After a three-year rebuild, Czech friends Petr Holeček, Radomír Jahelka, and Milan Werner were able to convert a six-wheeled Tatra 815 rally raider into an expedition camper.

Their Tatra 815 6×6 was one of seven built for the Thierry Sabine Organisation ahead of the 1987 Paris–Dakar Rally; the 815 had proven to be a hit at its Dakar debut in 1986, which prompted the TSO to order seven identical trucks for their own fleet of support and escort vehicles. It was mostly the same as the competition 815s, down to using the same chassis and a similar engine, since service trucks technically raced as well.

The truck was then used with racing intent at the 1988 Dakar, where Alain Piatek finished 78th overall and 13th in Truck. Piatek had been a pioneer during Tatra’s first Dakar two years prior.

In the years since, the Tatra traded hands before ending up with a Frenchman who used it to camp in North Africa. He made various changes to the truck to better fit its new lifestyle such as raising the cabin, adding a rear hatch, and even installing a superstructure made from wood since it was for desert expeditions where humidity would not be an issue.

In an interview with Tomáš Málek of Camper Lovers, Jahelka explained they came across the Tatra in Málaga. After meeting the Frenchman’s widow and deciding to buy the truck, they were pleasantly surprised to find it was still running and could simply be driven back to the Czech Republic without needing a tow.

Once back home, they tore down the truck and began rebuilding. They opted to keep the modifications made by its French owner, though also did upgrades of their own like adding an intercooler and another blade to each turbocharger. The truck still has the original 12-cylinder engine and can reach 170 km/h, though they tuned it a bit more for performance.

Other changes gave it a vibe that Málek compared to a motorhome: it has kitchen appliances like stoves, heaters, and even solar panels. It can house nine people at most, with two tents on the roof for four to sleep while the others do so in the superstructure and cabin.

In total, the project took roughly three years to complete.

Interestingly, this is not the only Tatra from the TSO’s seven that became a camper. Another was acquired by Toyota France, who used it until 2004 when it was sold to a different team. Laetitia Desbiolles, a French woman looking for a caravan truck, bought the Tatra off Leboncoin and turned it into a camper dubbed the “Red Monster”. Jahelka noted another truck from the fleet is currently in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm.

Featured image credit: Radomír Jahelka