Bruder EXP-8 2023 Review

“Why would anyone pay nearly $300,000 for a camper trailer?” my wife asked me. “You could have a lot of great holidays for that money.”

Indeed! How about crossing the Sahara or Mongolia; driving Russia’s notorious ‘Road of Bones’; wandering Cape Town to Cairo; conquering Australia’s Simpson Desert; heading north to Alaska, or south to Tierra del Fuego... the list goes on.

The truth is that the Bruder EXP-8, which is now also available in an even pricier Stealth version, unlocks exotic places on the planet that cruise liners and even the late Anthony Bourdain couldn’t, or wouldn’t, visit.

Conquer terrain in comfort

To claim that the Brisbane-designed and built, cross-terrain exploration trailer is expected to conquer terrain in comfort that would daunt most rivals, is an understatement. It won’t appeal to the laid-back luxury ‘Cruise’ set, but that’s also not on the radar of one of Vladimir Putin’s mates, who reportedly has one.

However, according to BruderX co-founder, Dan Bosschieter, the majority of the 100 or so bespoke Bruder extreme off-grid expedition trailers he and his brother Toby have built over the past six years have gone to Australian adventurers, although their trailers are found in almost every inhospitable area on the planet.

The experienced off-road adventurers and brothers were previously the official Australian importers of the South African-built Conqueror UEV off-road campers for about five years before deciding to head off and produce their own vision of the ultimate off-road caravan.

“Building conventional campers and caravans just didn’t excite us,” explained Dan Bosschieter. “We wanted to go further. Our father was a commercial airline pilot and we would often travel with him all over the world and around Australia when we were younger and we knew there were many people out there who wanted to do the same.”

From Australia’s vast northern wilderness to the southern ski fields, they honed their camping and exploration skills from a very young age, with exploration of the great outdoors taking them to every continent and through all manner of climatic conditions.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Bosschieter’s concept of an all-terrain trailer didn’t emanate from any technical training, but through experience.

Dan’s unlikely background was as a teacher specialising in physical education, while Toby was an Outback tour guide. But they both loved remote area travel and after exhausting their imagination on the Conqueror, they decided to build their own trailer to go even further under the brand name of Bruder, which translates to ‘brothers’ in German.

Following 18 months of planning, their first collaboration was the tandem-axle high-speed Bruder EXP-6, whose unique rectangular tube chassis was engineered to handle over five times the camper’s maximum weight at millions of cycles. To increase its life, the purpose-built chassis was also airtight and completely sealed, with no openings for salt, sand or other debris to get trapped.

But the model’s real innovation was its extra-long-travel, remotely-controlled tandem airbag suspension, that endowed it with nearly three times more usable wheel travel than its nearest competitor. This allowed it to lope over truly inhospitable terrain, with its reserves of lithium battery power fed by a rooftop full of solar panels and supported by generous fresh water capacity, ensuring owners could remain off-grid long enough to appreciate the serenity.

Apart from its phased height-adjustable tandem-airbag suspension, the EXP-6’s longer body and rear external kitchen was anchored to its chassis by dual compression rubber isolation mounts that are designed to reduce the transfer of off-road vibrations.

Capable of withstanding three times the ADR strength requirement, according to Bruder, the bespoke chassis also used rolled and tubed materials which are said to be much stronger than a typical square box section design.

Even more research and development went into the compact military-inspired Bruder EXP-4, described on its launch as not only “the most capable off-road expedition trailer available, but also the quickest and easiest to camp with”.

Currently priced from $103,290, its long-travel airbag suspension and massive ground clearance thanks in part to 33-inch tyres and shorter body length allowed it to venture even further in comfort than the hardiest of off-road campers, with additional sleeping room for the kids if desired.

First caravan-like Bruder

The 5850mm (19ft 6in) long Bruder EXP-8 we have reviewed is a further development of the EXP-6 and claimed to be the only performance adventure trailer to offer such a high level of luxury, paired with its adventure performance and capability.

Like its progenitors, it offers nearly three times more usable wheel travel than its nearest competitor, which translates into a sublime ride quality, plus the ability to calibrate its height to suit different tow vehicles, and level out on virtually any sloping camping spot.

While retaining the 125mm x 75mm x 4mm Australian steel chassis dimensions of its forebears, the EXP-8 extreme off-road caravan has been re-designed to meet the demands of a larger vehicle traversing extreme terrain without compromising on its internal living space.

Like its smaller siblings, the EXP-8’s patented chassis and suspension system are built from the ground up in ISO 9001-certified facilities in northern Brisbane.

Designed as a true four-season, 21st century global exploration platform, the EXP-8’s composite body is certified-engineered and designed to handle +60°c to -30°c temperatures and has been tested in high altitudes of over 10,000ft.

Configured to accommodate a family in style and comfort, it comes with a fully enclosed climate-controlled interior that operates off-grid without the need for a generator or plugged-in power, with the main controls located on the portable bespoke Bruder Garmin central touchscreen.

Similar careful thought has also gone into the EXP-8’s epoxy-bonded closed-cell composite body. From the outside, the matte-black rough coat body finish on the review Bruder was imposing (you can have any colour you like – one customer chose red) and business-like, and its slim shape drew a crowd of curious onlookers with their phone cameras wherever it went. Despite its utilitarian and aerodynamically slippery design, this is not a camper that slips easily under the radar!

As reassurance for those travelling in extreme winter temperatures, the EXP-8’s roof has been engineered to withstand heavy snow loads.

Beach driving with the Bruder

Our photo-shoot took place on the hard and soft sands and knobbly hinterland dunes of the Cooloola Coast, north of Queensland’s Noosa Heads, and getting there via the Bruce Highway behind one of Bruder’s two Toyota 300 series Landcruisers it was hard to believe that we had a three-tonne caravan in tow.

Some of this was in the preparation as we were ensured, by selective use of the air suspension, that an optimum ball weight of around 150kg rested on the back of the Landcruiser, ensuring that the rig sat level and drove as though no trailer was attached.

Where we came to dune drop-offs, the EXP-8’s patented suspension on either side was raised or lowered remotely to allow it to ride level over the undulations like a tank crossing a ploughed field. Specially designed tubular A-arms and control rods ensure that all four wheels rise and fall in a vertical plane.

This feature endows the Bruder with off-road ability beyond any caravan we have ever experienced, with the suspension automatically self-levelling as it travelled at speed over the roughest terrain.

The same remote levelling feature ensures the owner can calibrate its travelling height to suit different tow vehicles and also level it out on virtually any sloping camp spot.

The manual height adjustment feature is truly impressive and ensures that the EXP-8 can cross swollen rivers with relative ease, with the main electrics, including its monster 16.7kWh lithium battery bank, its 5000W inverter and the charger for its enormous combined 1600W of rooftop solar panels, all located high and dry beneath the camper’s queen bed and accessed via a side hatch.

As a bonus, the EXP-8, like the EXP-6, has the unique ability to safely operate with one wheel lifted off the ground, in the event of an emergency, or to facilitate wheel-changing.

As well as transmitting very little shock to the Toyota, the suspension gives the contents of the Bruder a very easy ride, with little impact being transmitted to its body or its fittings.

Considerable work has also gone into the correct phasing of the suspension to ensure that the following wheel on each side of the Bruder is primed to expect the bump its running mate has just experienced. In effect it works like a load-sharing conventional tandem-axle caravan, albeit with much more wheel travel, yet the airbag springs retain enough stiffness to counteract body roll when cornering.

Dexter hydraulic disc brakes on all wheels take care of grab-free stopping and are unaffected by water crossings.

Luxury-lined sanctuary

You enter the Bruder EXP-8 through its working end, via a large front left-hand door that is sealed from water and dust ingress by its three separate compression locks.

A separate induction ‘nostril’ is mounted externally on the Bruder’s angled nose panel to further keep dust and pollen at bay.

A large 188-litre compressor fridge is set at a convenient height to your right and the EXP-8’s roomy combined shower and toilet ensuite are straight ahead in the right-hand front corner. Uniquely, this wet room can also be accessed from the right-hand side, making it an ideal arrangement if you have guests.

A 75-litre grey water tank with a sullage hose is a standard feature, further extending your sustainable time off the grid.

The galley stretches along the door side of the EXP-8 and includes a recessed sink with a hot/cold mixer tap, plus an incorporated drinking water tap that draw on the Bruder’s 300-litre in-body fresh water tank located in body out of harm’s way.

Cooking is taken care of by a twin induction cooktop, supported by an optional cupboard-recessed microwave oven. When not required the cooktop frees additional bench space by stowing away in its own dedicated drawer.

An important point for larger travellers is the EXP-8’s outstanding interior head room, as the dimensions of the EXP-8 have been based on the size of the tall Bosschieter boys.

Seating for four adults is provided in the L-shaped lounge along the right-hand wall, fronted by a rectangular table on a height-adjustable eccentric mount. By lowering the table and  re-positioning the cushion, you can create an additional double bed to sleep two more travellers, while the EXP-8’s main queen-size innerspring mattress bed noses into the camper’s rear, with the pillows located directly under a pair of shaded ‘stargazer’ roof-mounted windows.

Hot or cold? Keep toasty with the Bruder’s fully enclosed climate-controlled interior that operates off-grid without the need for a generator or plugged-in power. You can even turn it on remotely from your tow vehicle to have it ready for your overnight arrival.

Double-glazed windows (bear-proof for North America), an electronically deployed awning that extends 2.5 metres out and 4.5 metres along the left side of the camper, with an identical awning optional for the other side, ensure shade even in the Sahara, while a pair of 12 electric fans cool sleepers at night.

Storage options

Despite the body’s modest dimensions of 5850mm long x 2150mm wide, there's a great deal of clever storage, shelves and lockers along with exterior storage capability throughout the Bruder EXP-8.

Inside, a storage drawer, plus cupboard-based hanging room can be found next to the fridge up front, while there's additional storage room underneath the bench seating area, as well as above and below the microwave. The area below the galley is a nest of storage drawers.

Outside, three separate drop-down picnic tables ­– all accessible from the kitchen via its large opening window – make plating up a BBQ easy, while a large rear hatch gives access to the Bruder’s battery and main electrical components as well as providing external storage space.

Summing up

The more you look at the Bruder EXP-8 it becomes very obvious that its many features have evolved through the extensive real-word experience of serial travellers, with sophisticated engineering solutions used to solve everyday remote camping problems.

While priced for a select few, it redraws the boundaries of where off-road campers and caravans can go and rewards its occupants with a supremely comfortable travelling experience.

Price: From $299,000
Total length: 6840mm
Body length: 5850mm (19ft 6in)
Body width: 2150mm
Travel height: 2580-2900mm (depending on suspension height setting)
Tare weight: 3171kg (approx)
ATM: 3500kg (upgradeable to 4000kg with optional Stealth package)
Chassis: 125 x 75 x 4mm Australian steel
Body: Epoxy-bonded closed cell composite
Wheels: 18in alloy with 305/60R18 mud terrain tyres
Brakes: Disc
Fridge: 188L compressor fridge/freezer
Water: 300L fresh plus 75L grey tank
Battery: 16.7kWh lithium batteries
Solar: Total 1600W multiple rooftop panels
Air-conditioner: Ducted reverse cycle
Hot water: Electric with separate external hot/cold shower
Cooking: Twin burner portable conduction cooktop, plus 240v microwave
Shower: Combined internal shower/toilet, plus external hot/cold shower
Lighting: LED throughout, with multiple light colours
Supplied by: Bruder, Moorooka, Queensland
More info: BruderX