Survival Basics Is the Cargo Mule You'll Want When Traveling Across the World

Folks, for years now, Global Expedition Vehicles (GEV) has grown to be a manufacturer of some of the most capable mobile habitats, RVs, and campers in the world. With some of their builds coming in at a price of over 1 million USD, and for a good reason, it's really no wonder. As time went on, GEV even placed their vehicles into the hands of movie stars and the likes. After all, who usually has over 1 million dollars to spend on an off-road and off-grid habitat?

Well, this time around, we won't be checking out their insanely priced options, but rather, the more affordable and reserved Survival Basics (SB). Nonetheless, the name alone is enough to tell you just about all you need to know about this habitat.

To start things off, it should help to know that SB is a customizable build. This means that you can mess with every aspect of the shell, including its size. Overall, you can create a body ranging from 10 ft (3.04 m) in length to 27 ft (8.23 m). This also means it's suitable to be mounted onto everything from a single cab Ford F550 to a crew cab Dodge 5500, Fuso, Kenworth, and even Freightliner trucks. Yes, Unimog, Mercedes-Benz, and just about any other medium-duty truck on the market are suitable for SB.

Once you've figured out what can be set up onto your truck's chassis, it's time to start looking at the features you can find inside. But before we go on, I need to remind you that SB's shell materials and building techniques are locked in; everything is there for a reason. For example, the composite sandwich body cannot be tampered with. As for everything else, it's all custom; even modifying the chassis and just some components of the body are possible.

Once inside, you'll start to understand why this crew is known for the work they do. You have to remember that each habitat they build is meant to keep you alive and going where very few vehicles can, and SB is no different.

You'll have access to a kitchen filled with the necessities like an induction cooktop, microwave oven, fridge/freezer combo, and countless cabinetry for storing foods and utensils. The bathroom includes a wet bath with stainless steel sink, shower, and Thetford cassette toilet with a swivel function. Bedrooms usually yield a queen-sized mattress and more storage all around the bed. That's just a quick run-through regarding what you can find inside.

Once you start the customization process, you'll be able to tweak things like cabinet finishes, flooring, walls, and even the storage options found in spaces like the kitchen, bedroom, and even outside the habitat. You can also add things like an Onan generator, nearly limitless solar power, water filtration systems, more furniture, a king bed, and tons of other features aimed at transforming SB into a cargo mule to drive across the Sahara. You can even add a motorcycle garage to this sucker.

As for the curiosity we all have by now, the price for one of these puppies. Well, where to start; in reality, the sky is the limit as it all depends on what you need. But, as a starting point, GEV points out that you should have at least 240,000 USD (219,343 EUR at current exchange rates) at your disposal before you even give them a call. Sure, nearly a quarter of a million dollars, but consider what you're getting.