Overlanders 'Freedom' camper van is all set to redefine adventure. Swanky interiors and an easy joyride. What else can one ask for?TRAVELLING. Not everyone’s upbeat about it. Ghar jaisa aaram nahi milta. What if someone packed you off to a holiday with all the ghar jaisa aisho –aaram? All this while you capture the beautiful locales in your snapshot, e-mail it to your friends, enjoying the hot chicken noodles prepared by your senorita! Tell me about it.
One look at (Overlanders Speciality Vehicles Pvt. Ltd) Daulat Deshmukh’s camper van, a TL 4X4 Crewcab by Tata Motors and you would know that the man has done just about everything to redefine ‘holidays’. “The camper van is the sum total of my experiences as a traveller. This would be a treat for those who don’t mind taking a breather from their monotonous schedules. Infact, it will be an ideal carrier for people who want to let their hair down, sit back and enjoy their holidays in an unconventional manner.”
Coming back to the 4X4 wonder, Daulat adds that he always wanted to create something like this. “I began actual working on it in 2004. But, it was only a 30-second meeting with Ratan Tata that set things rolling for me. It took all his experience and passion for travelling to convince the Chairman of Tata Motors on this. “Nevertheless, he adds, I had to do a lot of running around before and after that too. There was no suitable vehicle in India. And the OEM’s were not ready to re-engineer their vehicle as per my requirements”. Having invested 1.5 crore from his own pocket, Daulat sought help from Tata Motors Engineering Research Centre, Pune, and the ‘Freedom’ was ready to hit the road in 2008.
Here, take a dekho at the fully loaded machine. The complete vehicle is a single piece body, made of high-end composite fiberglass material. The cabin can seat four in tow rows. A hydraulic lifting system leads to the upper section that is closed by a special water-proof cloth and mosquito netted windows. And, this isn’t it. The van is fully loaded with all the facilities, like a compressor based 65-litre refrigerator, a 110 litre water tank, a toilet tent accompanied by a hand shower, wooden cabinets to accommodate cutlery and pans, a camper stabilising jack, wooden cabinetry, four stage membrane water filter. “The insides have been designed keeping automobile dynamics in mind. The whole model is completely user friendly. It has solar panels, an awning tent of 9X8 feet dimension, alloy wheel rims with tubeless tyres, a rear view camera and mirror in screen with night vision lenses. Not to miss the, DVD/VCD players, television”.
The Interiors!
As per Deshmukh, camper van will change the face of tourism in the near future. “It can also cater to many commercial applications and can also be used by research agencies, for rural health services as mobile hospital vans and as emergency disaster managment vehicles”.
As an initial plan, Deshmukh plans to give these on rent for Rs12,000 per day which can accomodate 3 Adults or a Family of 4 with 2 children below 15 yrs. “Which is quiet nominal. Once it finds acceptability, we could do various other things.”
If you want to own one of these dream machines, acquire the TL for Rs 6.5 lakh from Tata Motors, following which Deshmukh and his guys begin fabrication. “The process of delivery takes 60-90 days. It is a made to order thing, we can customise it the way you want, tells Daulat. I quiet like travelling. Do you?
Daulat can be contacted on info@overlanders.co.in
web: http://www.overlanders.co.in/
2 comments:
Hi! I was trying to call you. I like your idea and the way you feel about travel. I would like to own a vehicle of this kind. can you give me some more info one this?
Hi! I was trying to call you. I like your idea and the way you feel about travel. I would like to own a vehicle of this kind. can you give me some more info one this? you can reach me on +91 9322667991 or mail me on bhasbhas@gmail.com. I live in Mumbai
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