StoryTeller Overland GXV Hilt

[Steve_382]

Interesting. Same size really as ER, but half the price at $398,000. Edit: after reading a bit more, this is only special introductory pricing:

Fill out the form below and lock into our very limited introductory HILT pricing offer of $398,786!* We only have a limited number of introductory production slots before the pricing will go up, so act quick!

HILT: The official adventure truck of wild-at-heart trailblazers every

Get ready to live full tilt and to the hilt in a vehicle designed to take you farther into the wild than you've ever been with greater confidence and creature comforts than you've ever experienced.

storytelleroverland.com

 

[gdaut]

Re-branded Adventure Truck (tm)? It does have the Liquid Spring suspension, which seems like a good thing, but I am no engineer.

 

[Steve_382]

Re-branded Adventure Truck (tm)? It does have the Liquid Spring suspension, which seems like a good thing, but I am no engineer.

Yes, the Liquid Spring seems interesting, but I wonder what the life expectancy of it is. Looking at it during the Expo Mtn West show it seems like there are a few possible fail points and where do you go to get them fixed? If you stick with Ford parts they are pretty easy to find. They were talking about being able to level the vehicle at a camp site using the suspension and that sounds like a nice feature.

 

[Steve_382]

And here is a quick review by the YouTube channel We're the Russos.

 

[BuckinghamBuilt]

I'm curious if this will replace the Adventure Truck which comes in around $100K more (at least the introductory price). I like the fact you can have five seats in the cab with a small passthrough and I see the RAM 5500 chassis with Cummins as another plus.

I wonder if there is enough interest will Storyteller work with dealers to sell them or will they keep it as a built to order directly from GXV.

 

[Adventr.us]

Wonder if they'll have this prototype at Overland Expo East ...?

 

[Semiquixotic]

I am always curious about Liquid Springs vs Kelderman. What are the tradeoffs and benefits between the two? It sure seems like it would be easier to repair Kelderman in the field rather than a hydraulic based system...

 

[Darwin]

Deleted.

 

[Steve_382]

Storyteller Overland, based in Alabama and producers of some right wing podcasts as well as now a new Adventure truck, has always kind of rubbed me in the wrong way. The low introductory price is sure to up the competition with all the other many new players in the market.

I have tried to like their vans, but the interior doesn't impress me. Contacting the company with questions is also a bit disappointing. Not sure the dealer network for StoryTeller really adds much either. And their marketing department with crazy ads looks like a promo for Burning Man.

Field Van, Sportsmobile, and EarthCruiser have much better customer relations.

 

[Roam.Wild]

I have tried to like their vans, but the interior doesn't impress me. Contacting the company with questions is also a bit disappointing. Not sure the dealer network for StoryTeller really adds much either. And their marketing department with crazy ads looks like a promo for Burning Man.

Field Van, Sportsmobile, and EarthCruiser have much better customer relations.

Their marketing dept is stupid. Let's have a video on our new half-million dollar vehicle but only show 11 seconds of it out of a 2 minute long video. Let's just do a bunch of dirtbikes and fire dancers instead of showing any features at all.

Cool truck though, lots of interesting full-size builds like this coming into the space recently. Very surprised there is such a market for them.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I am always curious about Liquid Springs vs Kelderman. What are the tradeoffs and benefits between the two? It sure seems like it would be easier to repair Kelderman in the field rather than a hydraulic based system...

Exactly!

This liquid spring stuff is all the rage, for the folks that buy their rigs ready to go, and dont have a strong grasp of the mechanics of them, which in this arena are many.

The more i looked into it, the more insanely complex, and almost impossible to repair on the trail it is.

For each is own, but i wouldnt touch it with a 10ft pole.

Yes, air lines are super easy to fix on the trail.

A hydraulic leak? Yeah, not so much...

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Their marketing dept is stupid. Let's have a video on our new half-million dollar vehicle but only show 11 seconds of it out of a 2 minute long video. Let's just do a bunch of dirtbikes and fire dancers instead of showing any features at all.

My thoughts exactly

At first glance, price actually seems fair for what it actually is... Somewhat impressed, on the surface anyway.

Seems they went from the nice Outbound windows and doors to Tern, which is a night and day quality difference, to cut costs... I wonder if they offer options?

If you go to their website and look for the "Hilt Documentary" link, there is a little more info, but still pretty bad

Id like to know where they got the inside trim for the Tern Euro door...

 

[BuckinghamBuilt]

I was hoping GXV would have on on display at Overland Expo East but only had a Adventure Truck XT. I did get to speak with the rep and the plan is to keep the Adventure Truck as a build to order and Storyteller will sell them Hilt through a RV dealer network like they do with their vans.

 

[Steve_382]

I was hoping the StoryTeller adventure truck would have been about the size of the 27North Rexrover, but seems like everyone wants to jump into building the ER sized vehicles.

 

[lucilius]

I was hoping the StoryTeller adventure truck would have been about the size of the 27North Rexrover, but seems like everyone wants to jump into building the ER sized vehicles.

I agree with your sentiment, most rigs seems to be growing, especially in terms of weight, but unless I'm missing something, the Rexrover, GXV Turtle&Adventure Truck, Earthroamer XVLT/LTi, ST Hilt, etc. are all roughly similar in size and represent the available "mid-size" of what is available in the US when it comes to a US-built chassis trucks more or less permanently bolted to a camper body. The Rexrover might be a couple feet shorter? Tough to tell and maybe I missed the detailed specs on their website though I will mention the website says their truck is under 9k lbs and if so, very impressive: a base F250 weighs 5500-7500lbs. I think if a buyer wants a reasonably capable 4x4 camper with interior shower, toilet, cookstove & sink kitchen, full-time bed for two adults and additional smaller bunk/bench conversion bed(s), along with some gear storage and decent fuel&fresh water carrying, it would be tough to do in a significantly smaller package than what is currently available. Weight is probably the main area to improve, particularly with so many of the aforementioned features being considered popular market demands vs commonly eschewed options. Throwing out a hasty dreamsheet, I'd personally aim for the following baseline: high and low-range 4x4, locking front and rear diffs, 12" ground clearance, 800mi range, cruises hwy @65-75mph, simple+reliable motor that is somewhat DIY maintenance & mod friendly, 50gal freshwater w/onboard filter/purification that can pull from any freshwater source, sleeps 4, good heaters, hot shower, simple toilet, range&oven, seatbelt seating for 4, dining/relax seats for 4, plumbing&electrical systems that reliably function well below freezing with no shore power, siped and/or studded tire available for winter, gear lift on the back that'll hold two spare wheels + a dirtbike or 4 bicycles/skis, etc.....all in a package that is well under front and rear GAWR unless the vehicle was originally designed by the engineers for a ton of off pavement 4x4 driving. Perhaps this is unobtanium in this class of vehicle. A lot of folks want the turnkey but IMHO, a fun part of the challenge is realizing that your rig has some of what you need but there are always a few things to work towards. Maybe the real adventure is getting out there having a good time with what you've got.