Skip to main content

DoubleBack adds a sliding pod to VW's Transporter van

It was over thirty years ago that Volkswagen first started offering "pop tops" on its camper vans. In the years since, the soft-sided interior height-extenders have become a common sight on VW vans parked in campgrounds all over the world. Now, Welsh company Overlander Motorhomes is offering what it sees as the logical compliment to the pop top - it's the DoubleBack, a sliding insulated pod that extends the interior length of Volkwagen's T5 Transporter van.

  The company starts with a stock 2.0TDI 140PS Long Wheelbase T5 van, then adds its patented DoubleBack pod package. When on the road, the pod stays tucked up inside the back of the vehicle. Once the driver stops and decides they'd like to settle down someplace, however, it electrically extends out of the rear in under 45 seconds, adding approximately two meters (6.5 feet) of useable interior space. Two legs also fold out from the bottom of the pod, which allow it to support up 600 kilograms (1,323 lbs), and to self-level on uneven terrain.
T5 Transporters receiving the DoubleBack treatment also include an elevating roof, a fold-out double bed in the pod itself, a kitchenette, and other home-on-the-road features. It's unclear how the interior of the van is affected when the pod is pulled in, although Overlander claims that one of its converted vans can accommodate either a driver and one passenger in captain's seats, or a driver and two passengers if the bench seat option is selected by the buyer.
If the idea of an extending rear pod sounds at all familiar, that's because Nissan floated the idea on its NV200 concept cargo van, five years ago. The feature never made it through to the production version of the vehicle, however.
The DoubleBack T5 Transporter van is available now, for GBP54,995 (US$86,988). For a look at what else can be done to make a T5 more accommodating, check out the SpaceCamper.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Silent headset lets users quietly commune with computers

Advances in voice recognition technology have seen it become a more viable form of computer interface, but it's not necessarily a quieter one. To prevent the click-clacking of keyboards being replaced by noisy man-machine conversations, MIT researchers are developing a new system called AlterEgo that allows people to talk to computers without speaking and listen to them without using their ears. At first glance, the AlterEgo headpiece looks like the product of a design student who didn't pay attention in class. Instead of the familiar combination of an earpiece and microphone, the device is a cumbersome white plastic curve like the jawbone of some strange animal that hangs off the wearer's ear and arcs over to touch the chin. It might look strange, but it's based on some fairly sophisticated technology. Inside the Alterego are electrodes that scan the jaw and face from neuromuscular signals produced when the wearer thinks about verbalizing words without

Qualcomm showcases the Snapdragon S4 ahead of Mobile World Congress

We’ve already heard about Qualcomm’s latest processor, the Snapdragon S4 , which will be quad-core and utilize LTE. Qualcomm took the time to give us some details ahead of Mobile World Congress. The new SoC now supports up to three cameras (two in the back for 3D and one front-facing), 20-megapixels, and recording video at 1080p (30fps). We can also expect zero shutter lag, 3A processing (autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance), and improved blink/smile detection, gaze estimation, range finding and image stabilization. Last but not least, it supports gesture detection/control, augmented reality , and computer vision (via Qualcomm’s FastCV). Hit the break for a couple of videos featuring image stabilization and gestures.

Say Hello To Darkness In WhatsApp With Dark Mode

WhatsApp has rolled one of the most requested feature, Dark mode for all users across the globe. It is available as a part of the latest update on Android and iOS devices. Dark mode is a new design feature in WhatsApp that offers a fresh look on familiar experience and designed to reduce eye strain in low light conditions. There are many people in the planet who find dark backgrounds easier to look at for long time period, Dark mode is for them. Dark mode consumes less power especially your device has an AMOLED display. Above all, Dark mode looks cool and offers you a refreshing change from the White color theme.  Enabling dark mode in WhatsApp is very easy. Here's the steps:  1. Open WhatsApp from the home screen. 2. Tap More Options. (Three vertical dots on the top right corner of the app) 3. Choose Settings. 4. Select Chats from the Settings menu. 5. Click On Theme. 6. In the Choose Theme dialog box, select Dark to turn on Dark mode. Choose Light to turn