Patriot Campers was founded by in 2013 in Queensland, on Australia's Gold Coast, to build rugged off-road camping and toy-hauling trailers that are now also available in the U.S. After a visit to SEMA, the company's director, Justin Montesalvo, was inspired by the elaborate vehicle builds he saw there and decided to branch into more extreme self-propelled off-road and overlanding vehicles capable of towing his company's trailers, and launched a line of Patriot Campers Off Road (PCOR) Super Tourers. Toyota hosted three such Land Cruiser-based PCOR builds at its booth for the 2022 SEMA show, and decided to risk letting them steal focus from the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander's world premiere by bringing them to the 2023 Chicago Auto Show.
The most extreme of the Patriot Campers Off Road Super Tourers is the Megatourer 6x6, based on a Land Cruiser 70 Series LC79 (long-wheelbase crew-cab pickup). It was first unveiled at the 2017 National 4x4 Outdoors Show in Melbourne. The original 70 Series Land Cruiser may be unfamiliar to those who haven't traveled much, because while production began in 1984 (and through to today; the 70 Series is still in production) North America mostly missed out. Only a few were sold to the public during the 1985-1987 model years, and then only in Canada (where the mining industry can still buy them today).
The PCOR team collaborated with JMACX Offroad Solutions to modify a Land Cruiser FJ79 chassis to accept the additional driven axle. The axles are suspended by Airbag Man adjustable custom air ride springs and TJM shocks with adjustable height and damping that lift the truck 8 inches. (PCOR has also built Megatourer 6x6s with portal axles.) Brakes employ 14.2-inch discs with six-piston calipers, and a set of ROH 18-inch wheels are wrapped in Mickey Thompson 37-inch mud tires. Power comes from a GSL-massaged 4.5-liter V-8 turbodiesel that makes 300 hp thanks to uprated turbos with custom intake and turbo plumbing.
Inside are racing bucket front seats, with the rears done in the matching black leather and suede and finished with contrast stitching. There are center and overhead consoles, auxiliary gauges, and of course right-hand drive appropriate to the home (Australian) market.
A flatbed replaces the pickup box, and it's topped by custom toolboxes and twin spare-tire rack. Above the cab is a Rhino Pioneer rack outfitted by X-Ray Vision LED light bars. Rounding out this go-anywhere package are front and rear winches, a 70-liter water tank, a lockable mini canopy with a 60-liter fridge, and two 63-gallon fuel tanks to provide ample driving range.
This slightly less aggressive-looking package is based on the same basic long-wheelbase LC79 underpinnings as the Megatourer, but it packs a more powerful tune of the similar 4.5-liter V-8 turbodiesel. Here the engine is equipped with GSL's Stage 2 Kit (upgraded turbo, big intercooler, Plus 70 injectors and an ECU remap), and is said to produce 402 hp.
To provide more useful storage space, the chassis is extended 11.8 inches with a kit by Creative Conversions. Suspension is via an Ironman Foam Cell Pro 3-inch lift, JMACX rear suspension coil conversion, and a 9,250-lb GVWR upgrade.
Overlanding gear includes the requisite safari snorkel, bull-bar, 1,200-pound winches front and rear with Saber Offroad winch hooks, extendable mirrors, compressors, and a lot more. Camping gear includes a Camp Kings rooftop tent and awning, dog crate half-canopy, Dometic kitchen gear, water tank and pump, and a Redarc solar panel.
Inside are Recaro seats, an overhead T-shaped storage console, aux gauges, and the same right-hand-drive layout as in the other Patriot Campers Off Road offerings.
The twin sons of PCOR director Justin Montesalvo, Christian and Aston, learned the business during school holidays, and when it came time to purchase a first vehicle, Ashton found a 1977 Toyota FJ45 (long-wheelbase pickup, and yes, they kept building them until 1984). The twins and their father then set about conceptualizing a PCOR build for it. They ended up sourcing a retired mining example of a 79-series Land Cruiser and swapped its 4.5-liter V-8 turbodiesel powertrain, A/C, differentials (upgraded with Harrop Eaton E-lockers), and springs into the FJ49.
The suspension was further enhanced with a custom coil spring suspension up front and a unique frame aft of the crew-style cab that incorporates a JMACX heavy duty differential upgrade for the 79 series Land Cruiser leaf spring suspension. PCOR wheels are wrapped in 20-inch BFGoodrich KO2 tires.
Exterior upgrades include custom flares, bars, and a tow bar, Warn winch, LED driving lights, and two lightbars. There's an exo-cage for protection and a custom vehicle management system from Redarc Electronics.
To play up the retro nature of the FJ45 (first produced in 1960), the finish includes faux patina and the interior retains its vintage bench-type seat layout, finished in beautiful caramel colored leather with lateral support wings to separate the three occupants. Also retains the metal dash and vintage switchgear. Hitch any of these three extreme Land Rovers up to a Patriot Campers trailer and your whole posse can comfortably drive to the middle of nowhere and stay there a while in comfort.