On a Saturday morning in March, your author and some friends left their cozy campus bubble to spend spring break exploring and camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Locals might point out that western North Carolina in March tends to get a bit chilly—and they’d be absolutely right. Our group was hideously unprepared, emerging from our tents on the first morning cold, damp, and walking on snow. After a second night of little rest shivering in inappropriately thin sleeping bags, we waved the white flag and spent the rest of the week in the cheapest motel we could find. If only we’d taken a Tonke camper instead of an old Camry.
Tonke (pronounced like Tonka) is a small Dutch company started in 2005 by founder Maarten van Soest upon his return from a trip through the hills of northern France, towing and living in an 19th-century–style gypsy wagon. He built the first Tonke camper, named after his daughter, combining what he considered the good things in life: a modern truck, a 1930s yacht-inspired interior, and an exterior paying homage to that gypsy cart he dragged around France. That first finished product, as well as the creations that Tonke screw together today, indeed seem to seamlessly blend the elements of van Soest’s vision.
The company’s current lineup covers several different concepts, every single one of which just makes us want to drive across a continent. At the bottom end sits the Tonke Van, a Volkswagen Transporter–based pop-up model fitted with a toilet, kitchen, refrigerator, and gas heat. Next comes the Fieldsleeper, which is effectively a small house bolted to a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. (The Fieldsleeper also can be built off of a Fiat Ducato or VW Crafter.) It’s hand-built by a team of six in Tonke’s workshop in the Netherlands, constructed with birch furniture, teak flooring, porcelain sinks, and a polished wood exterior. A hydraulic lift allows the hand-crafted cabin to be separated from the vehicle; the company suggests that you can even set it down in your garden to be used a guest house when you’re not out on the road.
For those who like to do most of their exploring away from said road, Tonke also has an option for you: the Explorer, a six-wheeled, snorkel-wearing, off-road camper that looks like it could go just about anywhere. While all of Tonke’s wares may be a much better place to stay than the questionable motel we found ourselves in a few months back, they’re quite a bit spendier. Base vehicles can be had for less than the equivalent of $50K, but expect to spend six figures to step into the more yacht-like conveyances on which the company has built its brand. Pricey, but worth it if only to avoid frostbitten extremities and a dinner of ash-encrusted hot dogs.
from Car and Driver BlogCar and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/2vkfNyq
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment