Toyota 70 Series Maltexplorer Overland Build with Carbon Fiber Camper

70 Series Maltexplorer

Maltec, in Germany, created this truly exceptional overland vehicle build. It is based on a ‘88 Toyota 70 Series Land Cruiser single cab pickup, which has been updated with many parts off a ‘14 model. That upgrade process is worthy of discussion itself, but what puts this rig truly over the top is the full carbon fiber camper mounted to it. While this incredible rig is currently in the U.S. with a tourist visa, you might just see it—and many like it—on our roads more permanently soon.

This 70 Series Land Cruiser build debuted in the U.S. at the 2017 Overland Expo East event in Asheville, North Carolina, alongside a similar 200 Series Maltec overland camper build. Both builds featured Scheel-mann Seats, also a German import, who shared the booth at the show. This was Matlec’s first showing to the U.S. market and it’s purpose was to gauge interest for the product and learn American consumer expectations and desires. The reactions from the show were nothing short of exceptional, so there’s a good chance Maltec will bring their products to the U.S. market soon.

“YOU’LL NOTICE THAT A LOT OF THINGS ON THIS BUILD DON’T LOOK ‘RIGHT,’ OR ACTUALLY LOOK BETTER THAN THEY SHOULD FOR A ‘88 BJ75 MODEL VEHICLE.”

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Maltec Company

Maltec Leichtbautechnologie launched in 2007 as a two man business building and equipping rally-raid vehicles. Alongside the race vehicles the company built service vehicles to support their racing efforts. Their first expedition camper build was a customer who purchased a Maltec fast assistance service vehicle based on a 79 Series Land Cruiser pickup, which was upfitted with a full overland style interior.

That one build started the ball rolling as more and more customers requested light-weight off-road expedition trucks that could travel off the beaten track. Maltec works hard to build durable vehicles that are safe and easy to drive for everyone. While these vehicles are extremely capable, they are also comfortable enough for long range travels.

Maltec has grown a lot from those early days. In it’s tenth year, it now employs 14 people in Menden, Germany, and has delivered 388 expedition vehicles all over the world, on top of continuing to build and service a large volume of Rally Raid vehicles. These vehicles have been tested around the globe, in the harshest environments our planet has to offer.

“AS FOR BEING ABLE TO BE IMPORTABLE INTO THE U.S., IT IS YET TO BE SEEN. TECHNICALLY THE VEHICLE MEETS THE 25-YEAR-OR-OLDER IMPORT RULE,…””

70 Series Maltexplorer

This specific vehicle was built as Malte Asmus’s, owner and founder of Maltec, personal travel vehicle. It was built in 2014-2015 to go on some big trips, which it has; Germany to Mongolia one way, round trip through NE Mongolia, two trips to Tunisia and a trip to Morocco. In other words, it’s been around and been thoroughly proven.

Price is always the first question asked, as this is a truly unique vehicle, especially on U.S. shores. To build a similar spec vehicle like this 70 Series Maltexplorer model it would cost about $145,000. If you have a vehicle already that you’d like to build out, it would cost you $60,000 plus for a similar style camper.

Vehicle Conversion

When talking about this vehicle you have to start with the truck build itself. Especially if you’re a Land Cruiser enthusiast, you’ll notice that a lot of things on this build don’t look “right,” or actually look better than they should for a ‘88 BJ75 model vehicle. The quick and dirty answer is that while it started as an ’88 single cab pickup, most of the vehicle has been replaced with parts from a ’14 Saudi Arabian HZJ79, with the engine coming out of an early ‘90s 80 Series Land Cruiser.

The metal body panels, dashboard, airbags, front coil springs, axels, disk brakes, ABS brake system, front and rear factory e-lockers, and so on all come from a ‘14 70 Series Land Cruiser single cab pickup that Maltec brought in from Saudi Arabia. These upgrades greatly improve the ride, safety, styling and comfort of the ‘88 base vehicle.

The main reason for all this effort is to truly create one of the finest examples of a 70 Series Land Cruiser possible, at the most economical price point. It’s less expensive, at least at scale, for Maltec to buy new base model trucks from the Middle East as parts bins, than it would be to refurbish the original parts of the base ‘80s or ‘90s vehicle or buy the new parts separately.

As for being able to be importable into the U.S., it is yet to be seen. Technically the vehicle meets the 25-year-or-older import rule, according to the VIN on the frame, but the modified suspension on the front end of the vehicle is where things get into the gray area for U.S. imports. If not this specific truck, I’m sure that trucks like it, maybe with the original ‘88 front leaf spring suspension, will be registered permanently on U.S. shores soon.

Vehicle Upgrades

Once the old Land Cruiser has been fully refurbished and upgraded with ‘14 parts it was time to replace its old powertrain with something more spirited. A Toyota 1HD-T 4.2L direct-injection turbo-diesel, out of an early ‘90s 80 Series Land Cruiser, was installed. To further up the fun level the intake manifold was ported, the turbo internals upgraded and high output injectors along with a performance injection pump were installed. The new power plant was then mated to the original Toyota 5-speed manual transmission.

The entire truck is painted in Dark Grey Metallic, a factory Toyota color, and then vinyl wrapped in a tribal themed graphic. To complete the looks, besides the sheet metal facelift to ‘14 spec, this old Land Cruiser also received a full carbon fiber vented hood. Lightweight and functional is a theme carried throughout this build.

A custom stainless steel side pipe exhaust was fitted for durability, performance and to keep the exhaust heat away from the camper body. To give this truck the range it needs to explore remote places like Mongolia a 46-gallon aluminum auxiliary diesel tank was fitted, upping the vehicle’s fuel capacity to a whopping 70 gallons.

“WHAT SETS THIS BUILD APART FROM ANYTHING ELSE YOU’LL FIND ON U.S. SHORES…IS HOW TRULY LIGHTWEIGHT THIS COMPLETED VEHICLE IS…”

Along with the conversion to a front coil spring setup, the suspension has been thoroughly upgraded. An Eibach 2.2-inch coil spring lift is fitted up front along with a parabolic 3-inch rear leaf spring lift in the rear. Koni heavy track raid shocks are fitted at all four corners. Braid Winrace wheels are wrapped in BFG AT (285/75R17) tires, for the perfect balance of durability, capability and on-road performance. All of these upgrades combine to provide a superb ride over the harshest terrain, even with a full load of fuel, water and a loaded camper.

The exterior of the vehicle is armored up with a Maltec aluminum front bumper and aluminum HD front skid plate. A custom stainless steel roof rack carries the spare tire and is the mount for Vision X LED driving and area lights. The interior looks like what you’d expect to find in a ‘14 truck. The major upgrade is the crazy comfortable Scheel-Mann Vario F Seats. For extended journeys, both on and off road, these are the seats you want to be in. To update the interior further a Pioneer 7-inch NAV/Stereo/Backup Camera infotainment system was installed.

“WHILE THESE VEHICLES ARE EXTREMELY CAPABLE, THEY ARE ALSO COMFORTABLE ENOUGH FOR LONG RANGE TRAVELS.”

Camper Build

Sure the base vehicle has now been elevated to all new heights of refinement, comfort and capability, but what truly makes this vehicle different than anything else seen on U.S. shores is the next level “Maltexplorer” camper body. This expedition cabin is spacious, at 8.4 x 6.2 x 4.8 feet, has a hinged pop-up roof and is crazy light weight, at only 180 pounds for the shell. It is a full carbon composite shell, which makes it stiff, durable and insanely light.

The camper is bonded to the factory truck sheet metal with a high tech mastic. This makes it look like the camper was always supposed to be a part of the vehicle, and allows for a watertight connection. The big benefit being that there is now a pass through from the truck cab to the camper.

The connection between the frame and camper is made with special rubber stands/ mounts, which are engineered to perfectly work with each vehicle’s specific cabin height and overall weight. This allows the camper and truck to move together as a unit, not fighting each other and causing damage in extreme off-road situations. This system has never failed on one of Maltec’s many builds, even after a roll over.

The interior can be custom designed to your specifications, but is made with the same high quality Dibond materials. All the surfaces/structures in the interior are made of this material, which is a polyethylene core sandwiched between sheets of aluminum. This system makes for a strong and durable interior that can be customized easily and finished with a variety of looks to suit each client’s taste.

In this build there is an upper roof bed in the pop-top and a lower bed that is created with an insert next to the lower seating. This layout has an outside shower and an inside kitchen, featuring a sink, double gas burner stove and a good amount of counter space. A 35L top-load Isotherm fridge is integrated cleanly under the seating, along with a Webasto air heater and warm-water boiler. The camper electrical system is isolated from the truck’s systems and has it’s own AGM battery, roof mounted solar, solar controller and inverter system. The interior is also fitted with a super efficient LED lighting throughout.

Completed Build

What sets this build apart from anything else you’ll find on U.S. shores, besides the impressive 70 Series Land Cruiser that we were never able to buy from the dealership, is how truly lightweight this completed vehicle is, at just over 6,000 pounds wet. The difference between a stock Land Cruiser pickup and this completed overland camper build is only about 1,200 pounds. That difference includes everything wet; extra fuel, full water tanks, oversized tires, and so on. Less is more in an overland vehicle, as systems are stressed less, last longer and perform better when they are well below their top load ratings.

The Future

Maltec has built expedition overland campers on Toyota 70, 80 and 200 Series Land Cruisers, Land Rover Defender, Mercedes G-Wagon and IVECO Daily already, and is currently working on new builds on the Mercedes X-Class and 4×4 Sprinter pickup chassis.

After receiving quality feedback from the U.S. market at Overland Expo East 2017 the company plans to work towards bringing their vehicle building expertise to products that will appeal to the U.S. overland consumer. Don’t be surprised when you see Maltec builds on U.S. vehicle platforms, featuring new floor plans and features that might include interior showers, toilets and more storage for adventure gear. The U.S. overland vehicle option future is looking good!

UPGRADES

Maltexplorer 70 Series Expedition Vehicle

PLATFORM: ‘88 TOYOTA 70 SERIES SINGLE CAB PICKUP (BJ75),

ENGINE: 4.2L TURBO-DIESEL (1HD-T), HIGH OUTPUT INJECTORS, PERFORMANCE INJECTION PUMP, OPTIMIZED TURBO,

DRIVETRAIN: 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION, FACTORY FRONT & REAR LOCKERS

SUSPENSION: CONVERSION TO FRONT COIL SPRING SETUP, EIBACH 2.2” FRONT COIL LIFT & PARABOLIC 3” REAR LEAF LIFT, KONI HEAVY TRACK RAID SHOCKS

WHEELS & TIRES: BRAID WINRACE WHEELS WRAPPED IN BFG AT 285/75R17 TIRES

INTERIOR: SCHEEL-MANN VARIO F SEATS (S111 BLACK LEATHERETTE W/ALCANTARA CUSHIONS), PIONEER 7” NAV/STEREO/BACKUP CAMERA

EXTERIOR: MALTEC POWDER-COATED STAINLESS STEEL ROOF RACK W/SPARE TIRE CARRIER, FACE LIFT TO ‘14 SHEET METAL, TOYOTA DARK GREY METALLIC PAINT (1G3), CARBON FIBER VENTED HOOD

ADDITIONAL MODIFICATIONS: VISION X LED DRIVING LIGHTS & AREA LIGHTS, MALTEC ALUMINUM FRONT BUMPER, MALTEC ALUMINUM HD FRONT SKID PLATE, MALTEC SIDE PIPE STAINLESS STEEL SYSTEM, 46 GALLON ALUMINUM AUX DIESEL FUEL TANK (174 L), MALTEXPLORER CARBON FIBER POP-UP EXPEDITION CAMPER, ALUDIOND CAMPER, ISOTHERM 35L FRIDGE, WEBASTO AIRTOP, PROPANE COOK TOP, WARM WATER BOILER, ROOF MOUNTED SOLAR, OUTSIDE SHOWER, UPPER & LOWER SLEEPING PLATFORMS, LED LIGHTING