Today's RV review is of the Embassy RV Traveler, a class B or camper van RV that is completely different from almost every other RV out there. By a long shot.

Almost every RV out there is built like every RV out there. That means a lot of wood in the build of the RV which is heavy and doesn’t fare well on the roads that are ever becoming worse. So when reader Robert H wrote in and suggested I look at the Embassy RV Traveler of course I was curious.

But the more I looked, the more I realized that Embassy RV is doing things very differently than what is typical in the RV space. Perhaps that’s because the company not only makes RVs, but also specialty vehicles for the medical and law enforcement segment as well.

I had the chance to speak with the company’s Vice President, Terry Minix, in a very interesting conversation. Interesting because Minix has vastly different ideas from what is customary in this business.

Big differences in materials

The company is different from the start but this was driven by Minix having to work on a vehicle that had been in an accident in the past. While that vehicle had never experienced a water leak, he found that the insulation behind the walls was damp. The reason for this is that vans are simply a small space where moisture gathers. As such the insulation had absorbed this moisture and the van had a musty smell and there was also the potential for mildew and other harmful bacterial.

Ew. The solution? “I’ve tried every insulation you can imagine,” says Terry.

So Embassy starts with a multi-layer industrial bubble foam insulation which is formed to the shape of the van and glued in place eight layers deep.

“I’m creating a vehicle that’s truly four seasons.”

The bubble foam conforms to the curves and shapes of the van and also does not absorb moisture. “My own van is years old and still smells new,” bragged Minix.

The flooring, too, is unique and is a one-and-one-half inch thick proprietary sub floor that’s bonded to the metal flooring in the van. Further, cabinets, walls and every other surface is made from materials that are unique to this build.

Since the company makes many of the materials themselves, it makes sense why you don’t see them in other van builds. Though that can change - more about that later.

Big differences in systems

While the materials used to build the vans is different, so are many of the systems that you don’t see.

For example, the Embassy vans can use a 12 volt mini split type air conditioning system with the exterior unit being mounted beneath the floor. Minix indicated that they can do a van build that is so stealthy he has customers who own them and live in areas with a homeowners association that prohibits RVs from being parked there yet these owners park their vans on their property undetected by the snooping HOA.

As of this writing all the vans come with at least 630 amp-hours of lithium power and are fitted with a second high-capacity alternator to charge the batteries. There is no solar, although the company will fit the wiring if asked to.

But the philosophy is that, with the quality of the insulation, you can park under a tree and idle the engine if your run low on juice. But that may not be and issue as Terry indicated that you can run the installed mini split system for about 15 hours and still have more than a third of your battery reserves remain.

Yes, you probably should re-read that paragraph. That is one heck of a claim.

Further none of their builds have any propane aboard. Instead they use the German-engineered Espar heaters that draw from the vehicle’s fuel tank. This means either gasoline or diesel fuel are used to heat the air. Water is heated through the same source.

If you’re a boater you might recognize some of these tactics and, indeed, there is a lot of thinking that is brought over from the marine space.

Another of those is that there is no black tank. Ever. Your choice of toilet is either the Laveo dry flush toilet we reviewed at a while back or a composting model. But that toilet is situated in the bathroom such that it can be closed off so the bathroom isn’t just about the toilet. It’s actually a pretty spacious affair, especially for a Class B RV.

A van, a plan, an RV

Another thing that’s really unusual about Embassy RV is that they’ll build whatever van you want. Like the Promaster? No worries. Prefer a Ford? Done. If the Sprinter’s your thing, then they’ll do that too.

In fact, they have a newer program called the Project Bear Cub where you can even bring your current B van in and have it converted to an Embassy RV. So if you’re quite tired of the RV portion of your Class B built between model years 2016-2021 perhaps there’s a solution for you.

One more thing

There’s one more thing I absolutely need to mention and that’s the available back porch function of the coach. Embassy has created a very unique back porch tent option for their RVs that literally expands the interior significantly and creates a closed-in back porch. Essentially this comes from opening the dual rear doors, dropping down a platform and then erecting a specially-built tent. It’s not much work but it drastically expands the RVs living space. In fact, it essentially can turn it into a two-bedroom unit or just a nice back porch to hang out on.

What’s inside

If wood is your thing, and I do really like the look of wood, then you’ll be challenged by the interior of this. But the layout is as smart as the material choices with seating for up to seven around a Lagun table. Cooking is done via a microwave and induction cook top. There is actually a good amount of storage and cabinet space here and the latches that keep the cabinets closed are marine-grade.

We RV folks could learn a lot about how to build things from the folks hanging out with Popeye.

When things break

By building things to a different standard things tend not to break according to Minix. But parts is parts and there is always the chance that something can go haywire. As such the charging and battery systems can actually be diagnosed remotely as was done recently with a customer in California whose charging system wasn’t behaving as it was supposed to.

By design that customer enabled Embassy to log into the van and a fix was established remotely returning the van to full functionality.

In summary

I almost feel like a carnival pitch man and a friend does refer to me as a cross between P.T. Barnum and Curly Howard (from the Three Stooges) but there’s more. Embassy RV only sells their vans directly to the customer. This isn’t horribly unusual in the RV space and we’ve seen this with things like the Bigfoot RV and the Escape brand as well.

But Minix claimed that the cost of materials on an Escape RV is about 30 percent higher than is typically used in most Class B RV builds. So how much are these? Surprisingly reasonable by Class B standards. For example, the company is awaiting a number of Ford Transit van chassis equipped with four-wheel-drive and expects to sell those as completed RVs for around $145,000 depending on customer choices.

Now when you think that there are Class B RVs out there whose price exceeds $200,000 it becomes evident that the Embassy product is quite the value.

I had described the Vanaholic build as one of my favorites thus far and that’s still the case. But this is on a whole different level, especially with the built-in energy systems. Interestingly both of these companies offer a form of “bring your own van” and neither uses wood or other water-absorbing materials in the build process.

There are a lot of folks building a lot of vans and more and more companies are jumping into the fray because, frankly, Class B RVs are a hot and growing segment of the market. With the way Embassy builds their vans including the materials choices and the whole way the company thinks so differently I believe that you’re honestly doing yourself a disservice if a Class B RV is something you’re shopping and you don’t consider their product. It may or may not be the right choice for you but the way they do things has knocked my socks off.

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