Everyone knows that if you want to enjoy the silence of the outdoors on a regular basis, you build or buy a small cabin in the middle of nowhere, away from all the hustle and bustle.
But going down that route means you’re tied down to just one place, so what can you do to combine the small cabin in the woods with the ability to go anywhere your heart desires?
Well, the folks at TruckHouse, who specialize in turn-key drop-in campers, might have the answer with their new BCR model that sits on top of an American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) Prospector XL, which is a modified and beefed-up version of the Ram 3500 4x4 truck.
With a vacuum-infused carbon monocoque body that's mated to the truck chassis via a carbon fiber reinforced torsion-free mounting system, the BCR drop-in house features a so-called HiPR Foils aerodynamic system on the upper part of the cabin that allows air to pass through the sides of the construction, reducing drag and improving efficiency at high speeds.
Gallery: TruckHouse BCR camper
“The system is similar to air curtains used on most modern vehicles to control the air around the front wheels, in this case, we can control air spilling off the sides of the cab over,” said Dave Harriton, CEO and founder of AEV.
The TruckHouse BCR is still in the prototype stage, with deliveries set to begin in the spring of 2024, but customers can place a $10,000 deposit to reserve their luxury house on wheels.
The final price hasn't been set yet, considering it's still in development, but TruckHouse says that its first product, the Toyota Tacoma-based BCT that came out in 2021, had a price of around $350,000, vehicle included.
For this kind of money, owners of the new BCR will get an open-space interior with a standing height of up to six feet and six inches, a U-shaped dinette at the rear, and room for up to four adults. The galley includes an induction cooktop, a convection oven/microwave, a spacious sink, and a marine-grade two-drawer fridge/freezer combo. There's also a fully equipped office for remote work on the go.
Powering everything when no mains supply is available is a lithium battery bank that's managed through a solid-state digital switching platform. As for the toilet, the maker of the BCT offers three options for the self-contained luxury mobile home: cassette, dry flush, or composting.
The four-season off-grid camper is set in motion by the Ram 3500-based AEV Prospector XL, which can be ordered in either regular or crew cab configurations and features 40-inch tires, a stamped steel front bumper that can accommodate a winch with a capacity of up to 20,000 pounds, a 3-inch suspension lift, and a raised air intake, among other off-road-oriented mods.
“It is about getting our customers further, further down the trail, further from others, and further from the monotony of daily life,” said TruckHouse CEO and co-founder Matt Linder. “The self-contained nature of the BCR allows our customer to travel with confidence even when there is no destination, timeframe, or itinerary.”
TruckHouse was founded in 2019 in Sparks, Nevada, and launched its first product, the Toyota Tacoma-based BCT drop-in camper in 2021, which was inspired by the compact 4x4 campers of the 1980s.
