That's right, the freakin' HOG ZILLA. It's a pickup camper like no other pickup camper we've seen before, a straightforward flatbed canopy on the road, a blown-out-the-back, multi-room indoor/outdoor living complex when parked on a flattish patch of wilderness floor. Developed by South Africa's Modular Adventures, this exploratory strongbox will fend off rhinos, thicket, wetlands, lions and other gauntlets of the deep-African wilds before taming that foreboding backdrop into a snug, scenic encampment.
Hogzilla 4x4 operates as a spinoff brand of Modular Adventures, and Xpander Canopy is the name of its truck camping system. The canopy sort of ties together two of the more extreme camper concepts we've looked over in 2024: the expandable Berg CX6 caravan and the Inkunzi Land Cruiser camper. All three products are of South African descent, bringing a distinctly rugged and flexible slant to the forefront of off-road adventure.
Unlike the CX6 or Inkunzi, the Xpander's main canopy body isn't made to live in so much as carry essential gear. It's the slide-out rear bedroom that makes it a livable all-in-one camper, relying on a skeletal frame design to fit around the canopy guts when closed. The bedroom pulls out and sets up in a matter of minutes to give nomads the respite of a 78 x 56-in (198 x 143-cm) double bed.
That's not quite the full-blown South African king offered inside Berg trailer's slide-out, but it's a few inches shy of a queen – plenty of space for two adults, and maybe a child or pet. The aluminum frame surrounding the mattress is filled out with reinforced PVC canvas walls and mosquito mesh to make a weatherproof bedroom pod. There's also the option of adding full-length aluminum gullwing doors to increase the protection level against the elements and creatures of the night.
The main canopy up front comes ready to be stuffed with kitchen gear, starting off with a fridge slide fit for models up to 80 liters. That slide is capped off by a drop-down stove table and dry food storage shelves. A larger drop-down worktop is available right next to the slide, setting up below the cutlery drawer, slide-out pantry and fixed shelves inside the canopy. Also stored inside is a pair of 40-L water tanks secured neatly against the wall. A microwave can be added optionally.
The other side of the canopy is dedicated to utilities and open storage. It comes stocked with a 6-L gas water heater and 100-Ah lithium battery and has loads of empty upper and lower storage space, including a large platform drawer.
Hogzilla tops the canopy with a pair of racks, one directly on the roof of the body and one that extends over the truck cab. A combination of 270- and 180-degree awnings swings out to provide shade from just outside the front passenger-side door, over the kitchen, around the rear bedroom, and clean to the righthand driver's side. An available privacy tent hangs down from the driver-side awning for use with the water heater-connected outdoor shower and available portable toilet.
Pictured on the back of a Toyota Hilux, the Hogzilla Xpander is designed to work with the full gamut of South African "bakkie" (pickup) models, Hogzilla 4x4 says, including single-, double- and king-cab configurations. It mounts to an included flatbed and can be easily removed whenever one needs the bed space back.
The Xpander Canopy launched last year and is available for order now. The most basic configuration with just the flatbed, empty canopy, slide-out bedroom with mattress, lifting jacks and rear spare tire carrier starts just under R220,550 (approx. US$11,775). A fully outfitted model with the two awnings, fridge slide and kitchen storage, Cadac dual-burner stove, dishes and cutlery, fresh water storage, 100-Ah lithium battery and electrical hardware, LED lighting and water heater comes out to R378,550 ($20,200), as per a pricing quote we requested. Those prices, of course, do not include the pickup truck, which the customer supplies.
If the full-blown Xpander Canopy looks a little too big and intimidating, Hogzilla just introduced the Xpander Mini at the Caravan Overland Show this past February. The Mini is more of a slide-out kitchen and utility setup, not a complete camper, and fits inside a stock pickup bed, protected by a basic cab-height truck shell. It includes a mini canopy-like setup with slide-out stove, fold-down worktops, pantry, general storage and fridge slide, all atop a heavy duty sliding tray. The Mini lacks sleeping amenities so would work best with a separate tent or as a daytime tailgate/picnic solution.
Source: Hogzilla 4x4