Volkswagen California Beach Concept rethinks campers with inflatable modules

After the summer season, many motorhomes, caravans and camper vans remain unused, and the Augsburg district faces a shortage of suitable parking spaces for winter storage. The Augsburger Allgemeine published an overview of available options and tips for preparing vehicles for prolonged inactivity.

Promobil tested a Mercedes V300d towing a Hobby De Luxe 460 UFe caravan on a trip from Stuttgart to South Tyrol. The journey to Caravan Park Sexten took eight hours due to a traffic jam on the Fernpass. The 237 hp all-wheel-drive vehicle towed a caravan weighing around 1,300 kg; average fuel consumption was just over 10 l/100 km while driving at 105 km/h on German motorways and crossing the Fernpass and Brenner passes. The lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control were noted to work accurately with the trailer.

At the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, Bimobil unveiled the new EX 270 expedition motorhome based on a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 cab-chassis. The vehicle measures 580 cm in length and 298 cm in height. The module offers three floor plans, sleeps up to four, and includes a 100-L fresh water tank, 67-L gray water tank, 180-Ah dual battery pack, and Truma Combi D heater. Gross vehicle weight is 4,000 kg with 600 kg payload. The show price was €259,769.

Kompanja from Brühl presented new camper van models at the Caravan Salon: the EINS Moto based on the Renault Trafic, and the ZWEI and ZWEI-L based on the Citroën Jumper. The EINS Moto allows a single person to load a motorcycle such as a BMW R 1300 GS into the interior via a rail with integrated winch; conversion takes ten minutes. The ZWEI and ZWEI-L feature a patented slide-out bathroom that manually extends 30 cm, a kitchen with a 70-litre compressor fridge, and a choice of gas or induction hob. The ZWEI-L measures 5.99 m, the ZWEI 5.41 m, and the EINS 5.08 m. The modular design allows retrofitting to older vehicles.

Malibu is promoting its new Relax 640 LE R camper van based on the Fiat Ducato with a starting price of €57,200, but this price does not include a mandatory equipment package. With one of three packages (Active, Ambition or Exclusive), the minimum price is €65,040. In the base Active configuration, the vehicle comes in white with a 140 hp engine and manual transmission.

Professional driver Tobias Wagner, known as Elektrotrucker, will start from Hanover on 20 September in a converted Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 truck with a Bliss Mobil living module. The approximately 28,000-mile route will cross more than 30 countries on five continents over about a year, with no more than 80 charging stops planned.