If you happen to see a particular vehicle on its travels around Australia, you may do a double-take because of its sheer size, given that it looks like an apartment-on-wheels.
A family of eight recently commissioned specialist off-road RV builder, SLRV Expedition Vehicles, to build one of the world's largest and most advanced expedition vehicles. They wanted it to be a luxury unit filled with modern conveniences.
‘They want to explore places that a road-going vehicle can’t go,' says SLRV’s Warwick Boswerger. 'Real beauty is often found in remote locations and that’s what people are wanting to see.’
The two-storey, eight-wheel drive has been designed to explore some of Australia’s toughest and most remote terrain. As a result, SLRV had to design a fully-functioning house on wheels that had to be almost fully self-sufficient out in the middle of nowhere, which was a challenge as it would be visiting the arid regions of Australia.
The finished product, the SLRV Commander 8x8 two storey, features ten beds, a modern kitchen, two Miele convection microwaves, two induction cooktops, 475 litres of fridge/freezer space, a washing machine, 4 smart TVs, an entertainment system and ducted air-conditioning and heating.
There is also a lounge that can accommodate ten people, a separate ensuite, a main bedroom and a kids' bedroom/retreat upstairs. Guests can even come along and sleep in the drop-down electric bed over the lounge. ‘Powering this vehicle forced us to think outside the box," says Boswerger. ‘We had to design an electrical system that not only powered all the appliances – it had to recharge and keep powering over and over out in the remote wilderness.’
The vehicle features a huge array of Mastervolt lithium batteries, and is recharged by a massive solar system, diesel backup generator and a world-first RV application of Integrel – Advanced Generator Replacement Technology, that produces up to 9kw of electrical power. ‘People want to take the road less travelled; they want to see real natural beauty,' says Warwick. 'You can’t see that by driving around on sealed roads. People want to do this in a degree of comfort – and that’s what vehicles like ours provide.’
For further information, please see SLRV Expedition Vehicles's website here.
