Remembering the Flex-Van: The Revolutionary Lando Van With a Slide-Out

Though not without some shortcomings, slide-outs are fairly standard in the RV business – and quite popular, as well. As they should be, given that they add extra space to the space you already have in transportation mode, allowing you to live more comfortably and generally larger. Even if you're RV-ing in a landyacht, the kind of extra space you get with one, two, or even three slide-outs is what turns the experience into a luxurious one.

No wonder, then, that vans and even tiny houses have tried to "import" slide-outs in order to retain compactness and a low weight but still be able to offer roomier habitats in camp mode. Said attempts have had varying degrees of success. Some units made it to market with smart layouts and outstanding construction but insane price tags, while most remained in the concept stage.

The Lando Brisbane Flex-Van is somewhere in the middle: a functional concept that was planned for mass production but never made it there.

You know what they say, it all begins with a dream. That's true, but the reverse also applies: sometimes, it all ends with a dream, too. Or, as it seems to have been the case here, the dream itself is the end.

Introduced in 2017 as the "revolutionary" van that could sleep an entire family of four in absolute comfort at camp and the first of its kind to feature a slide-out (at least on the local market), the Flexi-Van was a design by Lando, a French specialist with 30 years of experience in building van conversions.

Up until that point, Lando had focused on pop-up tents and kitchen modules, boasting a range of models for both small and large vans. At that year's edition of the Paris-Le Bourget show, Lando introduced the Brisbane, aka the Flex-Van: a van with a slide-out. It also had a pop-up tent, which explained the four-person sleeping capacity, but it was the slide-out that got it in the news.

Such a concept wasn't new. In fact, Lando CEO David Lechocinski explained this much at the show, crediting Doubleback from across the pond for the idea but saying that they had improved it considerably. Among improvements, he cited half the weight of the Doubleback module from 2009, better insulation, more convenience, and higher affordability.

The idea was the same, though: change the main structure of the van without adding weight and without impacting functionality of the cabin while in road mode. This was achieved through an automatic slide-out, which held the mattress for a queen-size bed that became available once at camp.

The area wasn't accessible in road mode, as the mattress folded into an upright position as the module slid back in, thus serving as storage space. But the rest of the cabin was, including the six-person lounge that became a four-person seating area while underway.

The Flex-Van was built on a long wheelbase 150-hp Volkswagen Transporter, the T6, with a pop-up add-on. It also featured a small kitchen module that was deceptively small but still included a two-burner propane stove, a sink, and even a drawer dishwasher. Small but enough to put together simple meals for the family.

Storage options were built into the kitchen module and on the opposite wall. It wasn't the kind of storage you'd need for a month-long getaway, let alone for a full immersion into #vanlife, but it was more than plenty for a short family vacation.

Two people, presumably the adults, could sleep in the bed at the rear, while two more would bunk up in the rooftop tent. Lando didn't get into the specifics of the showcase unit as regards water capacity or the possibility to add optionals for restroom facilities.

The slide-out module added a full meter to the 5.4 meters (17.7 feet) of the van, for a total length of 6.4 meters (21 feet). Just as importantly, it only added 70 kg (154 lbs) to the weight of the vehicle, whereas predecessor (and muse) Doubleback was 140 kg (309 lbs).

In road mode, the functionality of the van was unchanged, with full use of the galley and the lounge slash sitting area. The seats in the back sat on railings and could move slightly forward and back, depending on whether the sleeping module was closed or not.

All these combined made the Flex-Van "an idea as revolutionary as the lifting roof," Lechocinski said at the time. The plan was for Lando to introduce the Flex-Van to the world and take it into production right away, but it never did. MRSP was announced then as starting at€60,000, which is roughly $65,600 at the current exchange rate, which was probably what stopped this dream from becoming real.