Australis Coastline 2021 Review

It's no surprise the second caravan to roll out of the factory of fledgling Melbourne manufacturer Australis is a family bunk model.

Family vans are the hottest items on the showroom floor if you listen to any caravan dealer, even before the COVID-19 boom, as the rising popularity of Big Lap 'school gap years' among other social media fads helped drive adventurous families to more luxurious and pricier RVs.

After all, tow vehicle and budget permitting, why put up with all the fuss of canvas camping when you can enjoy many of the comforts of home not long after rolling into camp?!

With its generous 21ft 6in body length, well-equipped kitchen, family-friendly club lounge, laundry/ensuite and parent's and kid's 'zones', the new Australis 21ft 6in Coastline is a good example of the level of luxury family caravanning available these days in the $70,000-$80,000 price bracket.

Hitting the road

While the kids didn't come along this time to give it the full family test, I did spend a couple of very relaxing nights in the Australis Coastline, parked in a lovely waterside location at the Lake Hume Holiday Park in Albury.

Despite its sheer size and bulk (3.1m high by 9.1 long by 2.5m wide and weighing almost three tonnes unloaded), the big Australis van behaved well behind the Isuzu NPR Tradepack tow vehicle travelling up the Hume Highway from Melbourne at 100km/h.

Fully loaded to 3500kg, you'll need something similarly capable to tow it with; a LandCruiser 200 Series or RAM 1500 perhaps, or at the very least a decent dual-cab ute like the Ford Ranger.

Backing it down the long, curved 'driveway' to our powered site proved more stressful; it took around 15 minutes in total to position and set up, including unhitching and winding down the stabilisers, although I didn't have any help.

But that's the price you pay for a big, bulky caravan loaded with (almost) everything you can squeeze into an RV these days, including a diesel powered space heater and 5kg front load washing machine.

Related: No waiting for new Australis caravans

Bang for bucks

Externally, the Australis 21ft 6in Coastline is pretty well equipped for its $79,990 factory driveaway pricing, with an almost full width Aussie Traveller Sunburst wind out awning, picnic table with nearby external connections for the 24in TV, twin awning lights, a gas bayonet, external speakers, outside hot/cold shower, reversing camera and front and rear LED worklights just some of the standard features fitted.

While not ideal for hot, dusty conditions, the dark grey smooth aluminium cladding with some black checker plate protection over a timber frame makes the van look suitably tough, as does the robust-looking Roadking 4in chassis with 6in extended A-frame (Supagal steel with smooth hammertone finish), Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling, AL-KO Enduro Cross Country trailing arm independent coil suspension, and 16in black alloys with all-terrain tyres.

For storage there's an A-frame mounted checker plate toolbox with twin jerry holders and a separate internal compartment containing a slide-out for a generator, alongside twin 9kg gas bottles and a small 'firewood rack' positioned behind the toolbox.

Also mounted up front is the 10 litre litre fuel container for the diesel space heater, with another slide-out for a Weber Baby Q taking up some of the space in the otherwise voluminous tunnel boot.

Two chassis-mounted checker plate battery boxes are located on the offside, not far from the water tank inlets and external shower locker. There's also a spare wheel mounted on the galvanised four-arm rear bar.

For off-grid camping, you also get two gal-protected 95 litre freshwater tanks and another 95 litre tank for grey (waste) water, all mounted within the chassis rails, with 12V power from two 105Ah AGM batteries fed by twin 190W roof-mounted solar panels.

The heavily armoured Australis Coastline also came with a sturdy A-frame mesh stone guard (which was damaged slightly when the truck's long aluminium tray made contact with the mesh while backing up to the campsite).

Our only other outside 'drama' occurred when the flimsy plastic cover for the external shower fell open on the highway (despite being locked!), resulting in the showerhead unit banging along the tarmac at 100 clicks and breaking off.

Interior delights

A major reason most people buy a big semi-off-road family caravan like the 21ft 6in Australis Coastline is the amount of interior space and home comforts it provides for a family of four or five, and in this regard the Melbourne-built van doesn't disappoint.

Getting inside is made easy with a double pull out step and sturdy two-part security door, with a checkerplate infill step to help keep some of the dirt from shoes out of the homey interior.

Despite the dark grey decor theme it's pretty light and airy inside thanks to a good smattering of Aussie Traveller Eurovision windows with built-in screens and blinds. I found them really easy to open and close although the bottom plastic surround on some of the windows had a tendency to pop off.

Because of the big tunnel boot, the under-bed storage space was slightly smaller than I expected, as were the around-bed cupboard options although they were still adequate with two overhead cupboards, plus a robe, drawer, small shelf and single USB and twin 240V sockets on both sides of the bed.

At around 190cm tall, I had no trouble with ceiling height (it's 198cm), but couldn't quite stretch out on the 185cm x 152cm queen bed, even with the pull-out extension. It was a similar story for the bunks at the back, although most children and teenagers should be fine.

All beds including the bunks get decent coil spring mattresses, and there's good access around the front bed, as well as through the middle of the van, to help prevent family 'traffic jams'.

Generous kitchen and lounge

No complaints about the amount of kitchen benchspace or lounging room either, with the kitchen bench incorporating a deep sink with drainer and combination mixer/filtered water tap, to go with a double lidded gas/electric four burner cooktop, grille, oven, rangehood and head-high mounted microwave.

There's no pull-out pantry but sufficient kitchen cupboards and drawers including a bonus drawer under the fridge that's big enough for pots and pans.

The comfy two-tone leatherette club lounge was a nice alternative to the usual L-shape lounge you see in larger family vans, with enough room to seat the family for breakfast and dinner.

The tabletop was easy to adjust although it could be a tad larger, while the two pull-out drawers make good use of the under-seat space. The tabletop also drops down to form another bed, using the included infill cushion.

Like the windows, there were plenty of LED ceiling lights and 240V power sockets spread throughout the van, with the queen bed, dinette and bunks also getting reading lamps.

While we preferred the light timber-look benchtops and matching upholstery in the first Coastline van, the family version had some nice upmarket touches including car seat-style adjustable headrests and monogrammed leatherette upholstery for the seating, together with flush-fit cabinetry, blue mood lighting and fashionable matte black sinks and tapware.

It was too warm to fire up the Webasto diesel heater, which has a wall mounted control and two floor mounted outlets, but the whisper-quiet Dometic rooftop air-conditioner worked a treat cooling down the van.

Running off mains power, the Bushman 190L compressor fridge/freezer was also quietly efficient at keeping the beers and perishables chilled.

Rear privacy

Although they add weight we also liked the solid sliding door to the bunks and ensuite area, that helps block light and noise at night, along with the also solid (smokey glass) doors for the entrances to the adjoining ensuite and shower cubicle.

The big 5kg front load washing machine takes up valuable space in the rear wardrobe, but there's additional storage space for the kids' stuff in two under-bunk drawers (not available with the three bunk option).

The ensuite also squeezed in a cassette toilet, vanity with black bowl sink and corner mirrors, and towel and toilet roll holders, with some ventilation options in the form of a 12V roof hatch and small window.

Internally, there's also an adjustable arm for the supplied 24in Smart TV/DVD, plus a latest Trek digital display (part of the BMPro battery management system) and Furrion audio unit -- the last two also operable 'wirelessly' via smartphone apps although I struggled to get them working.

Another 'gripe' included the lack of an internal privacy curtain on the security door. I also had some water dripping from the Finch Australia roof hatch over the bed one rainy night, though that was likely 'operator error' in not securing the latch properly!

Summing up

With production only kicking off in early-2021, it's too early to judge the long-term durability and reliability of the Australis vans, although fit and finish seemed on a par with many Melbourne-built rivals.

If you're in the market for a family 'glampavan', it's definitely worth a closer look at this well-equipped 3500kg ATM, multi-terrain family caravan.

How much is the 21ft 6in Australis Coastline?

Price: $79,990 (drive-away Melbourne)
Travel length: 9100mm
External body length: 6553mm
Internal body length: 6153mm
Body width (internal): 2250mm
Travel height: 3100mm
Interior height: 1980mm
Tare: 2880kg
ATM: 3500kg
Ball weight (Tare): 150kg
Body: Meranti timber frame, aluminium composite side cladding, one-piece ply floor and fibreglass roof
Chassis:  150mm A-frame and 100mm chassis Supagal
Suspension: AL-KO Enduro Cross-country trailing arm independent suspension, with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes: 12in electric drum
Wheels: Alloy with 265/75R-16 AT tyres                                         
Water: 2 x 95L fresh water, 1 x 95L grey
Battery: 2 x 105Ah AGM
Solar: 2 x 190W roof-mounted glass panel
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: 28L Swift gas/electric
Cooking: Thetford 3+1 gas/electric cooktop, grille, oven
Fridge/freezer: Bushman 190L 12V/240V compressor
Microwave: NCE 25L
Toilet: Thetford Cassette
Shower: Full-height one-piece moulded fibreglass
Lighting: LED
Air-conditioner: Dometic Ibis 4 roof-top
Air heater: Webasto diesel
Washing machine: Euromaid 5kg front-load
TV: 24in NCE Smart LED with built in DVD player
Audio: Furrion Bluetooth with internal/external speakers
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