With its newest release, Canadian RV specialist Leisure Travel Vans (LTV) adjusts focus from luxurious leisure to heart-pounding adventure travel. The new Unity TBX motorhome promises to step up the game from 4×4 adventure van life like a penthouse suite steps it up from a basic hotel room. It’ll still chase waves, plunder pillowy post-blizzard powder, and drive to the edge of sky-penetrating big wall climbs, but after the sun sets, it’s much more than just a crash pad on a Sprinter chassis, providing a comfy, oversized living space complete with transformable multimedia lounge, master bedroom and dry bath.
We’ve long considered Leisure Travel Vans to be a top name in premium small motorhomes, the type of units a well-to-do retired couple might buy for extended or intermittent travel. With the TBX series, the company is tapping into its more adventurous side with a design meant to exude “rugged meets refined.”
The 25-ft (7.6-m) TBX won’t come close to the all-out go-anywhere adventure chops of a dedicated 4×4 expedition RV like an Earthroamer or Jeep Action Camper, but it does start off with a legit base in the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 with 170-in (432-cm) wheelbase, which can be specced with or without AWD. The all-wheel model distinguishes itself with a slightly more macho “TB4X” nameplate, the factory suspension lift that comes with Mercedes’ AWD system, and a set of contrast-black rear fender flares.
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Perhaps the biggest clue that the TBX series is more than your grandpa’s retirement wagon comes at the very back of the motorhome. The intercontinental tunnel-sized gear garage is just ravenous for bicycles, surfboards, skis, e-MTBs, climbing kit and whatever else you can think to stuff into its 1,727 liters of open space. It would look downright malnourished with just a cooler and carry-on. The garage also includes 12- and 120-V outlets for charging things like ebike batteries or mountain bike lighting systems and interior lighting for use after dark.
Anything that doesn’t fit neatly in the pass-through cabinet can be pulled or bolted on the hitch, where the TBX offers up to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of towing capacity.
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The TBX is prepped to dig in and serve as a jump-off point and base camp for days. It features an off-grid electrical system built out from a 270-Ah lithium battery (upgradeable to 540-Ah). Buyers can wire that pack up to 400 watts of solar or charge it drops to critical level via the available 4-kW LP generator and/or 255-A high-output auxiliary engine alternator. A 3,000-W inverter sends power to 120-V hardware and outlets, while a FireFly smart command system controls the lights, temperature and other hardware and systems from a central controller and mobile app.
Arguably the biggest selling point of the TBX series is its large, cushy 6.3-ft-high (1.9-m) interior. Adventurers can park and crash in virtually any vehicle, but the TBX is more like a vacation condo you park at the water’s edge or trail head. Built to sleep four, it features a dedicated master bedroom at the rear equipped with individual 74 x 32-in (188 x 86-cm) twin beds that adjoin into a 74 x 64-in (188 x 163-cm) RV queen. Keeping them as twins leaves plenty of space in between for getting in and out of bed and a nightstand between the heads of the beds.
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The front of the TBX series houses an equally impressive space, a versatile swivel lounge. Quite similar to the rotating seating group Bürstner introduced last year on its Signature B+ motorhome, LTV’s design features a two-seat bench that faces forward during travel, then spins around 90 degrees into a more open lounge space incorporating a third cushioned seat across the way and the two swiveled cab seats.
Two Lagun tables set up for meals and laptop work, swiveling to different seating positions. The front of the master bedroom nightstand also includes a table clamp for bedroom table use.
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At night, the tables remove and the front lounge converts into a 41 x 73-in (104 x 185-cm) transverse double bed so the family that adventures together can sleep safely and comfortably in the same motorhome together … and do it all over again the following day. The 27-in smart TV with sound bar is positioned so it can be watched while seated or lying in bed, and the TBX is prewired for both cable and satellite and also includes a mobile data/Wi-Fi extender.
Splitting those two bed/lounge areas, the dry bathroom takes up the center of the driver’s side. It has a main room with a ceramic macerator toilet and sink and a separate shower.
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Across the aisle, the kitchen houses a dual-burner induction cooktop and stainless steel sink on the main block, with a large 176-L double-door compressor fridge and convection microwave on the wall right behind it. There’s also a garbage can, slide-out counter extension and pull-out pantry.
No matter the season, the Unity TBX’s full climate control system is available to keep the interior temperature just right. The Truma Aventa Eco air conditioner can run off battery or shore power and comes equipped with a shore power-driven heat pump for delivering heat in moderately cool weather. The Truma VarioHeat furnace takes over when full winter-level cold sets in. The TBX carries 151 liters of fresh water and stores 132.5 liters of gray water.
Leisure Travel Vans introduced the all-new Unity TBX series at the Florida RV SuperShow last month. The motorhome is available now starting at US$236,790 for the TBX base model and $243,690 for the TB4X all-wheel-drive variant.
Source: Leisure Travel Vans
