Storyteller Overland

Storyteller Overland

Storyteller Overland launched in November 2018 when Jeffrey Hunter and a six-person founding team set out from Birmingham, Alabama to redesign the adventure-vehicle market. The initial product, the MODE van built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis, shipped with three provisional patents that were later granted domestically and internationally. Hunter structured the company not as a custom upfitter but as a full-line OEM-alternative — an approach that let Storyteller bypass the fragmented dealer-fabrication model and deliver a turnkey rig with factory-level engineering. The firm now operates across recreational off-road and expedition segments, with a model line spanning the 144-inch and 170-inch Sprinter MODE vans, the RAM 5500-based GXV HILT adventure truck, and the Kenworth K370-chassis GXV EPIC expedition vehicle, which carries dual 100-gallon fuel tanks for an advertised 1,800-mile range. Storyteller functions as a multi-brand house rather than a single-model shop. Its product architecture divides into MODE campervans (the core volume line), Global Expedition Vehicles (GXV), and an aftermarket parts division that includes the Flarespace interior-accessories brand, nVader exterior accessories, and EVICTUS suspension-and-wheels components. The company promotes a direct-to-consumer distribution model through a nationwide dealership network, emphasizing turnkey delivery of warrantied factory-configured overland rigs. The 2027 Grand Bohemian — a micro-camper built on the INEOS Grenadier SUV platform with an Alu-Cab rooftop tent — signals a widening aperture toward smaller, more modular platforms. The Los Angeles and Solana Beach, California offices supplement the New York headquarters, with a Munich presence supporting European distribution. In May 2024 the company introduced the GXV WILD, extending the expedition-truck line downward in size and price relative to the flagship EPIC (per firm website, May 2024). Hunter runs the company as a personality-driven founder brand, with product cadence tied to a calendar of owner events under the "Electric Souls Tour" banner and a content operation that publishes owner stories and vehicle-launch narratives under the "Storyteller" media label. The "SOUL" philanthropic program pools company and owner contributions for community reinvestment, reinforcing the idea that the vehicle purchase enrolls a buyer in a membership community rather than a one-time transaction. Total headcount, revenue, and unit-delivery numbers are not disclosed publicly. The company has not raised institutional venture capital in a recorded round, and no external majority-owner entity appears in public corporate filings, suggesting the capital structure remains founder- and operations-funded. Storyteller Overland's structural difference is its attempt to own the overland vertical from manufacturing to community — a hybrid of OEM, upfitter, aftermarket brand, and membership club. Few adventure-vehicle manufacturers operate in-house equipment brands (Flarespace, nVader, EVICTUS) alongside a factory-built vehicle lineup; even fewer condition the ownership experience on an explicit "Owners Group" and touring event calendar that functions as a retention moat. This architecture converts what would otherwise be a capital-intensive industrial business into an integrated lifestyle platform where the vehicle is both the primary revenue event and the gateway to recurring accessories and experiential spend.