Whereas not everybody purchased a camper van in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us most likely know somebody who did. As individuals with cash instantly discovered themselves with time on their arms and no explicit place to be, gross sales of compact however full-featured Class B camper vans soared, growing 91.5% from 2020 to 2021, in line with the RV Business Affiliation (RVIA). Van life grew to become a hashtag, a life-style, and an aspiration. Whereas gross sales have settled again all the way down to pre-pandemic ranges, the marketplace for high-end autos stays robust, with producers tempting new and returning consumers with an array of recent fashions that push the boundaries of efficiency, luxurious, and worth.
After which there are all the brand new rugged particulars. Not content material to stay to the pavement, the most recent cohort of van house owners needs to get off-road, too—or at the least appear to be they do. You could have noticed an growing variety of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans bedecked with all method of racks, ladders, spare tires, and gasoline cans, traction boards, and outside gear. These are the “overlanders.”
The overland class consists of quite a lot of automobile varieties—from 4x4s accessorized with stylish rooftop tents, to burly Class C camper vans (see EarthRoamer.com), to all-terrain “journey vans” that mix the comforts of a lot bigger campers with the off-road efficiency of an expedition automobile. The promise is interesting: get to wild locations that others can’t, and sleep comfortably (and possibly stream some Netflix) whenever you get there. With huge gasoline reserves, freshwater tanks, and arrays of photo voltaic panels and lithium-ion batteries, right this moment’s top-of-the-line journey rigs are designed to assist days or perhaps weeks of self-sufficient off-grid exploration.
[Photo: courtesy Overland Expo]
This mix of consolation and journey is precisely the draw for overlanders, who’re largely an prosperous, middle-aged bunch. In keeping with the RV Business Affiliation’s 2025 RV Proprietor Demographic Profile, 13% of present RV house owners cite the power to camp off-grid, or “boondocking,” as a major motivator of their automobile buy. The largest U.S. overlanding occasion, Overland Expo—the place house owners come to camp out and would-be house owners come to take a look at automobile “builds,” has grown from one occasion with 800 attendees in 2009 to 5 regional occasions in 2025. (The inaugural Southern California occasion this March had 19,000 attendees and 303 exhibitors. Subaru is the first-time lead company sponsor.) The 2024 occasion collection attracted greater than 80,000 attendees, up 35% from 2021. Greater than 12 million Individuals are anticipated to overland in 2025, up from 8 million in 2024, in line with the Overland Expo’s new 2025 Overland Business Report.
Right here’s a have a look at that vanguard of compact RV innovation as we roll into the summer season of 2025.
[Photo: Storyteller Overland]
An overlander from Alabama
The model which may greatest embody the luxurious overland zeitgeist of 2025 is Birmingham, Alabama-based Storyteller Overland, which launched in 2018.
Now in its second yr of manufacturing, the hulking 2025 GXV Epic is the form of factor you’ll select to caravan throughout the Australian Outback whereas being pursued by zombies. The 30-foot-long turbo diesel 4×4 has an 1,800-mile vary and comes geared up with a 200-gallon freshwater tank, an 18 kWh battery capability (sufficient to energy a small house for a complete day), and expansive photo voltaic panels for recharging. It may be yours for about $800,000. It takes 2,500 man hours to finish every Epic construct—for the reason that automobile’s launch in Might 2024, the corporate has constructed roughly one monthly.
[Photo: Storyteller Overland]
Storyteller’s GXV Hilt is one other “journey truck” that got here to market final yr—a deluxe camper “capsule” bolted to a Ram 5500 that’s been upfitted with a “liquid spring” sensible suspension system, a proprietary “no torsion” subframe system that enables the capsule to maneuver independently from the chassis, and a heavy-duty spray-on coating to guard it from scratches. With a 52-gallon diesel-fuel capability, 16.8 kW lithium-ion battery storage, photo voltaic panels, and 120-gallon freshwater maintain, the Hilt is constructed for lengthy hauls, however not for roughing it. It’s received a full bathtub and kitchen, and two queen beds. Storyteller can construct the $499,000 vans at a charge of about one per week.
[Photo: Storyteller Overland]
However Storyteller’s bestsellers are its line of Mode camper vans. Constructed on the tall, boxy Sprinter chassis, the 2025 fashions price between $185,000 and $250,000, relying on options. The premium Beast Mode XO boasts all-wheel drive, nubby off-road tires, and a heavy-duty suspension system—plus an expandable 90 W photo voltaic panel, onboard batteries, and a 21-gallon freshwater tank to reside off-grid for days or perhaps weeks. The muscular exterior sports activities a entrance grille “brush guard,” a safari-style roof rack, side-mount ladder, rear cargo field, and high-intensity LED lighting. The cabin, insulated with sheep’s wool, has air-con and diesel-fueled heating, a galley kitchen with fridge, sink, microwave, and induction cooktop, and a full bathtub with bathroom and scorching bathe.
[Photo: Storyteller Overland]
Using about 215 individuals at its Birmingham headquarters and at a manufacturing facility in Missouri, Storyteller has constructed greater than 2,500 of its vans up to now. Its gross sales are strongest within the West—the place huge publicly owned lands present ample off-grid tenting alternatives—however are rising by means of the South, Midwest, and Northeast, as nicely. The corporate took a “vital” funding from personal fairness group L Catterton final yr to speed up product growth, put money into manufacturing, and develop its seller community, it mentioned.
Storyteller doesn’t have a monopoly on journey campers. Its success appears to have impressed old-school RV gamers resembling Winnebago and Thor Industries to up their overland recreation. Including to its present line of Class B campers, final yr Thor launched the Palladium and Talavera, constructed on the Ford Transit Path chassis with all-wheel drive and off-road capabilities, beginning at $110,000. This yr, Winnebago launched its Revel Sport, a lighter, lower-priced model ($210,570 base worth) of its standard Sprinter-based Revel 44E journey van (base worth, $245,463). If not one of the off-the-shelf choices match the invoice, conversion specialists together with Campo, Ridgeline Van, Cascade Van, Papago, Tommy Camper Vans, and Sequoia + Salt provide customized builds that includes designer finishes, artisanal woodwork, superior electronics, and extra—for a van-included worth of about $150,000 to $300,000.
Altering demographics, limitless upgrades
Storyteller says that its prospects embrace “preppers,” early retirees, and youthful households, with the standard consumers being males over 50. That’s a decade or so youthful than the patron base for large Class A RVs, and displays a broader shift in RV possession. In keeping with the most recent RVIA survey—which covers house owners of all sorts of campers and trailers—the median age of RV house owners has declined from 53 in 2021 to 49 in 2025. (To get a way of “overlanding” spectrum, try van-focused We’re the Russos, began by touring couple Joe and Kait Russo in 2018, and truck-focused TrailRecon, created by U.S. Navy veteran Brad Kowitz.)
The brand new overlanders usually come into van possession by way of outside recreation, and use their autos as house base for different energetic pursuits. In keeping with the RVIA, the main hobbies whereas RVing are fishing (47%) and mountain climbing (44%). The most well-liked leisure tools hauled alongside on RV journeys are bikes and kayaks, however the checklist for a well-prepared overlander may additionally embrace skis, surfboards, and extra. Not surprisingly, equipment for carrying gear—bike carriers, surfboard hooks, “Alpine bins,” and safari-style roof racks—are standard add-ons. However that’s simply the beginning.
Even consumers who begin with absolutely loaded journey van quickly discover themselves wanting extra.
The 2025 Overland Business Report discovered that just about 80% of overlanders plan to make upgrades within the subsequent yr—with a deal with sturdiness, lighting, and storage. The aftermarket equipment trade has been surging: the variety of eBay Motors “overlanding” listings for issues like rooftop tents, swingout tire carriers, and winch kits elevated was up greater than 3,500% in 2023 in comparison with 2019.
On-line sellers that concentrate on the upscale journey van set—together with Owl Vans, Important Line Overland, and Flatline Van–promote every thing from racks, ladders, bumpers, and awnings to lighting, raise kits, skid plates, and wheels. DIYers may even construct out a full camper van inside with modular parts—beds, tables, cupboards, and kitchen models—from firms resembling Portland, Oregon-based Journey Wagons, or flat-pack fashion conversion kits manufactured from pure plywood from Simi, California-based VanLab or Timber Van Kits, in Boulder, Colorado.
For the present wave of journey campers, being off-grid doesn’t imply being offline. Within the 2025 RVIA survey of van house owners, 54% of those that work remotely do work from their RV. Corporations resembling Brooklyn Campervans have seen growing demand for vans as distant places of work, full with Starlink antennas, photo voltaic panels, superior power storage methods (see Battleborn, Renogy, and Volta), and USB ports for units. Starlink’s ROAM program explicitly targets RVers and van lifers —and its advertising leans in to the overlanding zeitgeist (when you can ignore the Cybertruck). To make certain, taking a Zoom assembly from the center of a desert or a distant seashore web site is a selected sort of flex.
[Photo: Peacevans]
The way forward for van life is electrical, and more and more feminine
Totally loaded camper vans can weigh as a lot as 5 tons, and so they’re fuel guzzlers. In optimum circumstances, a diesel Sprinter-based mannequin would possibly get 25 mpg or so. Along with being arduous to parallel park, they’re not splendid for working errands round city.
Whereas Trammel at Storyteller says that curiosity and gross sales in its autos are nonetheless “good,” the broader class has continued cooling even after the pandemic spell wore off. In keeping with the RV Business Affiliation, gross sales of so-called Class B camper vans final yr have been 30% beneath 2023, and have been barely down yr over in March 2025.
[Photo: Peacevans]
“There are individuals who wish to spend $200,000 on a extremely high-quality camper van, and [companies] satisfying that want,” says Harley Sitner, a former senior product supervisor at Microsoft and now proprietor and supervisor of Peace Vans in Seattle. “Is it beginning to wane just a little bit? Sure, completely.” His store focuses on a unique phase of the market, specializing in dual-purpose small vans suited to every day driving and the sort of modest adventuring that most individuals are literally as much as. “You don’t desire a devoted camper van that sits idle in your driveway 100 nights a yr and your neighbors giggle at you,” says Sitner.
Till not too long ago, his store—which employs 27 individuals, together with contractors—specialised in customized conversions of the Mercedes Metris van, a smaller-platform automobile than the Sprinter, which was discontinued on the finish of 2023. “We did over a thousand of these, and we may have carried out one other thousand in the event that they saved making them,” says Sitner. Beginning this yr, they started doing customized buildouts of Volkswagen’s new EV van, the ID Buzz (in addition to changing older VW camper vans to EVs).
[Photo: Peacevans]
Lengthy-term, all autos are shifting to electrical, though it’s not but sensible for actual overlanding. The Mercedes eSprinter, for instance, launched in 2023, has a prime vary of simply over 200 miles, a decrease payload capability than the diesel model, and no all-wheel drive choice. However, the present ID Buzz, with a variety of about 230 miles, is good for Sitner’s prospects, who wish to go on two- to three-night tenting journeys, or have a snug place to relax between browsing units.
“We’re not going to compete with Storyteller or Winnebago or all these customized builders,” says Sitner. “We’re going to deal with the small area of interest and get most of it. It’s not a $100 million market, nevertheless it’s a reasonably large market.”
[Photo: Peacevans]
For a full camper conversion, Peace Vans pulls out each rows of rear seats, changing them with a foldout mattress, and including a kitchen unit with a sink, range, and fridge. A small van, Sitner says, “is sort of a boat. Each inch counts. You’ve received to be actually, actually considerate about it.” Peace Vans may also add a rear kitchen field, leaving more room inside for individuals and equipment. And this fall, it’ll provide a brand new pop-top tent choice—a beloved function of classic VW camper vans.
“The nostalgia issue is to not be discounted,” says Sitner. “Nearly each certainly one of our prospects had a VW van within the day. There’s this innate natural demand.” The client demographic skews extra feminine than the Large Van market; Sitner estimates that some 40% of his prospects are single ladies over age 55. “The ID Buzz may be very yin. You’re not going to go stomp nature. You’re going to go hang around with nature.”
Sitner expects to work on 400 to 500 autos this yr—at costs, automobile included, starting from about $80,000 to $120,000. The influence of Trump tariffs are a wildcard. He thinks that Volkswagen would take up a share of elevated prices, however he says that due to tariffs, “we’re not going to scale as rapidly, and it’s a bummer. The excellent news for us is our prospects are usually not worth delicate.”
