Aptly named Atrium, the concept was born from the company’s desire to reshape the Class C RV category. So, Textino created something that lets passengers have a complete view of their surroundings at all times by adding a “viewing cockpit” at the rear of the van. Basically, it put a geometric bay window at the back of the vehicle that makes the outside blend seamlessly with the inside. On each side of the Atrium, Texino integrated also three portholes while the roof also has two skylights that let natural light fill up the whole interior space.
And if you’re worried about privacy, the company states that all the windows will have intelligent glass control, allowing the occupants to change the transparency when desired. The interior of this futuristic-looking concept also looks quite spacious.
According to Texino, that there will be enough room for a complete kitchen with a table that can be lowered to convert into a king-size bed. The camper will also have a large bathroom and plenty of storage options. Future plans to include a two-bed layout.
To conquer off-road excursions, the van will be equipped with 600W solar panels, a 200-gallon freshwater tank, a 50-gallon greywater tank, and a 25-gallon blackwater tank.
For now, Atrium only lives in the form of renderings. But the team has already started construction of this incredible RV. Visit the company’s website at texino.com/models/atrium for more information.
The Moon Unit is a 10-foot-wide by 8-foot-long by 88-inch-high side room shelter designed for add-on living space needed for the outdoor lifestyle and life on the road. Two models are offered for vehicle connectivity of varying heights: the RV Van Life and the Overlanding Editions. Together, they fit on nearly all vehicles including large SUVs, pickups, trucks with toppers, small camping trailers (including large tear drops, truck campers and Mercedes Benz Sprinter Class B’s) and other RVs of similar doorway dimensions.
A zip-on tailgate connector with a 6-foot-diameter stretch, plus the necessary straps and buckles, is included with the Moon Unit Overland Edition for both vehicle hatch and side doorways of passenger vans, tear drops and similar sized vehicles. For RVs with side doors from 88 to 104 inches tall, a connector with fitted fly panel and long adjustable straps secure the shelter to RV surfaces — including an over-roof attachment. A clip-on doorway with 15 neodymium magnets provide an instantly sealed van doorway connection, along with clipped straps for additional secured attachment.
The Moon Unit’s modular design is highly adaptive for changing climate conditions and living logistics. Three interchangeable zip-on panels and modular floor provide full enclosure both on and off the vehicle, allowing for use as a vehicle side room, a sun shade canopy, and a stand-alone tent and storage shelter while away from the campsite. For an amiable living environment in the hot sun and winds, Moon Unit uses a high strength 185T polyester ripstop outdoor UV 50-rated material that is breathable and reflective with a 98% opacity for a cooler interior. The modular door styles include large zippered screened windows for a well-ventilated interior and great viewing. The aerodynamic arc shape provides enhanced wind stability once setup, staked, and entry doors zipped closed. For more information, visit the company’s website at LetsGoAero.com.
“As the popularity of camping continues to rise — 8.3 million people went camping for the first time last year — campgrounds are increasingly booked up,” said The Dyrt CEO Kevin Long. “The increase in the number of campers over the past few years has been very noticeable anecdotally. Now we have real numbers that support what we’ve been seeing and explain why people are having more difficulty making reservations.”
According to the report, more than 50% of RVers book campsites at least a few months ahead. Overall, 53% of all campers reported booking at least a few weeks in advance.
The Dyrt looked at seven different types of camping — tent, RV, trailer, dispersed, cabin, backpacking and moto camping — and compared the difficulty of finding campsites from 2019 to 2021. Six of the seven more than doubled, led by trailer camping, which increased from 16% of campers reporting difficulty in 2019 to 55% last year.
With campgrounds full, campers have had to get creative. The report found that winter is the fastest-growing camping season, up 40% since 2019, and that dispersed camping, or free camping on public lands, doubled in 2021.
“The plant tour is simply the best way for our customers to see first-hand what makes a Lance a Lance,” said Bob Rogers, director of marketing. “Our plant tour video is our most-viewed video in the company’s history — and the only thing better than viewing on screen, is the in-person experience.”
Tours will be available starting in May and will be hosted on the first and third Wednesday of each month, unless otherwise stated. Those interested can register via the company’s website lancecamper.com/factory-tour/.
Grand Design President and CEO Don Clark explained that from its inception, Grand Design, a subsidiary of Winnebago Industries Inc. since October 2016, made a commitment to its customers, dealers and team members that it would continue to embrace quality and service as it grew.
“The facility … is a nearly 300,000-square-foot customer support center, he said. “We are able to almost double the size of our service, our parts and our warranty departments with this facility.”
Clark noted that in addition to the dedication of the customer service facility, there are also four new manufacturing and support facilities being constructed at the company’s Middlebury, Ind., complex.
“At the completion of our growth initiative, Grand Design have more than two million square feet of manufacturing and support all within Elkhart County,” he said.
The Mars Space X Air is a hard-wearing off-road camper that inflates into a comfortable, well-equipped base camp, according to a report by New Atlas.
Mars steps further into fully automated camping by installing fold-out lids, inflatable frame tubes and folding stabilizer legs that all operate at the push of a few controls on a dedicated setup panel. The convenience continues at camp, where the Space Air X offers indoor and outdoor entertainment, a double-sized outdoor kitchen, sleeping for a family of six and a large al fresca lounge for up to eight.
In designing an inflatable version of its Space X dual-fold camper trailer, Victoria-based Mars Campers decided to make it even more convenient than the average inflatable. That meant automating not only the inflation process but as much of the setup as possible. It all happens in a dedicated, neatly labeled control panel that allows users to hit buttons and flip switches to open the front and rear lids, fold down the four stabilizer legs, and inflate both the camper tent and the awning. Mars calls the Space X Air Australia’s first auto-opening, auto-stabilizing and auto-inflating dual-fold camper and uses a low-noise pressure system to keep the tent comfortably inflated at camp.
The new design debuts a fresh color palette for better readability, refined controls for faster access to vital information, an improved ‘Favorites’ feature and a creative way to customize RV controls for each step of a family’s adventure.
OneControl features a new white-and black-color palette with vibrant detail colors. “An app’s color matters, especially in bright sunlight,” explained Mark Woloszyk, vice president of technology and product development. “Darker colors cause a phone’s screen to reflect what’s around it.
“A light background is easier to use outdoors when operating major RV devices, like room slides and awnings, which is exactly where OneControl has to perform.” OneControl also includes upgrades to existing products and features based on user feedback.
According to Briton Moffit, product manager for safety and security, one of the company’s most popular aftermarket products is the Tire Linc Tire Pressure Monitoring System. “Users said they want more than notifications; they also want the comfort of seeing that things are right,” he said. To deliver this experience and avoid driver distraction, Lippert created a new interface that serves critical information quickly and efficiently. The primary purpose of the redesign was to provide better support for the entire RVing experience.
“Usability and design upgrades are just the start,” added Owen Resh, director of product development. “At the request of our Lippert Scouts community, we’re bringing back ‘Favorites’ — and we’re making it better. With Favorites, users gain quick access to devices, but the devices they need while setting up an RV are different than the ones they need while camping.
“To solve this, we created Modes. Modes allows users to make more than one list of Favorites and arrange the order in which the devices appear. They get the best of both worlds — instant access and personalization,” he added.
America’s Outdoor Recreation Act will go a long way in making these sustainable improvements to federal campgrounds and improve the experiences of current and future RVers. The most desired improvements are longer and wider sites, additional RV hookups (electric, water, sewer), improvement of the day-to-day upkeep of campgrounds, ability to accommodate EV and other future technologies, cell/Wi-Fi service for safety purposes and to access reservations and rentals, and more “RV-friendly” campsites to accommodate the overwhelming demand.
Importantly, the bill also provides gateway community assistance for outdoor recreation businesses and campgrounds, responsibly extends shoulder seasons and brings much needed broadband to front-country campgrounds to address safety issues and provide technologies that current and future park visitors require
For the time being, though, the Real Barbie RV is home to Ariana Dewing, a U.S.-born professional ballet dancer. It is her dream home, one she imagined herself traveling as an adult once she became a ballerina. Ironically, it came to be only because Ariana’s husband, Eric, had run out of options to convince her to give vanlife a try.
In early 2020, a short while after the world had come to a near-complete stop because of the international health crisis and the first wave of COVID lockdowns, Ariana and Eric decided to hit the road. They owned a 35-foot Damon Daybreak motorhome from Thor Motor Coach, and he promised he would turn it into a home she would be comfortable in on the road. That meant pink was a must, since it was her favorite color.
In just four weeks, Eric completely transformed the “boring” and bland RV into something right out of fantasy land. Eric works as a prop master and set designer, and while Ariana never details his skills beyond saying he can “make anything,” it’s easy to see that he’s good with his hands. The couple did most of the work themselves, thus cutting down costs: the initial remodel cost them just a hair more than $2,000.
The exclusive, behind-the-scenes video tour delivers a peek into the craftsmanship, innovative design and advanced engineering that are hallmarks of the brand, according to the company.
“At American Coach, we pride ourselves on an old-fashioned way of building quality luxury coaches and take the ‘slow roll’ approach to the production process. Our products are very custom and complex; therefore, it takes right around 12 weeks from start to finish to fully complete an American Coach Tradition, Dream, or Eagle unit,” said Doug Miller, product manager for REV Recreation Group Inc.’s Class A products. REV Recreation Group, Inc., is a subsidiary of REV Group Inc.
The factory tour videos take viewers through the key construction stages of an American Coach — from its industry-leading dual I-beam Liberty Bridge foundation that provides strength and stability to the vacuum-bonded process that creates exceptionally strong and durable walls and ceilings to the multi-step paint process that makes American Coach RVs shine.
To watch the factory tour videos, visit AmericanCoach.com, Select the “About” tab, click on “Factory Tours,” and provide an email address.