Bushtracker offroad 2005 Review

By Malcolm Street

Conrad and Niza Woldman really liked their Bushtracker 23ft offroad caravan. About its only shortcoming in their opinion was the east-west double bed – so they decided on an upgrade to another Bushtracker van. To get a north-south bed and a couple of other important items meant increasing the van length to 29ft (8.8m).

There’s no problem with that, except that the tandem axle set up with the extra weight wasn’t legally up to the task, so an extra axle had to be added.

This would prove a challenge to any manufacturer, especially a true offroad one, but Bushtracker, a caravan manufacturer well known for its heavy duty offroad vans, rose nobly to the occasion and delivered the goods.

Bushtracker’s offroad caravans are built on a hot dipped galvanised chassis with a drawbar that extends back to the suspension mounts and also, in this case, forward a further 300mm than usual. The chassis rides on its triple axles fitted with airbag suspension, trailing arms and shock absorbers. Atop the chassis is an aluminium frame. This is no ordinary frame, built with 2mm and 3mm aluminium in box sections of either 25mm square or 50mm x 25mm. Naturally the walls and ceiling are all insulated – even the floor has a poly foam core.

When the frame is covered, Bushtracker’s unique style emerges: aluminium cladding is used for the most part and it is riveted to the wall studs of the frame. Around the ‘waist’ of the caravan is Bushtracker’s trademark zinc annealed steel plate protection. Windows are the Seitz variety with integrated blind and screen, as is the door.

An addition to the door is the Bushtracker “stable door” that keeps out water during deep crossings and also helps with the dustproofing. While we are talking about sealing, a visit to the Bushtracker factory revealed copious amounts of long lasting, marine-grade sealant being used everywhere.

A feature of Bushtracker vans is the front lower area that is set back slightly from the upper half of the van. That’s where the two spare wheels are mounted – something you certainly need when going outback with six tyres on your van. Also mounted on the drawbar is a large storage box protected by the usual stoneguards. A feature not usually seen on caravans is a chrome exhaust pipe. That’s for the not-often-seen Mays 5kVa generator – it is a little unusual because it is water-cooled rather than air-cooled.

External storage consists of three large lockers: the front offside which contains the generator; front nearside with, among other things, the slide-out barbecue and an interesting hinged tray across the rear. The tray is set so as not to interfere with the departure angle of the van, but is of a useful depth to contain items like water and drain hoses and is a very neat little idea indeed.

Tough enough
While the outside of Conrad and Niza’s Bushtracker is very businesslike, for the serious business of enjoying bush country travel, the inside is definitely more luxurious. The first thing that greets the eye is a vast amount of timberwork. All the cabinetry is made from Tasmanian oak and this is not just for its attractive looks, either.

A peek inside several of the drawers reveals dovetail joints and a liberal use of sandpaper along all edges. Where there isn’t timber, Bushtracker uses a polyester resin-finished panelling, which claims to give good years of wear and tear, as well as easy cleaning.

In a van this length, you’d expect a good, open layout – you won’t be disappointed here. At the front of the van is the main bedroom, complete with ensuite. Mid-van is the kitchen and general living area and at the rear is a well appointed lounge area, the latter with a leather lounge seat across the rear and two separate chairs with a small dinette in between. There’s even a foot stool for occasions when you really
want to rest your feet. CW appreciated that one!

An exceptional amount of benchtop space and cupboards is evident in the kitchen area. Along the nearside, the kitchen bench is L-shaped, with the large, stainless steel sink along the wall plus Cramer three-burner cooktop and Sharp microwave oven set in the base of the ‘L’. They are set against the bathroom wall, so they don’t protrude into the general walkway.

The fridge, a 220 litre Isotherm model, sits at the rear end of the kitchen bench next to the lounge. It’s a kitchen setup that allows two people to work without bumping into each other all the time. On the opposite side is a waist-height bench with a copious amount of cupboard and drawer space underneath. It’s not obvious, but the food cupboards are specially insulated to keep any stored food from getting too warm.

‘Well appointed’ is the most apt description I can think of for the bedroom. The north-south bed that Conrad and Niza requested, lifts up to get access to the storage area underneath. At the foot of the bed on the nearside is a large hanging cupboard, and on either side of the bed are the usual bedside cabinets, with windows on three sides to allow plenty of natural light.

On the opposite side is the spacious bathroom: entering from the bedroom, it’s a true ensuite and not in the main part of the van. The bathroom contains a flexible hose shower, separate wash basin and something a little different, a vacuum flush loo – if you have never heard one, they are just like those used on planes or boats.

Utilities
Conrad and Niza like to be totally self-contained, that is why they have 10 onboard water tanks (including black and grey), all mounted under the centre of the chassis. Filtered drinking water is available from one of the tanks and all tanks are separately plumbed so that local water can be used for ablution functions (which uses the greatest amount), with drinking water kept totally separate.

In a van like this, you’d expect it to be fitted out with just about everything, and you’d be right. Four AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) deep-cycle batteries supply all the 12V power necessary. They are kept up to charge by four 120W solar panels, the 5kVa generator and a 50 amp two-stage automatic charger. For 240V supply, there’s the usual mains connection socket and there is also an 1800 watt pure sine wave inverter.

Two roof-mounted air-conditioners, one above the bedroom and the other above the lounge area keep the temperature throughout the van pleasant at all times. If it’s especially cool, a Webasto diesel fired heater warms things up nicely.

Lighting throughout the Bushtracker is mainly from a copious amount of energy-efficient 12V fluorescent light fittings. Bushtracker is to be commended for this – for people planning an extended stay away from mains supply, fluorescents give a decent light yet are relatively light on battery use. Where reading is likely, halogen reading lamps are fitted. It should also be pointed out that lights are fitted in the external lockers and the gas cylinder compartment.

The tow vehicle
Given the weight of this van, it required a specially imported tow vehicle. In this case, a US-built Dodge Ram 3500 fitted with a six litre turbodiesel and driving through a four-speed auto gearbox to tandem rear wheels handles the Bushtracker with no problem at all.

Actually, apart from generally catching CW’s interest as a “boofy-looking” truck, the Dodge had one interesting feature: when driving normally, that is, not towing, the external rear view mirrors would mount vertically. When towing they can be twisted into the horizontal position and therefore will extend far enough to see alongside the van and negate fitting extra towing mirrors.

The bottom line
CW has no doubt that this is a very special van fitted out in the usual Bushtracker style. Everything, from its triple axles to its water-cooled generator, makes it something of a one-off, but it is a very comfortable one-off. Fully fitted out as it is, the unique offroader should give Conrad and Niza many hours of enjoyable travel wherever they might choose to go. Certainly with this Bushtracker caravan, the choice of where to travel is almost endless in our vast continent.

Bushtracker is at 85 Enterprise Street, Kunda Park, Qld; (07) 5476 5833, (07) 5476 9253; http://www.bushtracker.com/, email: sales@bushtracker.com