Australia's first six star rated motorhome?

If you’re suffering from environmental anxiety, concerned that the footprint from your travels is too heavy on the planet, then meet ‘Bruce’.

‘Bruce’ is the nickname of a unique new six-seat, six-berth 4WD motorhome currently being built in Sydney using a body entirely ‘grown' materials; that is, no fossil-fuel derived materials like fibreglass, as far as possible all materials start in the ground and grow.

'Bruce' is the labour of love of Dick Clarke, who in the 1980s had a business manufacturing campers and small motorhomes called Bush Motels. It was a bit ahead of its time, as in that era compactness, fuel economy and ‘connection’ weren’t really topics de jour.

Clarke struggled along for a few years, but by the time the grey nomad trend really took off in the early 1990s he had given up and gone back to his former trades of architecture and building.

However, the concept of ’sustainability’ was just gaining traction then and building on his experience he built the odd "camper-thing" – lightweight economical vehicles based on small SUVs that incorporated everything needed to create shelter and sustain life on the road.

That led Clarke to develop the "no gas ultra lightweight" idea of a fully equipped, two berth mini-motorhome nick-named ‘Dixi’ built on a Nissan Navara chassis – a low-price extremely light, but very rigid pop-top with a unitary foam-sandwich construction. Much the same construction technique is used in ocean racing yachts like Wild Oats 11.

Over the past two years, this vehicle in Clarke’s hands has completed successful trips to Arnhem Land, across the Simpson Desert, and to Fraser and Kangaroo Islands, without a single bogging or flat battery.

But while Dixi could be run on bio-diesel derived from or produced with fossil-oil, Clarke and his growing family needed a larger-sized off-road motorhome, which brings us to ‘Bruce’.

The challenge was to make the new body from materials that started life in the ground – i.e. everything that could be - or has been - sourced from a plant. That excludes fastenings and other metal bits, but actually covers 95 per cent of the body structure and interior. And where no grown material is available, recycled content is Clarke’s next choice in his new business making environmental off-road motorhomes: Insideoutback campers.

The main body structure of the prototype ‘Bruce’ is made from composite panels: end-grain balsa core with flax reinforcing in a bio-epoxy resin made from canola oil. Clarke says the structure is quite light for its strength, although carbon fibre skinned panels are even lighter. All of these materials and pre-made panels are being supplied by ATL Composites in Queensland.

Great attention has been paid to the vehicle’s aerodynamics, as Clarke is scornful of most current 4WD touring rigs, which he describes as “great big lumps of boxes and roof tents like bricks” given that 90 per cent of any trip is at cruising speed, where aerodynamic drag is the single biggest factor in fuel consumption.

“If boats were designed with their underwater shapes like most 4WDs, they would be called pontoons,” he says.

So, ‘Bruce’ is a relatively simple pop-top, with a rear hinge and gas struts lifting the front to give access to the double berth over the cab. With the roof down there's still standing headroom for average height people, so quick toilet visits are possible without popping the roof.

The base vehicle for ‘Bruce’ is a 10-year-old Mercedes Sprinter 516 CDI 4WD dual cab he ‘liberated’ from its past life as a mine rescue vehicle in the Hunter Valley. Powered by a 2.1-litre Euro-5 compliant diesel, putting out 120kW and 330Nm, he estimates it will have a fuel consumption of about 10L/100km and will seat six adults, with almost standing headroom in the cab.

The layout is a double berth over the cab, a large double berth on a drop-down base at the rear, a full single berth on the rear seat of the cab and one single berth on a pop-out on the galley side.

The settee and dinette are across the front, with pass-through access to the cab, while a galley is on the right hand side, a 210 litre Evakool upright fridge on the left, with a shower and toilet compartment behind that in the rear corner.

All interior joinery is hoop pine (a native to south-east Queensland) and local ply, while flooring is a compound of recycled rubber and cork chips, made in Melbourne.

The cushion covers are from a durable hemp fabric and the pop-top’s canvas is an Australian poly-cotton blend that breathes with anti-condensation properties.

With 250 litres of fresh water, 150 litres of grey water storage, an extra fuel tank taking total capacity to 165 litres, copious food storage and refrigeration space and 1kW of solar power charging 400Ah of lithium batteries, Clarke says it should be possible for a family of two adults and four children to stay ‘off-grid’ for two weeks. Cooking is by the now-discontinued double burner Dometic Origo metho stove.

To validate its environmental credentials, Clarke is working with some industry leaders to establish a ‘green star’ rating system for the RV industry.

You can build your own ‘Bruce’, with Insideoutback’s designs, guidance and advice, or alternatively use a professional to do it for you.

Bruce is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020 for travel in 2021. You can follow his progress on social media.

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