Adventure Caravans Archer

WHAT WE LIKED

• Wall cushions and tri-fold dinette table
• Cooktop with flush lid
• Fridge off the floor

NOT SO MUCH

• Rough finish around inside of overhead lockers
• Solar panels not fitted as standard

When travelling around Queensland’s south-east corner, I always find it handy that the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast are connected by freeways, as alongside these freeways are loads of service roads, many of which conveniently house caravan and motorhome dealers. One such dealer is the Adventure Caravan Centre in Loganholme.

In addition to a variety of second-hand vans, the Centre stocks a range of new Montana and Adventure caravans. Each van in the Adventure range is named after an Australian river, and our review van, the Archer, takes its name from the major, protected river system that runs through far north Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula.

OCKER DESIGN

The Archer’s layout is true to what has become the contemporary Aussie caravan design: front bedroom, rear bathroom, and dinette and kitchen in between. But that doesn’t mean this van is like everyone else’s. Indeed, the higher price tag gives a clue that there might be a few differences to be found and some extras fitted.

With assistance from Adventure’s Colin Bridge, the Archer was quickly hitched to the LandCruiser, and I was on my way.

Something I’d recommend to any potential caravan buyer, particularly someone not experienced in towing, would be a test tow on as many roads as possible in a van of comparable size to the one being considered.

I suggest this because part of our travels included freeway driving, when the ‘bow wave’ of passing trucks can create an unsettling and unexpected motion in the van – not that I had too many problems with the Archer in this respect, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Although it’s not claimed to be an 'offroad' or 'rough road' van, the Archer comes with a 150mm-railed DuraGal chassis, with the drawbar arms going right back to the suspension mounts. The suspension is a Road Runner independent, coil spring and trailing arm, tandem-axle setup.

On the drawbar are a Hyland 2000 articulated hitch, centre-mounted jockey wheel, two 9kg gas cylinders and a mesh rack between the rails. Two spare wheels are mounted on the rear bumper.

Body structure is fairly conventional, with aluminium cladding covering a meranti timber frame, while the front and side skirts are alloy checkerplate.

All windows are tinted acrylic hoppers, except for the slight oddity of the kitchen window, which is a slider. The nearside external lights stand out, with three wall fittings plus a grab handle by the door, and hiding under the chassis at the front nearside is a gas bayonet connection.

Three-way fridges should always come with air vents fitted – one top and one bottom – to keep the cooling air circulating, but this van has three; two of which are at the top to ensure good airflow.

The front boot gives you the full Monty in terms of space because the two 100Ah batteries, which often take up lots of space, have their own compartment at the rear offside.

To free up more space in the front boot, the corner stabiliser winder, awning tool and wheel brace were all neatly clipped, out of the way, to the rear wall.

INNER GLOW

The entry point of a front bedroom/rear bathroom van is usually towards the rear, but in this case it’s forward of the wheels, meaning the van is neatly divided between the bedroom and living areas.

The interior is adorned with a fairly standard timber décor, but not in an overpowering way. There are slimline venetian blinds fitted to all windows, plus two Four Seasons hatches and a roof-mounted Aircommand air-conditioner for extra ventilation and cooling.

Fitted into the kitchen bench are a Swift four-burner cooktop with grill and separate oven. The cooktop has been set low enough for a flush-top lid to be fitted, giving a reasonable amount of bench space. Both the benchtop and wall behind are clad in high gloss laminate.

Adjoining the cooktop is a stainless steel sink with drainer, and a Sharp microwave is set in the overhead lockers above the sink.

Under-bench storage consists of a cutlery drawer, two cupboards, a small wire slide-out basket and a floor locker, plus a two-door cupboard at the end of the bench.

Another, larger drawer is located under the big, two-door 186 litre fridge fitted between the dinette and the bathroom; this drawer ‘lifting’ the fridge to a user-friendly height.

The dinette seats, with wall cushions to complement the seat backs, are of particularly high quality; perhaps the only disappointment is that there are no hinged footrests at the end of the seats. A tri-fold table and drawers under the seats does improve the convenience factor though.

BED, BATH AND TABLES

Up front is what’s known in the trade as a "caravan queen bed", measuring in at 1.88 x 1.52m (6ft 2in x 5ft). Surrounded by windows, it comes with wardrobes, bedside cabinets and overhead lockers. Adding to the space is a rear shelf under the window.

A 19in flatscreen TV is mounted above the nearside diagonal cupboard, and can be swivelled so it can also be seen from the dinette.

The Archer’s full-width bathroom includes a shower cubicle, toilet, vanity and washing machine built into the vanity cabinet. There’s plenty of storage, including a corner linen cupboard. Ventilation is handled by the rear window and two fan hatches.

Given its set-up for independent camping, the Archer is pre-wired for solar panels and most of the lighting is either energy-efficient fluorescents or halogens.

THE VERDICT

Because this van has an ATM of nearly 3000kg and an external body length of 6.4m (21ft), a mid-sized 4WD tow vehicle like a Mitsubishi Pajero is the minimum requirement.

Although it looks like quite a few modern ‘Australian-style’ caravans, especially in its layout, the Archer does incorporate quite a few features that make it worth a second look. For example, its chassis is a tougher build than you’d expect and its considerable front boot is a significant advantage, especially for long-range touring.

All up, this is a very well-finished caravan that ticks all of the interior comfort boxes. In the words of Adventure Caravan Centre’s Colin Bridge, “The Archer is definitely ready for a trip or two around Australia”.

ADVENTURE CARAVANS ARCHER

Overall length: 8.54m (28ft)
External length: 6.4m (21ft)
External width: 2.41m (7ft 11in)
Internal height: 1.97m (6ft 5in)
Tare: 2450kg
ATM: 2950kg
Advised ball weight: 210kg
Frame: Timber
Chassis: DuraGal
Suspension: Independent
Cooktop: Swift four-burner, grill and oven
Fridge: Dometic RM 4605 186-litre
Microwave: Sharp
Shower: Separate cubicle
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Lighting: 12V fluorescent/halogen
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Fresh water: 2 x 90L
Price: $75,000 (tow-away, Qld)
Supplied by: Adventure Caravan Centre