French company Beauer has earned a lot of attention over the years for telescoping teardrop caravans that grow double or triple their size at the push of a button. Now the company's bringing its tech to van life, launching a plug-and-play module that grows to create a large camper at camp and a smaller, nimbler van on the road. The X-Van installs in 10 minutes and extends the length of the van to add comfy sleeping quarters for two, giving a mid-size van the length of a full-size model.
Beauer joins the likes of Doubleback and Westfalia in creating a rear-expanding camper van, and who better to do it than the guys who have captured the RV world's imagination with trailers like the 3X Plus family caravan and 2X couples trailer. Beauer has designed the X-Van to be adaptable to a variety of vans, so it isn't tethered to one specific model. The French company reached for a Peugeot Traveler as its first official conversion.
The 43 x 47 x 47-in (110 x 120 x 120-cm) X-Van box slides in the back of the van and secures to the floor rails, a process that takes about 10 minutes, according to Beauer. At camp, the X-Van becomes a seamless extension of the base van, expanding out the load area to add 3.2 feet (1 m) of floor space that helps house the 43 x 75-in (110 x 190-cm) double bed.
After popping the tailgate, the owner merely hits a button on the pillar next to the driver seat and watches as the electrically actuated module sets up within a minute's time. The only thing left to do is pop the expansion panels on the module's sides to increase elbow room inside. The 25-mm sandwich construction keeps the temperature comfy inside.
On the Traveler, the X-Van extends the van's overall length from 195 in (495 cm) to 234 in (595 cm), the size of a larger van like the Mercedes Sprinter 144. Navigate highways and city streets with a small van while enjoying floor space closer to that of a large van.
The €6,900 (approx. US$7,650) X-Van package turns the van into a sleeper van with an available dining table between the seats, and Beauer offers options to build up a more complete camper van. The €390 (US$440) kitchen module brings meal prep capabilities to the floor rails just in front of the bed, while the available €7,900 (US$8,750) pop-up roof adds an extra two sleeping berths. So it's possible to have a camper van that can seat and sleep four people, easily converting back to an everyday driver with the removal of the X-Van and accompanying equipment. Beauer also offers a larger bed and a storage console with drawers.
Beauer launched the X-Van at this year's CMT show in Stuttgart, and while it isn't quite as unique as the laterally expanding motorhome it showed renderings of years ago (pictured above), it's certainly an intriguing plug-and-play camper van package that gets the most out of a compact van.
Source: Beauer