ARB Earth Camper: Off

Jun 05, 2023

With nearly 50 years of expertise in the off-road and overland markets, ARB is finally entering the camper trailer segment with the Earth Camper. It's very Australian and looks ready for serious adventure travel.

The ARB Earth Camper is a luxury, full-featured, compact camper trailer that can handle some serious off-road terrain. It’s ARB’s first camper trailer, and the brand designed it from the ground up to be lightweight, super off-road capable, loaded with amenities, and small enough to go just about anywhere.

The brand began exploring the idea for this camper all the way back in 2016. ARB has since done all the necessary design and testing work to bring it to market. It’s now available in Australia, but it’s still up in the air as to if or when we might see it on this side of the big pond.

Let’s dive into what this camper trailer has to offer.

First up, we have to have a look at the unique chassis that the Earth Camper is built on. It is a mandrel bent tubular steel chassis instead of a traditional box frame. This offers impressive rigidity and reduces weak points that can crack when bouncing around off road.

It’s an exoskeleton-style setup that goes all around and even up and over the camper shell. It should be great for protecting the camper from trail obstacle impacts.

Speaking of impacts, there are a ton of features on this camper specifically to reduce impact damage. Up front, there are a rock guard shield and paint protection film covering the front of the camper shell. Underneath, you get front and rear mud flaps as well as a large aluminum skid plate.

As with most Australian camper trailers, there is an impressive suspension system under the Earth Camper, designed to handle the long corrugated roads that crisscross the continent.

First up are nearly 3-foot-long (900mm) trailing arms that should offer impressive wheel travel and a smooth ride. Then there are the vertically mounted Old Man Emu (OME) Nitrocharger shocks. They should work well on road and off to make towing this trailer in nearly any conditions super controllable.

This camper rolls on 16-inch alloy wheels (with a Toyota lug pattern) wrapped in 32-inch Maxxis all-terrain tires. When parked up at camp and disconnected from your vehicle, there is an ARK jockey wheel and deployable rear leveling stabilizers.

When rolling down a dirt track, you don’t want dust to enter your living space or get all over your equipment. ARB has built in a dust-suppression system into the Earth Camper. Two roof vents with filters keep the camper and kitchen area pressurized, which should prevent dust ingress from getting in when blasting down the road less traveled.

The camper shell itself is made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) coated in a “cool grey”-colored gel coat. The walls are 25 mm thick, with 20mm of that being a foam core. This should work well for temperature and noise control inside the camper. ARB’s Earth Camper is a 100% woodfree design, which will help it last longer in any climate.

This rear-clamshell style camper, with interior sleeping and exterior living spaces, has been quite popular in Australia for decades. Only pretty recently has this type of camper started showing up on the North American RV/overland scene, with campers like the Track Trailes Tvan ($56,000).

On the ARB Earth Camper trailer, the rear door drops down with electric actuators at the touch of a button. ARB says the Earth Camper is “bed-ready in one minute.” This is a great feature, but the design does not allow for stealth camping, as the bed access is only available with the rear clamshell down.

Once the rear clamshell is down, it creates a floor for an optional annex/vestibule. It also provides access to the rear door of the sleeping area, which can be locked for security when sleeping. Under the bed is a pull-out drawer and a flip-out table.

There is pretty impressive room inside the camper. It has almost 5 feet (1,500 mm) of interior height and a queen-size bed. Inside, there are windows that open, dual fans, lots of lighting, and USB charging ports.

A major feature of this camper is the full kitchen setup that slides out of the side. It has a massive 96L ZERO fridge/freezer, a big pull-out pantry with a countertop, and a three-burner cooktop/sink combo. The running water comes from 140L dual water tanks, and the pump is powered by the onboard 100Ah lithium battery.

The camper’s freestanding awning can shield the whole kitchen area from the elements. It’s built into the camper shell so as to not snag on trees when going down the trail.

The stove and hot water systems onboard are powered by propane. Two propane bottles, with insulating covers, and storage spots are included.

Also included are dual jerry cans, a 120W solar panel on the roof, and a platform roof rack.

While you get a lot as standard (see massive list at the bottom of this post), you also can option the Earth Camper with some quality upgrades (also see the full list at bottom of this post). Things like a diesel heater, awning walls, and a full ensuite/bathroom addition with running hot water are available.

Of course, more electrical power and control are also available. This includes things like a secondary battery, Redarc Redvision electrical management system, portable solar, and a bigger inverter.

The Earth Camper is made in Thailand at an ARB factory, according to our contacts at the company. While it’s now available in Australia, North American availability is not confirmed — yet. ARB USA did tell us that it will “likely be the first export market outside of Australia.”

So, if we do get it, how much is it going to cost? Well, in Australia, pricing starts at $74,500 AUD, which is currently about $50,000 USD. Add in shipping and other fees, and we’d wager to bet that North American pricing will start north of $60,000.

You can find out all the nitty-gritty details about the ARB Earth Camper on the brand’s Australia website product page.

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