Aussie Swag Ultra D

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and especially if the fence is far away.

Or so I thought until I recently stumbled across this little gem of a campground not far from Brisbane, that I had been driving past for the last one and a half decades, oblivious to its existence!

Situated south off the D’Aguilar Highway between Woodford and Kilcoy, the Neurum Creek Bush Retreat has it all for those with a tent, caravan or camper and want to enjoy fresh air and great amenities.

And that’s where we found another surprise in the top-spec Ultra D model from Aussie Swag Campers, parked on the side of a hill at the back of the picturesque campground.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

The manufacturers of Aussie Swag campers started the business at Alstonville, NSW in 1985 and by the following year had moved to Brisbane where it remains today.

Today, to keep it simple there are just two models in the Aussie Swag line-up: the base model Rover LX and the top-spec Ultra D, both based on the same camper.

Boasting many long term employees Aussie Swag has been able to focus on using the production team’s combined expertise to produce exceptional quality with regularity and with all manufacture and fabrication done in-house, quality control is spot on.

The back bone of the trailer caught my attention first because of the quality of the galvanising but also the fabrication. The main frame under the superstructure uses 100 x75x6mm RHS, with a 2.2m long structure of 125 x 75 x 6mm angle the base for the drawbar. 

Interestingly, the drawbar is attached to the main sub frame by three high tensile bolts roughly a metre apart on each side. This system is the first we have come across -- the norm being a welded or one piece chassis -- but if it works and apparently it does, why deviate from the tried and true?

Perched on the drawbar is a full width, zinc annealed storage and fridge box holding an 80 litre Waeco fridge/freezer along with two jerry can holders and dual gas bottle holders.

There’s also a hot water box fired by a Webasto system that has a heating vent at the foot of the bed when the trailer tent is erected.

A DO-35 hitch was fitted to the review trailer but a Treg hitch is another option.

Also impressive was the in-house manufactured suspension, with the brackets for the trailing swinging arms being one piece welded on two sides of the 100 x 75mm  cross member.

Also fitted was a Pedders coil spring and shock absorber, 12 inch Alko electric drum brakes and a standard six stud wheel pattern, though optional patterns are to suit your tow vehicle are available.

In keeping with the ‘over engineered’ theme, the removable 60mm stub axles are rated to 200kg, providing a useful 600kg payload for the Ultra D camper.

Out of sight and out of mind, the spare wheel sits on a swing-up cradle forward of the axle alignment and is lowered by utilising a handle stored in the front box.

TOUGH TANKS

Water capacity on board is 195 litres and it’s housed in a tank with 9mm thick polyethylene walls. This wall diameter alleviates the need for metal stone guards which would only add to the Tare weight.

The electrical heart of the trailer consists of three 105Ah batteries stowed at the foot of, and under the bed, and a 1600W pure sine wave inverter is standard on all models, hard wired to automatically switch between mains and battery power.

A 60 amp 240 volt charger is also standard fit, should a generator be brought into play during extended cloudy periods that reduce the effectiveness of the 140W solar panel (also standard on the Ultra).

Kitchen wise, a master chef would not be left wanting!

There’s a flip up table on the end of the fridge drawer that makes life easy when delving into the depths of the Waeco and a super-long, almost full trailer width drawer that pulls out to allow storage of crockery, cutlery and condiments in tubs.

Below the drawer is a void that holds the kitchen when it’s collapsed and ready to be packed away. But with tables down and locked in place, the whole affair is rock solid to say the least!

Also part of the kitchen are condiment racks and utensil holders, attached to folding wind guards. There are also circular wind guards surrounding each burner on the cook top; about time someone went to the trouble to design something along these lines!

Oh, and the griller under the burners is large enough to cook a feast of chops and snags for the average family.

Stepping away from the kitchen, the attached awning provides enough cover for a family enjoying the table fare. There’s also an awning off the front that keeps the fridge box and anything stored on top of it (ice boxes out of the reach of wild animals?) in the shade and dry to boot.

HARD FACTS

While the jury (to many) might be out on the pros and cons of hard floor versus soft floor campers, as some-one who has spent half of the last five years on a soft floor I did appreciate stepping up on to the hard raised platform of the Ultra.

Vivid memories of centipedes, snakes, scorpions, mud, slush, flood water, dust and dirt seemed in the distant past, especially under the warmth of solid Australian canvas and a diesel heater blowing in the face. Comfy indeed!

Comfy too is the bed design, with the inner spring mattress on a gas strut-assisted lift up base exposing the well of a full-sized, pull out draw. Storing gear just doesn’t get any easier than this!

There’s also an open top compartment down each side of the mattress, available for quick access storage.

Overhead, the built on fly will help keep condensation to a minimum and allow hot humid air to dissipate easily. Also worth noting is all the aluminium poles contacting canvas had gloves fitted, to prevent black rub marks on canvas. Good idea!

Need a shower? The zip on shower screen attaches to the front offside of the main camper, next to the hatch that holds the tap ware for the diesel fired hot water. There’s enough room to fit a crate of gear too.

VERDICT

This premium, Aussie-built camper rates highly in the R&D department and gets top marks for quality control in manufacture.

In my experience camper trailers don’t come much better than this Aussie Swag and the way it has been built will ensure that it will stay looking nice for a long time provided you do your bit.

WE LIKED:
>> Pole covers to reduce black rub marks
>> Wind guards on the gas burners
>> Excellent quality all round

NOT SO MUCH:
>> No steel guards for water tanks, though probably unnecessary
>> It’s pricey for a tent trailer!

AUSSIE SWAG CAMPERS ULTRA D

Travel length: 4.95m
Berth length: 2.2m
External width: 1.7m
Travel height: 1.4m
Tare: 1400kg
GVM: 2000kg
Ball weight: 170kg
Body type: Zinc annealed sheet metal 1.2mm
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised, 100 x 75 x 6mm RHS steel with 2.2m long, 125 x 75 x 6mm drawbar
Suspension: Trailing swinging arm with Pedders springs and shocks
Brakes: Alko 12 inch electric
Stability control: none fitted
Wheels: 17 inch, 6 stud
Freshwater: 195 litres
Batteries: 3 x 105Ah AGM
Solar: 1 x 140W
Gas: 2 x 4kg
Hot water: Diesel fired
Cooker: four-burner with griller
Fridge: 80 litre Waeco
Toilet: not supplied
Shower: Diesel fired hot water pressurised
Lighting: LED
Price: $59,400
Supplied by: Aussie Swag Campers