Michael Browning•16 Oct 2017

REVIEW

AusRV Wollemi

New price-leading 17ft composite van appeals to budget buyers

Not everyone wants a glitzy, traditional-looking caravan. A good, well-thought-out design, quality materials, a high level of standard equipment and a keen price does it for many travelers who plan to spend quality time on the bitumen, rather than off it.

Based on those parameters, AusRV’s new 1651kg (Tare) Wollemi, which can be towed legally behind a wide range of vehicles, should be on every budget-conscious caravanner’s shopping short list.

SOLID COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION

Let’s get a few things straight from the outset: the Wollemi’s exterior styling is purposeful and practical, rather than fancy.

Full-thickness, white composite, hail-resistant and thermally-efficient fibreglass walls, edged with black mouldings and matching black roll-out awning arms and complemented by a relatively upright front and rear, looks minimalistic compared to some of its rivals, who eschew more ‘bling’ in the form of checker plate and other adornments.

Even the front panel, despite its black shield for the window and Raptor spray-on stone-protection further down. is relatively stark, with nothing but the twin (grey) 9kg gas bottle on the otherwise bare (silver grey) A-frame.

Meanwhile, at the Wollemi’s blunt rear end, only a single spare wheel mounted on a single upright pole welded to the skinny rear bumper and the Wollemi logo, break up the windowless, single-sheet panel.

It’s a modern, businesslike look that may not be to everyone’s taste, however, it pays dividends in terms of storage and interior space in a relatively compact 17ft caravan.

TRADITIONAL LEAF SUSPENSION

Nothing fancy underneath either on the basic Wollemi: single axle leaf-spring suspension. However, there are no dangling pipes or wires to get snagged and everything looks neat.

If you want to venture off sealed roads, you can order your Wollemi in AT (All Terrain) or even XT (Extreme Terrain) spec. AT will give you AL-KO Enduro independent trailing arms suspension and more ground clearance, amongst other features, for a RRP of $64,990.

In keeping with this KIS (Keep it Simple) theme, the Wollemi has no boot as such, but thefull tunnel front locker is large and should hold most of the items like hoses, power cords and even folding chairs that you’ll need on a caravanning holiday. Just as well, as there’s no other exterior storage.

Personally, I’d be asking my AusRV dealer to fit a tool box on the A-frame to hold all the dirty stuff and there’s plenty of room to do just that.

Probably the only things that are a little ‘low-rent’ about the Wollemi’s exterior are its galvanised, pull-out step (they often get jammed in cold weather and can easily be damaged) and that single spare wheel support that sprouts from the skimpy back bumper.

However, one premium item that AusRV have fitted is Dometic’s new two-piece security door, which locks securely in four-places and would defy any potential intruder.

LIGHT-FILLED INTERIOR

Inside, the Wollemi is awash with light, thanks largely to those large windows.

Without an internal frame, the large composite walls house large premium quality Dometic S7P windows that make the interior bright, light and look larger than it really is. Add in the rather ‘boxy’ shape and you also have more useable room inside, without sloping front or rear panels to intrude on living space or head room.

The décor on our review van was a mixture of gloss white and matt black furniture which worked quite well, but I think a combination of white and silver might have worked even better in what’s a relatively small caravan.

No complaints about the layout though. There’s a north-south, island queen bed in the nose, flanked by twin three-quarter robes, with cupboards above, plus a large box beneath the bed providing good storage space. Bedside ‘nooks’ with USB plugs are thoughtful features.

An L-shaped club lounge with a rectangular dining table faces the galley on the opposite wall. Here, there’s room for plating up between the combined (black) sink and matching drainer board and a 3+1 gas/electric Thetford Mini Grill MkIII.

Cupboards above, below and alongside the benchtop provide excellent storage space, although I would rather see the Dometic three-way fridge placed higher and the NCE microwave located a bit lower in the kitchen for ease of use of both.

WELL-EQUIPPED BATHROOM

The full-width rear ensuite with its cassette toilet to the left, bench-top ceramic-bowl vanity ahead, large mirror behind and fibreglass shower cubicle to the right, tick all the popular boxes, but I would rather see a solid sliding door to separate the bathroom from the rest of the caravan, rather than the vinyl concertina one fitted.

It’s all about weight though and with a tare of just 1651kg, something has to give. As it stands, with its ATM of 2000kg, the Wollemi can be towed by many SUVs and even most large Australian family cars and adding weighty features would erode this advantage.

However, like the rest of the Wollemi, fit and finish were good and the van comes with a 5-year structural/3-year electrical warranty.

Being built to a price, it’s not surprising to find a single 100W deep cycle battery in the Wollemi, but on the plus side there’s a meaty 200W of solar standard on the roof, plus twin 85-litre fresh water tanks beneath, making this lightweight van a good proposition for limited overnight free-camping.

WE LIKED:

>> Clean, upright styling

>> All fiberglass lightweight construction

>> Good interior storage space

NOT SO MUCH:

>> Limited exterior storage space

>> Location of fridge and microwave

>> Concertina ensuite door

VERDICT

The AusRV Wollemi is a few-frills but solidly constructed, spacious, well-equipped and honest lightweight caravan, designed to make the most of bitumen travel.

At its launch retail price of $56,990 it’s not the cheapest full-featured caravan you can buy – there are several others that start below $50,000 – but it looks well-made and many people will like its modern, albeit rather austere look.

AUSRV WOLLEMI 17FT

Travel length: 7510mm

External body length: 5142mm

External body width: 2460mm

Travel height: 2900mm

Interior height: 2020mm

Tare weight: 1651 KG

ATM: 2000Kg

Ball weight: 118kg

Body: Sandwich one-piece fibreglass walls and roof, ply sandwich panel floor

Chassis: 150mm x 50mm galvanised

Suspension: Leaf-spring single beam axle

Brakes: AL-KO 10-inch electric

Stability Control: AL-KO ESC standard

Wheels: Alloy with 235/65-16 tyres

Fresh water: 2 x 85l

Battery: 1 x 100Ah deep cycle

Solar: 200W roof-mounted

Air-conditioner: Truma reverse cycle, roof-mounted

Gas: 2 x 9kg

Cooking: Dometic 3+1 gas/electric, cooktop and grill

Fridge: Dometic 190L three-way

Microwave: NCE

Toilet: Dometic cassette

Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle

Lighting: LED

Price: $56,990

Options fitted: None

Supplied by: AusRV, Loganholme Qld

AusRV Wollemi

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