Automotive

Crosscamp Toyota mini-camper van takes on urban-to-outland adventure

Crosscamp Toyota mini-camper van takes on urban-to-outland adventure
The new Crosscamp Lite comes built on sibling vans: the Toyota Proace Verso and Opel Zafira Life
The new Crosscamp Lite comes built on sibling vans: the Toyota Proace Verso and Opel Zafira Life
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The new Crosscamp Lite comes built on sibling vans: the Toyota Proace Verso and Opel Zafira Life
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The new Crosscamp Lite comes built on sibling vans: the Toyota Proace Verso and Opel Zafira Life
Crosscamp offers a variety of options, including a bike rack
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Crosscamp offers a variety of options, including a bike rack
By eliminating the side kitchen, Crosscamp makes room for a full-width bed
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By eliminating the side kitchen, Crosscamp makes room for a full-width bed
Crosscamp keeps the Lite very simple and compact, relying on a slim slide- and fold-out stove for cooking
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Crosscamp keeps the Lite very simple and compact, relying on a slim slide- and fold-out stove for cooking
Over-the-door command center
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Over-the-door command center
Using floor rails, the Crosscamp Lite can fit up to seven seats in MPV configuration
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Using floor rails, the Crosscamp Lite can fit up to seven seats in MPV configuration
Swiveling the seats around into camping configuration
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Swiveling the seats around into camping configuration
Inside the Crosscamp Lite camper van
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Inside the Crosscamp Lite camper van
The module just inside the driver-side sliding door is a cushioned bench/bed extension and storage box
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The module just inside the driver-side sliding door is a cushioned bench/bed extension and storage box
Ready for a relaxing morning at camp
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Ready for a relaxing morning at camp
The storage box module holds cookware, camping gear or whatever else you need to stash for the trip
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The storage box module holds cookware, camping gear or whatever else you need to stash for the trip
The Crosscamp Lite sleeps and seats four in camper configuration
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The Crosscamp Lite sleeps and seats four in camper configuration
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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.

By eliminating the side kitchen, Crosscamp makes room for a full-width bed
By eliminating the side kitchen, Crosscamp makes room for a full-width bed

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.

Ready for a relaxing morning at camp
Ready for a relaxing morning at camp

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).

The module just inside the driver-side sliding door is a cushioned bench/bed extension and storage box
The module just inside the driver-side sliding door is a cushioned bench/bed extension and storage box

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.

The Crosscamp Lite sleeps and seats four in camper configuration
The Crosscamp Lite sleeps and seats four in camper configuration

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)

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