The Ultimate Adventure Vehicle – Bearfoot Theory

If you’re an out of doors fanatic who desires to get exterior extra and hit the open street, the Storyteller Overland MODE van would possibly simply be the proper ready-to-go journey automobile for you. This versatile, succesful van is designed to get you off the crushed path and can help you expertise the outside in an entire new means. In this full Storyteller Overland MODE van evaluation, I share precisely why.

I took a 2023 Storyteller Overland Classic MODE AWD Van for a spin round Southern Utah, exploring filth roads and secluded campsites, and I used to be blown away by how adventure-ready it’s. It’s simple to see that Storyteller Overland has completely perfected their design through the years – each little element is impressively thought out. It comes outfitted with all the things you want so you’ll be able to hit the street straight away.

To provide you with somewhat background, I’ve toured many alternative camper vans, truck campers, and different journey automobiles through the years. My husband and I’ve street tripped and camped in our Volkswagen Vanagon throughout the Western U.S., pushed the Baja California peninsula many occasions, and even lived out of it for greater than a 12 months once we drove from San Diego to Patagonia. From assembly different vacationers on the street to trying out journey rigs at occasions, we’ve seen automobiles which have spanned the gamut from price range DIY to luxurious RVs to insanely succesful Earth Cruisers.

I first noticed Storyteller Overland’s MODE vans in particular person at Open Roads Fest, Bearfoot Theory’s van life occasion, and was impressed by their well-thought-out versatile structure, rugged design, and the way in which they maximized the usage of house. However, attending to expertise a MODE van on the street was subsequent stage and gave me an amazing appreciation for the way wonderful these vans actually are.

After 10 days and practically 1,500 miles exploring the backroads of Southern Utah in a Storyteller Overland MODE Van, right here is my full evaluation and why I feel this could be the final word journey automobile for outside lovers who need a van that’s able to hit the street.

The Van: 2023 AWD Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

We had been fortunate sufficient to take out a model new 2023 Storyteller Overland Classic MODE AWD van constructed on a 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. As with all Storyteller Sprinter vans, it’s a 144” wheelbase, high-roof Sprinter.

The very first thing we observed was how simple it was to drive in comparison with different camper vans and huge automobiles we’ve pushed. It dealt with extra like an SUV than a 9,000 lb camper van, zipping by means of cities and sliding into regular parking spots.

360-degree cameras make each facet of driving a breeze whether or not you’re turning a decent nook, parallel parking, or backing up. The entrance dashboard has a giant contact display that shows the digital camera view when wanted and makes it simple to manage lane help and different automated driving options.

The van comes with all the opposite fashionable facilities you’d anticipate in a brand-new Sprinter van together with LED high-performance headlamps, heated swiveling driver and passenger seats, satellite tv for pc radio, a navigation system, driving help, Bluetooth, and extra. You can view the complete specs of the Storyteller Overland Classic 2023 MODE AWD Sprinter right here.

Storyteller Overland Classic MODE Van Interior

Step contained in the Storyteller Overland MODE van and also you’ll be greeted by a comfy, purposeful residing house that’s designed so as to add consolation and comfort to your adventures. The inside structure is well-thought-out, with a wide range of cleverly designed options that maximize house and performance.

Seating

One of the issues we liked most in regards to the Storyteller Overland MODE van was the seating and sleeping setup. The van comfortably seats and sleeps as much as 4 individuals, that’s why the STO makes our listing of the greatest campervans for households.

There’s seating with seatbelts for 2 behind the motive force’s seat. Even higher, this seat – also called Storyteller Overland’s patented GrooveLounge™ – folds down right into a mattress.

We traveled with our one-year-old so this setup was good for us. In seat mode, we had been capable of safely safe her automotive seat for the lengthy drives. The seat subsequent to her got here in useful so certainly one of us may sit together with her when she received stressed and wanted leisure and snacks.

The seating space additionally features a desk that may transfer, swivel, and be eliminated and stowed if not wanted. It’s good as a piece station by day and eating desk at evening. We stowed it during our journey since we used the GrooveLounge as a sleeping space and in addition wanted house for our toddler to roam round, nevertheless it’s good to have the choice.

Finally, the entrance seats had been luxurious and cozy and each the motive force and entrance passenger seats swivel round for additional hangout seating and house when camped.

Sleeping

As talked about above, certainly one of our favourite options of the Storyteller van is the GrooveLounge – the rear seats that flip into a further mattress. It takes lower than a minute to fold down and it’s extensive sufficient to comfortably sleep one grownup or two babies.

When camped, we’d fold the GrooveLounge down and put our infant’s Pack’n’Play proper on prime (it felt sturdy as is however we secured it with paracord so there was no probability of her knocking it over). Even with the Pack’n’Play setup, we had been capable of transfer across the van like regular and entry the kitchen space, the mattress, and the storage. There was even sufficient house contained in the van for us to suit our toddler’s excessive chair inside for dinner on chilly evenings.

The primary mattress in the back of the van is snug and spacious sufficient for 2 adults. The flares present that little bit of additional house wanted to have the ability to sleep sideways and maximize the house within the van. My husband is 6’ and was capable of match comfortably on the mattress from head to foot. If you’re bigger than 6’ tall you would wish to make use of somewhat diagonal house (which there’s room for) when you wished to stretch out and sleep along with your legs straight.

The mattress is one other certainly one of Storyteller’s distinctive patented options (referred to as the Dreamweaver™ Bed/Convertible Work Surface) and is made up of two elements which makes the again space of the van very versatile. You can fold up one facet of the mattress to make extra standing room and use the opposite facet as a platform for cooking or working. Or you can fold either side of the mattress up to offer your self much more standing room within the again.

We traveled with the principle mattress in place the entire time since there was sufficient house within the cabin for us that we didn’t have to entry the again a lot. We liked that there was no want to maneuver issues round or make up the mattress at evening, it was able to go. We discovered the mattress to be snug as is (no additional padding wanted) and slept rather well. We used a snug double REI sleeping bag and pillows from house as our bedding and it labored out nice.

Kitchen/Galley

The kitchen within the Storyteller van, like all the things else, is completely thought out (the truth is, it makes our listing of greatest camper van kitchens). It makes use of the slider door house for max effectivity and appears out so you’ll be able to benefit from the views whereas cooking and cleansing. We discovered the counter house to be lots, and when the stainless-steel sink shouldn’t be in use, the tap folds down and the sink lid sits flush on the counter creating further counter house as effectively.

The fridge/freezer was spacious and held sufficient meals for the three of us for our whole 10-day journey. The van even comes with a stainless-steel microwave oven which got here in useful for reheating leftovers and rapidly heating up dinner for our infant.

The prime drawer of the galley holds the single burner transportable induction cooktop that comes with the van. This range was simple to cook dinner on and actually got here in useful. We introduced our double burner camp range pondering we’d need to use it to cook dinner extra elaborate meals however didn’t use it as soon as – we discovered the one burner induction range to be all we would have liked.

The three drawers beneath offered a superb quantity of cupboard space for pans, dishes, cookware, utensils, Tupperware, and many others, and made it handy to cook dinner and straightforward to wash up afterward.

The galley additionally comes with a useful exterior fold-down desk on the skin that you need to use with the slider door open. There’s even an outlet proper above the desk (I’m telling you – they’ve considered all the things) so you’ll be able to plug within the induction range and cook dinner exterior. That desk was actually all we would have liked for outside cooking and eating and it was good to not should depend on a further camp desk to arrange and pack away.

Shower/Bath

There are two showers on board the Storyteller van – each an indoor and an out of doors bathe. The indoor bathe is exclusive to Storyteller in that it stows away when not in use. Like the Groove Lounge, that is one other certainly one of their ingenious patented designs. You can see a video of it in motion in our roundup of the greatest camper van bogs.

While an indoor bathe is normally stationary and takes up useful actual property contained in the van, Storyteller’s Halo Interior Shower™ System is constructed into one of many overhead cupboards. Simply open the cupboard, pull out the bathe curtain, and open the FlexSpace™ Concealed Shower Pan constructed into the ground (which serves as a step as much as the mattress and cupboard space when not in use) and also you’re prepared to wash up after a protracted day of journey.

The bathe head has a useful on/off button so you’ll be able to simply cease the water circulation when you cleaning soap up, then flip the circulation again on if you’re able to rinse – a useful solution to save water so you may make your water provide final so long as attainable.

The outside bathe is positioned within the storage on the water management panel. It’s good for rapidly hosing off your self, your gear, and your pets if you don’t have to take a full indoor bathe.

Of course, when you’re going to bathe you’re going to need scorching water, and Storyteller Overland’s vans include a diesel-fired water heating system. You can have heat water when doing the dishes (one of the best when tenting in chilly temps) and for a scorching bathe anytime. The water heater works seemingly instantaneously when you have already got the cabin heater operating, and when you don’t have already got the heater operating it takes only a few minutes.

The Storyteller Overland van additionally comes with a transportable rest room that matches neatly contained in the bathe pan. For apparent causes, this was not included within the demo van so we don’t have any private enter on this, however having a transportable rest room or different system for going to the toilet onboard is important when touring away from lavatory amenities.

Water Storage

The Storyteller van has an in-cabin 21-gallon freshwater tank and a 24-gallon gray water tank – loads of water cupboard space for per week of journey with out having to fret about refilling. With all of the onboard conveniences, we had been fairly liberal with our water use at first and went by means of most of our water provide through the first 3 days of our journey (faster than we usually would). After realizing that, we began utilizing water extra conservatively and had been capable of make it last more. You may simply make 21 gallons of water final for per week when you’re being conservative and never showering within the van.

The freshwater tank can simply be crammed by attaching the included hose to a spigot. It may also be crammed by way of siphon which is a extremely cool function. The Storyteller can siphon water when a spigot can’t be discovered or when you merely desire to fill from a bucket or a 5-gallon jug.

For instance, in Sedona, moderately than looking for a potable water spigot to refill the van’s water tanks, we discovered it simpler to fill a 5-gallon jug with water at a refill exterior of a grocery retailer and siphon it into the van. It took 4 rounds to fill the contemporary water tank nevertheless it was fast and straightforward and is a good choice to have available for when you’ll be able to’t discover an out there water spigot (which might be harder within the winter months).

Climate Control

The van comes with a particular Storyteller touchscreen management panel that means that you can monitor and management numerous techniques, such because the lighting, heating, and water, from one centralized location. You can open the vent and switch the fan on, management the heating and air-con, verify your freshwater and greywater ranges, and extra. We discovered this technique to be extraordinarily simple to make use of and it was so good to have the ability to activate the heater with a faucet after getting back from a chilly snowy hike.

To begin, the Storyteller van is insulated with all-natural sheep’s wool which gives a extra snug inside temperature proper off the bat. For instance, we stopped at an REI in Phoenix on a scorching 80-degree day and determined to make lunch within the car parking zone earlier than hitting the street once more. We comfortably frolicked within the van in peak afternoon warmth in full solar in a car parking zone with simply the vent open and the slider door ajar – that was fairly spectacular.

In addition, the window on the slider door and the window reverse (behind the motive force seat) each open to vent, and the window at the back of the van by the mattress slides open as effectively creating a number of air flow choices mixed with the roof vent and fan.

The high-powered ceiling consumption/exhaust fan was useful for venting the van once we had been cooking and for creating somewhat airflow through the day when our one-year-old was inside napping. The vent has a rain sensor and can mechanically shut if it begins to rain – very useful in case you’re away from the van with the vent open and the climate turns.

Between the window vents, the ceiling vent, and the fan, you might be snug within the van even on a scorching day. We by no means used the cabin air-con nevertheless it’s out there in case you end up tenting in actually scorching temperatures and wish somewhat noon escape.

Perhaps most significantly for us, the van has a diesel-fired heating system which was a godsend on our journey in late March. It has been a moist, snowy 12 months and it nonetheless felt like winter once we had been on the street. We camped within the snow in below-freezing temperatures on the Grand Canyon and constantly had nights within the 30s all through our journey. In the night when the temps would drop, we’d hop within the van, set the thermostat to a snug 68 levels, and revel in cooking and consuming dinner in consolation.

The diesel heating system is each a cabin heater and a water heater multi function. For the cabin heater, you’ll be able to management the temperature and the fan stage (low, medium, or excessive) so you’ll be able to actually warmth issues up rapidly when wanted or maintain issues at a cushty temperature when sleeping at evening. You can even use the auto setting and set the temperature to the place you need it and the heater will care for the remainder. This was particularly necessary to us with our little one-year-old so we may sleep simple understanding she was heat and comfortable at evening.

Lighting

Lighting has a big effect on ambiance, and the lighting within the Storyteller van was thoughtfully laid out, purposeful, and handy, identical to the remainder of the van.

The lights are divided into completely different areas in order that with one contact of the management panel you’ll be able to activate the cabin lights (the principle lights down the middle of the van), the studying lights (lights alongside the perimeters of the van beneath the cupboards you could click on on and off individually), and storage lights. All the lights are LED and totally dimmable as effectively. This was good for creating the ambiance we wished and was particularly useful for turning issues down within the night when it was time to wind down our infant for mattress.

Storage Space

There’s loads of well-thought-out cupboard space all through the van.

Up entrance there’s overhead storage for each the motive force and passenger (the proper place to retailer your hat, sun shades, beanie, headlamp, and many others for simple entry), three storage compartments on prime of the dashboard certainly one of which has USB and Bluetooth ports, and two units of twin cupholders. These might all be commonplace options of Mercedes’ 2023 Sprinter vans however they had been tremendous handy nonetheless.

In the cabin there are overhead cupboards that line either side and supply loads of cupboard space. All have click-in button locks which are tremendous useful – simply click on the button in when closing the cupboards to lock them in place for driving for a rattle-free journey and click on them open if you’re stopped and have to entry one thing.

We used the cupboard closest to the galley as a pantry for espresso, tea, oatmeal, and snacks. The cupboards above the mattress had been good for storing all our garments which we put in packing cubes to make it simple to seek out what we had been on the lookout for (one packing dice for tops, one for bottoms, one for undergarments, and many others). Having a spot for all the things actually helps maintain issues organized so you’ll be able to spend your time exploring exterior, not looking out excessive and low on your socks.

Garage

The storage could be very spacious and makes bringing huge gear objects alongside simple. It’s a giant open cargo space with a heavy-duty flooring and L-track so you’ll be able to retailer and safe bikes, paddleboards, climbing/backpacking gear, and anything you would possibly want. We solely introduced climbing gear on our street journey so we didn’t make the most of the storage to its full capability, nevertheless it was useful to have a lot house and be capable of simply throw our gear again there.

In addition to all of the cupboard space within the storage, you’ll additionally discover an out of doors bathe and all the water management panel the place you’ll be able to fill water, empty water, and winterize the system when wanted. It’s all very simple and straightforward to make use of.

Additional Features

The Storyteller van comes with a full set of bug screens put in on each the facet and rear doorways so you’ll be able to benefit from the contemporary air with the doorways open proper off the bat. These are important for heat months when the bugs are out. They are simple to roll down when wanted and roll up when not. When in use, a magnetic strip makes it simple to go out and in of the van and shut the display behind you to maintain bugs out. We solely used the bug screens on the primary day of our street journey earlier than we reached colder temps the place there have been no bugs and we discovered them to be very handy.

Another function that I contemplate an absolute necessity is insulated privateness window covers. Luckily, the Storyteller van comes with a whole set of high-quality window covers for every window within the van. Each is labeled with its location and simply attaches by way of the magnetic lining. In addition to offering privateness, these assist insulate the within of the van from each cold and hot temperatures exterior.

The included transportable bluetooth speaker was a pleasant contact as effectively. It’s housed proper above the galley subsequent to the microwave the place it conveniently fees so it’s prepared in case you need to take it exterior. This small however considerate function added to our enjoyable and made it tremendous simple to create a enjoyable ambiance whereas making dinner and hanging out with out having to have the automotive stereo on.

Storyteller Overland Classic MODE Van Exterior

Off-Road Capability

One of the key highlights of the Storyteller Overland Classic Mode AWD Sprinter camper van is its off-road functionality. This van is constructed to deal with tough terrain and take you to distant locations that aren’t accessible by common RVs. The van is supplied with all-terrain tires that present glorious traction and stability together with a strong AWD system and 9.5 inches of floor clearance permitting you to confidently navigate by means of difficult landscapes.

We took this van on many filth roads throughout our street journey, lots of which had been muddy and rutted from main rains within the days main as much as our journey. We put it to the take a look at and drove up the notorious Cottonwood Canyon street in Southern Utah – it dealt with very effectively and made it by means of some impressively deep mud.

Energy System

The energy system is ready as much as enable you the liberty to be stationary for a number of days and nonetheless have entry to the facility you want.

The van comes with a 90W photo voltaic panel on the roof together with a hefty home lithium battery that additionally fees when you drive by way of the high-output auxiliary alternator. We drove nearly each day throughout our journey so we by no means needed to fear about energy and solely took the battery right down to round 70% even with utilizing the lights, music, microwave, and charging our electronics.

The van additionally comes with a 30A energy wire in case you need to hook up at a campground or RV park.

The Volta touchscreen show subsequent to the principle Storyteller management panel makes it simple to show the inverter on and off and to see how a lot energy you’re utilizing and the way a lot you might have left.

There are loads of 110V and USB energy retailers all through the van, all strategically positioned proper the place you would possibly want them. There are additionally a couple of 12V retailers in case you want them.

Exterior Accessories

The van comes with a low-profile roof rack (full with a wind deflector) that creates a big platform on prime of the van the place you’ll be able to sit and benefit from the sundown with a drink in hand. This additionally offers you the choice to simply connect gear or a rooftop tent.

The roof might be simply accessed by way of the facet ladder which has a useful nonslip grip.

There’s additionally a hitch on the again the place you’ll be able to connect a motorcycle rack (in case you don’t need to journey with bikes within the storage) or different exterior equipment like a spare tire (see our evaluation of the further Owl Vans equipment that Bearfoot Theory’s founder Kristen has on her customized Outside Van).

The van additionally comes with a powered awning you could prolong and retract with the contact of a button. It’s even lined with dimmable LED lights so you’ll be able to have outside lighting whereas stress-free exterior at evening.

Overall, we had been past impressed with the Storyteller Mode Sprinter van and the way sturdy, well-built, and adventure-ready it’s. So a lot in order that we had been unhappy when the time got here to return it. We’re now dreaming of getting one for ourselves so we will proceed adventuring with all of the consolation and comfort it gives, particularly with the infant onboard.

How to Get a Storyteller Overland Van

Storyteller Overland’s MODE vans can be found by means of a wide range of sellers throughout the U.S. You can discover a native seller close to you to see one in particular person.

What’s very nice about Storyteller Overland’s vans is that they’re able to go proper off the lot – no huge design choices to make, no ready for the construct, no second-guessing your choices. Just a well-thought-out, confirmed design that’s been perfected through the years.

If you’d prefer to take a Storyteller van out for a spin earlier than taking the leap, take a look at GoCamp – they provide totally outfitted camper van leases by proprietor and have a variety of Storyteller Overland vans of their fleet. Use the code GOBEARFOOT to get $50 off your rental.

I hope you discovered this Storyteller Overland evaluation useful and that you just discover the proper off-grid-ready camper van for you.

Related