Crosscamp Toyota mini

The Erwin Hymer Group is making sure it has its camper van bases covered. Not long after the reveal of the overland-grade CrossOver 4x4 vans, its Crosscamp brand of small, modular camper vans revealed a lighter alternative for urban adventurers who need the flexibility to travel from center city parking garage to remote campsite. The new Crosscamp Lite features a simple floor plan optimized for both everyday to-do lists and adrenaline-pumping weekend warrior campaigns.

Based in Europe's biggest RV market of Germany, Crosscamp debuted just two years ago with a modular 495-cm (195-in) camper van now called the Flex. In the land of innumerable Volkswagen, Mercedes and Fiat camper vans, Crosscamp dared to be different by doing its work inside a Toyota Proace Verso, and later the Verso's corporate sibling, the Opel Zafira Life. It installed removable camp furniture to floor tracks to create a flexible van capable of holiday camping, everyday family commuting and large-item cargo hauling.

The Crosscamp Lite debuts as a modular camper van platform that switches even more seamlessly between camper and everyday modes. Put differently, the original Crosscamp Flex is a camper van that can transform into an everyday van, while the Crosscamp Lite is an everyday van that can go camping at a moment's notice.

Crosscamp starts by eliminating the bulky driver-side kitchen block and full-height rear console that define the Flex. This opens up space to turn the two-seat rear bench into a full-width double bed that measures 140 x 199 cm (55 x 78-in), 26 cm (10 in) wider than the bed in the original Crosscamp van. Upstairs in the pop-up roof, a second bed sleeps two more people on a 120 x 200-cm (47 x 79-in) mattress.

The idea of a sleeper van without a kitchen has slowly transformed into a sleeper van with standard or available light kitchen through products like the new VW California Beach, VW Caddy California and Pössl Vanster. Crosscamp follows the trend with a simple tailgate kitchen that starts and ends with an ultra-slim slide-and-fold stove. The single-burner falls well short of the more robust two-burner/sink/fridge/storage galleys included on other camper vans, but it's ready to percolate some coffee or fry up some eggs before heading back home on Sunday morning.

There's no fridge or cooler slide-out in the tailgate, but buyers who want hard-mounted cooling can opt for the available 13-L fridge box between the front seats. Beyond that, they'll want to pack an ice-filled cooler.

The slide-out stove and its housing, the leisure battery and the 1.8-kg LPG tank holder are the only fixed, non-removable components of the Crosscamp Lite conversion package. The storage box just inside the driver-side sliding door is removable, and the van can accommodate up to seven seats (extra seats available optionally through Crosscamp).

Other Crosscamp Lite features include interior LED lighting strips, an available camping heater, and a digital command center just over the driver-side sliding door. Buyers can upgrade with add-ons like privacy blinds, a "starter box" that packages an outdoor folding table, chairs and table settings into a rugged aluminum camping box, an outside awning, and rear bike carriers.

Like the original Crosscamp Flex, the Lite can be built atop either a Toyota Proace Verso or Opel Zafira Life with a 118-hp 1.5-liter diesel four-cylinder as standard. Crosscamp explains that the Zafira Life comes more fully equipped out of the gate, while the Toyota offers various equipment as optional add-ons, a fact reflected in the different base prices for the two Lite variants. Either model can be upgraded with two other engine options, up to 174 hp.

Crosscamp announced the new Lite camper van at CMT Digital last week and will be rolling it out to its network of roughly 160 Toyota, Opel and RV dealerships around Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Toyota variant starts at €42,999 (approx. US$,51,750), the Opel at €44,499 ($53,550).

Source: Crosscamp (German)