I Took the Isuzu AT35 Basecamp on a Long Road Trip – Is This the Ultimate Camping Truck?

In April 2024, I embarked on the road trip of a lifetime, driving from Yorkshire in the UK through France and eventually reaching the Swiss Alps. My weapon of choice for the trip was the more-than-capable Isuzu AT35 Basecamp.

The Basecamp is a specialized piece of machinery with great off-road capabilities and a heightened sense of adventure. It comes with cooking and sleeping facilities, so it's basically a hotel on wheels, ideal for continent cruising.

The Basecamp starts life as a manual Isuzu D-Max in the V-Cross specification, the top specification available in the Isuzu Adventure range. It comes with Gun Metal exterior styling cues and 18-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there's dual-zone climate control, a 9-inch multifunction color touchscreen, and heated seats with leather upholstery. This is a good place to start for the task at hand.

The D-Max is then sent to Arctic Trucks for modifications to make it more suitable for extreme off-roading, like the sort of thing you might want to drive to the North Pole in.

Arctic Trucks swaps out the 18-inch alloys for a set of 17-inch wheels that are then mounted with 35-inch BFGoodrich LT315/70 R17 Mud-Terrain tires. Can you see why they call it AT35? They don't just stop there; the vehicle is lifted and fitted with Arctic Trucks Bilstein suspension.

Once Arctic Trucks are done doing their thing, the truck is fitted with a load of equipment from ARB, experts in outdoor recreation and camping. The most visible addition is the Esperance rooftop tent, which features a ladder and a Skyview window. Just in front of the hardshell tent is the Base Rack, which can be used to store your gas bottle and extra supplies. It also houses the light bar to illuminate even the darkest of adventures.

The tent and base rack sit on the ARB Ascent Canopy, where you can find the kitchen; the Outback Solutions Modular Drawer Systen features a slide-out kitchen with a 3-burner gas stove and a 12-liter collapsable sink.

As if all that wasn't enough, the Basecamp is also fitted with a bonnet protector and strong sidesteps. All this means the Frankenstein pickup truck is ready for even the most apocalyptic escapade.

I had never been camping before, so I adopted the 'go hard or go home' strategy and decided to go abroad for my first experience. There was a lot of planning involved, which included familiarizing myself with French and Swiss camping laws and driving rules.

The first day involved a few hours of leisurely motorway driving towards Folkstone, where I drove the huge Basecamp onto the Eurotunnel's double-decker carriage. The rooftop tent and its widened stance meant it couldn't go on the ordinary carriage.

I headed to the campsite on the first night when I reached France. It was raining, and the ground was boggy, but that was no match for this go-anywhere vehicle. I set up the tent comfortably and settled down for the night.

Day 2 consisted of driving through France towards the Swiss border, a fantastic opportunity to assess the ride quality of the Basecamp. This is a tall vehicle, made even taller since it has been raised; this puts the driving position at the same height as most vans. Visibility out of the front is great. You can see over most other traffic, including SUVs, but looking out the rear window is very challenging due to the fridge in the back. Oh yeah, there's also a fridge that adds to the comfort of camping life.

The suspension is set up to allow this heavy vehicle to tackle most terrains, so driving it on the motorway network may be a little wasted on its talents, but make no mistake, the Basecamp is capable here too. As for noise, there's plenty of it. The advanced tread on the BFGoodrich tires means you'll soon tire of the decibels. You won't tire of the comfort, however.

After another night in the Basecamp, I woke up refreshed and ready to cross the border into Switzerland. Driving along Lake Geneva was a surreal experience as the backdrop of the Swiss Alps provided breathtaking scenery.

Because it was April, I could not take the truck on some of the more famous mountain passes, but I finished the day near Interlaken by Lake Brienz. This was a convenient place to stay because the next day, I would drive to the destination I originally set out for.

When I reached the picturesque village of Grindelwald, I enjoyed the day at a spa, had some chocolate, and took the gondola to the First viewpoint - an appropriate end to a road trip featuring a more-than-capable beast of a vehicle. The only thing left to do was drive home.

The round trip meant that I added over 2,000 miles to the Basecamp's odometer in the space of six days, and every single one of those miles was enjoyable. If you need a vehicle that can go anywhere, then any pickup might do, but if you want to set up camp anywhere, then the Basecamp is king.