Adrian and Carrol Capel's Thornycroft fire truck

By Malcolm Street

In the RV journalist business you meet all kinds of people. Some are easier to remember than others; in many cases it’s because they are very friendly types and the coffee is always on or it’s because of the unusual RV they happen to get around in.

Adrian and Carrol Capel meet both those criteria. I have known them almost since I started in this business and they have a, well, very different motorhome. Easily recognisable are other words you might use – it certainly stands out in the crowd.

Just a bit of background here: Adrian and Carrol are no strangers to RV travel because they have been travelling RV-style since about 1971 with a succession of Chesney and Viscount caravans. In 1977 the Capels decided to try the motorhome way and Adrian converted a Toyota Coaster into a ‘proper’ motorhome. As the family situation changed, the Coaster was re-fitted out twice, which gave Adrian and Carrol plenty of experience for what was to come next. Adrian was, before he retired, a heavy vehicle mechanic, with good welding and electrical experience. From what follows, you’ll understand that he needed every ounce of his knowledge.

A happy discovery

When they became empty nesters and retirement loomed, Adrian and Carrol started to think about their retirement motorhome.

They wanted a vehicle with good 4WD ability that could handle narrow and winding roads but had the room and comfort of a 40ft coach. As anyone in the motorhome business will tell you, that’s not an easy combination.

Adrian was planning his own conversion and was originally looking at ex-army 4WD trucks. That was when they discovered an ex-airport 6WD fire truck. Built in the 1950s and 1960s by the then British firm Thornycroft, the Nubian fire trucks came with a 6.6 litre Rolls-Royce petrol engine which could pump out about two tonnes of water per minute.

An unusual feature of the big Thornycroft was the original automatic gearbox, an Allison MT41 six-speed. That stayed but the Rolls Royce motor was replaced by a big 454 cubic inch Chevy motor. Another unusual feature (especially now) were the sliding doors in the driver’s cab. They stayed too and are very good on hot days – Adrian and Carroll love them.

Workhorse conversion

The original Thornycroft Nubian was just 24ft long, ideal for bush tracks but a bit short on comfortable interior space. So what do you do? Quite simple really – you install a 4ft slide-out on the back and fit a very sophisticated pop-top bedroom above the driver’s cab! After much hard work by Adrian the end result was a motorhome with a full kitchen, very comfortable lounge area with recliner chairs, a bathroom and an almost full-sized bedroom, reached by proper wooden steps – no scrambling into the Luton here.

Although it might look like it, it doesn’t even take long to set up – less than five minutes according to Carrol. Electric motors drive both the slide-out and the pop-top bedroom.

In its original state, the Nubian had what is known today as a crew cab, but Adrian removed most of the seats, the end result being a very large cab with lots of window space and an excellent storage area.

The Capels like to be self sufficient, but are without a generator and so have a substantial battery bank on board, together with eight 80-watt solar panels on the roof. Among other things, hiding in the chassis is a ‘Porta Bote’ that’s powered by a small electric motor.

As you might imagine, a special motorhome like this is going to be quite weighty: 11.4 tonnes fully loaded, to be precise. That means it doesn’t go particularly fast but that does not bother Adrian and Carrol because they like to take their time.

The 6WD is a very capable vehicle though, it’s been to Cape York which is quite an achievement. When I last spoke to the Capels, they were planning a trip across the Simpson Desert.

Do the Capels enjoy their travels in their very unusual but practical motorhome? You bet, having travelled more than 100,000km since it was built, there’s not much doubt about that at all.