AOR takes Quantum leap

It says something about the health of our specialised off-road caravan market that the cheapest thing on Australian Off Road’s stand at the recent Melbourne Leisurefest was the $92,900 2016-model Quantum.

The ever-inventive Caloundra, Queensland manufacturer has temporarily suspended series production of the previous $77,900 entry-level Eclipse Super Camper and has thrown its weight behind its top-selling Quantum pop-top, displaying two new Series IV models.

Both feature major revisions and now have full lightweight fibreglass bodywork in place of the aluminium of all previous AOR Super Campers, effectively ending an aluminium era for the off-road specialist builder.

Both the Quantum and new Quantum Plus also get the new ‘faceted’ fibreglass nosecone and tail panel introduced on the full-height Matrix Series IV off-road caravan, greatly enhancing their storage capacity and aerodynamics.

The Quantum Plus, which costs an additional $4000 from $96,900, has a 500mm longer body, taking its total length to just 50mm shy of the Matrix, with the extra length providing space for a café lounge and large central Aussie Traveller windows.

More importantly, the extra room also allows an optional folding double-bunk set-up on the right hand wall in place of the dinette for those who wish to travel with friends or children.

Each Quantum Series IV model comes with a rear corner internal fibreglass shower cubicle equipped with a marine, macerator chemical-free toilet emptying into a standard 110-litre black water tank for extended stays in National Parks, while there’s a sink fed by a hot/cold mixer tap on the remainder of the rear wall.

Both Quantum Super Campers have 280 litre fresh water storage with an optional 60 litre grey water tank.

There’s no internal cooktop, but each comes with a slide-out external L-shaped stainless steel kitchen and an adjacent 82-litre EvaKool compressor fridge/freezer.

A new feature of the basic Quantum is a wall-mounted external pantry between the kitchen and entry door.

Less obvious is that the pop-top roofs on both Quantums now rise 100mm higher to 600mm.

An Enerdrive Lithium Ion battery system said to “future proof” its off-roaders is now optional, with AOR now quoting an eight-month waiting list on all models.

The Matrix Series IV and latest iteration of the range-topping tandem axle Aurora have also come in for price rises and now cost $103,500 and $135,000 respectively.

However the Matrix now comes standard with the previously optional Al-Ko disc brakes and iQ7 hydraulic brake booster for the extra $3600.

Meanwhile, AOR’s absence from the lower end of the ‘Super Camper’ market is likely to be temporary.

It's believed founder Steve Budden and his team are working on a ‘back to basics’ model that will sell for around $60,000 to challenge the latest crop of entry-level upstarts that include Complete Campsite’s Exodus 9, On the Move’s new Crossfire and Rhinomax’s Evo.