Campervan, RV & Vanlife News

In the early 1970s a California company built the Super Bugger motorhome on the chassis of the first-generation VW Beetle. Most of the Beetle body was removed, leaving the platform chassis and the classic front look. The model was offered as completed vehicles, kits and construction plans. A later plan for a similar Beetle camper, the VW Minihome, is often confused with the Super Bugger, including by classic-car experts.

Volkswagen has shown its electric ID. California Cruise camper van in Wels, Austria. It sleeps two adults, starts at €60,761 in Germany and first deliveries are due in early 2027.

Entegra Coach, a brand of the US group Thor, has confirmed specifications for the Embark, an electric Class A motorhome with a petrol range extender. The price is expected to be around $400,000, with US sales now planned for 2027. The vehicle uses an 800-volt chassis from Harbinger Motors, a 140 kWh battery and a 440 hp electric motor. Electric-only range is 160 to 175 km, while the total range with the generator exceeds 720 km. The 29V1 layout measures 9.37 m long and 2.57 m wide, exceeding the 2.55 m width limit in Europe, and its weight requires a Category C licence.

La Quinta Resort & Club and AutoCamp Joshua Tree have launched a three-night Desert Odyssey package in California. The itinerary starts at the historic La Quinta resort, opened in 1926, includes one night in an Airstream trailer at AutoCamp Joshua Tree and returns to La Quinta. Package rates start at $449 per night. AutoCamp Joshua Tree opened in 2022; each Airstream has a queen-size bed, Wi-Fi, a private bathroom and a kitchenette.

Since late October, gas cylinders in motorhomes and caravans in Germany may be filled with LPG at public filling stations. Previously this was banned and users had to find rare dedicated filling points. The cylinder must be installed to DVGW rules and have an external filling connection. Retrofit at a workshop costs around €300 to €500 including the gas inspection. A full workshop conversion starts at €900, while a DIY kit costs from €370 plus €40 to €80 for the inspection. The cylinder must not be removed from the vehicle, and the plastic seal on the quick coupling must remain intact.

Utah dealer ROA Off-Road and Pause spent almost 4 years developing the Roamer X caravan. It combines off-road running gear with luxury fittings, including two kitchens and a private bedroom.

Benchmark Vehicles of Portland, Oregon, has built the 143, a camper based on a four-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 XD. The 2026 model-year vehicle has a 4.32-metre wheelbase and is fitted with Owl Vans Talon wheels and BFGoodrich KO3 all-terrain tyres, an Agile Offroad suspension upgrade with Fox dampers and Bilstein struts, and a 151-litre S&B fuel tank. The rear holds a king-size bed above a garage with a heavy-duty pull-out tray. Electrical equipment includes a 3,000 W inverter and a battery bank of almost 1,000 Ah, while an Espar diesel heater warms air, water and the floor. Fresh water is stored in a 132-litre tank with heating mats, and two waste tanks are also heated.

Chinese manufacturer Manca has unveiled the Challenger motorhome based on a Sinotruk truck. Hydraulic actuators raise part of the roof to create extra space and a terrace, while 1,400 W solar panels power on-board appliances. The motorhome is under six metres long, sleeps four and includes an outdoor kitchen, a washing machine and a Japanese toilet with a heated seat. A 6.8-litre turbodiesel produces 200 hp, the vehicle has all-wheel drive and the water tank holds 330 litres. The indicative price starts from the equivalent of €150,000.

Xiaomi has started selling the SkyNomad N90 Max in China. Its factory electric roof rises to create an upper level over 2.29 metres high with a bed for two adults.

Overland Vehicle Systems returned to SEMA 2026 with the XCRSN, a modular camper setup that turns a truck bed into a sleeping platform without drilling holes. The kit pairs a marine-grade stainless steel truck cap with an aircraft-grade aluminium rooftop tent made from 320g ripstop polycotton fabric with a blackout coating rated at 5000PU and FMVSS 302 safety certification. It includes an XCRSN spacer for pass-through access, a step ladder, load-carrying crossbars rated at 100 lbs, high-density foam bed panels and MOLLE-PALS channels. Installation uses no-drill clamping, and the package carries a limited lifetime warranty. OVS also showed a 12-piece 6-ton off-road bottle jack with lift extensions for combinations from 8.5 inches to 37 3/4 inches and two saddle-mount options.

The Lazio Regional Administrative Court, in judgment No. 17312 of 2 November 2026, upheld a mayor's order requiring the owners of a plot to stop the 'improper use' of a camper parked in the garden. The court held that a camper, although equipped for accommodation, remains a road vehicle, and its permanent use for housing may constitute a new construction requiring a building permit. The order was issued in July 2025 after inspections found waste, gas cylinders, untreated wastewater and a camper presumably used as a dwelling. The court rejected claims that the order was vague and lacked grounds for urgent action.

Ember RV has unveiled the Touring Edition 2850DBL caravan, featuring a rear section that converts between sleeping, office and cargo space. The EmberTrack E-track rail system carries two stacked double beds that can be repositioned or removed to free space for e-bikes, dog crates or a hammock. The two-axle caravan has two entry doors (main into the living area, second into a separate bedroom), a slide-out bay and a 6.1-metre electric awning with an outdoor bar, TV and sockets. Equipment includes a 340-litre fridge, a kitchen with a three-burner cast-iron hob, a convection microwave with air-fryer function, a bedroom with a 152 by 203 cm queen-size bed, and a bathroom with shower and toilet. The mandatory Off-Grid Solar Package comprises 400 W of roof solar panels, a 2,000 W inverter and a Victron MPPT controller. Fresh water tank holds 208 litres, grey and black water tanks 265 and 132 litres. Dry weight is 3,354 kg, gross vehicle weight 4,307 kg, payload 953 kg.

Volkswagen opens UK orders for the updated California: the hybrid heats the cabin for up to 8 hours when parked. Plus French winter tyres and Highland cattle.

Knaus has unveiled the Nordwind 660 UDF, a family caravan for the 2027 model year, at the Caravan Salon 2026 in Düsseldorf. The twin-axle caravan sleeps up to six people with two convertible seating groups and a fixed French bed at the rear. It measures 8.65 metres in total length, 2.5 metres in width, and comes with an Alde liquid heating system and underfloor heating as standard. The base version has a kerb weight of 1,867 kg and a maximum permissible weight of 2,200 kg; with all options selected, around 80 kg of payload remains. The displayed model with the winter and design packages and lounge function was priced at 52,500 euros.

Stelato, the brand linked to Huawei and BAIC, has presented the G9 SUV with an electrically deployed roof that houses a bed for two people. The vehicle measures 5.21 m long, 2.05 m wide and 1.90 m high, with a 3.16 m wheelbase and five- or six-seat layouts. A kitchen module is integrated into the inner side of the side door and includes a fold-out table, an electric hob and an extendable tap. The V2L system supplies up to 6 kW to external appliances, while the range-extender version uses a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine as a generator. Prices in China start at about €57,400, and the roof, kitchen and awning package adds roughly €4,300. European sales have not been confirmed.

Tiffin Motorhomes will produce 84 Bob Tiffin Limited Edition Phaeton motorhomes to mark the 84th birthday of its founder, Bob Tiffin. The run is split into 42 coaches for model year 2027 and 42 for model year 2028. The model is offered in 40 RTH and 44 RTH floorplans on Tiffin's PowerGlide XC raised rail rear-engine diesel chassis with a 450-horsepower Cummins L9 engine. Each coach carries an embroidered signature of Bob Tiffin on the front seats and an individually numbered plaque. The company was founded in 1972.

A couple who have been travelling Europe by motorhome since 2023 spent about three months driving through Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Unlike Western Europe, the region has few motorhome stopovers and waste disposal points, and information on the Park4night app is often outdated. Campsite and motorhome stopover fees ranged from 5 to 20 euros per night. Greece and Croatia enforce strict parking rules. In Hungary, Serbia and North Macedonia the travellers cut their stays short because of water shortages.

A review has presented six four-wheel-drive expedition vehicles, including the KiraVan on a Mercedes-Benz Unimog chassis and the Earthroamer XV-HD based on a Ford F-750. The KiraVan has a 260 hp diesel engine, 550-litre fuel tanks and a range of about 3,000 km. The Unicat MD56c on a MAN TGS 6×6 chassis has two tanks with a combined capacity of 980 litres and costs just over one million euros. The Global Expedition Vehicles Pangea module is priced from 890,000 dollars without a chassis, while the Armadillo Conquistador costs between 1 and 1.5 million dollars. The KiraVan project has remained a test platform for over ten years, with no long-distance expeditions carried out.

Australian brand MDC has released the XT22HRT Off-Grid Extreme habitable caravan with a mass of 4,500 kg, designed for off-grid use. The price exceeds $165,000 excluding taxes and logistics. The 9.04-metre caravan features a 1,500 Ah self-heating battery, insulated pipes and heated tanks, plus two Truma VarioHeat gas heating systems. The chassis is galvanised with a lifetime warranty, and the running gear includes independent suspension on tandem axles and aggressive-tread tyres. The interior is divided into a bedroom, bathroom and living area with kitchen, while outside there is a 43-inch Smart TV, Dometic compressor fridge, Fusion audio system, almost 6-metre electric awning and a stainless-steel pull-out outdoor kitchen.

The Interior Ministry says sleeping in a parked car or motorhome is not an offence, but a vehicle cannot be registered as a home. Living without registration can bring a fine of up to 5,000 roubles.