Back in early 2021, Nissan showed a fascinating vision for an expandable mobile office van meant to help work-from-homers escape into nature for a different remote work experience. Fuso now elevates that idea with the NomadPro Canter, a conceptual big rig mobile office that lets the outdoors pour inside. Unlike Nissan's concept, the NomadPro is also a more proper RV, complete with the overnight accommodations, mini-kitchen and shower room necessary to support multi-day business road trips ... or RV trips with a side of remote work.
While the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are far less acute now than they were in January 2021, they certainly haven't disappeared entirely. Fuso explains that the pandemic-fueled growth in work-from-home (WFH) culture serves as the driving force behind the NomadPro design. The concept truck is imagined as a temporary reprieve from the downsides of living and working in the same space – negatives like inadequate exercise, stress and mental fatigue, which can arise from the lack of separation between home and work.
Like the Nissan Office Pod, the NomadPro works as both an inspiration for and means of reconvening with nature while still participating as a fully productive member of the workplace. For those already enjoying the digital nomad lifestyle, it presents an intriguing vision for a large, open purpose-built office RV that rivals the Living Vehicle Creative Studio or Airstream Flying Cloud Office in terms of fusing travel, work and everyday life.
The NomadPro is built atop a 2WD Fuso Canter and not meant to go as extremely remote as the Canter 4x4 sometimes used for expedition vehicle builds. Instead, it appears better suited for more developed destinations, such as local parks, forest picnic areas or campgrounds.
Merely parking a big truck next to a picnic table and hammering away on a keyboard inside the walls of a truck-top office box isn't the mental or physical boost Fuso has in mind, so it lays the NomadPro floor inside a specialized truck box with winged sidewall. At the push of a button, the main wall swings upward in conjunction with the roof to create a pitched roof over top the interior. The lower sidewall panel drops down to create a full-length deck. This design essentially erases an entire wall from the office/RV space, immersing the pro nomads in the natural surroundings.
Inside, Fuso weaves together a functional work/life space with a Japanese health-and-wellness motif. The floor plan centers around a mobile workstation that readily doubles as a dining lounge. It includes a front bench, slide-out desk/table, dual-monitor system, and slide-out rear bench.
To address the lack of work-life separation that can become difficult to escape when working from home – or in a mobile office RV built specifically to work and spend the night in – Fuso installs a camper van-style convertible bed to replace the office space at night. The desk and rear bench slide away; the computer screens can be closed behind cabinet doors; and the foldaway double bed pulls out from inside the front bench. Mobile office becomes mobile bedroom. The bed area has an integrated night stand and warm, calming ambient lighting. The computer monitor can be repurposed as a TV.
Whether set up in work or relax mode, sidewall wide open or closed, the NomadPro is designed to maintain a close connection with nature using popular Japanese indoor design strategies. Natural wood features in furnishings and trim throughout, and the bamboo floor has stone inlays reminiscent of a garden path. The shower room includes a cypress wood bath stool and traditional oke bathing bowl.
The NomadPro's rear kitchen block looks plucked straight out of a custom luxury camper van and comes complete with a walnut butcher block counter, tall faucet and portable induction cooktop. The shower room is in the rear corner beyond the kitchen, separated by a retractable accordion door.
Fuso worked with truck body builder Pabco and camper van specialist Dream Drive to bring the NomadPro to life as a working prototype, but it makes clear it has no plans of developing a production version for customers. It will, however, feature the concept in digital content and bring it to auto shows and on a road tour through the Kanto region of Japan.
The video below takes a closer look at the NomadPro and how it can support a restless creative.