The camping industry is on the threshold of e-mobility: Electric versions are already available for two brands, and other manufacturers are busy working on prototypes. Battery drive is also ideal for campers, because it saves a lot of space, but above all you can travel emission-free and with a clear conscience.
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So far, at least three energy variants have been used in parallel in the camper: gas for cooking, electricity for the light, diesel for driving. With an electric drive, gas bombs and fuel tanks can fly out!
The Pössl e-Vanster can refill the battery with up to 100 kW charging power. From 0 to 80 percent takes at least 45 minutes. It’s not lightning fast, but okay.
Ford is already delivering the first electric Transit. It shouldn’t be long before there’s camping equipment for it.
Pössl e-Vanster is said to have a range of up to 330 km
The campervan specialist Pössl already has a campervan with an electric drive in its range. The e-Vanster builds on the Citroën e-Spacetourer. Up to 400 units are to be equipped as early as 2022. Price: from 58,499 euros – less the e-car subsidy of 7,500 euros. The e-Vanster comes in the basic equipment (without cooking box, etc.) just over 50,000 euros.
The small coach has 136 hp and is available with two different battery sizes. The small battery with 50 kWh should enable a range of 224 km, the large with 75 kWh even 330 km.
The Mercedes EQV deserves the honor of being the first electric van with a camper option. The outfitter Sortimo from Switzerland offers a camping box for it.
Although the communication on the company website is still very reserved, there are already ready-made e-Vansters to buy. For example, a dealer in southern Swabia has a brand new vehicle on offer for 57,599 euros. However, they are probably not yet delivered everywhere. The Melzer car dealership writes: from August 15, 2022.
Sortimo offers camping box for Mercedes EQV
But other camper manufacturers are already planning to use the electric drive. The Swiss outfitter Sortimo offers a very light conversion kit, also known as a camping box, for the Mercedes EQV electric bus. This also includes solar panels with at least 400 Wh. For the batteries with either 60 or 90 kWh capacity, this is only a drop of energy, but when the light and refrigerator are stationary on the campsite, the solar power helps to protect the batteries.
The Sortimo extension is available for the long and short version of the EQV. It includes a pop-up roof with a bed for two people, as well as a second bed and a small kitchen in the rear of the cabin. A cool box and various storage compartments are also part of the installation, which is easily accessible from the tailgate.
Sortimo is equipping the Mercedes EQV electric bus with a foldable bed so that several people can sleep on board.
The mattress can be folded, then the rear seats are usable. The sleeping and kitchen module together costs the equivalent of around 5000 euros, the pop-up roof 9500 euros. Without the subsidy, the EQV costs from EUR 69,588 – including the interior of the camper, the price starts at around EUR 67,500.
VW ID.Buzz in camping version as good as safe
The electric minibus VW ID.Buzz will be available to order from May 2022. It is already agreed that there will also be a California camper version. The cheapest version of the electric bus with rear-wheel drive should cost from around 55,000 euros. The California version should be 20,000 euros more. At the end of 2021, VW announced that the camper buzz would be launched around 2025. Further details are not yet known. In any case, a lifting roof in the 4.49 meter long buzz should become standard.
Xbus: The right module for every type of use
The company Electric Brands from Schleswig-Holstein has come up with a compact concept: The Xbus is reminiscent of a transformer station on wheels. And it is a transformer: the chassis can be transformed into various different models using a modular design. The Xbus is available as a bus, as a small construction site dumper, as a convertible, as a pickup, as a station wagon of several variants – or as a camper. All have four-wheel drive.
Another prototype: Xbus from Schleswig-Holstein. The minivan with an electric motor is available with various modules, and it will also be available as a camper van – from 2023.
The technical basis is a 10 kWh battery that is supposed to carry a range of 200 km. Or optionally a 30 kWh battery for a range of up to 600 km. However, the cruising speed should be more country roads than motorway speed, considering the steep front of the Xbus. The camping module I and II includes a sleeping area for two, a pop-up roof for working with standing height, a mini-kitchen with a sink, cool box and stove as well as a TV screen. A solar roof is also included.
Electric Brands specifies the maximum speed as 100 km/h. The bus is 3.94 meters long, but weighs just 1.6 tons including the crew. In the version with a small battery, the Xbus camper should cost from 29,480 euros. Configuration and ordering is already possible, delivery is planned for 2023.
