StoryTeller Overland buys GXV

[Victorian]

Details on that would be very interesting. Any idea how they were mounted?

I have seen 2 of their Unimog campers in the last couple years with catastrophic subframe failures.... Both where repaired by an outside company in Canada.

 

[lucilius]

Good!

GXV put out some fairly shady stuff and their customer service was horrendous!!

My friend had a Turtle, and the box inside was all nice and fancy, but climbing under the truck, it looked like a 10 year old did all the welding and fabrication.

I also heard several rumors they were in legal trouble because all of the one piece boxes on their "Adventure Trucks" were cracking, substantially, and that they had stopped production on them because of it. Notice all the adventure truck owners have disappeared and arent posting anything here anymore??? Just saying!

Intriguing?!

 

[lucilius]

I have seen 2 of their Unimog campers in the last couple years with catastrophic subframe failures.... Both where repaired by an outside company in Canada.

Hopefully there were no casualties. Any details or perspective on the type of repairs needed? One would think attaching a box to a unimog chassis is more or less routine these days.

 

[Victorian]

Hopefully there were no casualties. Any details or perspective on the type of repairs needed? One would think attaching a box to a unimog chassis is more or less routine these days.

I was asked for a repair procedure by the company that was commissioned to fix it. It looked like the subframe was very different than what I have seen on other Unimogs (usually Mercedes factory mounts are used). This led to a separation and massive damage on the floor.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Details on that would be very interesting. Any idea how they were mounted?

I'm not sure...

Friend that gave me info is an Ex GXV Turtle owner and i deem him completely reliable and honest.

From what i've been told, the Adventure Truck owners with issues were basically told they would be either repaired or compensated if they kept hush.

Obviously no way to confirm above accusations, but 2 that i followed on IG have deleted their accounts so thats a bit bizarre.

There were 2 on here i havent seen post in a long time.

The whole thing is quite bizarre.

BUT... After their response to me damn near begging them to sell me some panels, with cash in hand, being completely ignored over and over, it doesnt even remotely surprise me

 

[rruff]

BUT... After their response to me damn near begging them to sell me some panels, with cash in hand, being completely ignored over and over, it doesnt even remotely surprise me

I think it's a good cautionary tale regarding companies who work in this niche market (or any niche market). Many are loath to pay for real engineering or R&D... they simply can't afford it like a larger company. Even if they had some good designs in the beginning, management and staff might have changed considerably in recent times. Most people simply don't appreciate the thousands of details that must be addressed, analyzed, tested, etc. So many ways to screw up. And some of these are not possible to fix without starting over. Like the box itself coming apart. You are basically buying a prototype, and you are the alpha tester...

For instance... a friend has a XP V2 (one of the few) on a Tundra. It is not perfect, but the issues were minor IMO, and easily fixable. And somewhat understandable considering it was a new design from a company that was already flirting with bankruptcy. Anyway he wants a new rig, and can afford a very nice one. I recommended a Nimbl, which without actually examining it myself (which I would do before really recommending it), seems like it's one of the best sorted and least risky designs. He went to an expo and saw a Truckhouse and fell in love with it. That IMO is the quintessential example of a vehicle to avoid. Just say no! Not because I *know* it's deficient, but because the risk is extreme... not just on the camper, but the entire truck, which won't be warrantied by Toyota. That's assuming they ever get sold in the first place... the company could easily go bankrupt before they ever get started, and there goes your deposit.

As you are well aware, the chassis-cab frames are very torsionally flexible, and mounting a camper on an overland rig gets tricky. Unless someone really needs the capacity, it's much simpler to get the fully boxed and torsionally stiff pickup chassis. The risk of overstressing your box goes to nil, you save the weight and height and cost of the subframe and pivots (or springs), and the box is no longer flopping around relative to the rest of the truck.

Regarding GXV saying that "customers will be taken care of if they stay mum"... if that's true, and I was a customer, I'd not be complying with that BS!!! Though I hate dealing with lawyers, it's time to get one. Sounds like they are trying to hide it until warranties expire. They need to own up to the problem, hire some smart people to redesign it, and fix the currently defective hardware... whether the customer's rig has actually failed or not. That's how a reputable company operates. And if they actually did that I'd put them at the top of the list for "companies you can trust".

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I think it's a good cautionary tale regarding companies who work in this niche market (or any niche market). Many are loath to pay for real engineering or R&D... they simply can't afford it like a larger company. Even if they had some good designs in the beginning, management and staff might have changed considerably in recent times. Most people simply don't appreciate the thousands of details that must be addressed, analyzed, tested, etc. So many ways to screw up. And some of these are not possible to fix without starting over. Like the box itself coming apart. You are basically buying a prototype, and you are the alpha tester...

For instance... a friend has a XP V2 (one of the few) on a Tundra. It is not perfect, but the issues were minor IMO, and easily fixable. And somewhat understandable considering it was a new design from a company that was already flirting with bankruptcy. Anyway he wants a new rig, and can afford a very nice one. I recommended a Nimbl, which without actually examining it myself (which I would do before really recommending it), seems like it's one of the best sorted and least risky designs. He went to an expo and saw a Truckhouse and fell in love with it. That IMO is the quintessential example of a vehicle to avoid. Just say no! Not because I *know* it's deficient, but because the risk is extreme... not just on the camper, but the entire truck, which won't be warrantied by Toyota. That's assuming they ever get sold in the first place... the company could easily go bankrupt before they ever get started, and there goes your deposit.

As you are well aware, the chassis-cab frames are very torsionally flexible, and mounting a camper on an overland rig gets tricky. Unless someone really needs the capacity, it's much simpler to get the fully boxed and torsionally stiff pickup chassis. The risk of overstressing your box goes to nil, you save the weight and height and cost of the subframe and pivots (or springs), and the box is no longer flopping around relative to the rest of the truck.

Regarding GXV saying that "customers will be taken care of if they stay mum"... if that's true, and I was a customer, I'd not be complying with that BS!!! Though I hate dealing with lawyers, it's time to get one. Sounds like they are trying to hide it until warranties expire. They need to own up to the problem, hire some smart people to redesign it, and fix the currently defective hardware... whether the customer's rig has actually failed or not. That's how a reputable company operates. And if they actually did that I'd put them at the top of the list for "companies you can trust".

Absolutely spot on sir

 

[wfv56]

What ever became of the Storyteller/GXV merger, acquisition or whatever it was.

 

[Ozarker]

What ever became of the Storyteller/GXV merger, acquisition or whatever it was.

Have no idea how the merger has gone.

One thing however, I see forums are full of slanderous innuendos, hearsay with a dash of BS! Trash talk about a top-of-the-line custom vehicle is usually by those who can't afford it and most likely haven't been in one, much less traveled in one.

GXV is located in Greene County, Mo. so before someone blurts out to the world a company has "legal troubles" you might check on court filings in that area to back up such slanderous comments. I didn't see any lawsuits filed and if there were, they'd be filed in Greene County.

Mike Van Pelt is well known in Springfield and has an excellent reputation in the business community. Mike also has the ability to correct any issue with his vehicles and making things right. If anything is his fault, I'm sure he would do whatever it took to cure any issue.

This merger makes a lot of business sense, they have complimentary products, basically the same target market but in slightly different price ranges. Mike has past experience in franchised restaurants, owning Sonics and setting up stores such as Appleby's, Braum's and Burger King.

The upside for production will allow both to increase volume of inventories for parts and materials, lowering costs and reducing costs of goods sold. This is a key element of franchised restaurants, having a standardized supply chain aids in quality control. This should be a big deal for both companies as they acquire materials from an international market.

From a marketing standpoint, this merger allows them to provide anything from a camper van up to an earth rumbling monster mobile habitat for any doomsayers. And yes, Mike has rubbed shoulders with Jonny Morris, owner of Bass Pro who followed similar business tactics.

As for communication issues, if they are legitimate issues, if you're serious use a phone. Those of you in business know that running a shop is a 24/7/365 job, add to that making phone calls at 3 AM to Egypt or Japan and you've got your hands full.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

One thing however, I see forums are full of slanderous innuendos, hearsay with a dash of BS! Trash talk about a top-of-the-line custom vehicle is usually by those who can't afford it and most likely haven't been in one, much less traveled in one.

As for communication issues, if they are legitimate issues, if you're serious use a phone. Those of you in business know that running a shop is a 24/7/365 job, add to that making phone calls at 3 AM to Egypt or Japan and you've got your hands full.

Well….

When deciding on my next truck, I had contacted them repeatedly regarding the adventure truck.

3 emails, 2 voicemails, never heard back.

Then when they offered panels, I reached out again, same results. Multiple voicemails and emails, totally unanswered.

I had cash in hand and they didn’t want my money.

So there’s that….

 

[rruff]

As for communication issues, if they are legitimate issues, if you're serious use a phone. Those of you in business know that running a shop is a 24/7/365 job, add to that making phone calls at 3 AM to Egypt or Japan and you've got your hands full.

Do you know what is actually going on with them?

I know in business, that I don't over extend what I'm capable of offering with good CS... and I don't paint a rosy picture regarding timelines. If a customer has a problem they go to the top of the list (yes, before new orders), and I make sure they are satisfied.

I don't give out my phone # at all, because I can't talk and work at the same time, and too many people want to talk and talk and talk. Email gives both of us a written record of communication... but you have to respond in a timely manner!

 

[carleton]

From a marketing standpoint, this merger allows them to provide anything from a camper van up to an earth rumbling monster mobile habitat for any doomsayers. And yes, Mike has rubbed shoulders with Jonny Morris, owner of Bass Pro who followed similar business tactics.

I for one at least like the look of the Adventure Truck....at least on paper. But it's really hard to find any current information, real world users, reviews, or anything other than their official marketing. Speaking of marketing their FB/Insta have basically gone silent for almost a year now.

I would love for someone to correct me, but it is hard to say if they are producing vehicles right now?

Maybe Storyteller just needed to buy them for the manufacturing space & other resources so that they can continue expanding their operation with Sprinters.

 

[Ozarker]

@RAM5500 CAMPERTHING I have no idea what went wrong.
@rruff well, when I had my business, I didn't give out my personal or home number for just that reason.
@carleton Totally understand and I'd be the same way, so.....
it's not about factory space, Storyteller is in Al. and GXV is in Mo. That's not to say each facility may do something differently.

It's been a Coon's age since I saw Mike, have no idea what's up or know what the current status might be, I mean it's not like we drink beer together or go to communion together, just know of him in banking circles and can say hello.

So, this makes me wonder what could have happened because that's not like them. Illness comes to mind.

Another thought is that Storyteller might be taking the lead, Mike and Rene may have retired and hit the road...or off road.

Let's get past this New Year's stuff and I'll see what I can find out next week and report back.

 

[carleton]

Let's get past this New Year's stuff and I'll see what I can find out next week and report back.

I mean, that's cool with me.
I enjoy this "integrated 4x4 camper" space, currently own a Tiger, love to see other manufacturers grow & succeed in this space/on the full-size truck platform.
Been fun to watch OEV, Total Composites, Rossmonster Baja, EC Terranova, etc, grow and meet the needs of customers (all while costing less than an Earth Roamer.....with more customization).

 

[mlove]

Can you tell me what kind of issues are being found with the GXV Unimog expedition vehicles? Any specifics on Subframe failures would be much appreciated. I own one that was manufactured in 2012.