Iceland’s Artic Trucks are the makers of the most capable all-terrain trucks in the world, designed to cross the rugged and unforgiving volcanic interior of the company’s island home. Now imagine taking all of those capabilities, putting them into a Ford F-550, and bolting a fancy studio apartment on it like a backpack. Actually, now you don’t have to use your puny imagination, because KRUG Expeditions did just that with its Arctic Trucks-modified Bedrock XT2.
Ford SuperDuty-based expedition vehicles are definitely a thing, promising the ability to cross the world mixed with most of the comforts of home. Most famously there’s Colorado-based EarthRoamer, which charges about $730,000 and up for its SuperDuty-based LT1. Most infamously there’s the $1 million 27North Ascender 30A that David found abandoned on a trail.
Slightly cheaper than both of those, at least in advertised price, is the latest offering from Austria’s KRUG Expedition. For a comparatively reasonable price, the Bedrock XT2 is designed to give a certain type of consumer everything they’d need in an expedition vehicle. While I wonder if some of these vehicles will ever come to market, this one has a few things going for it and is destined for American shores.
Iceland’s Arctic Trucks Are Legit
If you’ve ever seen a picture of a truck with impossibly huge tires crisscrossing Grenland or climbing over a Glacier above the Arctic Circle, there’s a decent chance it’s a truck made by Arctic Trucks. The company goes back to the ’80s in Iceland when its main gig was modifying 4×4 trucks and vans to accept the larger tires necessary to cross certain terrain.
This quickly turned into a business modifying vehicles for use by rescue squads and researchers. From the company’s history:
In 1997, Arctic Trucks was commissioned to provide two Arctic Trucks AT44’s built on the Land Cruiser 80 Series platform to support a scientific expedition in Antarctica scanning glaciers. The vehicles were also used for transporting personnel and equipment to the high plateau for a research drilling project. In 1999, three AT44 vehicles became the first vehicles to achieve crossing of the Greenland ice cap, and even drove back just for good measure.
I did a project where we sent Chris Harris and Mike Spinelli to Iceland to drive across it in a Raptor and, of course, we had a guide to make sure they didn’t die. That guide was driving a big ol’ Arctic Truck. The company is probably the world’s foremost builder of these kinds of trucks.
Since then, Arctic Trucks has expanded into North America and offers an F-550-based AT44. That’s what KRUG is using for its truck.
Arctic Truck’s mission has always been to build vehicles that allow customers to explore without limits,” said Randy Hasson, COO of Arctic Trucks North America. “We see KRUG as a natural partner in building high-quality, well-engineered mobility solutions.
So who is KRUG?
This Isn’t KRUG’s First Big Overlander
Based on the Austrian side of the Alps, KRUG Expedition builds the European-style truck-based mega overlanders we generally don’t see here in the United States. Currently, the company sells the Project Rhino and Rhino XL, both massive overlanders built on the Mercedes-Benz Atego truck chassis.
The company is relatively newer, having only started building trucks about a decade ago, but they’ve actually built a number of Rhino and Rhino XL vehicles, as you can see in this video:
Up to this point, the vehicles were not for sale in America, likely because the trucks they’re based on are not sold here. Do you know what is sold here in large quantities? The Ford F-Series.
The Bedrock XT2 Is An Arctic Truck-Based Camper
For an Austrian company, they sure nailed what an American camper should look like. It’s almost too much, which is why it reads as American. It’s huge. The AT44-based F550 gets a 176-inch wheelbase, six wheels, and stands 90 inches tall. While the extra axle isn’t driven, the company says it reduces ground pressure by 25%.
Arctic Trucks re-engineered the truck and gave it an 8-link rear air suspension that can be controlled from the cab but tried to minimize lift “to retain near-stock suspension geometry and ultra-low center mass for stability.” A low center of gravity is important when off-roading with a giant camper up top as this is specifically designed to go places where the road is anything but flat and straight. Aiding with traction is a semi-automatic tire inflation system and an optional central tire inflation system similar to what came on the original Humvees.
KRUG also mentions this:
The subframe of each Bedrock XT2 powerhouse further allows for users to decouple the module body from the vehicle chassis, which ensures that the module is not damaged when off-road driving results in twisting, heavy loads being placed on the chassis frame.
I’m not 100% sure how that works, but I think it allows the sleeping area to articulate more when stressed.
It’s Built Like A Fancy Cooler Inside
KRUG’s living areas, which it calls a “module,” are constructed sort of like a fancy cooler with layers of reinforced composite panels that are sandwiched together. This is designed to keep the inside temperate no matter what it’s like outside as well as reduce condensation.
While it’s big and tough outside, it definitely gives a minimalist Airbnb vibe on the inside, with a big king-size bed in the back. There’s also a dinette that can be turned into a sleeping area quickly for guests.
In its current form, the kitchen area is fairly straightforward, but KRUG seems willing to customize it however you like. It looks like there’s an induction stovetop built into the kitchen, which makes sense, as well as a fancy Miele microwave. The Bedrock XT2 is fully electric and combines a 1450 wp solar panel array up top with a big 23 kWh hour battery pack. Heating comes from a Truma Combi diesel-powered air-heating system, though a hydronic heating system underfloor can be added and a giant air-conditioner can also be optioned.
What if you’re going far offroad? There’s a 118-gallon water tank built into the truck to supply the kitchen and the bathroom. What of the bathroom? Everyone’s always curious about what you can get on a rig like this, so here you go:
The truck’s pressurized water system has a bunch of filters, just in case you’re somewhere with sketchy water.
And, finally, if you’re really a chef…
For culinary enthusiasts, an outdoor kitchen can be integrated into the underfloor storage boxes, offering a convenient and enjoyable cooking experience in the great outdoors
Yes, please.
It’s Cheaper, But It’s Not Cheap
These kinds of vehicles are in an entirely different cost class from your typical slide-in truck camper, so it’s hard to comprehend what value is, but at a starting price of $690,000 the Bedrock XT2 starts at about $40,000 less than an EarthRoamer LT1, and about $60,000 less than the 27North.
As with all RVs and Campers, it’s not the base price that’s important but how much money you end up spending to make this your own home-away-from-home. Plus, you can’t show up to the campground and get shown up by your neighbors. I heard the Rubbles put a Nomadic Cooling X3 Air Conditioner in their Bedrock XT2…
If you want to go really nuts you can get the $2.1 million Pangea Sky Lounge, so by comparison this is fairly conservative. If this is something you’re into you can go over to Krug’s new US site and order one of your own. If you do order one please tell them we sent you so maybe they’ll let us borrow the demo copy for a weekend.
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