El Bicho - the long road to the Expeditonsmobil

Anyone who has ever built or converted a campervan, or even just dreams of doing so, knows the feeling: the countless ideas you gather, the numerous designs you sketch and discard, the many articles and posts you read, the numerous discussions you attend, all to finally arrive at a result that meets your own needs but, of course, also fits your budget. I think we all agree that this can ultimately only be the best compromise. Here, we want to share our experiences and our own developments. Perhaps others can benefit from them as well.

„El Bicho“, spanisch für „Der Brummer“,  ist unser Projekt. Es hat Mitte 2018 mit dem Kauf eines IVECO Magirus Deutz 170D11 Fahrgestells begonnen. Das Fahrzeug war schon aufwändig restauriert und mit einem aufklappbaren Hochdach auf der Doppelkabine ausgestattet worden. Eigentlich war der Kaufzeitpunkt für uns ein wenig zu früh, denn es fehlten noch einige Tausender für die Finanzierung. Der Verkäufer war aber ein netter Kerl und sagte er habe es mit dem Verkauf nicht eilig, sodass wir das Auto anzahlten und besprachen es innerhalb der nächsten Monate zu bezahlen.

Then came Covid, and we too suffered significant income losses, and it took considerably longer to pay for the car. To make matters worse, we've lived in Spain for years, and therefore, during the Covid lockdowns, we would have had to transport the chassis over 2500 km and across several borders to Spain, which is simply too risky for us at the moment. That's why the car is still in Germany.

But that doesn't stop us from planning and learning. We'd like to share with you on this page what we've learned, discovered, developed, or simply seen over the past 18 months, and of course, the construction progress of our expedition vehicle.

Here are some pictures of the restoration and conversion carried out by the previous owner: