Beefy, Austrian-Made Camper Van Aims to Drive America’s Glampers off the Beaten Path
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Beefy, Austrian-Made Camper Van Aims to Drive America’s Glampers off the Beaten Path

By JIM MOTAVALLI
Fri, Oct 18, 2024 10:08amGrey Clock 4 min

People do like to sit high in their rides, but this high? A ladder would have been helpful to mount the extra-tall Krug Expedition Bedrock XT2, a US$690,000 go-anywhere camper from an Austrian company that wants to conquer the American off-road RV market. This is off-the-beaten-path glamping at its finest.

The example tested is, so far, the only one, but Krug has high hopes for the American market, which has a growing appetite for “expedition” off-road vehicles ranging from trucks to beefed-up RVs. The company describes the XT2 as a “6×4 off-road machine converting a luxury variant of the Ford Super Duty F-550 and bringing it to the next level with suspension and chassis frame reliability.” In other words, it’s a rugged three-axle truck with a double bed attached. The camper is a joint production with Iceland-based Arctic Trucks, which specialises in polar expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.

One of Arctic’s vehicles set a speed record of 108 hours from the Russian Novolazarevskaya Antarctic research station to the South Pole in 2010. The XT2 might be ideal, then, for a trip through the spectacular scenery of Alaska or for hitting the highway in Canada and driving north. The truck is ready to go off the grid, supported by electric power from a 1,450-watt-peak solar panel array and a 23-kilowatt-hour battery bank.

The founder of Krug, Viktor Ermolov, tried a competitor’s expedition vehicle around 2010 and thought he could do better with a vehicle filling an unmet need for a light (relatively speaking) expedition camper that could drive well in extreme terrain. The first truck came out in 2011.

The Expedition Bedrock XT2 doesn’t mind a dusty trail.
Krug

“Our clients are adventure-seeking individuals with a passion for nature and conservation. They prioritise quality, reliability, and sustainability in their purchasing decisions and are motivated by the desire for unique and meaningful experiences,” Krug Expedition CEO Slawa Knorr said in a statement to Penta .

Asked about the typical client, he said that young couples and families with children are being seen more and more.

On the road, the 9,000 to 10,000-pound XT2, which looks like a normal truck-mounted camper on steroids, was surprisingly easy to drive. Under the hood was a Ford Powerstroke 6.7-litre diesel with direct injection and 330 horsepower, with the weight of the camper yielding something like nine miles per gallon. The assisted steering was fairly light. The brakes felt like they were hauling down considerable weight, which they were. The biggest consideration while driving was considering the width and avoiding contact with cars lining the road. The cab was relatively comfortable, and the visibility good except toward the back, where the big mirrors became extra important.

The third axle decreases ground pressure up to 25%, and the big Continental multi-purpose tires provide a lot of grip. The rear air suspension is adjustable from the cab to accommodate heavy loads and rough terrain.

The kitchen area.
Krug

The exterior camper panels are made from a high-grade, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) laminate that is 70% fibreglass. Inside, the XT2 offers functional luxury. There was a comfortable-looking king bed in its own nook, a kitchenette, a bathroom with walk-in shower supported by a 118-gallon filtered water tank, and a dining area and lounge with a 32-inch TV (with Starlink connectivity) and a table that converted to a second sleeping area. For a week away, it was more than fine, and the buyer can make it as luxurious as they want.

The dining area converts to a second bedroom.
Krug

The kitchen’s fresh water uses the General Ecology Seagull IV-X2 system to banish chemicals, bacteria, and viruses. It may be cold where you’re going, so the quiet Truma Combi diesel-powered air heating system is on board, providing cabin heat and hot water. A hydronic system for underfloor heating is also available for colder climates, with automatic frost protection and radiators in the bathroom and dining area radiators. And for hotter weather, there’s the highly energy-efficient Nomadic Cooling air-conditioning system.

If cooking al fresco is desired, a portable outdoor kitchen can be built into the underfloor storage boxes.

For weekend getaways, any number of less-expensive camper solutions are available. The XT2 is aimed at rugged adventurers, who want to be virtually self-sufficient for excursions off the beaten path. It’s not the only vehicle in this expedition category. There’s also the evocatively named Storyteller GXV Epic, priced at a similar US$696,377. This is a big, tough all-wheel drive truck with up to 1,800 miles of range, 18 kilowatt-hours of available power, a built-in washer and dryer, and more.

Or how about the Ford F-250-based US$350,000 27 North Ascender RexRover truck, which sleeps four? Need more room? The cabover Loki Steyr 1491 accommodates six.



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How to Pick the Perfect Souvenir When Travelling

It’s easy to buy clunkers when you’re caught up in the moment. But regrettable purchases aren’t inevitable.

By KATHLEEN HUGHES
Sat, Nov 9, 2024 4 min

Trying to buy just the right souvenir on a trip is a risky business. You can wind up with a lifetime treasure—or an albatross you feel stuck with forever.

Consider the giant painting of a chicken flying out of Cuba that has been hanging over our couch in Palos Verdes, Calif., for the past 15 years. Buying it cheaply seemed to make sense when we were in Havana, since my husband’s family had fled the country after the revolution.

But the flying chicken just didn’t seem as, well, poignant by the time we returned home and hung the 4-by-7-foot painting. No guest has ever said a word about it. “I can’t help you with the chicken,” an art dealer told me long ago when I asked for help in selling it.

So, how do you find the right souvenir? Or is there even any such thing?

An everyday reminder

For many people, the answer to the second question is an unqualified “No,” and they have stopped trying. “Souvenirs never look as enticing or beautiful as they did at the time of purchase once you get them home,” warns Patricia Schultz, the author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die.”

After collecting rugs on her trips, then Christmas ornaments, before running out of room at home for both, Schultz says, “I have gone cold turkey. I collect memories.”

But for others, surrendering just won’t do. “It’s intrinsic when people travel that they wind up bringing a keepsake of the journey,” says Rolf Potts, the author of “Souvenir,” a book that traces the history of travel souvenirs back to the earliest recorded journeys.

“It can be a way to show off,” he says. “Much like the envy-inducing travel posts on Instagram.” But for many people, he says, “It’s proof you were there, not only to show other people but also for yourself.”

For those who lean in this direction, there are ways to help avoid regrets. Tara Button , founder of the Buy Me Once website, and the author of “A Life Less Throwaway: The Lost Art of Buying for Life,” suggests focusing on practical items that fit your lifestyle and double as mementos.

As an example, she once bought a “very affordable” baby blanket made from alpaca fiber on a trip to Peru and now uses it every day. The blanket not only reminds her of “the time pre-children when I was traveling,” she says. “It goes over my 2-year-old son every night. It’s always soft and always gorgeous.”

She has a friend who collects one cup from each destination. “Those are perfect memory keepers,” she says. “A small item that is used every day.”

Finding the right scale

One obstacle to finding the right souvenir is that it can be hard to think practically when you are swept up in the excitement of a new culture. Consider the Burmese puppet, 15 inches tall, that has spent about two decades in the closet of Liz Einbinder , head of public relations for Backroads, an adventure-tour company.

“We saw a lot of puppets everywhere and just got caught up in all of the Burmese art and culture,” she says. Now she wonders, “Why did I bring this back? It sits in the back of my closet and I can’t seem to get rid of it. It creeps me out when I see it.”

When that buying urge sweeps over you, Button and other travel experts suggest pausing to consider your lifestyle, taste, needs, and the scale of your home—you’re going back to the reality of your everyday life, after all.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean being entirely practical. Einbinder collects miniatures, mostly miniature houses, from every country, and has more than a hundred. Most are in storage, but she keeps a little London bus and a little Egyptian pyramid on her desk. For her, souvenirs aren’t just about memories, they’re also about the hunt. “It gives me something to search for” on each trip, she says. “That’s half the fun.”

Ignore the hard sell

Another way travelers often go wrong is by giving in to pressure, or at least persistence, from salespeople.

When Kimba Hills, an interior designer, went to Morocco, she hired a guide who took her to a rug store in Fez, where the dealers delivered a whirlwind sales pitch while serving tea. She wound up buying a $4,000 flat-weave Turkish rug, measuring about 13 feet by 9 feet.

“No one in my group could believe I got seduced,” she says.

When the rug finally arrived at her home in Santa Monica, “It smelled like cow dung,” she says. Washing the rug was going to change the color.

When she called the dealer in Fez and demanded her money back, he refused, offering to send her a different rug instead. “We got into a yelling match,” says Hills. “All my skills went out the window.”

Looking back, she says, “You are in a buying mode because you are there and feel like you should buy something.” On a recent trip to Mexico, she bought nothing, explaining, “I’m wiser.”

Sometimes, magic

Spontaneity can cut both ways. There’s the chicken painting. But waiting for inspiration to strike, rather than planning to go home with a souvenir, can still help.

Henry Zankov, a sweater designer, says that when he travels, he explores his destinations with the idea that he won’t buy anything unless he comes across something he loves. He still buys plenty, but says “I don’t have regrets.” At his home in Brooklyn, he has ceramics, vases and glassware from shops he found randomly in Spain, Greece, and Italy. “I buy what I have to have,” he says.

There are times he doesn’t find anything. “So I just give up,” he says. “It’s OK.”

Some souvenirs do become the treasure of a lifetime.

Annie Lucas , the co-owner of MIR, which offers tours to less-traveled destinations, became captivated by a mirror on a trip to Morocco. It was made with hand-pounded silver and pieces of camel bones.

She went back to the store three or four times, debating the cost and whether she would regret it once she got home. It was heavy and measured 24 inches by 40 inches.

“That was 15 years ago, and I still treasure it,” she says. “If I had to get out of my house and had only five minutes to pack, I would grab that off the wall.”

MOST POPULAR
11 ACRES ROAD, KELLYVILLE, NSW

This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

35 North Street Windsor

Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.

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