2023 Best New RV finalists announced

The purpose of the 2023 caravancampingsales Innovation Awards is to recognize and reward advancements in the areas of technology, design, quality and safety throughout the Australian RV industry over the past 12 months.

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 and, by coincidence, the finalists cover a broad range of market segments, including camper trailer, hybrid caravan, off-road campervan, expedition vehicle and luxury off-grid caravan. There's even a 'caravan of the future', along with a couple of new brands to go with names more familiar to local RV buyers.

You can read about the nuts and bolts of the 2023 Innovation Awards here. The other category finalists will be announced in coming days, before the announcement of the category winners in early December...

ARB Earth Camper

ARB set the internet on fire in mid-2023 when it announced its first foray into the booming RV trailerable market, after 48 years' operation as a 4WD accessories specialist.

While having more than a few things in common with similar tough-road pod campers like Track's Tvan and the discontinued Pioneer Mitchell, the ARB Earth Camper brings fresh ideas to the segment, including the use of a one-piece welded, steel-tube exoskeleton chassis that provides a solid structure for its FRP moulded body panels, and long-travel independent coil suspension with bespoke vertically mounted shocks designed to smooth out the ride over bumpy terrain.

ARB also worked hard on seamless integration and accessibility of internal and external features, including a number of neat compartments and storage areas for the kitchen, hot water unit, etc, along with an ARB Base Rack for the roof.

Rear entry is made easier by an electric opening rear clamshell door, with an additional hard rear 'security' wall with lockable entry door, while the cosy twin-berth interior has also been thoughtfully designed, right down to the world map print on the ceiling.

Romotow

While it's not the first 'fold-out' caravan to hit the market, you have to applaud the New Zealand brains behind the Romotow, which slices through the wind on the freeway before swivelling out like a giant USB stick to provide luxury apartment-style living when camping out with the family.

While its steel RHS chassis and fully insulated composite body structure are nothing special in the Australasian RV industry, the automatic hydraulic cabin rotation system that ‘swings’ the internal caravan body out from its external ‘decking’ frame at a 90-degree angle, certainly is.

All up, the 7.54m wide, L-shape camping configuration delivers 29 square metres of off-the-ground floorspace together with 2.05m of headroom, thanks to a front ‘saloon’ with club lounge-style dinette, central kitchenette and ensuite, a rear master bedroom and a covered outside ‘balcony’ area.

Zone RV Expedition

Queensland's Zone has combined many years knowledge and experience from the RV and marine industries, together with the latest 3D printing technology, to create its potentially ground-breaking 19ft 9in Expedition hybrid pop-top caravan.

Like all Zone RV caravans, the Expedition boasts a smooth composite body, but it's the first to benefit from panels and moulds designed using Australia's largest 3D printer located at Zone's Sunshine Coast factory.

Delivering a level of design and finish that's not often seen in the Australian caravan industry, the 3D printer allows production of curved rather than straight panels to enhance aero efficiency and strength, as well as other design efficiencies like a toolbox incorporated within the tapered nosecone rather than on the A-frame.

Zone has also made the most of available space inside the narrow-body, off-road and off-grid ready Expedition, with a north-south queen bed, lounge/dinette with optional bunks, spacious rear ensuite and numerous storage options in the two- to four berth layout.

EarthCruiser Extreme XTR330

Wollongong, NSW-based EarthCruiser has been building dedicated off-road motorised campers for years, but its latest EarthCruiser Extreme XTR330 takes the idea of a compact expedition vehicle to new levels of sophistication and off-road capability.

The V8-powered bush beast is based on a highly modified 6x6 LandCruiser chassis that's an engineering feat in itself, before EarthCruiser gets to work on the upmarket living quarters. There's a crawl-though into the moulded composite body which includes all the camping luxuries like a well-equipped kitchen, ensuite, climate control appliances and up to three berths.

It's also designed to handle remote travel emergencies, with a chargeable toolkit with chain saw and impact wrench and optional ‘Arctic’ package with heated water tanks and batteries, and a drying compartment for wet clothes.

Kimberley Kruiswagon

After a 'near death' experience a few years back, NSW's Kimberley has bounced backed stronger than ever, including the release in mid-2023 of the RV manufacturer's first off-road campervan.

Based on a Mercedes-Benz AWD Sprinter van, the 7.0-long Kruiswagen is brimming with clever ideas as you'd expect from any Kimberley product, to go with a number of Aussie 'campervan' firsts including Kimberley's latest 48V fully integrated power system, mostly timber-free, eco-friendly construction, and thermal insulation technology and internal water plumbing.

To maximise internal space, there's an in-house designed and power-operated double bed above the rear six-seat lounge/dinette, along with other clever features like the 'table with a table' located between the two rear bench seats. Kimberley has also managed to squeeze an extra-large pull-out kitchen into the onside wall of the mid-size campervan.

Kokoda Commando F226

Kokoda was once known for its budget-priced touring vans, but the latest offering from the Melbourne caravan manufacturer is at the other end of the scale completely.

Joining a growing number of large luxury off-grid caravans on the market, the Kokoda Commando range separates itself from the pack with a bundle of features you're unlikely to see on many of its rivals.

These include an externally accessible 3.5kg front load washing machine, next to a locker with laundry chute running from the internal ensuite, to make life easier on family washing day.

Helping run all the power-hungry domestic appliances is an over-the-top solar panel slide-out system which allows eight 415W commercial grade glass panels to feed a big 51V 14.3kWh lithium battery system, with 558 litres of fresh water storage for free camping.

There are also more external storage options than you'll get on similar-sized vans, and a motorhome style 'reverse' layout that delivers a very family-friendly rear king bed area and front bunk/ensuite 'rooms', while the 'gas-free' kitchen gets an induction cooktop, big compressor fridge and convection microwave.