Does it mean I made an add but forgot to send you the .car ? That actually sounds like me… Although maybe I didn’t get what you mean, if you can enlighten me/us !
I will only be at home tonight, if I have to (re)send anything it’s gonna have to wait til then 
No, you sent me the car. Don’t worry
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Four entries doesn’t sound like a lot, but considering how well-made they are, this is a textbook case of quality over quantity.
Such things happen when you have to do something very specific and fixture heavy, for the better and for the worse I guess.
Yeah more entries would be nice but I don’t know how you would do this kind of challenge any easier really.
Only other option is make a base van or pickup and handwave away the camper section. And then it’s just a copy of a lot recent pickup truck challenges
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Or provide a base and make a design only challenge… But meh… It’s actually fine this way imo
Sorry, shibusu and I have an engineered and partially built mule, but the fixture work was too daunting to finish.
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All entries imported fine, even with someone having a massive 3.9MB file size. Only issue was with The Otari from @Ch_Flash i had to change the weight slider to “0” as it was the default “50” but with only four entries im not going to bin for that.
Write ups are on the way
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…Massive?
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for a .car yes, kind of !
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For one without photo textures, it’s astronomical. With just a couple of good custom materials, it’s quite small. Most of mine are in the 6-8MB range, some over 20MB.
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JOC6D: Born Free
Earl and Wendy took the Ariete to their local RV dealership to look at what is on offer. “Hmm only four vehicles on the lot” said Wendy, “yeah not the widest choice, but at least they are all quite different vehicles” replied Earl.
There is the Otari Samson which is a self contained SUV style vehicle, the Waddser L-31 Europe which is a modern looking pickup with a large cabover style living unit, the Flint Grand Conestoga which is a large van chassis with a very sizeable body built onto it, and finally the Ryuji Topanga RV that is another pickup based vehicle but with a smaller single box body on the back.
They decide it would be best to look at the vehicles in the order they were parked up, which also made it easier to compare the sizes of them.
First up is the Otari Samson
The Samson’s design looks every bit the rugged vehicle, the overall design has a sort of 1970’s soviet union look about it. the two tone colouring breaks up the large sheet metal of the body with no windows towards the rear. From the exterior if you weren’t told this was a motorhome it could well be a military ambulance, maybe it was in a previous life. There are roof rails for carrying large items on top and a tow bar if you wish to travel with a trailer.
Underpinning the Samson is a sturdy fully galvanised ladder chassis with leaf sprung solid axle rear giving it plenty of capability for the weight of the body, however with more comfortable double wishbone front suspension giving it some needed compliance at the driving end.
The drivetrain is as offroad focused as the chassis. Up front is a 3.5l inline six cylinder engine, technically speaking it is the second smallest engine here however in reality it is closest to the third than the actual smallest one. Power wise it is second on outright horsepower and torque. This propels the car with a five speed manual gearbox, full 4x4 system, manual locking differentials and even full all terrain tyres. The Samson shows its laser focused on being able to drive anywhere at any time, perhaps at the detriment of on road ability and ease of driving.
The interior is composed entirely of soft fabrics and wood panelling. It has a large L-shaped sofa with a small fold out table. At the rear is a tall wardrobe/cupboard with smaller cupboards under the oven area. For sleeping the sofa must be folded out meaning you must make a choice of either sleeping or sitting and relaxing. The lack of a pop up or expanded roof means the car is lower than the height of a standing person. The best way to move around inside the Otari Samson is shuffling along on the sofa.
The front cabin area is well appointed with comfortable leather seats and soft dashboard trim everywhere. It is actually quite the surprise in comparison to the exterior design which would lead you to believe this is a more spartan and workman like vehicle.
Next along is the Waddser L-31 Europe
Compared to the previous Otari the Waddser looks a very new cutting edge vehicle with a much more rounded modern body design. Though is newer always better? This vehicle has a large aftermarket box in place of the pickup bed to contain the living area, with much of it going above the height of the original roof. The benefit here being you can stand up inside and when driving you sit lower down whilst the vehicle itself is taller. Roof bars are again installed on the Waddser, with a ladder to scale the body.
the construction here is quite up to date too with a monocoque front end and chassis rails used to contain the RV portion of the vehicle. It also uses leaf sprung rear suspension but with macpherson strut front matching it’s up to date styling.
The L-31 looks more work truck than off road beast but is the most off road vehicle of the four by a small margin. Like the Samson it has full 4x4 with manual locking diffs, this time however with hard wearing tyres to save fuel and service costs and also making it quieter to drive on road.
These quiet tyres are completely drowned out however by the drone of the exhaust and the four cylinder engine. This engine really being the Achilles heel of the van with middling reliability and a real lack of power. The Waddser is the lightest vehicle here, but with only 77 horsepower it will struggle to get going when fully loaded. To put across a good point however the fuel economy simply cannot be beaten here which is 50% better than the next car and basically half of the worst.
Due to the completely custom bodyshell used here the Waddser offers massive amounts of room in the living space, which is tall enough to stand up in. The L-31 is classed as an “auto sleeper” due to the bed being fitted above the cockpit area This is quite a fully featured RV with a seperate shower/toilet room, small dining area, sink and cupboard and a large array of cupboards around the top of the vehicle.
The interior is predominantly wood grain with green cupboard doors, work surfaces and green gingham fabric on the bed and the chairs. It is a very bright and airy place to spend time, with a lot of windows and a nice opening skylight in the roof.
Third car is the Ryuji Topanga RV
Where the Waddser used an empty pickup chassis to mount a body box on, the entry from Ryuji is based on an suv with a living area section added on after construction replacing where the original body went. This construction doesn’t compromise the structure due to the use of a separate ladder chassis on the Topanga. The vehicle looks both rugged and stylish with the graduated brown paint looking very on point for the period. There are nice design touches on the exterior, like the extendable awning, externally mounted spare wheel and side steps making cabin access easy.
The Topanga has a sturdy 4.0 inline six engine, it is down on power and torque in comparison to the smaller 3.5 six in the Otari however it is more reliable. This power is, like the other three cars so far sent to a full 4x4 drivetrain with locking differentials. Unlike the others this car has a four speed automatic making it a more smooth driving experience at not much of an economy penalty.
The Topanga being the smallest car here is shown in the interior. It does manage to offer full standing height inside however. There is a fully featured kitchen with fridge/freezer, sink and oven that even has an extractor. The other side of the Topanga has a two seater dining set that converts to a bed. There are cupboards for storage along the ceiling and below the sink. The interior design is nice and bright with light coloured wood for the sink area, table and cupboard doors. The red and black check seats offer a pleasing contrast.
Last but not least is the Flint Grand Conestoga
The Flint is a behemoth of a vehicle compared to the others, at half a metre longer than the Otari and Waddser and a full metre longer than the Ryuji.
The Grand Conestoga is the second van based vehicle, but unlike the Otari Samson the body has been removed and replaced with a fully custom RV section. This is built upon chassis rails while the front of the van is built using monocoque construction.
This is the least “rugged” looking of the vehicles but also is the most “RV” one too due to the sheer size and van based front end. The design itself is pleasing to look at, it doesn’t necessarily take any risks but overall it is coherent and makes sense for the type of vehicle. The cream and brown colour on the back section work well together and the wolf decals are a nice touch. The body could maybe use more windows towards the back but at least there are sky light windows to let in light.
To go with the large size and weight of the Flint is the largest engine here, a 5.6l V8 with a huge 206 horsepower. It is both smooth and extremely reliable but on the flip side the fuel economy is on the bad side in this company. Not only is this the only V8 vehicle here, it is also the only one without 4x4. Here we have rwd with a four speed automatic which is fair enough as something this size wouldn’t be going too far off road anyway.
Like you would expect with this much volume the interior of the Grand Conestoga offers every amenity you would need. There is a double bed above the cabin, two seat dining area, a cooker/sink combo, full size fridge, ample cupboards, tv in the roof and also a toilet with sink area and even mirrored cabinet on the wall. The fabrics and cupboards are all a comfortable shade of cream but the floor and panelling are a very dark wood colour meaning it could be a bit on the dark side with the small windows here.
Ranking
Fourth place
Otari Samson from @Ch_Flash
The Samson is constrained by being built entirely in the footprint of the base van. It is a novel approach though, and for a full off road build is probably the way to go but here it makes the interior very small.
Highest price and service cost also work against you. The comfort, driveability, off road and prestige were all competitive though so an overall good entry.
Third place
Flint Grand Conestoga from @oldmanbuick & @Knugcab
I will preface this third place by saying the second and third place cars are extremely close in my eyes and this is close to being a tie tbh.
The Flint is probably the best vehicle here to spend a long amount of time in. It is a case of quite literally bringing your house on the road with you. The size also works against it though with poor fuel economy. The cabin area is also the least comfortable here where every other entry used leather upholstery and high end audio equiment the Flint has cloth seats and cheaper plastics, owing no doubt to the van based origins.
Driveability, reliability, environmental resistance and prestige were very competitive here.
Second place
Ryuji Topanga RV @Maverick74
The Topanga is by far the cheapest car here, no doubt because there isn’t much of it.
The design here really is great, my favourite looking entry overall, if the car had been slightly larger and less cramped inside it could potentially have been the winner as it’s reliability is the best, the highest comfort and good driveability, off road and prestige. The high fuel economy and poor safety let it down.
First place
Waddser L-31 Europe @Dildoplocus
The waddser is a well rounded entry with an interior that offers plenty of amenities in a body that isn’t too large meaning it wouldn’t be too hard to travel around in.
Fuel economy is the real star here, but it also does well on purchase price and service cost too. The other priorities are within a stones throw of the top end as well.
The design works well with plenty of external storage space and windows, the interior is very light and airy too. I would have liked a slightly more powerful engine as it is on the limit of what is acceptable in this company, i’m not as negative on it however as it is entirely reasonable for the time in the real world.
I hope the judging is up to standard for everyone involved even though it has literally taken me a week per entry to write it up. I will take a fair bit of a break from hosting anything as even though i’m awash with ideas i find it very hard to sit down and write for more than an hour at a time.
Thanks to everyone who entered such a 3D heavy design challenge as this, I know it’s not usual for challenges but i tried to take implied design as important as the actual stats in the game.
All the entries were very high quality and made ranking a lot more difficult than it would appear for four entries.
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Thanks, it was a nice challange and very well written.