Iceland’s Artic Trucks are the makers of the most capable all-terrain trucks in the world, designed to cross the rugged and unforgiving volcanic interior of the company’s island home. Now imagine taking all of those capabilities, putting them into a Ford F-550, and bolting a fancy studio apartment on it like a backpack. Actually, now you don’t have to use your puny imagination, because KRUG Expeditions did just that with its Arctic Trucks-modified Bedrock XT2.
Ford SuperDuty-based expedition vehicles are definitely a thing, promising the ability to cross the world mixed with most of the comforts of home. Most famously there’s Colorado-based EarthRoamer, which charges about $730,000 and up for its SuperDuty-based LT1. Most infamously there’s the $1 million 27North Ascender 30A that David found abandoned on a trail.
Slightly cheaper than both of those, at least in advertised price, is the latest offering from Austria’s KRUG Expedition. For a comparatively reasonable price, the Bedrock XT2 is designed to give a certain type of consumer everything they’d need in an expedition vehicle. While I wonder if some of these vehicles will ever come to market, this one has a few things going for it and is destined for American shores.
Iceland’s Arctic Trucks Are Legit
If you’ve ever seen a picture of a truck with impossibly huge tires crisscrossing Grenland or climbing over a Glacier above the Arctic Circle, there’s a decent chance it’s a truck made by Arctic Trucks. The company goes back to the ’80s in Iceland when its main gig was modifying 4×4 trucks and vans to accept the larger tires necessary to cross certain terrain.
This quickly turned into a business modifying vehicles for use by rescue squads and researchers. From the company’s history:
In 1997, Arctic Trucks was commissioned to provide two Arctic Trucks AT44’s built on the Land Cruiser 80 Series platform to support a scientific expedition in Antarctica scanning glaciers. The vehicles were also used for transporting personnel and equipment to the high plateau for a research drilling project. In 1999, three AT44 vehicles became the first vehicles to achieve crossing of the Greenland ice cap, and even drove back just for good measure.
I did a project where we sent Chris Harris and Mike Spinelli to Iceland to drive across it in a Raptor and, of course, we had a guide to make sure they didn’t die. That guide was driving a big ol’ Arctic Truck. The company is probably the world’s foremost builder of these kinds of trucks.
Since then, Arctic Trucks has expanded into North America and offers an F-550-based AT44. That’s what KRUG is using for its truck.
Arctic Truck’s mission has always been to build vehicles that allow customers to explore without limits,” said Randy Hasson, COO of Arctic Trucks North America. “We see KRUG as a natural partner in building high-quality, well-engineered mobility solutions.
So who is KRUG?
This Isn’t KRUG’s First Big Overlander
Based on the Austrian side of the Alps, KRUG Expedition builds the European-style truck-based mega overlanders we generally don’t see here in the United States. Currently, the company sells the Project Rhino and Rhino XL, both massive overlanders built on the Mercedes-Benz Atego truck chassis.
The company is relatively newer, having only started building trucks about a decade ago, but they’ve actually built a number of Rhino and Rhino XL vehicles, as you can see in this video:
Up to this point, the vehicles were not for sale in America, likely because the trucks they’re based on are not sold here. Do you know what is sold here in large quantities? The Ford F-Series.
The Bedrock XT2 Is An Arctic Truck-Based Camper
For an Austrian company, they sure nailed what an American camper should look like. It’s almost too much, which is why it reads as American. It’s huge. The AT44-based F550 gets a 176-inch wheelbase, six wheels, and stands 90 inches tall. While the extra axle isn’t driven, the company says it reduces ground pressure by 25%.
Arctic Trucks re-engineered the truck and gave it an 8-link rear air suspension that can be controlled from the cab but tried to minimize lift “to retain near-stock suspension geometry and ultra-low center mass for stability.” A low center of gravity is important when off-roading with a giant camper up top as this is specifically designed to go places where the road is anything but flat and straight. Aiding with traction is a semi-automatic tire inflation system and an optional central tire inflation system similar to what came on the original Humvees.
KRUG also mentions this:
The subframe of each Bedrock XT2 powerhouse further allows for users to decouple the module body from the vehicle chassis, which ensures that the module is not damaged when off-road driving results in twisting, heavy loads being placed on the chassis frame.
I’m not 100% sure how that works, but I think it allows the sleeping area to articulate more when stressed.
It’s Built Like A Fancy Cooler Inside
KRUG’s living areas, which it calls a “module,” are constructed sort of like a fancy cooler with layers of reinforced composite panels that are sandwiched together. This is designed to keep the inside temperate no matter what it’s like outside as well as reduce condensation.
While it’s big and tough outside, it definitely gives a minimalist Airbnb vibe on the inside, with a big king-size bed in the back. There’s also a dinette that can be turned into a sleeping area quickly for guests.
In its current form, the kitchen area is fairly straightforward, but KRUG seems willing to customize it however you like. It looks like there’s an induction stovetop built into the kitchen, which makes sense, as well as a fancy Miele microwave. The Bedrock XT2 is fully electric and combines a 1450 wp solar panel array up top with a big 23 kWh hour battery pack. Heating comes from a Truma Combi diesel-powered air-heating system, though a hydronic heating system underfloor can be added and a giant air-conditioner can also be optioned.
What if you’re going far offroad? There’s a 118-gallon water tank built into the truck to supply the kitchen and the bathroom. What of the bathroom? Everyone’s always curious about what you can get on a rig like this, so here you go:
The truck’s pressurized water system has a bunch of filters, just in case you’re somewhere with sketchy water.
And, finally, if you’re really a chef…
For culinary enthusiasts, an outdoor kitchen can be integrated into the underfloor storage boxes, offering a convenient and enjoyable cooking experience in the great outdoors
Yes, please.
It’s Cheaper, But It’s Not Cheap
These kinds of vehicles are in an entirely different cost class from your typical slide-in truck camper, so it’s hard to comprehend what value is, but at a starting price of $690,000 the Bedrock XT2 starts at about $40,000 less than an EarthRoamer LT1, and about $60,000 less than the 27North.
As with all RVs and Campers, it’s not the base price that’s important but how much money you end up spending to make this your own home-away-from-home. Plus, you can’t show up to the campground and get shown up by your neighbors. I heard the Rubbles put a Nomadic Cooling X3 Air Conditioner in their Bedrock XT2…
If you want to go really nuts you can get the $2.1 million Pangea Sky Lounge, so by comparison this is fairly conservative. If this is something you’re into you can go over to Krug’s new US site and order one of your own. If you do order one please tell them we sent you so maybe they’ll let us borrow the demo copy for a weekend.
Preach on, brother! Yes, I fucking hate rich people too. They either spend their money on dumb shit or not at all. And it’s never enough. A billion isn’t good enough, gotta make ten, then 20…
Give me a few mil, I will never work another day in my life and be completely happy.
I’m reminded of the joke that camping is,spending money to live like a homeless person. I generally describe “Overlandng” as high faluting car camping with a social media feed.
I am not opposed to campers but I see them as an alternative to a tent, not a palazzo on wheels.
The interior is beautiful. Holy shit.
I want to retire and buy one of these. Just drive all over the world.
I guess if you are spending almost 3/4 of a million dollars on an “offroad RV”, you want for very little. Buy a beach house instead? This person probably has one already. A plane. Got one of those too. Just buy whatever you want.
I’m not so big on a vacation cabin on a property forcing me to go to the same spot every time I want a week away; not to mention the threat of vandalism/arson during the 48 weeks/year when I’m not there. For this reason, a vehicle like this appeals to me. But $700,000 for an off-roader with an undriven tag axle? Also, overlanding is about blending in with your environment and local population.
The more time I spend camping, the more I appreciate a discrete, smaller camper/van that you could leave as a basecamp for backpacking trips.
“Overlanding” suggests, to me, a love of looking at and being in the outdoors.
This is a sterile box with small windows placed high on the sides. Seems to sort of defeat the purpose.
if it helps you, one company, is out of business because no one is buying this shit anymore. Covid was the golden years for RV sales, and those days are long gone I think.
https://ktvz.com/news/business/2024/04/24/bend-off-road-overland-vehicle-maker-earthcruiser-shuts-down-cites-changing-market-dynamics-economic-issues/
I lost any and all interest in campers when I was in 6th grade. We had a 28 foot Layton camper and as a kid I thought it was really cool that you could haul a house in wheels around wherever you wanted. Well… one year we decided to take a camping trip down to Florida. We went to one of the state parks there. It was near but not that close to the beach and required walking about half a mile to get to it. The campground was in a swamp and the amount of mosquitos was insane. So we get there and Dad gets a message from work on his pager to call them. So after going to the pay phone ( this was a long time ago) it turns out he was needed back at the office. So he left. Me, my mom and bother were stuck in the camper for over a week with no car. It was so hot that by the time it was 10:00AM it was unbearable. The camp ground had no pool, no bathrooms, no showers… no nothing. And by the 2nd day it started to pour rain. And it rained for a solid 4 days. So for 4 days we were stuck in this camper with nothing to do. What they don’t tell you is that these things STINK. You put a few people in there for a few days and the bathroom stinks, the kitchen stinks and so too does everything else. It stopped raining on day 5 but that also meant there were even MORE bugs. We would go outside doused in Off, would come back in absolutely covered in bites.
That I think was the last time I spent much time in a camper.
Wow, that’s some BS about your dad and the pager. He should have tossed it in the swamp.
How can anything this big, heavy, and presumably top-heavy be a serious overlanding rig? I’m no expert, but I’m assuming you’d be limited to some comparatively tame trails that a more mainstream rig would also be able to handle.
It’s pretty but can it Rubicon?
Yabba dabba doo that’s a lotta ribs for a lifestyle statement piece.
“The subframe of each Bedrock XT2 powerhouse further allows for users to decouple the module body from the vehicle chassis, which ensures that the module is not damaged when off-road driving results in twisting, heavy loads being placed on the chassis frame.”
Matt, you can see this in action VERY briefly in the video you linked at 1:40. You can see sprung rods underneath. Basically the entire living module is isolated by double acting spring mounts, like body mounts on steroids. You can see it in action at 0:40 ish where the frame is articulating separately from the living module. It’s a pretty common setup for this class of rig.
even a $250k tray/flat bed Fuso or Isuzu will have this spring loaded decoupling. With the relatively light composite body the most usual I’ve seen are some type of triangulation. This is a whole nother level.
Its always the Germans…or in this case the Austrians. Seriously though, I live in prime overland country and I can tell you that every time I see one of these its an old German couple. It’s my opinion that anything that requires a winch to change the tire is too much vehicle to see the things you really want to see.
I ran into one of those large Man Krugs in the middle of nowhere western Colorado some years back. I told my wife “I guarantee it’s an old German couple”, but it turned out to be two middle-aged guys from Norway. The Krug was amazing, but boy was it big – especially for some of the tighter trails you’ll find in Colorado.
Don’t forget the Swiss too actually.
I just got back from Albania, and in case you were worried, the silliness of Overlanding rigs is global. At every tourist hot spot, I saw $500k+ monsters like these parked in bus spots while the drivers ordered lamb lamb and lager.
While Albania is a relatively poor European country, it is hard to get between any two points without being on a paved road. It also hosts a seemingly endless number of nice hotels starting at 40 euros a night.
But how do you match a hotel to your Stanley Tumber?
$600k gets you a pretty nice airplane, no? That still leaves $90k to spend on off-grid luxury tiny house rentals…
Oddly enough I just watched the Drivetribe coverage of the two Arctic Trucks that went to the magnetic north pole with Top Gear. They do some impressive work, and it’s good to see them succeeding.
Or….hear me out here…you could just buy a condo on the water in St. Pete.
Not to totally poo-poo the idea, but this truck is silly.
Ew! Condo Bylaws!
Research, my man. Research.
Not everyone is a Sally. When you have $600k to drop all willy nilly for a toy, you become the bylaws.
Eww! Florida!