Camel
The Camel is a large and sturdy transport truck frequently used by military and paramilitary groups. Large numbers have been sold all over the planet during the fifty cycles of its existence. It was designed as a replacement for the century-old Dromedary line of trucks, an eight-wheeled design whose sales drastically dropped after cuts in quality turned it into a hopeless lemon. The Camel’s frame has six large wheels attached to a heavy-duty syspension. The early design called for an eight-wheeled vehicle just like the Dromedary, but stronger and lighter materials allowed for the reduction to six wheels, greatly simplifying the engineering and reducing the potential for transmission damage.
The engine is a diesel-type powerplant linked to a high-efficiency computer-controlled transmission. Most Terranovan trucks come with a simple radio system, and the Camel is no exception. Although it is adequate for normal use, its range and the quality of its transmissions are drastically reduced under combat conditions and cannot penetrate ECM. Some Camels are also equipped with a pintle-mounted machine gun situated on the top of the driver’s cab, just beside the searchlight. In the Badlands, this is often a valuable deterrent against aggressive animals or against Rovers.
There is enough room on the Camel’s platform to carry 40 cubic meters in equipment or vehicles, up to a maximum of about 6.5 tons in weight. Its small size, low cost and desert capabilities have made it very popular with Badlands homesteaders, who often need a low maintenance vehicle to carry their equipment and their crops back and forth between the county and their homes. The low-price of the Camel is also an important factor which is not lost on homesteaders, most of whom need to have their own equipment and have a substantial overhead to repay. Over the last ten cycles, several Badlands variants of the truck have appeared, featuring a closed container on the back to protect and hide their cargo from marauding rovers looking for an easy prey. Several of those variants feature light machineguns to provide an additional deterrent against attacks.
Usage
The Camel was not readily accepted as a replacement to the Dromedary. Its release on the market was somewhat premature and for the first five cycles it was plagued by constant electrical problems. The engine would not start in the morning after a cold night; the lights would flicker after an hour and shut down after two; the engine created electromagnetic interference with the radio system; the list goes on. Fortunately, those problems were always resolved to the customer’s satisfaction and the Camel’s kinks were all worked out after ten cycles. Unfortunately, the high costs involved in perfecting the vehicle caused the mother company (Silent Running Automotive) to go bankrupt.
The Camel’s design became public domain and the vehicle was further improved to its current configuration and performance. It is now broadly manufactured and distributed throughout the world — even in the South — and performs its functions without fail. Regular improvements are made every cycle to keep it to the current level of technology, occasionally finding modern replacement for systems that have become obsolete or that are no longer supported by the original manufacturer. In all other respects, the Camel remains unchanged and its performance remains within the same standards; only its durability improves.