Expedition Vehicles: ridiculously overpriced or not

Kali

Member
Im just trying to wrap my head around some of the pricing for these overland vehicles from the 500k Earth Roamer to the 200k Sportmobile.
Does it really cost them that much to make or do they have a ridiculouly high profit margin? 100%? 200 +%?
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
I can't speak for others, but a true expedition truck contains a lot of very expensive components and engineering. Durring my time at Unicat I learned that it takes A LONG time to construct one of those trucks. They need to be perfect without compromise. You also need highly skilled and trained staff to manufacture these trucks. These workers are very hard to find and don't come cheap. This all reflects in the price.

Saying that, there are a couple of vehicles out there that look very impressive, but when you look into the details you ask yourself about the pricing...

To sum it up: Quality costs money.
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
In addition to what was said above, its currently a huge fad.

Think back 10-15 years when rock crawling and tube buggies were the most popular thing around and very very $$$. Petersons 4x4 and four wheeler magazines were nothing but built jeeps and SAS Toyota truggies that made the front pages and every article within the magazines. Fast forward to 2017, a dedicated trail rig is not worth as much as it would have been during the rock crawling fad because you cant be self contained and carry all of your gear. ****, you cant even go to the mall with a rock crawler like you can a dedicated overland rig.
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
I'm only buying so much of that “get what you pay for reasoning. For $500k you can have CREWS of people spend months constructing and outfitting a fairly large and high end home on acres of real estate, complete with all the usual amenities of the kitchen and bathrooms. This process included architects and engineers and all the ancillary services that go into the design and construction of a home.

There isn't a pickup truck based camper on the planet I'd spend $500k for even if I was inclined to spend that kind of money.
 

Keyne

Adventurer
I think it depends on how you want to use the vehicle... if you want to travel around the world with your family and you need the reliability etc of high end design then maybe not too expensive. If you buy it and use it like an RV in a campground then IMO it’s cool but overkill.
 

LocoCoyote

World Citizen
I'm only buying so much of that “get what you pay for reasoning. For $500k you can have CREWS of people spend months constructing and outfitting a fairly large and high end home on acres of real estate, complete with all the usual amenities of the kitchen and bathrooms. This process included architects and engineers and all the ancillary services that go into the design and construction of a home.

There isn't a pickup truck based camper on the planet I'd spend $500k for even if I was inclined to spend that kind of money.

Now shrink that house down to a self propelled, reliable unit and see how much that costs...
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
Now shrink that house down to a self propelled, reliable unit and see how much that costs...

That’s my point. I don’t see how you shrink that cost down to pickup based camper. At the end of the day it’s still just a camper and the bulk of the serious engineering by far is still in the pickup itself. I see no way on gods earth to reasonably sink approx $400k into a space that’s maybe 8x10. Around 8x24 if you include the whole truck package.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
My feeling is that they're just too darn big. Offroad's one thing but where do you park the suckers in the city?
 

LocoCoyote

World Citizen
That’s my point. I don’t see how you shrink that cost down to pickup based camper. At the end of the day it’s still just a camper and the bulk of the serious engineering by far is still in the pickup itself. I see no way on gods earth to reasonably sink approx $400k into a space that’s maybe 8x10. Around 8x24 if you include the whole truck package.

Ah....ok, I can see your point...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Kali

Member
That's my point. I don't see how you shrink that cost down to pickup based camper. At the end of the day it's still just a camper and the bulk of the serious engineering by far is still in the pickup itself. I see no way on gods earth to reasonably sink approx $400k into a space that's maybe 8x10. Around 8x24 if you include the whole truck package.

Exactly, how much is the Ford 450 with military tires and Kendleman suspension cost?, $80k? So an additional $400k is pricey. But as the other poster pointed, their target market is probably the guys that have the 400 million dollar yacht and this is chump change for them and status symbol for others. More power to them if that is the case.

I looked at the Host Expedition Vehicle, which seems to be a pretty good size, comes with pop outs for 200kish price. I am sure there are different manufacturers out there as well.
 
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Darwin

Explorer
I think it can be done a lot cheaper, a few options would be going with Total composites and maybe contracting out some of the interior finishings. The other would be the camperlogic build on here, which I believe he said prices would be more affordable.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
These rigs are seriously overpriced, though someone must be paying for them. I would love to have a 4X4 overland camper van rig. I'd be willing to pay "retail" prices for one:

New diesel extended van = $50,000 ?
4X4 conversion = $5000.00 ?
Cabinets, wheels, tires, appliances, suspension = $20,000 ?

Total cost for new, reliable diesel 4X4 camper van with warranty = $75,000. And that is still A LOT OF $ for what you get, unless perhaps you are living in it for the next 10 years.

Do we all believe that the shop monkeys that fabricate these vehicles make $100,000.00 each per annum? Get real. Someone is getting rich while paying $30.00 per hour for labor (at most).

Explain why I'm wrong. To be fair, the average yearly income in my area is $25,000.00. We are "poor folks". :)
 

Kali

Member
To add insult to injury, per some youtube videos Sportsmobile is busy until a year out for 100k+ builds. I really dont get it. Maybe there should be more competition for this or a builder overseas to have turn key products. I recently ordered a triple slide camper and have purchased bigger AT tires/rims for my dually f, to give it a more offroad capacity and a better look (yes I am that superficial) . This will be my poor mans build of an Earth Roamer, also considering the 12k Kelderman suspension upgrade if it seems worthy. I do not plan to do major offroading but want the 4x4 ability, if I get stuck or get in tight places. 60k for camper, 60k for truck, we will see how it goes.

There is a market for someone to build a capable ************ looking camper for around 150k.
 
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