other useful (?) stuff ... the demountables glossary
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Absetzkabine
- (Germany) - One of the German names for a demountable camper.
Literally 'settling cabin' I believe.
afzetunit
- (Netherlands) - Dutch name for a demountable camper which, according
to Google, translates as 'marketing unit'?!
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bed liner
- (English-speaking countries) - Plastic liner fitted to protect the
pickup bed from becoming scratched or damaged while in use. There are
pros and cons of using bed liners with demountables. The camper can be
moved more easily on a bed liner so minor adjustments can be made to
its postion when loading it onto the pickup. That same ease of movement
coupled with the flexibility of the liner makes it more difficult to
remove all the free play in the combination.
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cabover -
(North America) - Expression for the part of the demountable body that
extends over the pickup cab, usually accommodating a double bed across
the body. Some models of truck camper are offered with an extended
cabover in which a double bed will fit lengthwise. See luton.
camper
- (Scandinavia) - A little dull perhaps but, as far as I have been able
to discover, this is the only name by which demountable pickup campers
are known in Scandinavia.
cellula abitativa
- (Italy) - Literally 'living cell' but more sensibly translates as
'accomodation unit'. Used by at least one manufacturer to distinguish
their demountable camper from their other camper types.
cellula per pickup
- (Italy) - Pretty obviously, this is 'cell for a pickup'. Some Italian
manufacturers simply use 'cellula' on its own.
cellule amovible
- (France) - Literal translation 'removable cell' but the French word
'cellule' doesn't have the negative connotations of the English 'cell'.
It implies privacy and simplicity, as in a small monastery bedroom,
rather than confinement, as in a prison cage.
célula móviles
- (Spain) - Another 'removable cell'.
clamshell
- (English-speaking countries) - A rising roof system in which all or
part of the roof hinges upwards, normally with the hinge being at the
front of the roof, in order to achieve standing room inside. (You can
see an example on the types of demountable body/rising roof
page.)
coachbuilt
- (English-speaking countries) - Construction method with a frame of
wood or aluminium, and panels of insulating material sandwiched between
an inner wall, probably of ply, and an outer skin of aluminium or
fibreglass. Sometimes known as 'sandwich construction'. (You can see an
example on the types
of demountable body page.)
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demountable camper
- (U.K.) - The name most commonly used in the UK. Grammatically the
verb 'to demount' didn't exist until the early 20th century when it
started to appear in America along with its derived adjective
'demountable'. Why, or when, we in the UK took that adjective (as in 'a
demountable camper') and turned it into a noun (as in 'a demountable')
is anybody's guess.
dismountable camper
- (U.K.) - There's been a long debate about whether the name should be 'demountable'
or 'dismountable' but the former is undoubtedly
winning. The verb 'to dismount' can at least claim to have been around
for a long time, since the 16th century at least, though many
dictionaries dispute the existence, or correctness, of the adjective
'dismountable'.
dry bath
- (North America) - Manufacturers' description of a camper washroom
facility where the shower is in a compartment which is separate from,
or separable from the toilet and washbasin. Thus the shower can be used
without anything else getting wet. It's usually only available as an
option on larger campers. As opposed to wet
bath.
dually
- (North America) - Truck with twin rear wheels, i.e. two wheels on
each side of the rear axle. Normally indicates greater weight-carrying
capacity although "dually kits" are available which simply enable
additional rear wheels and fenders to be fitted to a single wheel
truck. These add nothing to the weight-carrying capacity of the truck
at all, in fact they reduce it, and can put considerable extra strain
on rear axle bearings.
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extended cabover
- (North America) - See cabover.
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glide-on
- (Australia) - Manufacturers' smoother variation of slide-on.
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hard-side
- (North American) - Expression describing a camper with walls wholly
constructed from inflexible materials. This would also normally imply a
fixed roof although there is at least one manufacturer producing a
hard-side camper with a telescopic
roof. As opposed to soft-side.
hard-wall
- (North American) - Same as hard-side
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jacks -
(English-speaking countries) - A demountable's jacks (usually four in
number) are the telescopic legs that extend down to the ground and
enable it to be raised and lowered into and out of the pickup bed. They
can be manual or electric. In North American models it is normal for
the jacks to remain fixed to the camper, even when it is mounted on the
truck. Jacks on European models are more commonly folded out of the way
or removed completely for driving.
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luton -
(U.K.) - The part of the demountable body that extends over the pickup
cab, usually accomodating a double bed across the body. See cabover.
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monocoque
- (English-speaking countries) - Frameless construction method, usually
in glass reinforced plastic (GRP). Monocoque construction allows curves
to be built into the camper body shell thus providing strength and
rigidity. (You can see an example on the types of demountable body page.)
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pickup camper
- (North America) - Not the most popular name in the US but my
favourite because it most accurately describes what these things
actually are. It's debatable whether, or not, it's a good thing but
it's also true that both 'pickup' and 'camper' are words that have
infiltrated many other European languages, giving 'pickup camper'
international currency.
Pickup Wohnkabine
- (Germany) - The more common German description of a 'pickup
residential cabin'.
pop-top -
(English-speaking countries) - Rising roof system in which all or part
of the roof can be raised vertically in order to achieve standing room
inside. (You can see an example on the types of
demountable body/rising roof page.)
pop-up -
(English-speaking countries) - Same as pop-top.
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ratchet strap
- (English-speaking countries) - Webbing strap equipped with a buckle
which includes a tensioning device and a ratchet mechanism to prevent
the strap from slipping back and losing tension. Ratchet straps come in
a variety of weights and strengths. They are used by some
manufacturers, and by some owners, in preference to standard turnbuckles because
of their greater elasticity. This, it is claimed, gives them some of
the dampening benefits of sprung
turnbuckles.
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slide-in camper
- (North America) - The least common of the American names but favoured
by some manufacturers.
slide-on
- (Australia) - As opposed to the American slide-in
(see above), reflecting the Australian preference for flatbed trucks.
slide-out
- (English-speaking countries) - Camper body in which part of a side
wall, and the furniture attached to it, slide outwards (hence the
name), thus creating more space inside the camper. Normally only
available as an option on the largest North American demountables.
soft-side
- (North America) - Description of a camper with walls made partially
from soft and flexible materials thus enabling the roof of the camper
to be raised and lowered. As opposed to hard-side.
sprung turnbuckle
- (English-speaking countries) - Turnbuckle
with built-in shock absorption. When driving, sprung turnbuckles
(common in North America but rare in Europe) dampen the impact of road
bumps and vibrations and limit their transfer to the camper body.
swing-out brackets
- (North America) - Hinged brackets which, as their name implies, allow
a camper's front jacks to swing outwards, away from the camper body,
thus creating a wider gap between the camper's front legs. Normally only
fitted to larger campers, they allow the extra width of a dually truck's rear
axle (usually 8 feet wide) to pass between the legs.
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telescopic
- (English-speaking countries) - Rising roof system in which all of the
roof and the top part of the walls can be lifted vertically thus
exposing the bottom half of the camper. (You can see an example on the types of
demountable body/rising roof page.)
tie-down
- (English-speaking countries) - Tie-down describes the part of the
demountable system which is attached to the pickup, and normally
remains there, and to which the camper body is secured by turnbuckles,
ratchet straps, chains, or whatever. Tie-down systems can range from
simple eyebolts fixed through the pickup bed to special chassis members
bolted or even welded to the pickup chassis.
tray top
- (Australia) - Or 'tray topper', derives from the Australian
description of a flatbed truck as a 'flat-tray' or 'tray-back'.
truck camper
- (North America) - The most popular name in the US and Canada, by far.
Not surprisingly, as there are many more of these vehicles in North
America than anywhere else, 'truck camper' will also produce the
highest number of results if typed into Google or any other search
engine.
turnbuckle
- (English-speaking countries) - Probably the most common form of
fixture between a camper and pickup, a turnbuckle (usually made of
galvanised or stainless steel) consists of two hooks or eyes which can
be pulled towards one another, or pushed apart, by turning the central
section into which they are threaded. By virtue of their opposed
threads, if one of the hooks is put through a ring fixed to the camper
and the other through a tie-down fixed to the
pickup, the turnbuckle can apply tension between the two. Most campers
are secured by four turnbuckles.
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ute camper
- (Australia) - Or 'ute-style camper' is more usually used to describe
a demountable unit for a regular, walled pickup bed.
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wet bath
- (North America) - Used in descriptions by manufacturers, wet bath
refers to a washroom where the shower, toilet and wash-basin are all in
the same undivided space. This saves space, usually a necessity in a
demountable camper, but means that when using the shower everything
else in the room gets wet, hence the name. As opposed to dry bath.
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