Storyteller Overland Beast Mode XO Is An Adventure-Ready Conversion Van With Spectacular Suspension

Though it may not seem like it, we automotive journalists aren't always jetting around the globe to extravagant destinations so we can drive expensive exotic cars. Sometimes we're asked to roll up our sleeves and do something more down to Earth. I was recently tasked with the arduous assignment of taking this $250,000 Storyteller Overland Beast Mode XO to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park to review it.

Storyteller Overland is an Alabama-based outfitter that turns ordinary Mercedes-Benz Sprinters into lifted, kitted-out go-anywhere mobile homes, as well as other more intense (and yes, more expensive) rigs. I tested out the Beast Mode XO, which is based on a 20-foot-long, high-roof, all-wheel-drive Sprinter 2500 that Storyteller then lifted and converted into a rugged yet feature-filled camper. The Beast Mode XO is designed to provide owners with everything necessary for life off the grid, with seating for four. Here's what I learned.

Full disclosure: Storyteller Overland loaned me the Beast Mode XO for four days and let me take it out to Sequoia National Park. The van was delivered complete with most of the basics needed for life off-grid, and I greatly appreciate the experience.

If you're like me, you've never heard of Storyteller Overland before, so let's start with the basics. The Beast Mode XO is the company's most off-road-focused Sprinter-based offering. To that end, it has 10.5 inches of ground clearance thanks to the standard Evictus Advanced Suspension, a 360-degree camera system, and beefy BF Goodrich KO3 all-terrain tires that, when paired with the Sprinter's existing all-wheel-drive system, create a very capable off-roader. Notably, there are no locking differentials on the Beast Mode XO so it's not as capable as it could be on paper, but I subjected it to some rutted trails and diagonal slip situations that I didn't expect it to traverse, yet it did so with aplomb.

So it can take you off road, but what can you bring with you? A lot, actually. Despite having seating for four, there's only a single bed that's an "RV queen," which is formed from two halves that fold up against the walls of the van when not in use. When folded down, the sleeping surface sits 3.5 feet off the floor, leaving plenty of room beneath it in what Storyteller calls "the garage" for whatever goodies and toys you bring with you on your off-grid trek. For anything that doesn't fit inside the van, the roof rack can handle an additional 300 pounds of payload, and the Owl Vans rear-mounted locking box can hold smaller things, too.

When spending time off the grid, the Beast Mode XO has everything you need for at least a few days away from civilization. There's a 21-gallon freshwater tank, and a 24-gallon grey water tank that services the galley sink and the shower in the fully enclosed bathroom, as well as the "outdoor shower," which is actually just a hose that attaches at the rear of the van. As for the commode, that BoomBox Bathroom also hides a swiveling cassette toilet with a 4.75-gallon capacity, or about comparable to the volume of a large shoebox. I will not be reviewing the bathroom as I did not wish to test the capacity of that cassette toilet, but the enclosed bathroom has a dedicated ceiling-mounted exhaust fan to prevent inflicting biological warfare on your camping buddy.

Logan K. Carter

Ample electricity is provided by the Lithionics 16.8-kWh lithium-ion battery, and that battery is charged up by a high-output auxiliary alternator attached to the engine, or by the standard roof-mounted 100W solar panel that can be expanded to 325W. It has a 3,000W high-capacity inverter, a 30A power cord, and a roof-mounted power plug to allow easy fitting of a Starlink Mini satellite internet system if you wish to doomscroll in nature. There are a total of eight 110V outlets sprinkled throughout the van, including several that are conveniently accessed from outside the van, as well as six USB ports and two 12V outlets. The van is fitted with an air compressor, and while there's no stove, it comes with a portable induction cooktop that can be plugged into any of the outlets on the van, as well as a microwave and refrigerator/freezer.

Logan K. Carter

To keep you comfortable while you doomscroll from the safety of your $250,000 van, it's fitted with a diesel-fired heating system and a roof-mounted cabin air conditioner for intense climate control, or you can switch on the cabin's high-powered ceiling intake or exhaust fan. There are dimmable LED lights throughout the cabin, as well as on the edge of the power operated 10-foot-wide-by-7-foot-long awning. All of the Beast Mode XO's electronic systems are controlled by an 11-inch touchscreen Modecom control system that's mounted on the side of the van behind the driver's seat, and many have redundant buttons throughout the cabin.

The drive from my home to my campground in Sequoia National Park was just over 300 miles, and I brought my boyfriend along for the adventure. We spent two nights in the van off the grid in Sequoia in mid-September, so the weather during the day was beautiful, in the mid-70s, but at night temperatures dropped down to the high 30s.

As a reminder, I'm taller than 99.99% of the Earth's population at 6-foot-8, so I'm going to focus on the perspective of my boyfriend who's a more reasonable 6-foot-1. He could stand up straight inside the van since the interior is 6-feet-3-inches tall, but the bathroom has less vertical clearance than the rest of the van at just over 5-foot-8.

Logan K. Carter

The DreamWeaver bed is oriented sideways inside the rear of the van, and it's bookended by bulges where the rear-most side windows would normally be, which almost allows it to accommodate someone who is 6-foot-6 tall, and it's just over 4 and a half feet wide. Because I'm taller than most people on the planet I couldn't quite straighten my body out on the bed while sharing it with my boyfriend, but I would be able to comfortably sleep diagonally if I were alone. My boyfriend said the bed fit him great, and we both liked the thick sleeping pad's firm cushioning. The bed sits quite high off the floor, but there is a bright orange fold-down step that I'm sure helps the vertically challenged.

I greatly appreciated the sliding window at the head of the bed and the powerful exhaust fan, both of which came in clutch when my boyfriend and I thought it would be a good idea to have baked beans for dinner on the first night. If you're planning on sharing a bed and/or a confined space with someone, do everyone a favor and avoid eating beans.

Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik

The van comes with insulated window covers that have little magnets along the perimeter to secure them to the windows, and they did a great job of blocking out the morning light. I slept closest to the rear barn doors, though, and the cold night air easily permeated them so I made sure to cocoon myself in the blanket to hide from the chill.

In the daytime, the Beast Mode XO serves as a fantastic space to take refuge from all the bugs and dirt that run rampant in nature. It comes standard with a full complement of magnetic bug screens that allow you to have the side and rear doors open without fear of inviting a swarm of mosquitoes in, or in our case, the swarm of hornets that we woke up to on our last morning at the campsite. Combined with the powerful vent fan, the screens let plenty of fresh air breeze through the van, sans the sucky and stingy creatures.

The van's portable induction cooktop can feasibly be used on the counter inside the van, but we opted to cook on the table that folds down from the backside of the sink when the side door is open. When our campsite was inundated with hornets, we set up the swiveling table that mounts behind the also-swiveling driver's seat, turned the passenger seat around, and widened the second row of seats so we could both eat on said table. The driver's seat can't be rotated while the table is installed, though, which is another case for this van being best fit for two wealthy campers. The refrigerator is deeper and more spacious than it looks, but the freezer section is quite small. There's ample cabinet space, though, and plenty of pockets and pouches around to stow anything else in that may not fit in the drawers or cabinets.

Logan K. Carter

The power operated awning provided a massive shady spot to hang out under when the sun came out and immediately raised the temperature by over 30 degrees, and at nighttime its dimmable LED lights make it easy to see what's going on beneath it. All of these niceties can quickly and easily be retracted, folded up, and shut inside the doors when you want to hit the road.

Arguably the coolest thing about the Beast Mode XO is its off-road capability. I booked a campsite for this trip, but I almost regretted doing so once we hit the trails and found plenty of remote areas that we could have parked at for the night. The Beast Mode is Storyteller's most off-roadable van thanks to all-wheel drive, all-terrain tires (including the full-sized spare), that massive battery to keep all your electronics and lights working when away from civilization, and the bathroom that can be used in a pinch.

Venturing off the beaten path in this van resulted in a lot of head-tossing and swaying, but never to the point of it feeling unstable. It was like how I imagine riding on top of an elephant feels; keep a slow, steady pace and it will overcome intimidating terrain, but you, your passenger, and all your stuff in the back will be oscillating like seaweed in a rip current.

Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik

I was thoroughly impressed with the ground clearance and breakover angle, which prevented any contact with the myriad boulders and steep peaks that we traversed. The 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder doesn't look like much, but it produces 208 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, with gobs of that torque accessible low in the rev range, so smoothly crawling over rocks was a breeze. Just be aware that this is a 10.5-foot-tall van, so you're probably going to scrape the roof on some branches. The Sprinter's relatively narrow body comes in handy on overgrown off-road trails, but the 360-degree camera system is still very much appreciated. It hates when you get close to anything, though, so it caused a lot of panicked beeping that was less appreciated off-road.

The tiny turbodiesel that made off-roading a breeze also made highway driving a breeze, much to my surprise, and the Sprinter has adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist to mitigate the malaise of the long highway stretches between civilization and nature. The Beast Mode had no problem keeping up with the 70-mph traffic on the 5 freeway, and though it certainly doesn't feel peppy, there is enough power in reserve to get you past a line of semis without causing a traffic jam in the left lane.

Storyteller fits the Beast Mode with an upgraded set of JBL speakers up front, which are powerful enough to drown out any undesirable noise. The sound quality isn't particularly high fidelity, but its loudness makes up for that shortcoming. That said, the interior of the Beast Mode is remarkably quiet at 70 mph given its all-terrain tires and drag-inducing side ladder and roof rack.

Tony O'Toole

Driving up the steep and consistent grade that is the Grapevine, I decided to drop the cruise control down to 55 mph and the Beast Mode felt like it could have climbed all day. I could have pushed it harder, but 55 felt good and sustainable without forcing the tachometer needle to rub shoulders with redline. Its fuel economy impressed me, too — over the course of my 600-mile journey, I averaged around 16 miles per gallon of diesel, despite lots of slow-moving off-road driving and high-speed freeway driving.

My biggest concern with piloting this hulking van was its height. Inside, you sit virtually eye level with big rig drivers, looking down at the big men in their cute little F-350s and Silverado HDs. Despite its formidable height, it was minimally affected by cross-winds, and it never felt overly topheavy. Even when I intentionally hit a raised tabletop on a curve at 70 mph, the suspension soaked up the sudden incline, and the body didn't sway, tip, or lean one bit when the tabletop dropped down again in the middle of a curve at 70 mph. I audibly said, "wow." It's mighty impressive.

I have something to admit: I lied about the Beast Mode's price. I said it's $250,000, but my press van was actually $245,737.67. At that price, I think the Storyteller Overland Beast Mode XO will make a splendid toy for a rich and adventurous couple who enjoy finding remote trails to explore. Given this van's high price, it's a good thing it qualifies for RV financing, which works more like a mortgage than a traditional car loan. I don't think it would make a great full-time home for someone planning to spend extended periods of time off-grid, primarily due to the bathroom situation, but it would probably work for a week off the grid, or longer if you're not afraid to poop in a hole outside.

Storyteller has other versions of this van that prioritize different things than the Beast Mode XO, including the Mode OG, which is the same size but swaps out the full bathroom in the Beast Mode for a collapsible bathroom setup, and features an additional bed instead. If you want more room, the Crew Mode XL is built on a Sprinter with a 170-inch wheelbase and has the full bathroom, five seats, two beds, and a larger 37-gallon fresh water tank.

Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik

All of the fittings in my press van felt sturdy, well-installed, and looked great, too. Storyteller makes very complete, turnkey vanlife rigs for an array of buyers, as long as they can afford the high price. The Beast Mode XO is a great option for those with the itch to explore far beyond the reach of civilization and stay there for relatively long stints of time. It was exceptionally liberating to know I could spot a trail, and without hesitation say, "I wonder where that one goes. Let's find out!" That's the power of having plenty of torque, water, all-wheel-drive capability, and a comfy bed.