Reed Gerdes tried RVs, Sprinter vans, and schoolies — and wasn’t happy with any of them. So he transformed a Hummer H1 into an expensive campervan that may go wherever.
A Colorado man has transformed and upgraded the unique Hummer design right into a burly overlander. In a YouTube walkaround, Reed Gerdes says he named his creation “The Patton” after his father’s favourite U.S. Military common.
Shortly, the idea took off into an obtainable construct from his firm, Wolf Rigs.
The automobile combines two of Gerdes’, and most overlanders’, most necessary objectives: he wished the flexibility to take the automobile wherever whereas nonetheless having all of the comforts of a luxurious conversion.
He took the unique Hummer, with its military-grade design, and made a number of updates. They embrace a brand-new Humvee drivetrain, a light-weight aluminum camper body and shell, and 16-inch floor clearance.
“What I’ve executed is construct one thing [capable] that has some consolation to it,” Gerdes mentioned. “There’s nothing in the marketplace prefer it … It’s like a go-kart for adults.”
Unimpressed With the Choices
Crucial accomplishment in Gerdes’ life has been his marriage and kids, he mentioned by way of YouTube. However constructing The Patton is available in at quantity two.
As soon as his youngsters left the home, Gerdes and his spouse wished to journey the nation. He checked out RVs however felt they had been poorly constructed. He then thought of schoolies, even shopping for a Bluebird and midway changing it. Then his spouse mentioned, “I’m not dwelling in an effing faculty bus.”
Then, Gerdes checked out Sprinter vans in Moab, Utah. He felt shocked by “how little they will do” when it comes to going off highway.
“I’ve extra clearance in my 40-foot Bluebird All-American than a number of the Sprinter vans did,” he mentioned.
Then he bought the thought from van life YouTuber Jax Austin to create an overland automobile from a Hummer chassis. Gerdes thought it was “probably the most superb thought ever.”
The Hummer H1 Patton’s Options
Gerdes began with the H1, the unique Hummer utilized by the U.S. navy for the reason that mid-Eighties. He then added a big aluminum camper shell with more room than a Sprinter van.
The inside features a cooking space, an L-shaped lounge space, and a “residential-size” bathe. It additionally has a hideaway rest room. The lounge can accommodate one to 2 folks for sleeping, and there’s a queen-size mattress above the entrance seats.
Gerdes additionally switched the H1’s customary V8 engine for a 3.9L Cummins inline-six and linked an Allison 1000 six-speed computerized transmission. In response to Gerdes, The Patton will get 12 mpg within the metropolis and as much as 18 mpg on the freeway. That’s in comparison with the 10mpg common of the final technology of H1s.
The Patton is offered by Wolf Rigs, the place consumers can request one with a 4- to 6-month lead time. The web site doesn’t connect a price ticket to this beast, nevertheless it’s doubtless a hefty one.
