Plenty of camper vans have been designed to promote Swiss Army levels of multifunctional performance, but the all-new Album from California's Vanspeed takes the theme to new heights. What looks like your typical, unassuming Mercedes-Benz Sprinter camper van from outside is actually a transforming wonder, split into multipurpose zones that fold, drop, swivel, expand and remove to do everything you need, exactly when you need it.
The Album's multifunctional benchmark-setting is anchored by a multi-use rear lounge that does more than some complete RVs. It's built around a Murphy bed that folds away against the driver's sidewall during the day and drops down at night to sleep two people on a platform measuring a full 80 inches (203 cm) long. The bed's folding action is designed for both space-optimizing daytime convenience and fast, immediate nighttime deployment – no need to spend time rearranging cushions or bed slats, just drop and flop.
With the bed folded up, the van's rear load area becomes a cargo carrier on the road and a lounge at camp. Like in many camper vans, a clear center aisle offers loads of space for packing in luggage, camping gear and large sports equipment like bicycles or surfboards. Unlike other camper vans, this one expands by way of what Vanspeed calls the ModuRide Cargo System. The rear bench opposite the folded Murphy bed is mounted to floor-integrated L-track that allows it to partially or fully remove, depending on your cargo needs that day. As you can see in the picture below, in which the bench is removed, the bed does not rely on the passenger-side bench for support, allowing it to stay behind without affecting overnight sleeping capacity.
Of course, if you're camping for any length of time or remote working from the road, you'll want that bench in place, as it's the foundation of the flexible rear lounge. It works on its own as a sofa bench and extends into an L-shaped sofa lounge with a drop-in panel that cuts across the aisle.
Have work to get done? No reason to put your laptop on your actual lap, as the cabinet just below the bed includes a hideaway dual-leaf swivel table/workstation that pops out to hold your laptop or lunch.
Over the years, we've seen many vans use a rear folding or lift-away rear bed, usually storing away to free up an open garage area. We've always been partial to models that add in extra work space as part of the design, like the Grand Design Lineage VT and Storyteller Mode 4x4.
Vanspeed's lounge/garage area goes a step further in adding even more ways of setting it up for use at camp and on the road. Especially unique is its ability to clear out the bench modules in an otherwise non-modular, fixed camper van floor plan. By integrating the van's dining lounge into the transformable space, Vanspeed also eliminates the need for the front dinette you find in many other folding rear-bed van floor plans, opening up that floor space for other purposes.
Of course, the downside of eliminating that front dinette is in losing two rear passenger seats and cementing the Album as a two-person camper. So if a customer wanted to create a pop-up family van with four belted seats, they'd have to look at rearranging the entire layout in order to get two extra belted seats in there. But that's just part of the fun, we suppose.
Moving forward up the aisle, the emphasis on multifunctional spaces continues in the wet bathroom, which doubles as a storage closet. We've seen this feature on a number of Sprinter adventure camper vans, including for nearly a decade on the popular Winnebago Revel series, but Vanspeed makes it a bit quicker and more seamless by using folding shelves attached to the rear wall instead of removable shelves. Simply flip them up when storing things on the ride, fold them down when you need to shower or use the available portable toilet.
The space left over by the lack of a front dinette is put to good use in the spacious kitchen area that spans the aisle to offer extra work space. In addition to the countertop surrounding the rectangular sink complete with flip-up extension on the main block, a supplementary counter block tops the refrigerator behind the wet bath on the driver's side. Above that secondary counter, the microwave remains at the ready for quick cooking and reheating. The portable induction cooker can be used inside, or outside on the drop-down worktop on back of the kitchen block.
Vanspeed plants the Album atop a Sprinter 144 AWD for confident on/off-road adventure, and equips it with an off-grid lithium battery-based electrical system. Vanspeed keeps the exterior fairly simple, adding in an all-terrain wheel and tire package, full-length roof rack, driver-side roof ladder, side steps and a rear spare tire carrier.
Vanspeed announced the Album as the latest among its several available pre-planned Sprinter 144 floor plans this week, noting that prices start at US$219,000.
Source: Vanspeed
