Bushtracker busts bloated myth

‘Myth #1: Bushtrackers are heavy: Busted!’

That was the sign outside Bushtracker’s latest 18ft off-roader that made its debut at the Queensland Caravan Supershow at the RNA Showgrounds in early-June.

While its 2440kg Tare is not exactly featherweight by the latest on-road standards, that’s well under the 2600-2800kg that Bushtracker buyers are accustomed to hauling to remote parts of Australia, while it's also on par with the lightest off-road vans of this size offered by its major rivals.

General Manager Matthew Kurvink said the deliberate weight saving has been achieved by the careful selection of appliances and equipment and had not impacted on the brand’s legendary strength.

For example, the 18ft van displayed was 2.17 metres wide, instead of the 2.4 metres that is usual on most Bushtracker models and was fitted with a single spare wheel mounted on its A-frame, although there was provision for an optional second beside it.

Inside, a Daewoo Mini 2.5kg combined washer/dryer weighing about 20kg has been mounted on the rear ensuite wall instead of the 30kg-heavier Dometic or Camec front-loader models that are usually located under the front bed on Bushtrackers.

Bushtracker also chose the lightest (and most efficient) Truma roof-top air conditioner for the new 18ft model, while a Webasto diesel space heater is pre-wired, but optional.

Kurvink said there had been no compromise in the construction of the latest 18-footer, which uses the same 3mm fibreglass outer skin (almost double the thickness of some fibreglass clad vans) bonded to a welded aluminium body frame, incorporating fireproof foam insulation.

He said customers interested in larger Bushtrackers could also chose the same lighter-weight path that on a typical 19ft model could add 100kg to its payload.

As displayed, the 18ft Backtracker had a 2440kg Tare weight, a payload of 910kg and a ball weight of 140kg, although the latter would rise with the cavernous under-bed boot area loaded.

While the price of an 18ft Backtracker starts at $124,500, the well-optioned show van that came with a 300Ah Enerdrive lithium battery system and three 150W solar panels, was show-priced at $149,000 – a saving of $5940 over a similarly-equipped production 18-footer.