Caravan Review:
Bushtracker Hybrid Lite offroad
Retail price: $97,540
Posted: 1 April 2009
Australia’s interest in offroad caravans has steadily grown in the last five years, and the necessary evil of the true offroad caravan built to handle any road in Australia is weight. Often something like a Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol is required. The demand for greater fuel efficiency in tow vehicles therefore presents a dilemma. Offroad caravan builder Bushtracker was keen to rise to the challenge, with whispers that it was building a new lightweight offroad unit circulating as far back as June last year, at the Queensland Caravan and Camping Show.
I was starting to think it was all just a rumour, but very recently the 17ft (5.2m) Hybrid Lite offroad caravan emerged. There was a good reason for the delay; a new lightweight aluminium chassis was being developed, something not often seen in Australia, at least in caravans. The chassis underwent serious testing before Bushtracker was ready to release the new van.
“It is a new structural concept; a transport-grade, aluminium chassis that is manufactured to the highest standards,” Bushtracker’s Matthew Kurvink says.
The caravan has all the features found in a Bushtracker and can be towed by the likes of a Toyota Prado. Matthew Kurvink told us that the unladen towball weight is about 120kg, but given the large tunnel storage, the van has been designed for a towball weight of up to 250kg.
The Hybrid Lite has independent suspension – an upgraded Simplicity loadsharing arrangement. On the drawbar are a heavy-duty offroad pin hitch, heavy-duty handbrake, power mover ratchet jockey wheel, stoneguard, jerry can holders, two 9kg gas cylinders and two spare wheels.
Above the chassis is an aluminium frame built using 25x25mm and 50x25mm double-riveted and welded aluminium. Aluminium cladding is used for the exterior, with checkerplate below the waistline. Marine-grade sealants are used to keep everything water tight. Although the Hybrid Lite doesn’t have a front boot, it does have front tunnel storage large enough to carry quite a few items.
Tas oak is the timber of choice for all the internal doors and drawers. Hardwood is used for the framework, which is screwed together and bolted to the aluminium frame. Polyester resin panelling, which according to the Bushtracker team is damage resistant and easily cleaned, is used for the walls.
Bushtracker layouts are custom designed and ours came with a front bedroom, mid section dinette set on the offside, bathroom in the rear offside corner, and a kitchen split across the rear and nearside walls. All the windows are Seitz hoppers with integrated blinds/screens and all, including the kitchen, have curtains.
Up front, the Hybrid Lite has a double bed positioned on the offside. Because of the front tunnel storage, it’s a fair height off the floor with a big step to climb into bed. That does give storage space under the bed, though, including three drawers fitted into the chamfered corner. Having the bed offset also means space for a wardrobe in the front corner. The wardrobe has hanging space, drawers, cupboards and a small storage compartment in the bed step.
Looking like a place to relax after a hard day on the road is the L-shaped lounge fitted around the dining table, which can be lifted out of the way if not needed. At the rear end of the lounge, below seat level, are a 240V powerpoint and 12V socket. Above the lounge are two overhead lockers plus a panel for the 240V circuit breakers, solar panel regulator, hot water controls and house battery monitor.
Along the nearside wall, the kitchen bench has a Swift four-burner cooktop/grill/oven and a Waeco 190L two-door fridge. The design of the cabinetry results in a cupboard between the cooktop and fridge plus two overhead lockers. In the space next to the bathroom, there’s enough room for the rest of the kitchen bench, which contains a stainless steel sink with drainer and a generous amount of cupboard and drawer area. Water supply to the sink (and shower) comes from a marine Flojet water pump. Filtered drinking water is also supplied to the sink.
Fitted into the fibreglass moulded bathroom are the usual items: Dometic china bowl cassette toilet, variable-height shower rose and washbasin. Also squeezed in are two storage compartments, the one above the sink having a mirror on the inside of the cabinet door, and towel rails.
Like any Bushtracker van, the Hybrid Lite comes with a few extra goodies for bush camping, like the three 130W solar panels, 40A solar regulator, energy efficient fluorescent lights and AGM batteries. Air-conditioning (pre-wired) is optional.
Overall, it’s good to see that Bushtracker has taken the plunge and developed a lighter van that is nonetheless built to its usual standards.
Bushtracker, 85 Enterprise Street, Kunda Park, Qld 4556, (07) 5476 5833. For more information, visit www.bushtracker.com.
Independently reviewed by Malcolm Street, Caravan World
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