Coolest Off-Road Camper Vans for Summer Adventures

An RV is at home on the open road, but even that asphalt path is too tame for more adventurous owners. It's supposed to be recreational, after all, so why limit it to commuter thoroughfares and cozy campground loops? If you're willing to put some time, effort, and modifications into a camper van — and maybe give it some ground clearance and a winch to get it out of trouble — the blacktop doesn't have to be a boundary for memorable journeys and bucket list trips. We took a look at some of the more adventurous camper van offerings out there and found a few that are ready to make any terrain feel like home. 

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The $202,401 Revel might be aspirational for many, but it's an incredibly nice dream. This four-wheel-drive van is built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van chassis with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 rated at 325 pounds-per-foot of torque. The entire RV is built around a 140-cubic-foot gear garage with a power lift bed for adventuring equipment — giving it storage greater than the total cargo space of most SUVs.

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The Revel also has a full kitchen with a 2.5-cubic-foot refrigerator, a standard 200-watt solar power system, a diesel-powered heater, two beds' worth of sleep space, and a magnificent view out of generously proportioned windows.

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Automotive Designs & Fabrication doesn't want to tell you how to live your life. If you want all rubber diamond-plate flooring in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter because you plan to track in sand and mud, go ahead and get it. If you want to put ladders, gear boxes, roof racks, and fog lamps, that's fine, too.

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For something more than just a place to put your kayaks, there are a lot of other options to choose from. You can install beds, full kitchens, air conditioning units, refrigerators, dinettes, wood paneling, and more.

The Ford E-series vans (also known as the Econoline) aren't dead — they're just being repurposed. This beast of a camper van beefs up a Ford E-350 with a roof rack, 4X4 packages, off-road tires, blackout rims, step bars, solar panels, a ladder, and a 4G wireless booster.

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You're going to have to place an order for a custom build, but it will be worth it. By lifting the suspension for ground clearance, Advanture adds a water system, audio system, kitchen, redwood finishes, LED lighting, a diesel heater, full water setup, and a portable toilet for all of your overland needs.

Sportsmobile will hook you up with a converted Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Dodge Promaster, or Mercedes Metris if you'd like, but you're going to want the "classic" Ford E-series van body that looks as if it emerged from the wilderness after 30 years of hibernation. The classic gives owners jacked-up ground clearance, a roof ladder, a cow-catcher bull bar, gear case, performance shocks, front and rear sway bar, floating rear axle, 10,000 pounds of towing capacity, and a warranty on top of the factory warranty.

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The penthouse top gives you plenty of room to move around the back should you decide to pack it with comforts rather than gear.

Oregon-based Outside Van is a fan of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter as a base, but tricks it out ever so slightly to make it a more comfortable overnight stay.

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Overhead cabinets stay out of the way, and a three-panel bed that provides a whole lot of sleeping room is raised and folds up neatly to make space for bikes and other gear. While Outside Van offers other conversions with more kitchen and cabinet amenities, this one is built to be as functional as possible. No, there aren't water hookups or cooktops, but there are window shades and a 10-speed roof vent to keep it from getting hot inside on summer nights.

The Ford Transit doesn't have the classic look of the E-series, but Colorado Camper Van gives it some distinct advantages of its own. A large pop-up roof creates a lofty sleep space up above, which leaves all the room below for storage and more camper-like amenities.

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Starting at $21,750, Colorado Camper Van will install full interior insulation, sound dampening, finished walls, interior lights, power outlets, a full kitchen (with sink, cabinet, and fridge), a high-powered fan with thermostat, 3-inch bed pads, convertible bench seats, and a portable toilet. A larger van brings the price to $37,080; options including heat, solar panels, wood interior, and a shower station are extra.

You can get a TerraCamper Mercedes van, but the Volkswagen T6-based Terock 2.0 is particularly impressive. It has a 148-horsepower diesel engine and four-wheel drive that makes it suitable for rugged terrain, and floor rails and camper boxes make it a durable cargo carrier.

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At more than $130,000, it's best to get as much use out of this camper as you can, so it's a good thing it's also built for outdoor living. A rear seat folds into a bed, there's a double bed in its pop-up roof, a kitchen area, and dedicated storage for a portable toilet, as well as an outdoor shower that connects to the water tank, a slide-out fridge just inside the camper's sliding door, and a removable camp stove for outdoor cooking. Then those floor rails make it easy to convert back into a passenger van.

Yes, a Jeep Wrangler can totally become a camper van. If it can stretch out into four-door "unlimited" mode and put on a hard top, this pop-up top from Ursa Minor Vehicles is just the next step up.

While the pop-up roof alone starts at $9,050, it's the more camperlike features that raise its price to more than $17,565. Add ons include a roof rack, LED lighting, power outlets, a solar charging system, awnings, and paint to match.

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The Dodge Promaster is an increasingly popular option for van conversion, and Vanlife's Promaster is an example of what you can do with its minimal space. Vanlife customer Mike built himself a near perfect biking shelter by starting with 300 watts of Renogy Eclipse solar panels to power a Battleborn lithium battery, a Bluetooth controller for the power source, and a plug-in option for camp sites.

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Also showing the possibilities are LED lighting in the roof, a kitchen behind the driver's seat and a removable bed in the back. There is also an Isotherm 12-volt refrigerator, a diesel heater, interior power outlets for devices, interior bike mounts, maple cabinets, and room for a queen-sized bed and portable toilet.

Typically, when you see a Volkswagen Transporter van converted to a camper or even hooked up with a pop-up top, Westfalia is behind it. This company has been converting VW vans for generations and manufactures a whole bunch of the equipment necessary for other modifiers to do so. The Club Joker line, especially the City, is its most modern (and tallest) take on the concept.

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Under Westfalia's trademark pop-up roof, the Club Joker City manages to give owners a rear open bathroom with a fixed toilet and shower. It also sleeps up to three people in a pop-up roof bed and convertible seat bed. While you can get it for just over $75,000, a four-wheel-drive version will cost around $100,000.

In Australia or the U.K., Volkswagen will sell you its smallest van already in camper form with an Alltrack package with underbody protection, 17-inch wheels, and a starting price of about $40,034. Having one shipped over from Australia brings a saving that make it not completely out of the question.

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This five-passenger van is relatively tiny, but has rear seats that convert to a double bed for when a tent just won't do. Beyond that, amenities are admittedly spare. There are folding tables on the front seat backs, window shades for comfort, and options including a tailgate tent and an outdoor table and chairs.

The Bayside is almost limousine-worthy. True to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter it's built on, the Bayside keeps its residents behind tinted windows and gives them the full 28-color Mercedes palate to choose from. It also includes safety features such as a load-adaptive electronic stability, cross wind assist, highbeam assist, and lane-keeping assist. It's equipped with four-wheel drive for more rugged adventures and a hitch and some towing capacity for excess stuff.

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The Bayside also pampers passengers. The full bathroom always has hot water, the passenger seating is Maybach-style leather, overhead and floor lights mark the way, and entertainment features include an HD television, satellite and antenna hookups on the roof, rear speaker upgrades, a TV in the bathroom door, and a wireless headphone system.

The Germans are just excellent at turning Volkswagen vans into Transporter campers. While it's cool to slap a fiberglass camper onto a chassis and call it a "camper van," Fischer Wohnmobile likes preserving the actual van. There are short- and long-wheelbase versions starting at just under $27,786, but amenities hike the price quickly.

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Integrated floor rails, removable bucket seats, a removable foldout bed, and a popup roof convert this T6 from an everyday six-person van to a camper van that sleeps four easily. The kitchen appliances and cabinets stretch from behind the cabinets all the way to the back, which means a dual-burner stove, refrigerator, and portable toilet can stay tucked away no matter which configuration a driver uses. There's even an outdoor shower that stretches out of the back.

Because a camper van doesn't always need to be the size of a moving van, Schwabenmobil drew inspiration from the Sunshine State and used the smaller Volkswagen Crafter.

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The surprisingly roomy Florida Tango even wedges a full-size or two twin-sized beds. How? Well, the dinette is in the front and involves the front passenger seats and a minibar. A refrigerator, a high-capacity battery, and a removable toilet are just some of the amenities that make the tiny dinette worth the sacrifice.

Yet another camper built onto Volkswagen's popular T5 and T6 transporter platforms, the Piccolo can be built with 4Motion four-wheel drive, a snorkel, all-terrain tires, and underbody protection just in case you need to ford a river before bunking down for the night.

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While the Piccolo comes in a number of packages ranging from around $50,000 to nearly $110,000 and ranging in capacity from two to four people, a number of the Piccolo's features remain the same: There's a pop-up roof, a kitchen area with slide-out stove and sink, and a whole lot of room for storage in the back without expanding the van's original footprint.

For luxury built on the decidedly non-luxe Dodge Promaster, the Zion has 42 cubic feet of storage space, a roof-mounted air conditioning system, an instant hot water system, and solar charging.

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There are full sofas, lots of cabinetry, an HD TV, ample windows and — rarest of all in a conversion van — a permanent bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower. It'll set you back $163,660, but you'll get to live in a camper van that in no way looks like a camper van.

You don't always have to buy your camper van from a third-party fabricator. Starting at about $70,000, Mercedes-Benz will hook up one of its Sprinter vans with its Marco Polo camper package. You won't get rugged four-wheel drive, but there's an AMG package for extra power and performance.

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Partnering with Westfalia, which has already worked wonders for Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz outfits Marco Polo vans with rugs, fold-out tables, pop-up tops, cupboards, window shades, leather seating, a kitchenette with a functional two-burner gas stove, a sink, a refrigerator, and numerous power outlets.

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