One of the most radical camper designs that I’ve ever seen, the W2 Romotow T8, is about to go into production. This wild $268,500 camper is built in New Zealand and its headlining feature is the fact that it swivels open, revealing an enclosed outdoor porch. It’s amazing, yet also amazingly impractical if you’re an American, let’s take a dive into it.
Sometimes, campers are like cars and you’ll see stunning concepts that never reach production. Remember that Airstream and Studio F. A. Porsche collaboration from last month? That camper is a good example, as it’s not intended to go into production. This W2 Romotow T8 is something that has existed largely as a concept for over 14 years. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s vaporware. Yet, the company behind it is finally pulling it off and this concept camper will be appearing in production form.
From Houses To A Camper
W2 Limited was founded in 2007 by architectural and interior designer Matt Wilke and chartered structural engineer Stuart Winterbourn. Located in Christchurch, New Zealand, W2 is known for distinctive architectural design. In 2009, Wilke and Winterbourn opened another company, Romotow New Zealand. This company would take the pair’s experience in designing houses and interiors and apply it to a camping trailer. Neither of the two founders have ever designed a camper before, but to them, that was a good thing.
In 2012, Winterbourn and Wilke unveiled concept renderings for the Romotow, a camping trailer that swiveled open, revealing an enclosed deck.
Speaking with Gizmag, the founders of Romotow explain why they went with such a radical design for a camper:
W2 Director Stuart Winterbourn told Gizmag he’s never found caravans all that interesting: “To a lot of people, they’re not desirable … including us. Generally, you’re using it in summer, and it’s stinking hot, and you don’t really want to be inside a caravan. And if you don’t want to be inside, you’ve got maybe some sort of screen you can pull out, and a rickety chair and table … it’s not that nice.
“We thought why don’t we come up with something that integrates a house and a deck. Generally you’ve got a good view when you’re out in the wilderness, and you want to take advantage of it. That was the inspiration, just to create a connection with the outdoors.”
Winterbourn says that the design of this camper was inspired by a Swiss army knife. The design team found itself playing with one of the knives one day, flipping it open and closed. That’s when the design team had a eureka moment and realized, what if their camper rotated open like the famous utility knife?
The Swiss Army Knife Of Campers
To make a camper that is desirable, the team at Romotow designed a travel trailer featuring a massive panoramic window and a luxurious interior designed like a house. That would be cool enough, but the trick feature is a floor that rotates out, creating an enclosed deck and increasing the camper’s floor space. This is supposed to connect you with the outdoors and nature. Back in 2012, Romotow wanted to put it into production, but the company wanted to get a feel of the market and find a production partner first.
News about the Romotow camper then got quiet for about six years. In 2018, the camper popped back up on the radar and this time, Romotow announced that it was entering production in 2020 for $350,000. At the time, Romotow was constructing the very first prototype. That first proof-of-concept finally hit the road in 2020 and now, Romotow says that the camper is finally ready to enter into production. So, what are you getting with a W2 Romotow T8?
The production W2 Romotow T8 has made its debut at the Covi Motorhome, Caravan and Outdoor Supershow in Auckland, New Zealand. Romotow says that it secured a production partner with ACM Motorhomes, a builder of aerodynamic custom motorhomes. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that the Romotow T8 has stayed true to its original concept.
Starting with the exterior, the camper is 30.5-foot-long and weighs 7,495 pounds when fully loaded. It rides on a frame made from mild-steel tubing and is suspended with a tandem Cruisemaster ATX spring suspension. On top of this chassis is your camper, which is constructed out of an aluminum monocoque cabin structure. Inside are insulated composite walls, floor, and ceiling.
The interior of this camper is a familiar luxury experience.
You get a surround sound system, large panoramic windows, and a full kitchen. Romotow says that the camper has a few different layouts for the interior and standard options include a gas range and oven as well as a sizable refrigerator. Behind the kitchen is your bathroom, which includes a cassette toilet and a shower. If you’re not fond of a cassette toilet, one optional upgrade is a black tank and a macerating toilet. Behind the bathroom is your bedroom and you could have it with a king bed or two single beds. The dinette also converts into more bedding, allowing four to six to sleep in the Romotow T8.
Romotow doesn’t say how big the black tank will be, but says that the fresh and gray water tanks are 79 gallons. You also get a Truma Combi space and water heater, though an air-conditioner is an option. The optional air-conditioner is somewhat confusing to me since being stuck in a camper in a “stinking hot” summer was one of the motivations for building this.
Powering this camper for off-grid action is one 200Ah lithium battery charged from 395W of solar panels. An option Romotow offers is expanding off-grid power with more 200Ah batteries. Other options for the camper include an air suspension, a camera system, various TVs, and more luxurious finishes. All of it, Romotow says, is designed like a house.
A Great, Impractical Feature
Of course, the headlining feature of this camper is its rotating floor, which swings open in less than a minute. When you park the Romotow T8 at a campsite, an automated hydraulic cabin rotation system will rotate the cabin sideways, revealing an enclosed porch that you can relax on or maybe kick back and enjoy a movie on. Another automated system will level the whole rig.
The porch has the appearance of the kind of teak decking that you’d find on a yacht, but Romotow says that this is just a composite made to look like teak decking. You can even attach temporary walls and turn this into another room.
Romotow says that when the camper is rotated open, you get a bump from 290 square feet of floor space to over 312 square feet. In the open position, the camper takes up 24.7 feet of width. As of right now, Romotow is planning on selling these in New Zealand and Australia, but invites RVers in other countries to try to buy one. If you’re an American, you might not be able to use this to its fullest potential.
Many campgrounds in America give you just 20 feet of space between your RV parking pad and your neighbor’s. If you somehow get one of these in America, every time you call up a campground you’ll have to ask how wide each plot is. And even if the site is wide enough, you’ll have to be mindful of obstacles such as the pole for shore power, built-in grills, or trees. At least in my experience, you’ll largely be limited to the kinds of wide open spaces shown in the promotional images, which isn’t ideal when you’re dropping at least $268,500 on a camping rig.
One good thing about the Romotow T8 is that you can camp in it without rotating the cabin. Still, it’s a bummer that you wouldn’t be able to use its headlining feature at many campgrounds.
All of that said, I absolutely adore the fact that the Romotow team was able to turn a concept into reality without a ton of changes. I’m sure the buyers who do find their way into one these will love it. ACM Motorhomes will be constructing the Romotow T8 in New Zealand and if you want one, you’ll have to contact Romotow. Delivery dates have not been announced, but securing a place in line–assuming you can get one in your country–will cost you $6,300.
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Photos: Romotow
But.. the whole thing rotates above the actual trailer body assembly holding the water tanks.
How exactly does the toilet sewer line connect to the “however large you want them to be” black water tank?
Is the toilet dead center of the pivot point?
Can’t be, the trailer also slides into place on tracks to fully close.
Are there two different drain holes that align with the toilet drain in the camper’s different positions?
I’ll take the cassette toilet option. Raw sewage plumbing should never get that complicated.
Presumably a flexible hose can handle a few feet of horizontal travel and a 90 degree rotation. They also mention that it’s a macerating toilet, so you don’t need a very large hose.
How exactly does the toilet sewer line connect to the “however large you want them to be” black water tank?
It dumps directly to the ground and the waste is conveniently and removed by free, renewable gravity power to become someone else’s problem.
I assumed the tanks were actually in the rotating part instead, but I can’t figure out where. For that matter, I’m not sure where they could fit 2x79G tanks in the lower part since the slide/rotation mechanism eats basically all the space in front of the axles.
I’ll admit that it seems as impractical as a screen door on a submarine, but..
The world is full of impractical solutions to non existent problems, and people buy them up.
Somewhere in Australia a rich, traveling dance instructor is ecstatic.
That’s a really cool design that does make a lot of extra space out of almost nothing.
I think if it were done smaller and less extravagantly it could be done better, but it’s a neat idea.
My biggest concern is that it’s a giant pinch point. You better make sure you’ve got the wife, kids, friends and pets all safely out of the way before you pack up to leave.
If I were a “stick man” I wouldn’t go anywhere near this thing.
I’ve seen enough safety stickers to know better.
On a lighter note, can the swively bits be made to go ridiculously fast?
So I can finally realize my dream of one day owning a mobile, pimped out Gravitron with a bedroom and kitchen in it.
I read an article years ago about a young kid who was killed by getting stuck in the pinch point of one of those stupid rotating restaurants. I still think about it from time to time, since it was an absolutely HORRIFIC story. This RV looks cool but that’s all I can think of. One of my beautiful, feral children getting pinched when it rotates. 🙁
It looks like they have scaled one of those USB drives into larger than life size?
Exactly my thought. They looked at a USB stick, and thought RV. Weird.
Excactly, got to see if anyone else noticed. This isn’t a Swiss army knife, this a giant USB drive with a swiveling cover. Altough I still think the consept is kinda cool.
The funniest thing about this to me is that this is even less practical in New Zealand. Most caravans there are much smaller than their American cousins, and the roads are mostly narrow, windy and 1 lane each way.
I honestly thought that it wasn’t available in the US because more than one American in the bed would tip the thing over.
I’m sure they’ll find at least a few buyers for it, though. Trust-fund Instagrammers will buy anything eye-catching.
You know making changes to the original concept is sometimes a good idea.
$268k! FFS! 😀
Given the minimal content, this would be insanely profitable at that price. Of course they would have to sell some of them to make any profit.
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” — Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
It’s a neat idea, but I have some thoughts. It seems a little big, perhaps unnecessarily big. For that price, I’d want a proper RV, not just a trailer. This could be doable with modern drive-by-wire technology, and it looks like there’s plenty of unused space underneath the thing for an electric drive unit and a steered front axle, maybe even a little gas range extender for when the solar panels aren’t enough…
Basically make it smaller and self-propelled somehow and it would be maybe worth the price.
Ridiculous. Besides the horrific value proposition, look at the potential for the number of structural and systems issues. From an RV industry that often times cannot build a roof than doesn’t leak after a year or two.
i will below when a real production model rolls of the assembly line. Not holding my breath.
I love the concept and the industrial design of it even if it is hopelessly compromised and overpriced.
Brings back memories.
https://blankmedia.co.za/e-store/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/swivel-usb.png
I guess Romotow is a variation of Tomorrow? It looks like one of those folding flash drives that get in their own way.
$270,000.00
LOL
Plus tax!
$270,000.00
LOL
“life is short!”
“it’s only money!”
“live your best life!”
or some such nonsense.
Is it just me or is it incredibly cute that they have a midsize VW pulling that thing? I get other countries have different payload and towing schemes (idk about Australia in particular) but this thing is twice the height of the damn truck! And at 7500 pounds before you fill that 800 lbs tank, with as top heavy as that thing is…I can’t see that truck going over 45 if it wants to reach its destination without breaking down or getting (literally) blown off the road. To top it off, that trailer is nowhere near level and I can’t see anything resembling a weight distribution hitch or sway control. Here in the states, where RVs are still expected to travel 70 mph plus, I wouldn’t touch this without a 3/4 ton, and even then I’d be checking payload carefully.
Also, maybe if they camped just a little bit they would know that toy haulers have a gate on the back that can be opened for use as a patio…
A VW Amarok (and any other midsize turbo diesel ute really) will tow over 7500 pounds braked, and that expensive small house on wheels is 7500 pounds loaded, not dry.
Agree, still probably not the best idea though.
I admit I misread, I thought that was 7500 dry (which would put you at least 1k overloaded just with water and that camper shell). 7500 loaded certainly is better.
I’m more thinking about frontal area and trailer sway. As tall as that trailer is, the added frontal load will put the engine under a lot more stress than intended, and the sheer size of the trailer will mean that truck gets blown all over the place.
Again, might be better in AUS, but here you’ll get passed by semis going 80 up and down mountains. I’ve pulled a 25’ total, 5000 lbs camper (that’s not twice the height of my truck) across the Rockies and plains with a f150- it was not a super pleasant experience.
I’ve never quite understood why it’s the US where towing capacity is all important, whereas in the UK the only criteria most people care about is “can it actually move the trailer?”. I think there is laws about towing here, but I have no idea what they are. After all, as long as you put it in the right gear, even a small car can tow heavy loads.
I’d expect it to be the other way around (ie the UK having strict laws, and the US being laissez-faire).
I’ve never quite understood why it’s the US where towing capacity is all important, whereas in the UK the only criteria most people care about is “can it actually move the trailer?”.
Depends where you plan to go in the US. I imagine what works fine in the relatively flat UK will have a tough time getting to some of the campsites in the US mountains.
From my understanding the speeds are generally lower. Plus, my comment is more about the size of that damn thing-the weight just helps that massive wind sail push your truck around.
It looks cool, but this entire thing is covered in red flags.
Can you smell the hubris? Because I can smell the hubris.
Oh good, it’s going to be cheap then, right?
Spit take.
For a camper with a cassette toilet. $270k to haul your own crap out, despite the fact that they already have a wastewater system onboard. Oh, and optional AC so that crap’s going to be well broiled.
At this point I’m starting to wonder if this is some kind of giant psych experiment to see how many literally stupid rich people there are in the world.
That can’t be right, can it? I get that this whole design is incredibly space-inefficient because they basically had to Yo-dawg a trailer into a trailer, but surely you get more than 22 square feet out of that porch. I’m pretty sure I get more than that much covered space out of my tiny 8 foot awning that does not extend 24 feet to the side.
This feels like something that should have stayed a design study where practicality was not a consideration. I’m sure they’ll still sell a billion of them to rich people who will park them next to all of their other yard art but never actually sleep in them. Which is the only correct use for this thing. It’s art, not a camper.
+1 For using Yo-Dawg as a verb! I could instantly picture the meme.
Thank you, I was rather proud of that one myself. 🙂
That is a direct quote from the brochure/press release, but I figure there must be a typo somewhere in there. Either the interior is smaller than 290 square feet or the deck is larger.
Annoyingly, the company also doesn’t note empty weight for the trailer. 7,500 pounds is the loaded weight. I suppose you could subtract 79 gallons of water from 7,500 pounds, but that’ll be inexact because loaded weight also assumes all options.
To make things even more confusing, the company says that the tanks can be however large you want them to be and you can have as many batteries as your truck can haul. So, this thing could really weigh anything, I guess?
Plus it’s a giant, rolling toddler guillotine/arm remover.
That warrants another red flag I think.
7,500 pounds is equivalent to the maximum braked towing capacity of most dual cab pickups (think Ford Ranger & Toyota Hilux) down here. So that number is not arbitrary. Though it’s still bullshit.
Of course, anyone who has the sort of coin to drop on one of these can also afford another AU$125,000 for a factory converted RHD RAM 1500 or Silverado. And they’d be wisely advised to do so!
I will add “failure to accurately document specs” to my red flag list. 🙂
Yeah, I’m building a small boat and not even going to have a cassette toilet on that—they’re disgusting and I couldn’t imagine paying 6-figures for something goofy like this that requires one, but guessing how the blackwater option would work leaves me no apparent answer other than an even more foul maintenance problem.
Instead of a physically printed Captcha, do they make you check a little box that says “I have more money than brains” when you buy this thing?
I’d be making sure the factory warranty both includes hazards struck when rotating and on-site service.
This looks wild. I love that they made it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some companies buy these just to use as advertising shells. It would be essentially free advertising.
That last photo really shows how silly this whole thing is. It’s like they just tacked on a couple axles once they finished designing it. It looks incredibly top heavy.
Well it’s a lot of coin, but it looks expensive, maybe not that expensive.
Design reminds me of my buddy’s folding hash pipe.
Definitely easier ways to accomplish the task.
I wonder how it will age.
“The interior of this camper is a familiar luxury experience.”
Says Mercedes….
Hmmm apparently this Autopian gig pays better than Mercedes has been letting on.
But seriously $268,500 to start, and A/C is an option?
It was bad enough that David went full on Hollywood. Now we have Fancy Mercedes?
Well, she’s got Smarts, a W8 Passat, and several BMWs. Sounds fancy to me.
Quite a funky concept. looks like something from a design school. Mr Wilke wasn’t there the the day they taught KISS – Keep It Stupidly Simple.
So that’s a lot of money and complex machinery to have your deck chairs two feet above ground… If it’s so important to be above all othes at the camp site, just drink your evening beers in the pickup bed, or have a hatch so you can climb up to the roof.
I would love to have something looking like that, as a tiny stationary (summer) house, without the wheels.. Looks very cool (thumbs up emoji)
(Yes I am a designer)
The ability to enclose that patio for an extra room is nice, though clearly not their main point. Whoever sleeps out there gets a folding cot, though, since there’s no way you’re storing an extra actual bed for that space.
I think you’re right that something like this would be a great design for a stationary tiny house, which would alleviate mechanism and RV space concerns.
Bed in a bag or a murphy bed, or maybe Ikea has something as this looks like something you would buy there, assemble yourself and have a half dozen extra pieces left over.
Beyond the width, would the pivoting mechanism be more complex/prone to failure than slide-outs? Genuinely asking, because I don’t know enough about anything with slide-outs to even know their failure rate, much less adequately compare.
It seems like a neat trick, but probably not worth the premium.
Theoretically this would be less fault-prone than a slider. So long as there’s nothing jamming up the pivot, it should turn just fine.
Sliders, however, rely on the same things that sunroofs do. Tracks, cables, tiny little plastic clips that break. And we know how reliable sunroofs are.
That makes sense. I think my fear (perhaps unfounded) would be the likelihood of road grit getting into the mechanism. With sliders, the moving parts are inside and seals outside. With this, the movement seems like seals could be more difficult.
Admittedly, some of my hesitation also comes from this being their first attempt at making a camper, so I’m not sure what they have considered/tested.
Of course, I’ll never buy a camper this expensive. It’s all just curiosity.
I don’t understand this common meme about sunroofs. Does this refer to aftermarket units from 1975? I have never even had one leak. Worst thing was a 20 second relearn of a power one that forgot where home was. 1984 lift-out aftermarket big enough to enter the car through 160k miles, 1990 lift-out aftermarket 270k miles, 2006 factory power 170k miles, 2012 factory power 205k miles, 2016 factory power 180k miles. Then there’s all the people I’ve known with them that never had issues. I did know two people who had their drains clog on old power units and T-tops from ’80s cars, but those aren’t sunroofs. I’ve known more people who blew engines in Hondas who weren’t car people doing stupid stuff.
I don’t trust ’em (never have owned a car with one). My GF’s 2002 Passat has one that leaks. Maybe because it doesn’t want to close properly, either slides too far and submarines, or stops with the leading edge still sticking up, but you need to be paying really close attention to notice.
This one slides and rotates and is going to see neglected lubrication, dirt and other detritus in the mechanism, bouncing from roads, and swaying from winds. It’s going to be a maintenance nightmare.