Redtail Overland made a name for itself in 2020 with a rooftop tent (RTT) quite unlike any other. The expandable hard-walled wedge featured fully insulated carbon fiber construction and a US$20,000+ price tag. The company eventually brought that heavy, hard-shelled, high-priced RTT to market but ultimately realized the price was just too high for the RTT market. It's now hoping the hard-sided pop-top will work better as part of a cutting-edge half-million-dollar Mercedes explorer yacht for road and trail. The new Skyloft Van swaps out the fabric-sided pop-top for the climate-controlled, hard-walled rooftop penthouse, serving as a toasty, two-floor roaming lodge for everything from summer-long road trips to midwinter ski getaways.
Rather than merely drop its Skyloft rooftop camper atop a typical long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Sprinter adventure van, Redtail has taken the opportunity to try to hatchet away a small, high-end niche at the top of the camper van market. It used its fully insulated hard-walled wedge camper as a starting point, reasoning that installing a comfortable, climate-controlled master bedroom up top freed it to do some things differently with the main floor plan.
We can't say Redtail went crazy and reinvented the wheel with a layout the likes of which the Sprinter 170 has never seen, but it did eschew the raised bed/garage area common on US-converted Sprinter camper vans in favor of a U-shaped rear lounge more similar to what British van lifers seem to like.
This setup makes for a roomier dining and living area, complete with a central swivel table on an adjustable-height pedestal and a wraparound dining bench that doubles as a living room sofa. There's also a wall-mounted smart TV that swivels vertically to stay out of the way when not in use. At night, the table drops down to create a double bed.
The rear lounge is raised significantly off the Sprinter floor, accessed from the front of the van via two steps up. This opens up a large under-garage space in the cargo area, providing plenty of room for carrying sports gear, camping equipment, luggage and more. The onboard air compressor system can also be accessed through the garage, designed for filling up inflatable equipment and all four van tires.
The wet bath and galley are located across from each other in the center of the van, right where you'd expect them. The wet bath is fairly straightforward – composite enclosure, cassette toilet, shower with removable teak floor – but the galley features an elevated design with wood-veneered foam-core cabinetry and porcelain countertops. Redtail conceals the dual-burner induction cooktop directly below the main counter so that campers can cook on the countertop itself. When the cooktop is not in use, the seamless countertop is fully usable for food prep, storage, etc.
The greater kitchen area also includes a Vitrifrigo double-drawer fridge/freezer next to the wet bath and an overhead convection microwave oven a little farther forward, over the two rear seats. With no need for a front dinette, those three-point-belted Scheel-Mann automotive seats are designed more for travel, though they can also be used to sit at camp in combination with the swivel front seats. Redtail also offers a flip-up work table for use as a desk.
If it's not clear yet, the Skyloft roof camper isn't a separate rooftop tent on a rack but an integrated part of the van build-out itself, accessed through an interior hatch in the roof. The ladder for climbing up secures neatly against the wall during transit, serving to hold the portable Bang & Olufsen speaker in place in its wall-integrated dock. The slim Bluetooth speaker charges while docked and can be removed for use around the van and greater outdoors.
The SkyLoft itself houses a 78 x 55 x 3.5-in (198 x 140 x 9-cm) foam mattress sourced from Germany for the utmost in comfort. Its fully insulated wall panels are interspersed with dual-pane polycarbonate windows, including a fully opening full-height scenic window at the rear. Both the heat and A/C are piped directly in and controlled via a Nest thermostat independent of the one in the lower van. A sliding panel covers over the floor hatch to separate upper and lower living areas whenever desired.
The Skyloft Van's diesel heating system provides floor heating in the main van along with split-zone air heating, while its 12,000-BTU air conditioning system runs off the 48-V electrical system. Redtail supplies plenty of off-grid power with a 14-kWh lithium battery connected to a 3,200-W inverter. The system also includes 330 watts of solar charging, a dedicated 7-kW alternator and a shore power hookup. A central touchscreen with available mobile app provides systems monitoring and control, while C-Zone touchpads offer convenient lighting and circuit control around other parts of the van.
As for plumbing, equipment includes a 151-L fresh water tank, 113-L waste water tank, UV and carbon purification system, on-demand hot water, and one-button winterization.
A camper with this kind of spec and price tag couldn't possibly roll on a basic factory Sprinter, and Redtail does plenty of work around the chassis. It starts off with a brand-new fully loaded Sprinter 3500 XD AWD 170 High Roof, adding a long list of standard features you can get fully acquainted with here.
Exterior build highlights include a Redtail custom front bumper with integrated 12K Warn winch, an Owl Vans rear tire carrier, ladder and storage box, two OneUp rear bike racks, a motorized awning with wind sensor, Baja Designs auxiliary off-road lighting, and a fully upgraded suspension package. Redtail also wires up a premium audio system in the cab.
The Skyloft Van base price falls in at a cool $530,000 for a turnkey van, and buyers can choose from various interior trims and colors. They can also add on a few optional upgrades such as Starlink satellite internet, so chances are pretty good they'll be driving out of there having spent even more than $530K. Redtail recognizes it isn't going to be selling these to every trend-chasing adventurer out there and plans to build just a few models per year at its Boulder, Colorado HQ. It's hoping to eventually sell the Skyloft as a standalone product again, but for now it's only offering it as part of the van builds.
So what do you think? That same half-million dollars could pay for some pretty impressive luxury vacations, or maybe a pair of Winnebago Revels, or one Revel and a nice piece of land to park it on. But the Skyloft Van would certainly make an incomparable oceanfront luxury cottage, that doubles as a two-story slope-side ski condo, that works as a luxurious smart cabin in the forest, that ... well, the list goes on.
The video clip below does a nice job speeding through the Skyloft Van's highlights in under a minute and a half. Those who want a slower tour can check out the full 30-minute walkthrough.
Source: Redtail Overland
