Another single-axle fifth wheeler breaks cover

Another single-axle fifth wheeler has hit the market, offering a compact body with Tardis-like interior space.

Like the single-axle Winjana we reviewed recently – another rare example in a world full of tandem axle fifth wheelers -- the Ultima Cafe has the bedroom in the front overhang, toilet and shower in the middle, and dinette and kitchen at the rear.

Unlike the Winjana, however, the Ultima has a bit more living space up back, thanks to a slide-out dinette. It also has a rear entry door, with electric rear as well as side awning.

While offering similar features to Ultima’s bigger fifth wheelers, including queen sized bed and separate shower and toilet, the Cafe is around 10ft shorter in length, at 22ft long.

With its ute tray-connected pin hitch, it’s said to have a towing length of a tiny 12ft caravan but with the interior floorspace of a 23ft caravan, making it the best of both worlds. It’s also slightly taller but marginally narrower than most caravans.

The body is a lightweight, composite construction incorporating aluminium framing and 50mm vacu-formed, gel coat panels, supported by a box section steel chassis.

An extensive standard equipment list includes LED lighting, 240V ducted air conditioning and heating, electric front jacks, Corian benchtops, water filter, satellite/cable hook ups, audio entertainment with external speakers, and outside shower.

Like other Ultima fifth wheelers built by US manufacturer Evergreen, the Cafe has been designed specifically for right-hand drive markets including Australia and conforms with local standards.

With a Tare weight of 2200kg, (dry) axle weight of 1840kg and (empty) pin weight of 360kg, the Cafe is towable by most locally-available one-tonne utes, and the example on display at the recent Queensland Caravan Show was hooked up to a Nissan Navara dual cab ute.

In fact, in conjunction with a local Nissan dealer, Gold Coast Ultima dealer Caraworld was offering a Nissan ute/Ultima Cafe package deal for $99,500 – a saving of up to $14,000, according to Caraworld.

Without the ute, the Cafe was priced at $68,900 driveaway, which included the tow vehicle fit-up.

Aimed at younger couples, the compact Cafe is also claimed to be more fuel-efficient to run than a bigger caravan offering similar interior space, not to mention easier and safer to tow.

See the Ultima website for more.