World's priciest off-grid caravan emerges

As caravanners seek to go further and for longer off the beaten track, and are prepared to pay for it, we're starting to see some very impressive all-electric off-grid caravans, built in Australia as well as Europe and the USA.

One of the most eye-catching to date is this latest Volterra luxury travel trailer, which its US-based manufacturer Bowlus cheekily describes as the "world’s first production all-electric RV".

To make that claim, the American uber-luxury caravan builder has loaded up the shiny Volterra with twice the amount of battery power than its previous models - 17kWh of lithium iron phosphate batteries, fed by 420 watts of rooftop solar.

According to Bowlus, a new rooftop solar system called AeroSolar "charges as you drive and while you camp, with no need for set up or activation".

"Combined, these features give Bowlus customers the ability to be off-grid indefinitely," the company claims.

Bowlus says the Volterra's battery system is big enough to run the van's vented air conditioning system, all day and night depending on the outside temperature.

If you're towing with an electric vehicle, the Volterra can also charge the tow vehicle while driving, as well as top up the vehicle's battery if the caravan's batteries are fully charged.

"Already equipped with 20A outlets for emergency EV charging, the increased battery capacity extends the EV emergency charging range to approximately 65 miles," Bowlus says.

The range-topping Volterra also comes wired up for the latest Starlink integrated high-speed satellite internet service, along with other cool features like a new reversing camera, heated floors, wireless brake controller, induction cooktop, plus 190 litres of fresh water and 117 litres grey water capacity.

Buyers can choose from a "a luxurious limited-edition color palette" to make the inside of their Volterra even more special, if the standard metal, timber and leather finishes are too drab. Otherwise the five-star apartment-style layout includes a lounge/dinette, kitchen, bathroom and sleeping for up to four people.

Despite an overall length of 27ft 1in, the Bowlus Volterra delivers a Tare of just 1474kg and 1814kg ATM so isn't as bulky as some other all-electric American travel trailers.

In case you were wondering, pricing for the Volterra begins at US$310,000, or a cool $442,000 converted to Aussie dollars!