WTB: Fleet Flatbed or similar flatbed

[avonflotow]

I'm shopping for a pop-up flatbed camper for my 1991(ish) Syncro T3. Approximately 6'4" bed length. FWC Fleet flatbed or something similar.

Pop-up because it needs to fit down tight trails.

Flatbed because it needs to fit my family of 5 with kids aged 2, 3, 4 (sleeping and coffee-making in camper only; otherwise outside) and the flatbed configuration is a more-spacious layout for a group.

I don't really have a fixed budget, pretty flexible on price, but I don't want to buy a new camper for such an old truck - that seems silly.

The Fleet flatbed seems pretty rare and I noticed a few other WTB posts for this exact model with very few For Sale listings.

Thanks in advance for any info, links, or for-sale offers.

 

[Vic Harder]

T3 as in VW bus/Vanagon? What is the payload rating on that vehicle?

 

[avonflotow]

Yeah. VW T3 Doka Syncro. Kind of like a pickup with a diesel pusher. Payload is apparently 1,000kg in stock form. Mine is a bit custom with heavier suspension and brakes.

I’ve owned a newer FWC Swift on a Tacoma (bought and sold on this forum) which was a great setup, before having kids.

The Syncro has a canopy with a couple of rooftop tents and an outdoor kitchen which is okay so long as the weather is perfect. I’m shopping for an upgrade, if you know of anything. It’s a long shot, I know.

 

[rando]

One of my adventure buddies has a syncro westy with a Bostig conversion, which he loves. I haven't measured feel like it is significantly narrower than my Tacoma/Fleet flatbed combo, the camper may hang way over the sides of the bed.

 

[avonflotow]

You’re right: the Syncro is narrower than the Fleet flatbed by about 8 inches. And shorter by 4 inches. I think that’s fine.

 

[avonflotow]

The closest analogy to the Syncro T3 looks like the 1st gen Tundra. Basil made it work.

 

[Vic Harder]

I'm struggling to imagine what this combo will drive/stop/handle like. I had a Hawk on a first gen Tundra and hated the brakes (as in, not sufficient). And my friend with a westy is fond of driving slow, good thing too, because he has to take hills marked 130kph at 55 or less (and he has an aftermarket 2.1L in his)... and that's without a camper on the back. I can do those same hills at 130++ (not saying that I do, but I can!)

 

[avonflotow]

Good points, thanks for the feedback. This Syncro has a 1.9L turbodiesel: plenty of torque at the high end, but definitely gutless down low. Manual transmission helps with preemptive downshifting. It is generally a slow vehicle.

 

[rando]

I am leaning towards this not being a great idea, and an expensive one if it doesn't work out. The cabover height on the fleet is ~38" and you want at least 2-3" of clearance over the cab to account for flexing. From the diagram above it looks like the bed-to-cab height on the DoKa is 121cm or about 47", so you would need to raise the camper about a foot above the bed - that is not going to work.

My 280 hp Tacoma does fine with our Fleet, and I can keep up with traffic on the hills in the rockies, but I generally am in the slow lane as I don't want to whip it. I can't imagine what the experience would be like with a 90 hp DoKa. I guess as a test you could go load up the bed with twenty 80lb sacks of concrete/gravel and drive around? This is not the full experience though as the weight in the camper is higher and you also have the aerodynamic hit as well.

 

[avonflotow]

You might be right, rando. This may be a silly idea (and almost certainly expensive!) but I think you are reading the diagram incorrectly. The 1215mm is measured from the flatbed floor to the top of a hypothetical tarp canopy (which may have come standard with these vehicles).

From measuring my Syncro, the flatbed-to-cab roof height is just shy of 39" so the Fleet flatbed will need only a couple of inches boost. The top of the Fleet roof, when stowed, will be roughly at the height of the hypothetical tarp canopy: 1215mm above flatbed deck.

And yes, 90hp is pretty underwhelming even in a manual, turbodiesel. I have had the Syncro pretty heavily loaded before (tanks of water) and honestly didn't notice a performance degradation - it is always so slow!

Look at how this German couple loads down their Syncro!

 

[kmcintyre]

One option for you is to look at ATC. They can do custom work.

 

[avonflotow]

Thanks for the recommendation, kmcintyre.

FWC told me they no longer do custom work but they shared the attached photo of a Hawk flatbed mounted on somebody’s Syncro T3. Looks a bit large and heavy for that vehicle.

ATC is engaging in positive discussion on the custom flatbed option.