Check Out This 30-Ton, Post-Apocalyptic RV Inspired By a Patriot Missile Launcher

Is this the most insane motor home ever?

For $1.75 million, Action Mobil’s 30-ton, eight-wheel drive Desert Challenger RV will take you places a Winnebago can’t go with all the luxurious trappings of a lavish hotel room—and the fearsome soul of a U.S. Army missile launcher.


This 600 horsepower, Austrian-made monster is the world’s largest all-wheel drive motor home, and probably the most bad-ass RV on the planet. It was built from the legendary MAN-KAT military chassis that the Army and its NATO allies use to launch surface-to-air Patriot missiles.


In addition to 600 gallons each of fuel and oil, the 42-foot-long Desert Challenger carries 150 lbs of compressed gas and a 1,000 kWh battery pack (the top battery pack available in a Tesla Model S is 85 kWh, by way of comparison).

All this power and water supplies an impressively colossal vehicle that is 10 feet wide, but whose sides slide out to add another 15 feet of cabin width when the Desert Challenger is parked.

That’s also when the private chef toiling in the separate all-stainless steel kitchen can prepare meals fetched from the sprawling, restaurant-style walk-in refrigerator.

The manufacturer, Action Mobil, began its existence as a photo agency, and turned toward building truly insane off-roaders when its models complained of harsh conditions in remote shooting locations.

Founded in 1979 by Stefanie and Otfried Reitz in Austria, Action Mobil made their first truck—with a hydraulically operated rising roof—in 1984.


This was followed by a series of ludicrously huge RVs mounted on the MAN-KAT chassis, eventually leading to the construction of the Desert Challenger, the most extreme motor home to ever rumble along a road trip.

Despite its fearsomely weaponized heritage, these days the Desert Challenger is far more likely to carry models instead of missiles. Make love, not war.

Photos by Action Mobil

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