KYB TECHNICAL REVIEW No. 67 OCT. 2023

ProductIntroduction

KYB Camper Concept
TANAKA Kazunori

Photo 11

Full view of KYB booth at Tokyo Auto Salon 2023

Introduction

The core product of the KYB Special Purpose Vehicles
Div. is concrete mixer trucks, which have the top share in
the domestic market. Concrete mixer trucks are long,
heavy vehicles used to transport ready-mixxed concrete.
Unfortunately, concrete demand is on a downward trend
for the medium-to-long term. The number of concrete
mixer trucks owned in Japan is also on a downward trendaccordingly.
On the contrary, the demand for camping cars is brisk,
mainly among families and senior households. Throughthe COVID-19 pandemic, camping cars have found avariety of applications: some people enjoy their own
personal time, while others use them for remote work.
The market has thus enjoyed increasing sales volume.
The total accumulated number of camping cars owned inJapan reached 136,000 vehicles in 2021, which is 107%
compared to the previous year. The total sales volume
has expanded three times from 10 years ago (Figs. 1 & 2,Reference: White Paper on Camping Cars 2021/2022 ).
The recent annual number of newly registered campingcars is 430,000 in the U.S., 230,000 in Europe, 45,000 in― 31 ―Created based on White Paper on Camping Cars 2022.
2005 2007 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Fig. 1 Accumulated number of camping cars owned inJapan(100 million yen)

700
526.3
458.1

500

412.0

400
300
200
1000

635.4

582.2

600

336.7

322.8

210.9
132.6

274.0

112.0

43.8
29.6
4.8

2011

138.9

58.7
13.4

2018

49.0
15.6

2019

149.5

137.7
90.3
17.4

2020

56.417.4

2021

New car with plate number beginning with 8

Used car with plate number beginning with 8

New car with plate number beginning witha number other than 8

Used car with plate number beginning witha number other than 8Fig. 2

Domestic sales of camping cars

KYB Camper Concept

Australia, and 8,000 in Japan. The number of RV parks
and auto campgrounds is 16,000 in the U.S., 11,000 inFrance, and 300 in Japan. Compared to foreign countries,
the Japanese camping car market is relatively small, buthas room to grow.
This paper reports one of the attempts by the Special
Purpose Vehicles Div. to address another potential market
in the course of a study on next-generation products. The
Special Purpose Vehicles Div. has little experience in
B2C business and has seldom developed commercial
products for general consumers. Still, KYB has sought
what it can do for the expanding market, including
human resource exchanges with other departments anddevelopment through cross-functional activities as acompany-wide project.

2

to create a camping car (camper) implementing thefollowing concepts, among various candidate ideas.
[1] A camper for two people, able to smartly movearound in tourist spots, driving on narrow roads
and using small parking lots in daytime andoffering comfortable, relaxing nights when parked
at a campground.
[2] A camper for outdoor lovers to enjoy outdoor
activities from morning to night, driving on narrow
mountain roads, crossing streams, fishing until
sundown , and staying inside safe and comfortableeven after dark.
[3] A top-quality, high-end camper with which active
outdoor lovers can approach nature in a way thatthey could not experience with a conventional
camping car and can even enjoy driving itself.

Concepts

We had a questionnaire survey for camping car users
to figure out what they want camping cars to be andcompiled the answers into a matrix of complaints andpoints that appeal to users (Table 1).
The survey revealed that users of tall camping cars
have concerns about driving stability, such as the risk oftipping over due to, for example, wobbling on the
highway, crosswinds at tunnel exits or on bridges, or asloping road with a reverse camber. It was easy toimagine they were not satisfied with the ride comfort.
They also complained about the comfort of the vehicle
when parked, such as the vehicle tilting during sleep orthe vehicle rocking due to passengers' movement. Manyof these problems that are related to the vehicle’s
suspension seem to be able to be solved with oursuspension technology. Several comments on thevehicle’s convenience were also collected, including thedifficulty to find a parking lot, inability to drive on a roadwith height limitations, and hesitation to use a drivethrough. These complaints may be resolved with ourvehicle fitting technology.
Table 1

User complaints and appealing points
Structure

Suspension lock

Vehicle height adjustment

Scene

Damping force adjustment

Complaint

SafetyComfort

Wobbling on highways

Highways●●

Being caught by crosswind

At tunnel exits, on bridges, when
overtaken by trucks●●

Concern about tipping over

Highway ramps, road surfaces witha reverse camber●●

Poor ride comfort

Use of tires with a high spring
constant, high tire pressure setting●

Rolls and twists

Entering/exiting convenience
stores, driving on unpaved unevenroads●

Vehicle tilting

During parking

Vehicle rocking

During parking (due to passengers’movement)

Convenience

Freely adjustable by user by hand (via smart phone or tablet)

●
●

●

●

●

●

Considering the points that appeal to users, we aimed

3

Vehicle Configuration

To implement the appealing points and concepts statedabove, we decided against building a camper by van
conversion Note 1), which is popular in the market but has alower degree of freedom, preferring instead cab
conversion Note 2) based on a truck vehicle frame with acab. Cab conversion was selected because we can makeuse of our vehicle fitting technology.
To solve the complaints attributable to the vehicle
height such as concerns about driving stability andvulnerability to crosswinds, we worked out a hydraulicpop-up mechanism to implement a low center of gravity,
low-height vehicle. This mechanism allows users to raiseor lower the vehicle height by 600 mm. Setting thevehicle height at a low level during driving enables stablerunning not affected by wind. Cab conversions from a 1.5
ton small truck with a standard roof can park at major
parking lots for regular passenger cars. A prototype wemade has driving dimensions of a total length of 4970
mm, a total width of 1850 mm, and a height of 2150 mm
and can be parked at any coin-operated parking lot withno particular restrictions, drive-throughs of fast foodrestaurants, and even underground parking lots with aceiling height of not less than 2300 mm, making it smart
and great for trips . The room height can be 1900 mm
with the vehicle expanded so that occupants can stand up
and move around comfortably and enjoy cooking withease.
The vehicle is narrow enough to enable driving on
narrow roads in old cities and forest roads along
mountain streams without worry. To enable space
expansion, a 400 mm slide-out mechanism is provided
on the right side of the vehicle, ensuring sufficient room
even after installing sleeping accommodation. We madea wooden mockup (Photo 2) to help portray the indoor
atmosphere. After experiencing the livability with themockup, the design process began.
When expanded with the pop-up and slide-out― 32 ―

KYB TECHNICAL REVIEW No. 67 OCT. 2023mechanisms, the cabin space is about twice the capacity
during driving (excluding the equipment) (Photos 4 & 5).

Photo 2

Cabin mockup

The world's smallest class micro piston pump (Photo3) and cartridge valves manufactured by Takako
Industries Inc., one of the KYB Group companies, areused to implement smooth hydraulic operation.

4Manufacturing of Body

The main body of the vehicle fitting consists of a
combination of a steel sub frame with sufficient rigidity
and sandwich panels made of aluminium and insulating
foam. This body is mounted on the chassis to provide athermally insulated cabin. The pop-up shell and slide-out
section also consist of hard shells made of the sandwich
panels, delivering sufficient thermal insulation, soundinsulation, vehicle security, and a guard against animals
during both driving and parking with the vehicle
expanded.
For the room expansion functions, we decided toinstall an electro-hydraulic unit on one side of the chassis
frame under the floor to operate three hydraulic cylinders
for the pop-up mechanism and one for the slide-out
mechanism (Fig. 4).
Pop-up cylinder

Photo 3Slide-out cylinder

Micro piston pump

The cabin may be expanded only in the height
direction during a mini break so that passengers canstand up and move around. In places where care aboutneighboring cars is needed, the driver may choose not to
expand the slide-out.

Photo 4

Side face of contracted vehicle during driving

Photo 5

Side face of expanded vehicle during parking

Fig. 4The high-rigidity sub frame contributes not only toeasy driving but also to the smooth operation of the popup and slide-out mechanisms.
We selected a SUV-like rugged exterior design andinstalled a rear bumper as seen in passenger cars,emphasizing the departure angle (Photo 6). There is ahoneycomb section in the middle part of the rear face toserve as an air outlet of the fan, accentuating the design.

Photo 6Note 1)Van conversion: A minivan-based conversion in whichprincipally the interior has been stripped out to installcamping equipment.
Note 2)Cab conversion: A camping car based on a truck with acabbed chassis.

Cylinder layout

Rear design emphasizing the outdoor characteristics

A water tank is installed in the lower part of the left
side to enable water change outside the vehicle. A fueltank and diesel exhaust fluid tank are located on the rightside and can be accessed easily.

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KYB Camper Concept5Installation of Suspension

To improve the running stability, solenoid dampingforce adjustable shock absorbers (hereinafter "dampingadjustable SAs") have been installed. These adjustable
SAs allow the user to adjust the damping force frominside the vehicle, achieving stable, comfortable driving
suited to the road surface and running conditions.
In addition, we prototyped a shock absorber with avehicle height adjustment function that keeps the vehicle
level even on a slope and a leveling & suspension lockfunction that prevents vehicle rocking during being
parked (hereinafter "height adjustable SA") (Photo 7).
This paper does not cover the details of the suspension
development, which we expect to be introduced in an
upcoming issue of the Technical Review.

Fig. 6

force, ensure leveling, operate the suspension lockmechanism, and operate the fan. The application screen
has an earth-color based chic design in harmonization
with the vehicle design (Fig. 6).

7Photo 76

Damping adjustable SA for front wheels, heightadjustable SA for rear wheels

Interior and Exterior and their Operation

The interior and exterior wrapping was designed byvoid. Co., Ltd. With the cabin concept of a "shelter" foractive people, the interior has been decorated to create adignified space (atmosphere), giving the camper an
upscale image, different to a typical luxury car. While theinterior is decorated in classy, chic colors, the exterior iswrapped in earth colors expressing the transition fromthe ground to the sky in the natural world using contour
lines and latitude & longitude lines, to match the"Nature" theme of the exhibition booth (Photo 4, Fig. 5).
A tablet PC or a smartphone can be used to operate theexpansion/contraction of the vehicle, adjust the damping

Interior design

Requirements for Camping Cars

The newly developed camper comes under theapplication category of "camping cars" for motor vehicle
registration in Japan. The camper should meet the below
requirements for the registration as well as related laws
and regulations:- The number of persons sleeping in the camping car
shall be not less than 1/3 of the riding capacity.
- The equipment footprint shall be not less than 1/2 ofthe floor area.
- The storage capacity for clean and waste water shallbe not less than 10 L each and tap water shall bereadily available.
- Cooking shall be possible with a stove and ventilation
shall be available.
- A working surface for food preparation shall beavailable.
The prototype has a riding capacity of three persons
and is equipped with sleeping accommodation that alsoserves as a living room sofa, a kitchen, clean and waste
water storage of up to 20 L each, portable butane stove, arefrigerator, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, an airconditioner, and a fan.

8Fig. 5Smartphone app

Exhibition in Tokyo Auto Salon 2023

While the Tokyo Motor Show and other events werecanceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Auto
Salon was held to provide a place for automobile
manufacturers to announce their new products. With its
diversity of exhibits, Tokyo Auto Salon was considered
as a good opportunity for us to hear opinions from carlovers. Then, we selected Tokyo Auto Salon as the place― 34 ―

KYB TECHNICAL REVIEW No. 67 OCT. 2023

to announce the concept of the KYB camping car (Photo1).
At Tokyo Auto Salon 2023, we exhibited how anumber of project members from various departments
worked together to build the car under the theme
KAYABA ALL HANDS and used videos to show how
we deliver our advanced technology, safety, and security(Fig. 7).

9In Closing

The prototype has been designed as a vehicle for theexhibition and manufactured after much trial and error.
We know some engineers may want to give somecomments about the prototype. I hope that we will
improve and perfect the camping car.

Photo 8Fig. 7

Image movie

The improved steering stability achieved by thedamping adjustable SAs was presented by images andsimulation videos. We demonstrated the operation of thehydraulic pop-up & slide-out mechanisms to expand thecabin through a tablet PC and the leveling and suspension
lock function (Photo 8). We also demonstrated how to
use smartphones to adjust the damping force with thedamping adjustable SAs. To demonstrate the effect, wemade in advance an actual device that allowed theaudience to experience the effect of the suspension by
operating a manual lever, highlighting the changes in
damping force that might be difficult to recognize in theexhibition booth.
In these ways, we successfully presented the maximum
appeal and advancement of the KYB camping car byleveraging our hydraulic and vibration technologies.

Demonstration at Tokyo Auto Salon 2023

At the Tokyo Auto Salon 2023, our camper gained
great popularity among a lot of visitors. We received
many comments praising our attempt to develop such acamping car. However, trying to enter a new market as alatecomer will involve various difficulties. We need toconsider not only quality but also cost, sales channels,and after-sales service. We will promote productmarketing by seeking a style that suits us best.
I would like to thank void.Co.,Ltd. that supervised theexhibition and designed the interior & exterior of thecamping car, corporate partners, internal project
members, and all those who extended cooperation to theexhibition and interviews.
References1) White Paper on Camping Cars 2021/2022.

Author 

TANAKA Kazunori
Joined the company in 1988.
Engineering Dept., Kumagaya Plant,
Special Purpose Vehicles Div.

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