Traveling and living in a large motorhome is a way of life with increasing popularity, exploring new regions and enjoying mild climates. In the 3.500+ Kg weight class and upwards the interior outfit can feel like a house with all possible comforts. European brands like Concorde, LMC, Cathargo, Niesmann + Bischoff and Morelo are good examples. But what if travel ambitions go further than good asphalt tarmac reaches?
Apartments on wheels
The motorhome market in the heavier 3.500+ Kg weight class can offer al comforts found in luxury apartments while traveling overland experiencing different landscapes, cultures and climates.
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| Cathargo Chic | Concorde Credo Emotion | HYMER BM 580 |
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| Morelo 83MX | Niesmann Bishoff Arto | Phoenix TOP Liner 300 |
It’s not an unusual lifestyle anymore, more and more are starting to live on wheels on a full-time basis. Either as pensioners, traders or those on a sabbatical journey. All this with the assumption of reasonable roads, parking area availability, campsites and ready available support infrastructure. But what if the travel ambition reaches further than good roads and infrastructure?
The architecture and design of the 2WD luxury or holiday motorhome class does not anticipate a poor or absent infrastructure.
Design aspects like Body clearance, Autonomy, Robustness are simply set-up differently for less strenuous demands. With the travel ambition reaching into 2nd, 3rd world countries the vehicle as well as the living space requires a different architecture, design and construction.
Nonetheless, the overall feel of comfort and luxury can remain the same, it’s the architecture, design & construction of the apartment on wheels that changes significantly and not so much the interior setup.
The Expedition or Overland Motorhome
The architecture, design and construction of the Expedition Apartment covers several important requirements compared to the setup of a standard motorhome;
1. Autonomy – Electricity, Water, Fuel,
2. Body clearance & off-road worthiness
3. Robustness, Redundancy & Simplicity
4. All-climate & environment setup
5. Length, height & weight restrictions
6. Safety (door, window height & size, flood lights, sat comm. etc)
In short – the expedition motorhome setup breathes self-sufficient-ness in many ways fully anticipating the absence of a support infrastructure.
This enables the owners to undertake worldwide long distance overland travel in all climates.
Buying an Expedition or Overland Truck
The Expedition and Overland Truck world is relatively small is with a handful of recognized / established brands. The biggest difference with the world of Concorde, LMC, Cathargo, Niesmann + Bischoff and Morelo motorhomes – there are no dealers with on-site stock either new or second hand. It’s (still) a market of one-of-a-kind custom built vehicles with manufacturing lead-times from 8+ months of more. (assuming the design is already there)
Most pre-owned hand Expedition and Overland Trucks are sold privately without guarantees, support or service. That is, if a serious buyer can find them since the market landscape is scattered over many countries, many websites without a single central market place.
We can help you find the right Expedition or Overland Truck chassis to be fitted out a new living unit or locate a fully outfitted pre-owned Expedition Truck for you.
Expedition Truck Brokers can suggest interior renovations or lead the way to build a brand new living unit on an existing truck chassis.
Interested? Drop us a note and we'll come back to you.
Overland or Expedition Truck misconceptions
Expressed concerns about Expedition or Overland Trucks are often based on one or more misconceptions;
1. Difficult to drive.
Expedition or Overland Trucks are based on Cargo Truck Chassis – machines build to last a long time and used world-wide on a daily basis. If they were difficult to drive, the truckers world would be complaining all the time. Compared to the average 8+ meter 2WD motorhome, a distinct difference for maneuvering is the vehicle height. Which is actually a plus. The higher viewpoint provides good road oversight. Also driving is less stressful, with 80 – 95 Kmh the world on the road is simply much easier to drive in
2. Fuel economy
Expedition or Overland Trucks are made for world-wide travel, not for holidays / leisure trips where time is in short supply. The high fuel price in the western world is therefore only a small part of the overall fuel costs on a worldwide journey. Outside the western world, the average speed drops significantly and fuel prices are usually lower. On average 20-25 L / 100 Km normal for moving a 4x4 apartment around the world.
3. Too heavy, too large
On average Expedition Overland Truck weighs about around 10.000 - 12.000 Kg fully loaded. Although they appear heavy, the total weight is low compared to an average cargo truck. The extra weight comes from the extra robustness and the redundant setup. Besides, most roads are build using cargo trucks with similar dimensions of an Expedition or Overland Truck – If there’s a road, you can usually navigate this road as well.
4. Road Tax, Insurance and TuV
Expedition or Overland Trucks are made for world-wide travel. They are over-equipped for (short) leisure / holiday trip in the western world. Road-tax, insurance, TuV / MOT / APK / ITV costs can be high(er) in your home country due to their weight. When traveling long distances on different continents this situation can change significantly. For instance, It's impossible to get a yearly TuV / MOT / APK / ITV done. Therefore insurance coverage is usually void. On top of that paying road or vehicle taxes when away from your home country for years doesn't make any sense. Practically - for long journeys your national vehicle insurance can be suspended and depending on the country license plates can be suspended as well. Sometimes its possible to fall back on export license plates to cut costs. Next to this most countries require local insurance on entrance with fairly limited coverage. This all reduces the costs of ownership on worldwide journeys.
Interested? Just drop us a note and we'll contact you to see what we can do for you.
You may also want to consider our Orientation Service to get familiar with Expedition & Overland Trucks.