Outdoors

Multi-expander caravan explodes into six-man bushland base camp

Multi-expander caravan explodes into six-man bushland base camp
Berg's new CX6 trailer rolls fairly compact at under 18 feet long but absolutely explodes in size at camp, sleeping up to six and providing an indoor/outdoor base camp for even more people during the day
Berg's new CX6 trailer rolls fairly compact at under 18 feet long but absolutely explodes in size at camp, sleeping up to six and providing an indoor/outdoor base camp for even more people during the day
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Two sizable gents enjoy Berg's king-size XL slide-out bed
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Two sizable gents enjoy Berg's king-size XL slide-out bed
The slide-out king bed uncovers two single beds, with two more available optionally in the side fold-outs
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The slide-out king bed uncovers two single beds, with two more available optionally in the side fold-outs
The side-folding beds are a bit shorter than the interior singles, but they're still long enough for children and many adults
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The side-folding beds are a bit shorter than the interior singles, but they're still long enough for children and many adults
Corner bathroom sink
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Corner bathroom sink
The toilet is on the wall opposite the sink, with the shower in between
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The toilet is on the wall opposite the sink, with the shower in between
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Berg packs a portable Cadac dual-burner stove on its slide-out kitchen
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Berg packs a portable Cadac dual-burner stove on its slide-out kitchen
The Berg CX6 shower is located directly inside the front bathroom door
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The Berg CX6 shower is located directly inside the front bathroom door
With its extra-long king, the Berg CX6 can fit even more than six people
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With its extra-long king, the Berg CX6 can fit even more than six people
Rambling down the track with the Berg CX6 off-road camper trailer
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Rambling down the track with the Berg CX6 off-road camper trailer
It travels relatively small, but the Berg CX6 opens up into a wilderness mini-lodge that can shelter a family ... or two
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It travels relatively small, but the Berg CX6 opens up into a wilderness mini-lodge that can shelter a family ... or two
The Berg CX6 and its tow Land Cruiser take in some African scenery that includes a tower of giraffes
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The Berg CX6 and its tow Land Cruiser take in some African scenery that includes a tower of giraffes
The end flip-out on the slide-out kitchen brings the sink basin and uncovers the portable stove behind it
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The end flip-out on the slide-out kitchen brings the sink basin and uncovers the portable stove behind it
The nose box houses slide-out fridge/freezers up to 100 L in size
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The nose box houses slide-out fridge/freezers up to 100 L in size
The fully deployed Berg CX6 off-road trailer is ready to cook
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The fully deployed Berg CX6 off-road trailer is ready to cook
The Berg CX3 is only a few inches shorter than the CX6 on the road, but it features fewer and smaller expansions for a more compact footprint at camp
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The Berg CX3 is only a few inches shorter than the CX6 on the road, but it features fewer and smaller expansions for a more compact footprint at camp
While the Berg CX3 loses the left fold-out compared to the Berg CX6, it still has the right one
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While the Berg CX3 loses the left fold-out compared to the Berg CX6, it still has the right one
Four-wheeling into the bush
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Four-wheeling into the bush
The side hatches can also serve as large windows
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The side hatches can also serve as large windows
Berg introduced the CX6 last month
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Berg introduced the CX6 last month
Berg's new CX6 trailer rolls fairly compact at under 18 feet long but absolutely explodes in size at camp, sleeping up to six and providing an indoor/outdoor base camp for even more people during the day
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Berg's new CX6 trailer rolls fairly compact at under 18 feet long but absolutely explodes in size at camp, sleeping up to six and providing an indoor/outdoor base camp for even more people during the day
The Berg CX6 camper closed up, hitched and ready to tackle whatever comes its way
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The Berg CX6 camper closed up, hitched and ready to tackle whatever comes its way
Berg CX6. off-road caravan floor plan overhead
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Berg CX6. off-road caravan floor plan overhead
Berg CX6. dimensions: camp
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Berg CX6. dimensions: camp
Berg CX6. dimensions: road
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Berg CX6. dimensions: road
View gallery - 25 images

South African trailer manufacturers aren't shy about making campers that expand. In fact, they seem to prefer them ... the more unusual, the better. Even knowing that, though, the all-new CX6 from Berg Off-Road packs a truly surprising amount of expansion. As a fairly compact, hardcore overland trailer, the CX6 shadows its tow vehicle closely to explore everything from UV-saturated coastlines to squall-engulfed mountains. Upon arrival at the destination – or nowhere in particular – the trailer softens up into a veritable safari lodge by popping, sliding, swinging and flipping out in nearly every direction to comfortably accommodate up to six people.

"Berg" just became our word of the day. We knew it as "mountain" in German but didn't previously realize that meaning transferred over to South African English, given it's just a stand-in for "iceberg" in American and British English. It's not too hard to trace back over to Germany, as South Africa's version borrows from Afrikaans, itself a derivative of Dutch, a West Germanic language along with German.

We took that linguistic detour not because it's the type of intercontinental journey for which you want an all-terrain camping trailer, though one would definitely come in handy for a pan-African voyage to Europe. Instead, we mention it because, while Berg likely means simply that its trailers are mountain-worthy, it's occurred to us that the startup has created a mountain of a camping trailer, a rugged, hard-edged hunk of natural resources ready to survive the elements for generations.

The Berg CX6 camper closed up, hitched and ready to tackle whatever comes its way
The Berg CX6 camper closed up, hitched and ready to tackle whatever comes its way

The 17.5-ft (534-cm), fiberglass honeycomb-bodied CX6 stretches out atop a heavy-duty ladder frame rolling on two 16-in steel wheels holed up inside 33-in mud terrain tires. Though Berg is convinced that a good set of leaf springs at the ends of a solid axle – the "Chuck Norris of suspension components" – outperforms more expensive independent off-road trailer suspensions, it does offer a set of coil-sprung arms as an option.

The real Berg magic happens at camp, where the CX6 pops and slides open like some sort of fantastical storybook contraption, expanding its footprint in nearly every direction. The most dramatic of the openings is the 6.6-ft-long (2-m) rear slide-out that houses the extra-length king-size bed. That bed fills out the 72 x 79-in (183 x 200-cm) slide-out module floor, which does indeed align perfectly with a South African "king-size xl" bed size, a touch smaller than the 76 x 80-in (193 x 203-cm) king known well in the United States.

The slide-out king bed uncovers two single beds, with two more available optionally in the side fold-outs
The slide-out king bed uncovers two single beds, with two more available optionally in the side fold-outs

Other trailer builders would be satisfied with one oversized slide-out bedroom, but Berg keeps the expansion going. The CX6. includes a pop-up wedge roof over the rear slide-out to add proper headroom and a full-length pop-up over the main trailer body, where two 28 x 79-in (70 x 200-cm) single beds are left exposed after the rear slide-out does its sliding. Each of those beds is located just inside one of the massive fold-down side windows.

Those windows can be used simply for ventilation or can each house an optional 28 x 69-in (70 x 175-cm) bed to give the CX6 enough space to sleep six. If we're talking a family with small children, it can probably fit even more on that combination of single extended king and four single beds.

The side-folding beds are a bit shorter than the interior singles, but they're still long enough for children and many adults
The side-folding beds are a bit shorter than the interior singles, but they're still long enough for children and many adults

That does it for bedding expansions, but the CX6 is only partially done growing into sprawled-out base-camp form. The outdoor kitchen is a multi-expandable unit all its own, concentrated around a main slide-out at the front of the trailer body. This slide brings along a cupboard, drawers, and a faucet system that works with the flip-out sink basin on the outer end.

A Cadac dual-burner portable stove finds home on a small shelf next to the faucet, held neatly in place during travel by the folded-over sink. An optional 100-L fridge slides out separately from inside the nose box to stand right next to the main kitchen area. The kitchen comes fully stocked with Victorinox knives, pots and pans, dishes and cutlery for six, and myriad other cooking tools and accessories.

Berg introduced the CX6 last month
Berg introduced the CX6 last month

With the kitchen outside under the 180-degree awning, the very front of the CX6 interior becomes a full-width wet bathroom (storing the kitchen block when it's pushed back inside for travel). Yet another roof expansion opens up more headroom, this one folding forward to create a fabric ceiling area and hard front wall over the bathroom. The full-width bath has a corner sink to the entrant's left, toilet to the right and shower immediately ahead. The fabric roof zips open for open-sky showering and toileting, closing up for inclement weather.

The toilet is on the wall opposite the sink, with the shower in between
The toilet is on the wall opposite the sink, with the shower in between

We think we've covered every pop-up, slide-out and flip-over on the CX6, but it's worth noting that the rear spare tire carrier folds down to the ground, as do the stabilizer legs. So technically, the trailer expands down as well as up, left, right and back. The only direction it doesn't expand is forward – unless you count hitching up and adding in the tow vehicle's length.

The CX6 standard features kit includes a 14-L gas/electric water heater, 150-L fresh water tank with pump, electrical system with 1,000-W inverter, shore power hookup and DC-to-DC charger, and underbody stone protection. Berg introduced the new trailer at last month's Caravan Overland Show in Midrand and prices start at R529,950 (approx. US$28,150). Buyers can spec their build up via a long list of accessories that includes lithium batteries, solar panels, air conditioning, and annex and awning tents.

The Berg CX3 is only a few inches shorter than the CX6 on the road, but it features fewer and smaller expansions for a more compact footprint at camp
The Berg CX3 is only a few inches shorter than the CX6 on the road, but it features fewer and smaller expansions for a more compact footprint at camp

Berg seems ready to dive into the market with both feet and is already previewing the CX3 trailer, a 17.6-footer (536-cm) with less expandable bed space designed for smaller families.

The short promo below shows the CX6 in all its overlanding glory, and if you want to dig into the nuts and bolts of how it unfurls to support six-person 'van life, you can take a look at this 9-min how-to.

Introducing the BERG Off-Road CX6

Sources: Berg Off-Road, Drive & Camp

View gallery - 25 images
2 comments
2 comments
Steve Jones
This looks fabulous. For a surprisingly reasonable price.
TomLeeM
For a camper that appears really small, it does have a lot of great features. I think it is really cool without being huge in size. I love how compact it is.