Baby Bushtracker pops up

Bushtracker has released a new entry-level, pop-top model aimed at those who want all the rugged durability and off-road features of the Queensland manufacturer's bigger caravans but in a lighter, more compact package.

The new 14 foot caravan has, as its name suggests, a 14ft (4.27m) long body. It also measures 7ft2in (2.17m) wide, 8ft5in (2.55m) high and has a 1820kg Tare (and 500kg payload), making it the smallest and lightest model in Bushtracker's off-road line-up.

"We're aiming at that in-between market that's developing between camper trailers and caravans," explains Bushtracker's Matthew Kurvink.  "People that want something that can go more places than obviously a full-size caravan but want all the comforts and the luxuries as well."

"With the Tare weight that it's got you could tow it with pretty much any of your mid-size four-wheel drives," he says.

Around 230mm narrower and 400mm lower than other Bushtracker vans, the 14ft model should also be easier to manoevre down narrow, overgrown tracks.

"I towed it down here with my LandCruiser, and it's slightly wider than the car but not by much which is great so you can actually see down the sides of it," he says.

"We also wanted to reduce the centre of gravity, to make it more stable on road."

The 20ft (6.1m) long pop-top model shares similar, bulletproof construction with other Bushtrackers, including the distinctive, aluminium-clad body with front overhang and large tunnel boot.

Rather than a moulded roof though, the roof on the 14 foot model is the same construction as the walls. "By doing that we've actually thickened the roof up to about 50mm, so there's a lot of insulation there," he says.

The 14ft Bushtracker is also available with a new commercial-grade air-bag suspension, specially designed for single-axle, off-road caravans.

"It also has a prototype suspension that we've developed with the Airbag Man, which is a full airbag suspension, with bigger, truck-style airbags than you normally see on a caravan, twin shock absorbers and a big trailing arm," he says.

"It has auto-ride control, so you hit a button to take it to a ride height and then no matter how you load the caravan it will always keep it at that height. There's also a manual override, so you can lower it down when driving on the highway or when camping."

"To my knowledge this is the first Airbag Man suspension under a caravan in Australia, because it's a new suspension for them as well."

The Australian-designed airbag system can also be utilised to raise the lifter arms that operate the pop-top roof.

"Basically, they're a lifting assistant but you still have to manually pull it back down," he says.

As it's still in prototype form, Bushtracker is yet to conduct its own off-road testing, but plans to introduce the new airbag suspension on other Bushtracker models in the future.

Other suspension options will also be available on the 14 foot model including the Simplicity independent load sharing system available on other Bushtrackers.

Starting at $76,000, the new pop-top is also the cheapest Bushtracker model, although the van on display at the recent Queensland Caravan, Camping & Touring Holiday Show was loaded with options, raising the sticker price to $99,672.

Some of the the options fitted included a full shower/ensuite, two 90 litre water tanks, Waeco 165 litre fridge/freezer, air-conditioning, 200aH lithium battery pack, 270W solar panels, 50amp solar regulator, 40amp battery charger, two additional cargo doors, slide-out external BBQ and 12in commercial brakes.

The display van also came with an impressive audio visual system including a Fusion iPod compatible CD/DVD player with internal and external speakers, 22inch LED TV including external TV mount, and Winegard TV antenna with UHF booster.

The internal layout featured a queen size inner spring bed up front, as well as a cafe dinette, kitchen with four burner cooktop, grille, oven, stainless steel sink and mixer tap, and bathroom with shower and toilet.

Like other Bushtracker vans, the 14 foot model will be custom built to order. The company, which builds around 120 vans a year at its Kunda Park factory, is also looking at introducing a tray-on camper version of the new pop-top, suitable for sliding onto the back of MAN or Isuzu-style cab chassis trucks.

See the Bushtracker website for further details.