Michael Browning•2 Nov 2016

REVIEW

Bolwell Air

After a two-year absence, Bolwell's lightweight folding hard-walled camper is back, better than before

It took a fire, a re-think, two years and another respected RV manufacturer, but the Bolwell Air hard-walled folding camper is back on the market and arguably a lot better than before.

The story of the Air camper, which has many conceptual similarities to Avan’s folding campers, dates back to 2012 when the specialist industrial fibreglass manufacturer – historically better known for its Holden and Ford-powered sports cars of the 1960s and ‘70s – was looking for a companion model to its stylish clam-shell Edge caravan that it had launched two years earlier in 2010.

The Air, with its folding A-frame architecture, was the answer. It was made in Bolwell’s Melbourne factory and soon gained a small but loyal following for being a more upmarket alternative to the Avan – rather like Goldstream carved a niche market in the early 1990s by building a more sophisticated version of the original Jayco sliding-bed camper.

Then came the disastrous fire that destroyed more than two-thirds of Bolwell’s Plastic Moulders factory in Mordialloc where the Air and Edge were produced.

As Bolwell’s core business is building truck cabs for Kenworth and Iveco, the company’s primary focus was to get these lines up and running again, with the RV business of secondary priority.

It was here that CEO Paul Lyons’ extensive experience in dealing with Chinese manufacturers came into play and to speed its return to the RV industry, he set up a joint venture operation with a major manufacturer in Hangzhou – the capital of the ‘garden’ eastern province of Zhejiang.

The phrase ‘joint venture’ is important here, because rather than simply a supplier, Bolwell’s Chinese partner has a financial stake in the venture, ensuring that quality and supply are on par with Australian expectations.

The final piece went into the puzzle mid this year, when Bolwell appointed Outback HQ, the retail dealership of Melbourne’s Track Trailer, to handle final fit-out and quality control. This should be a major confidence boost to potential Air purchasers, as Track Trailer has a well-earned reputation for quality construction through its long-standing Tvan and, more recently, Topaz pop-top.

Air campers arrive from China as body shells on wheels, with Track Trailer then fitting their windows, seals and appliances, subjecting them to water deluge testing, arranging local gas, electric and RVMAP certification and finally selling and servicing them through its retail outlets.

The result in the latest model Air we reviewed was a quality A-frame camper that stood up well against the best of locally-built products and buyers should have no fear that off-shore building in this case means ‘second best’.

FAST SET-UP

Like the slide out tent bed campers from Jayco, Goldstream, Coromal and now, New Age, the Air’s appeal is to campers who want to get off the ground in a lightweight, compact and quick-to-erect vehicle. However where the Air and the Avan stand apart from the canvas crowd is that their four walls fold out to provide more secure, caravan-like all-weather protection.

Ready to tow, the Air looks purposeful on its CAD-modeled and laser-cut steel chassis with its curved, aerodynamic front clip and roof bars cleverly incorporated into the clamshell wall-raising gas struts. The fibreglass/synthetic composite walls with their urethane foam core insulation are smooth and overall the Air is well finished, as you would hope considering its starting price of $43,500 in on-road touring spec.

With a tare of 1280kg and a ball weight of 130kg, the Air can easily be towed behind most large sedans and even small-to-medium sized SUVs, while its ATM of 1600kg allows a useful 320kg payload – enough to travel with its 82-litre fresh water tank full and enough gear for a week or two away.

The compact Al-Ko Torsion Bar rubber independent suspension with single gas shockers per wheel gives the Air a compliant ride that’s not as choppy as some lightweight caravans and campers we have seen fitted with similar suspension, while standard 12-inch off-road Al-Ko brakes are almost an overkill for stopping such a light camper.

On site, set-up takes only a few minutes. After releasing four over-centre clips, the front and rear walls of the Air rise on their struts to lock into an ‘A’, with the side walls unfolding to fill the gaps. The top half of the door then drops onto two robust hinges and is secured to its lower section by a sliding bolt. Done!

If you want to add the $1499 optional Flexwing Air Awning, allow another 10 minutes more to slide the awning into the wall-mounted sail-track, then erect five poles and their guy ropes. For an over-nighter, you probably wouldn’t bother.

FLOW-THROUGH VENTILATION

What’s impressive about the Air is its ventilation, with wide-opening front and sidewall windows, each fitted with cassette fly/block-out blinds.

Inside there’s a surprising amount of room – enough for the fixed transverse queen bed at the rear end and a four-seater dinette at the front. Or, if you want family accommodation, the dinette converts easily into a separate double bed by dropping its table and re-arranging the seat cushions.

In the centre there’s a three-burner gas cooktop with an adjacent stainless steel sink, drainer and flick mixer tap, with a two-drawer cabinet next to a 110-litre Waeco 12v/240v compressor fridge below. Opposite, a large serving/prep bench sits above the Air’s standard microwave oven and two more large storage lockers.

There’s a lot more storage room under the rear hinged double bed that can also be accessed via exterior hatches, effectively making this a full tunnel boot. Meanwhile there’s more large storage in the lockable front-hinged boot, which sits behind a $695-optional truck-mesh stone shield and twin 4.5kg gas bottles.

Walking around the Air you realize how much equipment is standard in its $43,500 base price: the 16-inch steel wheels with their 235/75-16 off-road tyres; an external gas bayonet; exterior shower and a water tap on the drawbar, while inside there’s a CD/Audio system with two speakers and bedside controls.

Spend a bit more by ticking the option boxes for the awning, Al-Ko ESC stability control, perhaps a modular Truma Saphir air conditioner and a 105AH battery upgrade from the standard 80AH unit, plus a120Ah solar panel and you’ll take the price of a fully-optioned Air to around $50,000.

Is that good value when you consider you can have all this for similar money in a pop-top or even a full-height caravan? Perhaps not, but will your small SUV tow the latter; will it fit in your carport and will it take you to the places you wan’t to go, rain or shine?

WE LIKED:

>>Quality build

>> Easy erection

>> Family living space and storage

>> Towing ease

NOT SO MUCH:

>> Options make it pricey

>> Needs an exterior kitchen option.

VERDICT

The Bolwell Air is a well-conceived, well-finished alternative to a conventional sliding bed camper trailer with the ability to emulate a hard-walled caravan in cold or bad weather.

BOLWELL AIR

Travel length: 5600mm

Interior body length: 3770mm

External body width: 2310mm

Travel height: 1910mm

Expanded height: 3105mm

Internal height: 2400mm

Tare weight: 1280kg

ATM: 1600kg

Ball weight: 130kg

Body: Fibreglass/synthetic composite

Chassis: Laser-cut high grade steel

Suspension: Al-Ko Torsion Bar independent with telescopic shock absorbers

Brakes: 12-inch Al-Ko electric

Wheels/tyres: 16 x 7in/ 235/75R16 off-road

Fresh water: 1 x 82L

Battery: 1 x 80Ah deep cycle AGM

Solar: Optional 120W roof-mounted panel

Air-conditioner: Optional Truma Saphir

Gas: 2 x 4.5kg

Hot water: Truma gas/electric

Cooking: 3-burner gas internal cooktop with exterior BBQ bayonet gas port

Fridge: 110L Waeco 12v/240v

Microwave: Standard

Toilet: None fitted

Shower: External hot/cold shower

Lighting: LED throughout

Price (As reviewed, ex-Melbourne): $45,694

Options fitted: Flexwing awning, stoneguard

Supplied by: Outback HQ, Bayswater North, Vic

More info: Bolwell RV

Bolwell Air

Tags