Mahindra Bolero Camper 4x4 Converted Into Full-Fledged Overlanding Vehicle (Video)
Cross-country road trips and overlanding expeditions are becoming increasingly common in India. People now build off-road ready vehicles even for expeditions within the country. There are also agencies and companies that rent out motorhomes and overlanding vehicles to enthusiasts, explorers, and visiting tourists. Motorhome Avdentures is one such firm with its base in Haryana. The newest addition to its fleet is a Mahindra Bolero Camper 4x4-based overlanding vehicle, a video of which has now been shared on the company’s official YouTube channel.
Called the Reisender Rogue Edition (Reisender means ‘traveller’), this build is off-road-ready. The ‘Bolero’ nameplate has been around for 25 years and has, over time, spawned multiple variants and bodystyles. The ‘Camper’ is a four-door pickup version aimed at builders, farmers, wholesalers, and other such businesses.
The Bolero Pik-Up used to come in both single-cab and double-cab layouts, the latter of which was re-branded as ‘Camper Gold VX’ in 2014. It was available in both 2WD nd 4WD configurations. An update that came in 2019 gave it a breath of fresh air, on multiple fronts.
Going by the video, this build seems to be based on the pre-facelift Camper. Elements like the front grille and headlamps remain true to the original. It, however, gets a new, off-road spec front bumper and has reworked flares for the front wheel arches. The video has several breathtaking visuals of the vehicle. It is seen driving through scenic roads and even crosses a small wild stream. It seems to be on off-road tyres (Jplanet Roadian HT).
The home-like setup has been built on the pickup’s load deck. A part of it extends to the cabin’s roof area as well. A spare tyre and a bunch of accessories (showels, axe, fishing rods, jerry cans etc) are mounted at the rear. Later in the video, we see the vehicle being used as a home-on-wheels. The passengers are seen camping with it.
The roof can be extended upwards to generate more sleeping area inside. The cabin gets a modular design and seems to be smartly organised. There’s even a small toilet integrated into this vehicle.
This vehicle gets an external kitchen with a sink, tap, burner, and dedicated storage areas for storing utensils and more. It even has a canvas roof, which can be deployed manually to cover the external kitchen area, and comes with its own lighting setup. The vehicle also has independent power and water systems. The video also shows the roof to house several solar panels, the actual capacity of which hasn’t yet been communicated officially.
Motorhome Adventures had previously converted a Mahindra Thar ROXX into an overlanding vehicle. It was claimed to be the first of its kind in India. This build gets many of the features that we see on the Bolero Camper-based overlanding vehicle as well.
'Motorhome Adventures' says that the Reisender Rogue Edition is the country’s most capable and compact overlanding conversion of a 4x4 Bolero platform. It will share a full-length video showing every nook and corner of this vehicle, soon on the channel.
For now, it remains unclear if the company has made notable modifications to the powertrain. The Bolero Camper 4x4 used to come with the 2.6-litre MDI diesel engine in 2014. This was capable of producing 63hp and 195Nm, and came mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The 2019 facelift, however, housed the more advanced 2.5L m2DiCR four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine under its hood.
The stock vehicle had a ground clearance of 215mm, which likely remains unchanged on the build as well (we’ll learn more about this when the detailed video goes live). The transition to off-road bumpers is likely to have improved its practical approach angle.