2021 Best New RV finalists announced
Meet the shortlist contenders for the 2021 caravancampingsales Innovation Awards' Best New RV category
The aim of the 2021 caravancampingsales Innovation Awards is to recognize and reward advancements in the areas of technology, design, quality and safety throughout the Australian RV industry.
Judged by an expert panel, trophies will be awarded to the winner in each of the following categories: Best New RV, Best New Product/Accessory, Best New Technology, and Best New Safety Feature.
Below you'll find our shortlist of the six contenders for this year's 'Best New RV' award. Like the Australian RV market there's something for everyone, from an electric pop-top slide-on and compact family off-road camper, to a glossy imported touring caravan and prime mover luxury motorhome.
The full rundown of the inaugural Innovation Awards, and what they're all about can be found here, and look out for the announcement of the four category winners on December 8...
The all-new, Melbourne-built Geotrek Trek-XP stands out from other premium lightweight, hardcore off-road pod campers on the market with its unique fold-out, drawbar mounted ensuite platform, full-height pop-top, four-bed interior, and rig-balancing rear 'backpack' storage area.
The clever, user-friendly design is complemented by robust, lightweight construction including welded aluminium, polypropylene sandwich board and Aussie canvas, for a go-anywhere 1800kg ATM package.
Add in independent trailing arm coil suspension, rock sliders, underbody skid plates and 500mm ground clearance and it should follow you and your family out and back from the roughest regions, without too many dramas.
Queensland's Kedron is not just one of Australia's oldest caravan manufacturers, it's one of Australia's most innovative, and the 26ft TopEnder TE’7 off-road van it built for a Perth couple earlier this year is loaded with ground-breaking technology.
Among the long, long list of unique features is Kedron's latest six-tonne rated chassis with S-Cam ABS safety unit, fully adjustable airbag suspension and truck air brakes, along with a solar shade front awning and 'ScrubPak' roof platform, while a sparking water tap and 360 degree CCTV-type security system are features you don't normally find inside an Aussie van.
While its $260,000 price tag and 4430kg Tare weight puts it out reach of most buyers, the good thing is that many of the features are available on cheaper, custom-built Kedron caravans.
Regent Cruiser
There are many Australian buyers who would never consider an imported caravan, let alone one built in China, but they'd be doing themselves a disservice by not at least checking out the latest Regent Cruiser.
Arguably the best Chinese caravan to date, the Regent Cruiser offers all the benefits of full fibreglass composite construction, while riding on a sturdy steel chassis with all-terrain tyres and many of the design features and appliances you'd find on a Jayco Silverline.
What's more, few Aussie vans look this sleek and stylish, or offer the same high level of fit and finish and clever design touches, while delivering similar value for money to its Snowy River stablemates.
STG Dreamliner
Larger-than-life, American-style truck and bus-based motorhomes have been out of favour down under for quite a few years, but that could change if the gargantuan Dreamliner prime mover motorhome gains traction with well-heeled Aussie consumers.
Built by Queensland's STG Global and based on a Kenworth T410 heavy truck, the six-berth, triple slide-out, mega-luxury apartment-on-wheels boasts huge off-grid capacity and trick toy-hauling capabilities, plus five-star hotel-style accommodation.
The product of thousands of man-hours of engineering and build time, there's nothing quite like the Dreamliner on Australian roads, with a close to one million dollar pricetag to match.
Quick Camper 2.1
Electric pop-top campers aren't unusual, but few do it with such ease as the NSW-built Quick Camper, which lives up to its name with a slick canvas-free body that incorporates a powered pop-top, solid roof and walls, weighs as little as 480kg and fits on to the back of most cab-chassis-type one-tonne utes.
With a touch of 'van life' inspiration, the cosy interior squeezes in sleeping, kitchen, dining, toilet and bathroom amenities, along with clever storage and packaging solutions and and a stylish timber-topped fit-out.
Queensland's Australian Off Road is well known for its innovative, quality-built off-road caravans and campers, and the latest Sinergi tandem-axle, full-height van is no different; incorporating many thoughtful touches that make it ideal for remote, off-grid camping.
Along with obsessive attention to dust-sealing and class-matching lithium battery, solar and inverter power, the Sinergi gets the latest AOR innovations including a 'silent flush' macerator toilet and plastic flip-up toilet roll cover.
It's no wonder the waiting list for AOR's range-topping models stretches out to mid-2023.
Related: 2021 caravancampingsales Innovation Awards start here
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