Overland expedition vehicles are a rare breed of adventuremobile, especially in North America. One-design production expedition vehicles are nearly nonexistent, but Storyteller Overland aims to change that.

It all starts with the GXV Epic, which debuted last year at Overland Expo West. For 2025, the build process and vehicle have been refined, and production kicked into gear.

Storyteller Oveland invited me out to its GXV production facility in Springfield, Mo., for a visit. There, I got a tour of its facility and took its latest creation, the Epic 2.0, out for an off-road and camping adventure. I drove it on the highway, on winding roads in the hills, through small towns, and down a range of dirt roads. I got a great night’s sleep in its queen-size bed as well.

In short: Big, off-road capable, high-quality, and highly optioned homes on wheels aren’t inexpensive. But if you can find an extra $799,784.67 in your piggy bank, the Storyteller GXV Epic overland camper is a seriously comfortable adventuremobile for two. Sure, it’s massive and won’t fit down every dirt road or trail, but that big size equates to loads of living space. And, it’s way easier to drive than you might imagine, but it does require an attentive driver due to its gigantic size and massive weight.

2025 Storyteller GXV Epic Review

Storyteller Overland is best known for its full lineup of Mercedes Sprinter-based camper vans. It also makes the Ram 5500-based Hilt truck camper alongside its vans in its Birmingham, Ala., production facility. Since purchasing Global Expedition Vehicles (GXV), it has shifted its big expedition truck builds from one-off custom machines to one-design products.

The Storyteller GXV Epic is made in the GXV manufacturing facility in Springfield, Mo. Over the past year, an optimized production line has been built out for this big expedition camper.

While the latest to roll off the assembly line, and first of the new 2.0 versions debuting for 2025, is the sixth Epic made, another five are in various stages of construction already. Currently, about one a month rolls off the assembly line complete.

Driving the Epic

With big size — over 30 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 12 feet high — comes required attention. Think of it as driving in 3D, as you will need to pay attention to overhead obstacles.

Big weight is also a consideration when on backroads with small bridges and on soft terrain. While this 26,400-pound (including 200 gallons of fuel) expedition camper is well below its 33K-pound GVWR, it’s still a heavy piece of equipment.

While I drive a wide range of vehicles often for my job as an automotive journalist, the GXV Epic is by far the largest and heaviest I’ve driven to date. Luckily, it’s impressively easy to drive. The cab-over design, an automatic transmission, light steering, good brakes, and a torquey diesel engine all help with that.

But you do have to plan ahead and take things slow when behind the wheel of this monster truck. The brakes have good initial bite and impressive stopping power, but do take a bit of getting used to to be smooth with. There is also no denying physics: It will take longer than a normal passenger vehicle to stop this big, heavy rig.

Also, while there is usable torque on tap (660 pound-feet) from the 6.7L Cummins turbo diesel that you’re sitting atop in the driver’s seat, there isn’t much horsepower (260 horsepower). What this equates to is driving this big rig with momentum.

Passes on the highway are unlikely. You will go up big hills slowly. Tight curvy roads and pavement adventures will be relatively slow going. There is plenty of torque down low, but you run out of power very fast.

I did find that engaging the low-range four-wheel-drive helps with the gearing considerably when cruising at about 30 mph and below. Once I discovered this, nearly all off-road time I spent in low-range 4WD, as it was much more enjoyable to drive.

As you might expect, the fuel economy of such a rig is not good. It guzzles diesel at a rate of around 9 mpg. I was told that in the mountains, you can expect closer to 6 mpg. But, the vehicle is fitted with a 200-gallon fuel tank, which equates to up to 1,800 miles of range.

In the Cab

While the cab looks like a factory unit, it’s actually been extended by the team at GXV with a custom 18-inch fiberglass, foam core extension. This offers up a much more spacious cabin, as well as some in-cab storage. But, most importantly, the extension allows the seats to have much more adjustment, providing an optimal driving position for even those of us who are tall.

Speaking of seats, the GXV Epic 2.0 is fitted with scheel-mann touring seats. These seats are heated, ventilated, and mounted on air-ride pedestals. Comfortable is an understatement — I love them so much that I run a version in my personal overland vehicle.

The cab is also fitted with a custom center console. While the addition of cupholders is welcome, they are way too shallow to hold much besides a cup of coffee. Also, there isn’t a great place to secure a water bottle within close reach.

Atop the console is also a large aftermarket touchscreen. It is the control unit for the Kenwood Sound System with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

While the dash is unmodified, additional switch gear has been added for the 4WD system and auxiliary lighting.

Off-Road Amenities

No, this chassis does not come with 4×4 from the factory, at least not in North America. But, GXV has a proprietary 4WD system that it has installed before building up the Epic. The system includes a new front axle, high and low range transfer case, and front and rear locking differentials. It even has a super-low 50:1 crawl ratio.

One of the last things to be installed in the production process, but also one of the most important elements of this build, are the massive 44-inch Goodyear multi-purpose tires mounted on aluminum forged wheels. Supersingles are used in the rear, to replace the factory dually setup. The massive footprint of these tires, along with the vehicle’s weight, really helps maintain traction, even in the sloppiest of conditions.

While these tires run at about 75 psi front and 90 rear on-road, GXV recommends airing them down to 40/60 when the pavement ends and things get rough. There are compressed air ports on both sides of the vehicle, which utilize the large air tank from the airbag suspension, in order to relatively quickly — still pretty slow — air up these huge tires.

The vehicle rides on an upgraded heavy-duty airbag system and massive King shocks. For such a heavy and tall vehicle, the ride quality is surprisingly smooth and confidence-inspiring.

The cab and camper are protected from impacts by both a burly exo-cage and a high-pressure spray-on ArmorThane coating — a burly truck bed liner material. The coating is actually black, and then automotive paint is applied over it to add color and for easy touch-ups.

In the burly front bumper is an upgraded 20,000-pound ComeUp winch. It would no doubt get a workout if this big vehicle ever needed to be recovered.

Off-road and area lighting surround this vehicle, so you’ll never be wanting for light while on the move or around camp.

A new rear Flairspace custom aluminum Molle panel now comes standard on the GXV Epic 2.0. It’s great for attaching accessories like traction boards, shovels, etc.

4-Season Adventure Travel

Inside the Epic camper is where this beast really shines. It truly has all the comforts of home in a compact yet extremely spacious layout. The hallway-style layout feels roomy, which is helped by how wide a majority of the hallway is. The inside is homey while also feeling a bit industrial, in a nice yacht kind of way.

The box is made of in-house produced FRP over foam core walls. The edges are composite, so there is no thermal bridging, while the outside corner caps are aluminum for impact strength. This construction is super thermally efficient and strong.

Combined with the triple-latched composite door and Armor Vision dual-pane glass windows — with integrated bug screens and blackout shades — this camper is perfect for four-season living anywhere on the globe.

An Aqua Hot 450D 650K BTU heat system has four air handlers that ensure the camper is warm and cozy no matter the temperature outside. Because the system is hydronic, it also has nearly no condensation and altitude issues that you might have with a diesel heating system. It also ensures you have hot water on demand.

A15K BTU Truma Aventa Comfort AC unit is installed in the roof. Summer overland adventures in the desert have never been so luxurious!

Big Bathroom

One feature that anyone buying this size and comfort level camper will demand is a nice bathroom, and the GXV Epic 2.0 delivers. It’s very large — which to some might seem like wasted space — and comfortable. It features a sink, shower, and flushable cassette toilet. With 120 gallons of fresh water on tap and a 40-gallon grey water tank, you can feel fine about taking long, luxurious hot showers.

The headroom is limited in the bathroom, because the floor is raised in order to keep all the plumbing inside the insulated camper — so they won’t freeze. But, the skylight in the bathroom offers up great ventilation and plenty of headroom for anyone up to about 6’4″ tall to shower in comfort.

Galley

In the middle of the camper is a full kitchen with loads of counter space, a big sink, a Guzzle H20 water filtration system, a two-drawer fridge/freezer, and a built-in two-burner induction cooktop. It would be nice if the cooktop were removable and usable outdoors, like it is in the GXV Hilt, but it’s not.

There is also a washer/dryer unit in the storage cabinets near the back of the camper. Lots of storage cabinets are just about everywhere they can be placed inside this camper, without making it feel cramped.

Sleeping Options

On the front wall is a pass-through to the cab, a super handy feature for so many situations. Then there is a large dinette with a collapsible table. The setup converts into a bed, which means the camper sleeps four but the truck only has seatbelts for two.

The main sleeping area is a queen-size bed in the rear of the camper. It is super-comfortable, offers enough headroom to sit up in bed, and has a large skylight above the bed. It also has nice little touches like reading lamps and wireless charging pads for overnight phone charging.

Power

Let’s dive into the power systems in this camper, as they’re extensive. An 18kWh 24V Mastervolt Power system keeps things powered up for extended off-grid adventures. Nearly 2,000W of solar panels on the roof keep the system charged. If the sun hides from you, just fire up the onboard Onan 6,000W diesel generator.

While the camper lacks any power outlets on the outside, the inside has lots of 110V outlets, USB 3.0 outlets, and even a few conductive charging pads. I particularly like the bedside charging pad and the pop-up charging pad/outlet hub in the countertops.

A rear pass-through compartment offers a huge slider tray, with an 800-pound capacity. This “garage” space is great for storing outdoor gear and camp furniture.

On each side of the tray are also all the batteries, electrical systems, and water systems. And, there is an outdoor shower that stows in the inside corner of this area, which is perfect for hosing off the dog, your legs after a muddy mountain bike, and the like.

On the passenger side of the camper, over the entry door, is a massive 16-foot powered awning. It is LED lit and creates quite a bit of outdoor shaded and rain-protected living area.

GXV Epic 2.0 Pricing & Availability

Something Storyteller Overland has worked hard to get is RVIA certification for the Epic. GXV vehicles of the past did not carry this certification. It means the vehicle has passed inspection for industry safety and quality standards. This helps with service availability, resale value, insurance, and financing.

Speaking of financing, the Storyteller Epic can be financed as an RV. That means up to a 30-year term. But, most customers of this class of vehicle, and this vehicle specifically, won’t and don’t finance it at all. That’s right, most customers who buy these will just wire the $799,784.67 sticker price from their bank account.

The Storyteller GXV Epic is sold nationwide (in the U.S.) through Storyteller Overland’s dealer network. The company told me that some dealers are even looking to stock this vehicle on their lots.

Lead times are currently short, and the company is confident it can deliver a camper within 3 months from the order and deposit date.

The only real option on this expedition camper is either a gray or sand color exterior, with gray being new for 2025. And, it’s a no-cost choice to make.

Storyteller GXV Epic 2.0 Review: Conclusions

The Storyteller GXV Epic 2.0 is essentially a high-end production RV with off-road capability. It is being hand-built on an impressive assembly line that is just getting dialed for efficiency. The quality and attention to detail are impressive.

Everything is serviceable and made with top-quality and relatively available parts, making maintenance possible at traditional RV service centers and heavy truck facilities, as well as by many marine mechanics, as many components in the camper come from the boating industry.

While $800K is not inexpensive, its actually quite the bargain for an expedition camper of this caliber and size. And, if you so choose, you can basically finance one like a home.

My big takeaways are that a vehicle of this size and capability is surprisingly easy to drive, but you will travel slower, as it’s not fast, and the attention needed to drive it is fatiguing. Also, it’s way more off-road capable than you might think, but size and weight have to be considered when finding suitable terrain to travel.

Do I want one? Not now. I have a family of three, and there are only two seatbelts in this vehicle, with no option for more. I also currently prefer to travel at a slightly higher pace and on slightly more challenging off-road terrain than would be appropriate for this big an adventuremobile.

But, if I was retired, wanted to hit the road full-time with my wife, and wanted a comfortable and capable rig to use as a basecamp, the Storyteller GXV Epic would be a good choice. I’d likely throw a moto and mountain bike carrier on the back and hit the road less traveled.