Last Saturday I rolled through the Adventure Van Expo in San Juan Capistrano, and SoCal did not disappoint. Walls of van builders, a few surprise truck campers, and one Sprinter sitting on 37s that stopped me in my tracks.
I'll be honest – I wasn't there for the vans. When I found out the new Supertramp Paragon would be on display just 45 minutes north of me in Orange County, there was no hesitation. I spent about three hours walking the show, checking out some of the most talked-about rigs in the overland world right now and getting the stories straight from the people building them. I caught up with Dustin from OVP, Bill from Globe Trekker, and Keith from Supertramp Campers to talk through what's new for 2026.
Prefer YouTube? Watch the full video here.
The Star of the Show: Supertramp Paragon
The Paragon was the reason I made the drive. It's Supertramp's new chassis-mounted composite camper on a Ford F-350 platform – their van alternative that slots under the Megatron. As some of you know, I owned Supertramp's Flagship LT before my Rossmonster Baja, so anything new out of their shop has my attention.
Keith, the owner and founder of Supertramp Campers, gave me a detailed walkthrough of the rig at the show. What a good looking truck. The Paragon debuted at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff earlier this year, and at some point I'll have the chance to do a proper video walkthrough of it – stay tuned for that.
Hardside Box Campers: Geotrek Verus & OVP Tahoma E
The other theme of the day for me was fully hardsided box campers. The Geotrek Verus is Geotrek's Class B+ box camper on the Sprinter 170 chassis – not a traditional van, but a proper box with real wall structure. A Sprinter chassis isn't necessarily my platform of choice, but the overall concept had me thinking.
Same goes for the OVP Tahoma E, a full hardside box camper. I talked to Dustin from OVP for a while, and I'm pretty sure we'll be in touch again. And then there's Bill from Globe Trekker – what they're developing for the Ford Super Duty platform is exactly the kind of thing I'll be watching closely over the coming months.
Spotted on the Show Floor
A few other things that stood out:
- A Sprinter van riding on 37" tires – you do NOT see that every day.
- A Rossmonster Havn in the wild – with fewer than 30 on the road right now, it was a treat to see one out in the parking area, even though it wasn't part of the exhibition.
- The RoamLabX carbon fiber shell – an aerospace-grade carbon fiber and Kevlar truck camper shell from a builder out of British Columbia, mounted on a Ford F-350 and weighing in at just 595 pounds. A true blank canvas for a self-build.
- AeonRV was there too, along with a bunch of other builders working the show floor.
My Takeaway
I'm not in the market for a van – I'm still loving my Rossmonster Baja. But walking this show got me thinking hard about the fully hardsided box campers like the Verus and the Tahoma E. My take? I'd want that hardside layout built on a Ford Super Duty platform.
The trip was absolutely worth it. Everything I wanted to see was there, I met interesting people, and I'm pretty sure you'll see some of these conversations develop over the coming months and years – definitely here and on my YouTube channel.