Arco Scout entices premium pod camper buyers

After four years of development, a new NSW-built premium pod camper called the Arco Scout recently dropped onto the Australian RV market, with its maker promising “a new standard in off-the-shelf and ready- to-go campers for off-road and off-grid camping”.

Arco is a Bathurst NSW-based company that started out building MotoStar motorcycle trailers and toy haulers, before moving into RV and commercial trailer production a couple years back under the Arco RV brand.

Targeting both demanding and adventurous buyers with its high five-figure starting price, the base Scout is built in a way that suggests it’ll cop a beating off-road.

For example, the internal ‘monocoque’ structure and cabinets have a powder-coated aluminium sheet metal internal structure, and these are structurally riveted.

Arco says that this type of construction avoids heat zones that occur when joins are welded, which can result in joint cracking when the camper is towed over harsh corrugations and other rough ground any serious off-road camper is likely to encounter.

The Arco Scout boasts a bonded composite panel body construction, consisting of 2mm fibreglass with an XPS foam core. The result of this set-up is a Tare weight of 1320kg, 140kg towball download and 2000kg ATM.

The fit-out is similarly 'timber-free'; Arco saying the marine composite joinery panels it uses are more durable while also avoiding the risk of rotting cupboards and the like. The chassis is hot-dipped 350-grade high tensile galvanised steel (150mm x 50mm) with a Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling.

Belying its compact dimensions, the Scout comes equipped with an off-grid electrical system you might expect to see in a much larger off-road caravan, including Redarc BMS1230S3 charging and 240V management, a Redarc TVMS Prime module, a Redarc Rogue module for lighting dimming, and a Redarc Redvision control panel in the external kitchen for full camper management from the one source.

An Enerdrive 2600W inverter and 300Ah lithium B-Tec battery are also fitted, along with 400W of rooftop solar. There’s also a 240V inlet and various power points fitted throughout the camper.

The 'gas free' outside kitchen comes standard with an induction cooker, along with a few kitchen cupboards and drawers, while there’s a total of 190L water capacity divided between two locally-made roto-molded tanks.

The Scout measures 5.4m long overall, 1.86m wide and approximately 2.3m tall, so there's not a heap of space inside, but it should prove comfortable enough at night with the queen sized bed scoring an Australian-made Cloud-9 mattress, backed by a 10-year guarantee.

The Arco Scout rides on the popular Cruisemaster XT Freestyle coil suspension, while tyres are 17-inch Maxxis RAZR All-terrains, with three-ply sidewalls for improved puncture resistance. The wheel track width is set up to match most mid-sized utes and 4WD wagons.

Price for this top-end box camper is $88,000, including on-road costs in NSW, but you can add to that with various extra-cost options including a 270-degree awning, airbag suspension, hot water system and 75-litre fridge and freezer.

For full details head to the Arco RV website.