About 5 years in the past, Seattle-area startup Caravan Clothing store launched some of the reasonably priced turnkey camper vans in the USA. Its $37K Nissan NV200-based Free Chook introduced a compact, low-profile ground plan with every thing a pair wanted to take off on a vacation highway journey and even full-time van life expertise. Sadly, Nissan has discontinued the tiny 186-in (470-cm) NV200, together with different American-market NV vans. As an alternative of cancelling the Free Chook mannequin, Caravan Clothing store has reinvented it atop a brand new van. The all-new 2022 Ford Transit Join-based Free Chook brings a brand new look and a brand new four-seat ground plan, and it nonetheless wears one of many lowest full camper van value tags within the trade.
Brothers Kurt and Craig Campbell spun off Caravan Clothing store from their household's Campbell Auto Group again in 2015, deciding it excessive time to supply an American alternative for the Volkswagen Westfalia camper van. It had been over 10 years since Volkswagen had pulled its beloved camper vans from the US market, a choice that had affected the Campbells firsthand as Volkswagen sellers. And not using a VW van to work with, the Campbells developed the unique Free Chook atop Nissan's NV200 and commenced promoting it for simply over $37,000 in late 2017. It was a remarkably low value for a stealthy American camper van that made absolutely the most out of its compact base car.
Quick-forward half a decade, and Caravan Clothing store has grown out a full camper lineup that features the $76,000 Mercedes Metris-based Backroad, a Mercedes Sprinter upfitting enterprise, and the $40,000 Nissan Frontier Outpost camper pickup. It in all probability may have dropped the Free Chook from its lineup and never missed a beat within the camper enterprise, nevertheless it as a substitute determined that the mannequin would reside on as a Ford.
As an alternative of utilizing a cargo van, because it did with the NV200, Caravan Clothing store upgrades to the Transit Join Passenger Wagon spec, furnishing the brand new camper with the rear passenger seats the unique Free Chook lacked, together with a superior match and end. It removes the third row of seats to make room for the camper bundle, leaving the van as a full-time four-seater with two rear captain's chairs separated by a twin cupholder. With no pop-up roof possibility on provide, the van solely sleeps two of its occupants as commonplace, however Caravan Clothing store gives an iKamper Skycamp Mini rooftop tent, offering an possibility for making the brand new Free Chook a four-seat four-sleeper.
The camper bundle has an identical general structure as the unique Nissan Free Chook however brings a number of crucial modifications. The slide-out tailgate kitchen has been totally reworked and now contains solely two drawers as a substitute of 4. The broader driver-side drawer slides out and transforms into a piece space that holds a conveyable dual-burner range that replaces the single-burner range from the unique Free Chook.
Caravan Clothing store provides a sink, inserting a collapsible sink basin on a flip-out panel on the aspect of the kitchen drawer. That works with a tall 9.5-L water jug with spout to create a working sink space for laundry dishes. The 30-L fridge drawer slides over to the passenger aspect.
With two manufacturing facility seats contained in the van, the brand new Free Chook would not provide the remodeling eating space the unique Free Chook had. As an alternative, the slide-out reducing board over prime the fridge drawer removes and units up in entrance of the rear passenger seats to work as a position-adjustable eating desk. It may not be probably the most elegant eating expertise, however the reducing board is a slick, little dual-purpose addition that helps maintain the van effectively packaged.
At evening, campers fold the rear seats down and arrange the two-cushion mattress. The three-in (7.6-cm)-thick mattress fills the size and width of the rear cabin, providing a sleeping space of 78 x 47 in (198 x 119 cm).
The Free Chook additionally comes with an 85-Ah AGM battery and 300-W inverter. A Blue Sea System relay permits for charging the battery off the automotive alternator and isolates it from the van starter battery to forestall draining the latter. The AGM battery powers 4 dimmable LED inside lights, a roof fan, a 110-V outlet and USB ports.
The long-wheelbase Ford Transit Join Passenger Wagon used for the Free Chook conversion measures 190 inches (483 cm) lengthy. Its commonplace tools bundle brings a SYNC 3 touchscreen infotainment system, rear-view digicam, wi-fi smartphone charging, Ford Co-Pilot360 driver-assist tech, rear-seat local weather management, and FordPass Join with 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot. It additionally features a manufacturing facility roof rack with rails.
The Free Chook begins at US$46,550 for the Transit Join XLT trim. The Titanium trim brings the bottom value as much as $48,990 and provides adaptive cruise management, heated leather-based seats, navigation and some different upgrades. Caravan Clothing store is accepting preorder functions now and plans to start deliveries in July.
Supply: Caravan Clothing store by way of Motor1
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