Discover
all you need to know to experience an outback adventure holiday - four wheel
driving, camping, accommodation, facilities, services, and much more.
TRACK TRAILER T-VAN
Camper trailers have come a long way over the last 10 years and the T-Van from Track is the latest to see the light of day and it is the one we have just bought. With a touch of space age looks the T-Van is obviously distinctively different in both appearance and design, but don’t let that put you off.
The T-Van uses the company’s Type 3 Chassis. Coil sprung, with 10 inches of wheel travel, improved ground clearance, especially in the middle of the trailer where it counts, monocoque construction and relatively light weight sees a trailer with cross-country ability rarely if ever seen before. Air suspension is an option but one we didn’t go for. It should be noted that the defence forces chose the Type 3 system to carry some of their most sophisticated computer-controlled radar tracking gear.
The main cabin is a solid wall and roof affair that encompasses the main sleeping area, floor space and storage area, much like a fully fledged van does. Under the large double bed there is more storage space, while a number of elastic sided pockets inside the hard shell of the camper also add to the internal storage ability. The roof has two large ventilation (one fan forced) hatches, these essentially being directly over the bed.
What is the back of the trailer incorporates a drop-down folding floor and a lift-up roof. Both these are weighted and/or shock-loaded to make lowering and lifting into place a very easy and no-stress job.
The fold-up roof houses a drop-down tent which is easily released from its holding bay and then quickly clips into place around the opening into the van and around the sides of the floor, making a fully waterproof and roomy enclosure. The tent is made by one of Australia’s leading tent manufacturers from first-class Aussie canvas, zips and flywire and includes a welded-in floor so there is no chance of creep crawlies sneaking in. In the fully erected tent there’s plenty of ventilation and zippered canvas doors/windows just in case the weather turns foul at any time.
A slide-out kitchen, once more a more refined and compact version than you’ll see on most other campers, is included on the side of the camper. This is easily accessed from the outside, which is ideal when you want to stop and grab a quick brew, while an awning gives protection when you are set-up and cooking.
On the opposite side of the trailer to the slide-out kitchen an internal storage area can be found. Underneath the trailer, tucked up out of harms way and mounted centrally just to the rear of the axle is the 70-litre plastic water tank. Water is fed to the sink at the slide-out kitchen by an electric water pump, backed up by a hand pump.
On the A-frame of the trailer you’ll find storage for three jerrycans, a spare tyre holder, two 4 kgb gas bottles and a deep cycle battery for running the lighting inside the van. The coupling is a ‘Tiger’, Track’s proven offroad unit that gives good articulation in all directions.
On each side down the back just behind the wheels their is more external storage, generally for a couple of jerrycans or other little odds and sods. On the back, on what is the floor, a small rack allows the carrying of firewood, shovels, axes and the like.
The T-van can virtually go anywhere that the vehicle is capable of towing it - dustry, corrugated roads; river crossing; beaches, and much more.
Night illumination is via some fancy 12 volt internal lighting, while pumps and fans are also 12 volt. There’s a few 12-volt outlets scattered around the camper, handy for those 12-volt fluros and worklights. An optional electric pack powers the camper from any suitable 240 volt supply and charges the deep cycle battery at the same time.
In Use
Our first test took us 5000km to Birdsville, around Lake Eyre to Coober Pedy and back home. Since then we have used it up in the Victorian mountains and over in the Flinders Ranges, while good friends have had their unit all over Oz, including along the Gunbarrell Highway and across the Simpson Desert. Neither of us have had any serious problems and the trailers have worked very well and have survived the rigours of the trips extremely well.
Whether we were towing on good black-top, second class corrugated roads or on sandy tracks, that in places were non-existent, the T-Van performed faultlessly with a flat stable ride, good articulation when required and little or no bump feedback even on the worse washaway.
Dust sealing was very good, with the large door (the lift-up roof) sealing effectively by four over-centre catches.
We were pleasantly surprised at how easily the whole camper went up, taking us less than six minutes to have it fully erected. Taking it down next morning was quicker and it was then we found a major advantage to this design. On many other campers, when you fold the tent into its storage/travelling mode it lies on the bed. That means if the canvas is wet, your bed ends up the same way. In the T-Van there’s no such problem as the tent is stored well away from the bed and in its own compartment.
Another advantage of the whole camper is that if it’s a pleasant balmy night you don’t even have to erect the tent. We use the optional flywire screen to cover the main door on our overnight stops and that works a real treat.
All in all we were mightily impressed with the T-Van. The T-van is not a cheap unit, prices start at around $28,000, but it is priced competitively with similar top-of-the-line campers. Certainly you get a bloody good unit that is different to anything else on the market and features some distinct advantages over many others. At the very least you deserve to check the new Track Trailer out.
You can contact Track Trailers on 1800 MY TVAN (69 8826), email: sales@tracktrailer.com or see their website: www.tracktrailer.com. They have also recently moved to new premises and you can now find them at 403 Dorset Rd Bayswater, Victoria, 3153, ph: (03) 8727 6111, fax: (03) 8727 6120.
Yu can also check the units out at Gary Kratzmann’s Caravans, ph: (07) 3265 2477, web site:
www.kratzmann.com.au/products/tvan_track_index.htm.
See you in the bush.
Ron and Viv.
