Exo-hauler is toy hauler + pickup camper
Today’s RV review is of the Exo-hauler. This is one of the more unusual RVs that I’ve ever seen. The best way to describe this is a crossover between a pickup camper and a toy hauler. In fact, it is both but it’s clear this was built by someone who loves to RV just based on how many problems it solves for the right type of camper.
I saw this RV in person at the 2023 Quarzsite Sports, Vacation and RV show and this would seem like a perfect place to introduce it to the world. The tiny desert town of Quartzsite, Arizona swells to hundreds of thousands of people in what would be winter elsewhere in the country. These travelers come in all sorts of vehicles that qualify as RVs with many spending months in the desert avoiding winters elsewhere.
One of the things that surprised me the first time I went to the show was how many people drive around the streets in ATVs. This was quite forbidden where I come from but was common here to the point that there is specific ATV parking at many of the places of business.
A camper - a toy hauler
Combining the ability to transport one of these vehicles as well as just camp in a pickup camper is just what the Exo-hauler is all about. Essentially there is a sleeping space above the cab of this vehicle as you might expect in a pickup camper.
But the place above the bed of the camper is devoted to carrying your ATV when you are in transit. In fact creator Jason Cofran said that this vehicle is designed to tote ATVs up to 2,500 pounds.
Obviously this is very dependent on the pickup you choose to carry it all with.
Once you’ve offloaded the ATV now the bed area becomes your camping space. A top folds out over much of the space just as you’d see in a boat. In fact many of the features of this camper come directly out of the marine industry.
Toward the front of the open space is the kitchen which consists of a two-burner propane stove and a sink. That sink has a quick connect fitting so you could either use it as a sink, or use it as a shower.
Surprises
The kitchen space is covered by a flip-up compartment door when the vehicle is in transit but when you’re camping and the door is up, there’s one of the first surprises. Jason has fitted a curtain ring around the exterior of the door so this now becomes a private space.
Bring along a toilet like the Camco Travel Toilet and this is now also the bathroom.
Inside the kitchen compartment are several drawers and cabinets which could be where you haul tools or toiletries or whatever suits you.
On the subject of surprise storage, you’ll find a compartment in the floor of the open space with a genuinely surprising amount of room. Jason showed a small generator and a lot of tools and such in this space. It’s quite large.
The access door is fitted with a pole mount for a plastic table with four cup holders in it. This absolutely reminds me of things I’ve seen on boats and works well. Bring your camp chairs, you’ve got a game or dining table for four.
There’s another cargo area at the very back of this camper that was large enough to hold a portable toilet and a number of necessities for dumping the tanks.
On the subject of tanks, there is a surprisingly large 37 gallon fresh water holding tank. This could keep a couple of campers quite happy for a number of days.
I had mentioned the shower in the kitchen area but you can also utilize a shower on the side of the rig. While some campers wouldn’t consider using this I know the people camped in the desert in Quartzsite and many overlanders all over would find this to be a good thing to have.
You could also use the SylvanSport Privy Bivy that Peggy wrote about here.
The ramps that you would use to load an ATV are also the steps to get up into the Exo-hauler and have steps built into them to facilitate humans getting in and out. There are actually three ramps and the third ramp also acts as a tailgate when the vehicle is in transit.
Long-time readers of these stories will know that I love things that have multiple purposes and so the ramps and the door to the kitchen area that are multitaskers make me happy.
Something I hadn’t even noticed until it was pointed out was that the bedroom actually is air conditioned. There’s a small window-style air conditioner that exhausts into the kitchen. While I originally wondered if this was sufficient ventilation, I realized that Jason has many years of experience in heating and air conditioning so I’m pretty sure it’s just fine.
While you can get into the bedroom from the cargo bed of the camper, there’s also a side door with a telescoping ladder that gets you in through the side if you’d rather.
The metal ribs that form the frame under the aluminum skin of the Eco-hauler.
Build quality
While creator Jason Cofran attributes many of the creative uses of space to the marine industry, he also says that many of the design elements came from his experience in heating and air conditioning systems.
As such he is very familiar with metal fabrication which is put to good use in building this camper.
The sidewalls and roof are all aluminum structure with steel bracing on the inside.
Conclusions
I know this will absolutely appeal to some travelers who want to take bikes or ATVs with them but don’t necessarily want to haul a trailer. In fact you could put this on a four-wheel-drive truck and now you can go where many can not.
I will say this is no lightweight vehicle so you’ll want to look at the numbers on your truck before you make a buying decision. But for those who have the right truck, or are willing to buy the right truck, and want to carry gear or vehicles, this is truly one of the most unusual campers I’ve seen and a true testament to someone building something that is unusual and fits a niche quite well.
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