Air-expandable camping trailer concept is a sleek show stopper (2024)

Germany's Erwin Hymer Group has become a master at stealing the show at the annual Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, world's largest RV show. Extraordinary premieres like the Hymer Vision Venture and Lyseo Gallery TD not only became the talk of past shows, they raised the standard for the entire RV industry. Bürstner is working to do it again this year with a concept it calls Talis. The futuristic vision of trailer camping includes an inflatable rear extension, cozy stacked bunks, and a fully adaptable cooking and living layout. If this is the future of caravanning, we're packing our bags and prepping the hitch now.

Bürstner looked well beyond the road for Talis inspiration, dipping into the water to consider the world of marine life. In cooperation with design studio StudioSyn, it ran the trailer's form repeatedly through virtual wind tunnel software, eventually landing on a fish-like shape that tapers in at both the front and rear for improved aerodynamics. It's a similar but less dramatic strategy as Polydrop has used on its new P21 trailer, which the American teardrop builder has claimed as the most energy efficient RV in the world.

Bürstner holds back from any kind of record-breaking brags, but it does work to find a compromise between sleek aero and comfortable living, stopping short of making its trailer as narrow as the P21. To achieve this compromise between living space and lightweight, aerodynamic design, it relies on inflatable construction in a rear extension that transforms the master sleeping area from a slimmer transverse bed to a large 79 x 67-in (200 x 170-cm) longitudinal bed.

That bed is roomy enough for the children to retreat to should they have a nightmare, but they'll feel safer than usual thanks to a fort-like kids room below the master bed. The space transforms from a storage through-tunnel during the day into what Bürstner calls a "kids sleeping den." The little nook for two children is located under the shortened transverse bed so does not require the inflatable "Air-Xtension" chamber to be deployed. It can be left open or partitioned with a curtain.

That convertible kids room is the first of what Bürstner terms EasyFlex spaces and amenities, a theme that next appears in the Talis' front kitchen. The kitchen is a bit more cramped than we've seen in larger, more spacious Bürstner caravan concepts of the past but provides a high level of flexibility to make up for it.

The entire top half of the kitchen block can be used comfortably inside or removed for use outside. In the latter case, it sets up atop a set of legs, relying on a separate worktop to secure it to the side of the trailer. With two induction hobs, the cooktop unit does not require carrying or disconnecting an LPG tank.

And why should the chef be the only one enjoying the great outdoors? The Talis also packs a removable sofa bench that sets up outside.

The Talis wet bathroom joins the EasyFlex fun with what Bürstner describes as a chemical-free twin-chamber eco-toilet that can be removed as necessary. It appears to be a dry separating toilet and presumably removes to make more space in the shower and perhaps to be used simultaneously, in a pop-up outdoor privacy tent, for instance. The bathroom sink folds into the wall to increase shower room.

Beyond its easy-flexing spaces, the Talis includes slatted wood wall paneling that delivers a clean, modern aesthetic and integrated soundproofing, battery-powered lamps that can be moved around the interior, and soft-sided overhead storage modules that can be removed for use outside and while shopping.

In past concepts, Bürstner has focused on truly opening up the interior space to create a home-away-from-home feel, but more recently, it's shifted its strategy toward adapting that homey feel to more compact, eco-friendly RV solutions. Inflatable expansion has played a key role in that shift, and Bürstner has taken the baton from Hymer in terms of incorporating air-walled spaces, including on the aforementioned Lyseo motorhome concept, which is now a retail product, and last year's Habiton micro-camper concept ... though Bürstner has waffled on the inflatable design of the latter.

"Electric towing vehicles, a low fuel consumption and light construction are becoming increasingly important," explains Jens Kromer, chairman of Bürstner's management board. "Almost any car can tow the Talis, including electric cars."

Bürstner doesn't mention it, but the photos show a particularly slim set of wheels tucked behind lower fairings that are clearly meant to contribute to the concept's light, aerodynamic towing.

Erwin Hymer has been quickly strengthening its reputation for bringing concept campers to market complete with many of their most unique features, but we'll have to wait to see if the Talis becomes the latest. In the meantime, it will be on show at the 2024 DüsseldorfCaravan Salon that opened this weekend and runs through Sunday, September 8.

Source: Bürstner