Whoever said you couldn’t have the comforts of home when you’re driving around the world clearly hasn’t seen these off-road motorhomes. These days you can have it all while you’re traveling, from a dishwasher to a clothes dryer to a garage built into the back. They’re insane, they’re expensive, and they’re awesome – home is where you park it.
EarthRoamer
Built on a massive Ford F-550 chassis and powered by a 6.7-litre V8 turbo-diesel engine, the EarthRoamer has plenty of get-up-and-go even though it’s roughly the size of a Sydney apartment. And you’ll almost certainly find that the EarthRoamer is nicer inside than said apartment. In fact, it rivals some luxury hotels for appointments – leather, tile, high-end appliances, it has it all; and if you want it, you can most likely have it.
EarthRoamer owners include everyone from several high-power CEOs looking for an escape, such as Dick Smith, to famous musicians like John Mayer. Which isn’t surprising considering the models range in price anywhere from $300,000 – $550,000 USD based on options which include satellite TV, enough solar to power a house, a washer and dryer and even a dishwasher. We won’t even get into the bespoke options EarthRoamer is capable of doing. They’re made by hand in Colorado in the United States with the help of skilled craftsmen.
ActionMobil
Are you trying to get back in touch with nature without leaving your personal chef behind? Do you secretly have desires to take over the world and need a bug-out vehicle that can go anywhere in luxury? Built on anything ranging from a 4X4 truck chassis to an 8X8 ex-missile carrier, ActionMobil has you covered.
Their Desert Challenger model wins the cake for being the most insane off-road camper (we can’t call it 4X4 … because it has eight driven wheels) we’ve ever seen. It features two hydraulically operated slide outs, giving you a living room that measures in at over five metres wide, the ability to store a Suzuki Jimny in the back, along with 450kW of power, 2500 litres of fuel, and over 1000Ah of reserve battery capacity. The vehicles are so specialised that an exact price is hard to figure out – but expect to pay around a million dollars.
All Terrain Warrior
If you’ve ever been to Fraser Island, then you’ve probably seen a vehicle built by All Terrain Warrior. They’ve been around for years making specialty tour and commercial buses, which has given them the experience they needed to make one of the most-durable off-road motorhomes on the market. The ATW Global Warrior is built on an Isuzu or Mitsubishi chassis with the option of either a single or dual cab if you’d like to comfortably seat more people.
The living space is well-appointed and features everything you’d expect from a motorhome, except that this unit will also fit in a shipping container thanks to its automated rising roof. There’s hot and cold running water, showers, and everything you need to cook a five-star meal. The angled rear shape of the motorhome body also means that they’re able to ad to the internal living space while not increasing the departure angle of the vehicle. It even carries two massive spare tyres just in case you want to take this rig to parts unknown. Prices range from $230,000 – $290,000
EarthCruiser
With claims that no other vehicle has travelled as much of the world as the EarthCruiser, they’re setting themselves up for big expectations. Luckily, they follow it up with some serious specifications, including the ability to be driven into a container for international shipping and travel. Built upon a Mitsubishi Fuso 4X4 chassis, the EarthCruiser blends 33-inch tyres, long travel suspension and comfortable living conditions.
Inside you’ll find everything you’d ever want to keep you comfortable, including a large bed, lounge, a kitchen and even a stand up hot water shower. The biggest benefit of the EarthCruiser is that it’s not much wider than a standard vehicle so it’ll fit down the tracks you want to explore, yet still be movable (and park-able) in big cities where space is at an absolute premium.
SLR
The SLR Adventurer 4X4 is built in Australia to handle rugged Australian conditions – which just so happens to mean that the rest of the world is a breeze. Based on an Isuzu chassis, it’ll be able to handle bone-rattling tracks and its fair share of technical terrain, all while being able to be serviced nearly anywhere in the world you decide to take it.
A unique chassis suspension setup allows the truck, cab, and motorhome body to move independently from one another, which adds to the off-road capability of the Adventurer and increases durability in technical situations. There’s also a 450Ah battery bank and nearly 400 watts of solar on-board to keep you going when you decide to set up camp for a while. With plenty of interior space and a relatively affordable price tag (all things considered), the SLR is good value when it comes to off-road motorhomes and expedition vehicles.