Take a tour of the GXV HILT adventure truck

Follow Joe Russo as he gives the full tour of the interior and exterior of the all-new GXV HILT by Storyteller Overland.

SEPT. 29, 2023 | BY INGRID SCHNADER

"This is the ultimate off-road RV." That's the first thing Joe Russo said when he saw the GXV HILT by Storyteller Overland.

Joe and his wife, Kait, were able to borrow the HILT for a couple of hours so that you could take a tour with them on their Youtube page, We're the Russos.

Here were their first impressions.

As incredible as it is on the outside, Joe wanted to first highlight the HILT's interior features.

Cabover bed

Step inside the HILT and turn to your right and you'll be facing the queen-size cabover loft bed.

"What's really nice about this is you have windows on either side of the bed as well as the head of the bed," Joe said. "And then storage on both sides with with outlets so you can charge all of your devices while you're sleeping or just reading in bed."

Next to the bed is a touch-screen control panel, called MISSION Control, that allows you to dim the lights, change the temperature, check your water levels and more.

Below that is a ladder that helps you climb up into the cabover bed, and this can be stowed away so you can access the cab from inside of the camper.

Wet bath

Those who appreciate the privacy of a wet bath will love the HILT's full-size wet bath, which has 6 feet and 5 inches of standing room.

"There's a pretty nice-sized wet bath in here," Joe said.

In the bathroom there's a small vent, dry storage cubby, a 4.6-gallon cassette toilet, retractable clothes line, sink and mirror.

Kitchen

When you walk out of the wet bath, you'll be facing the kitchen.

"In the kitchen, or actually in the HILT altogether, there are cabinets all around, and they have hidden latches on the back," Joe said.

Also all around the HILT are large dual-pane windows with integrated shades and bug screens. They're awning style, so you can fold them outward if you want to open them.

The kitchen is a *full* kitchen, meaning it has everything you need for a home-cooked meal. This includes a stainless steel convection oven, microwave, and air fryer, plus a 1800-watt dual burner induction cooktop. And you can store all your food in your quiet, stainless steel fridge and freezer, which has 6.9 cubic feet of interior volume.

There are also four large cabinets in the kitchen, plus a full-size trash can.

Dinette

Step toward the back of the truck and you'll be in the dinette area, which converts into a second bed.

"So you can drive four adults up in the crew cab, and then there is sleeping for at least four people," Joe said. "So you have the queen bed cabover, and then this converts into a queen bed by bringing the cushions together.

"There's plenty of room in here. You could seat six comfortably. And then you have these big windows all the way around for ventilation as well as two vents front and back to get that air out."

Plus if it's super hot outside, there is also ducted air conditioning, and a couple of ducts are right above the dinette area.

Now, let's step outside.

Capsule

The shell of the HILT is a two-piece composite box, which is built on top of a Ram 5500 with the diesel engine.

It's made out of an innovative vacuum-infused resin composite with carbon fiber and Kevlar® reinforcements. It also has closed-cell acoustic and thermal insulation for quiet, climate-controlled comfort.

Suspension

"One of the coolest features of the HILT is the LiquidSpring suspension," Joe said. He then lets Adam Donaldson, our VP of Research and Development, take it away.

"It uses struts and reservoirs to control the volume of compressible fluid in each strut," Adam said. "The pump is what will control the height of each individual wheel, and then it has what's called rate valves, which will control the volume of fluid that is able to compress. So with a compressible fluid, when you have more volume, it's going to be softer. When you reduce that volume, it's going to become stiffer."

Joe said he can feel it working, and Adam agreed. "It's always working," he said.

The suspension system monitors each wheel's ride height, brake input, steering input, and it has an accelerometer.

"It's using all of that data to decide what to do with each individual wheel," Adam said.

Other exterior features

The front of the truck has a rugged quarter-inch steel bumper. A 20,000-pound winch will come in handy for self recovery. There is also an extreme 360-degree lighting package from KC HiLiTES®.

On the side of the truck are three exterior lockable storage bays, a water cabinet with shower, and a pass-through storage bay.

There are two nVader storage racks on the rear of the HILT, and a spare tire will be included. Since the tire weighs a hefty 280 pounds, a winch will help bring it down.

There is also a 13’ dual-pitch awning with dimmable LEDs.