and then revisiting the now-in-limbo HD version.
We're fired up about a few things for episode #61. We eventually get to an enthusiastic discussion of the American LeMans Series, but we wind our way through a few subjects to get there. We start off with the snub to Chrysler by some DCX shareholders who suggest a return to Daimler-Benz AG name. Not only is that a kick in the pants to the Chrysler group, but it's incredibly arrogant and illustrates that it was never really a merger of equals. In a froth, we move on to the anti-surprise that Nissan has nixed the heavy-duty Titan. In the death match that is the US pickup truck marketplace, the Japanese are having a tough fight. The Titan has its own charms but low sales, and the Tundra is taking criticism and underperforming in crash tests. We get the truck wars out of our system and move on to rhapsodic descriptions of the GT2 finish at this weekend's ALMS Sebring kickoff. Oh yeah, there were some kind of Audis there, and Acuras, too. We can't get the last-lap dogfight between the Ferrari and Porsche for the GT2 crown out of our heads, though. Before we go, we touch briefly on Smart's recently-opened registration for US buyers, as well as marvel at the low price for the practical city car that will end up as an effette bauble, as well. That's it in a nutshell, enjoy!
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
More powerful than a locomotive? That's what the folks over at Diesel Power are predicting for the future of trucks. Cars and trucks have become more powerful over the years, with today's torque figures dwarfing the 420 ft.-lbs. of torque figures commonly seen in trucks in the mid-1990s. While many factory numbers hit above 500 ft.-lbs. and aftermarket parts can launch drivers above 1,000 ft.-lbs., we have to be nearing the threshold of how big and bulky the transmissions can get and still be efficient, right?
Here's where Diesel Power caught our interest -- a hybrid-electric diesel, except not the kind you're probably thinking of. Something a little more conventional, just not in the automotive world. The idea is that the diesel engine will power an electric motor on each wheel, putting out close to 2,000 lb.-ft. at 0 rpm. Like a locomotive engine, the diesel engine would run at a near-constant speed -- circumstances that run the engine at its most efficient. It may not be technology that will hit the streets anytime soon, but it's certainly something to watch out for.
The Texas State Fair was the location of another big truck announcement last week when Dodge announced its new Cummins turbo-diesel engine for the 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500. Enlarged to 6.7 liters from 5.9 through increases in both bore and stroke, the new inline-six turbodiesel now boasts 350 horsepower and 650 ft-lbs. of torque, all while meeting stricter diesel emissions standards for 2007. The engine also features an optional exhaust brake function that improves braking under heavy towing situations, a common feature of big rigs and large motor coaches.
The new power ratings makes the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel competitive with new powerplants from both Ford and General Motors, each of which has also announced new or substantially upgraded diesel motors for 2007 and beyond.
Follow the jump to see how each automaker's new diesel compares with the others.
GM has revealed the details for its new full-size heavy-duty pickups, the 2500HD and 3500HD versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.
The big trucks offer a huge range of configurations. Buyers can chose the ¾-ton 2500HD or full-ton 3500HD with rear wheel drive or 4WD; with standard or "dually" rear axle; regular, extended or crew cab; 6'6" or 8-foot pickup bed; a large range of gas and diesel engines; smooth-ridin' Z85 or Z71 off-road suspension package; and a variety of trim levels and interior configurations. That'll give you more choices than a McDonalds menu.
Like the Ford Super-Duty, the Silverado and Sierra heavy-duty trucks now feature unique, bolder styling to set it apart from the light-duty 1500 models. The difference can be seen in the shape of the hood, front fenders, grille, headlamps, taillamps and pickup box. The windshield is raked back at a steeper 57-degree angle (making it now slightly more aerodynamic than a barn in a hurricane), and the suicide rear doors on the extended cab now open a full 170-degrees, making it easier for the entire construction crew to squeeze in.
Inside, contractors buyers can specify the standard pickup interior for the WT, LT/SLE models, or a new, more luxurious (you'll swear you were in a Bentley) interior for Silverado LTZ and Sierra SLT. GM is boasting improved interior fit-and-finish, increased sound-deadening insulation, use of higher-quality materials, more nooks and crannies to store yer stuff and improved ergonomics (there's really only way to go). The ravine between the cab and the box has been reduced by a whopping 50%, meaning you'll lose fewer wrenches back there. In the cab you'll also find a host of electronic do-dads including touch-screen sat-nav, DVD entertainment center (with theater-style folding seats in the back – arguably more for ease-of-loading than ambiance), MP3-enabled CD stereo and OnStar.
Both Toyota and Nissan were planning on entering the full-size heavy duty pickup truck market soon, but both automakers have delayed joining the fray for at least a couple years. Nissan had hoped it could build a heavy-duty version of the Titan off of the half-ton's platform, but it's clear that the truck's frame won't be able to meet the minimum payload and towing targets that heavy-duty truck buyers demand.
Though the full-size half-ton Toyota Tundra (shown wearing its work dungarees) will enter production in less than two months, the automaker's plan for a heavy-duty version has been postponed for undisclosed reasons. Toyota may be betting that the market for heavy duty trucks will shrink along with the half-ton market, though analysts are quick to point out what the domestic manufacturers already know, which is that the heavy-duty truck market follows different trends than the market for trucks as a whole. Rather than going up or down in correlation with gas prices, purchasing of heavy-duty trucks is more likely to go up or down with the rate of home construction in the country.
Either way, heavy-duty versions of the Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra are coming, but it looks like Detroit won't have to worry about them until 2009 at the earliest.
General Motors has decided to go ahead with plans to rework its 6.6L Duramax diesel V8 engine in anticipation of the new Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards that will take effect on January 1st. The new standards call for a 90-percent reduction of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter. Though the changes won't interrupt production of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups in which the engines are used, they will sharply increase the cost of building the engines. GM Powertrain expects to meet the standards by using a new variable geometry turbo, enhancing the engine's exhaust gas recirculation and using a closed crankcase ventilation system. The exhaust system will also be supplemented with an oxidizing catalytic converter and particulate filter like those first introduced on many European diesels a couple of years ago.
You may remember Ford's plans to meet the new standards, which include using expensive piezo injectors on its new 6.4L twin-turbo Powerstroke diesel. Dodge has not revealed yet how it plans to get the Ram's Cummins diesel up to snuff by January 1st.
We're fired up about a few things for episode #61. We eventually get to an enthusiastic discussion of the 
2010 Nissan Cube breaks cover in Japan
Officially Official: 2010 Ford Mustang!
2010 Ford Mustang revealed early on Ford's own website!
2009 Nissan 370Z rolls out early in So. Cal
VIDEO: 2009 Nissan 370Z revealed early in So. Cal.
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Hyundai Genesis
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse LT
