Cape York Camper 2005 Review

When running a business, there are at least two basic requirements: a good product and a smart business and marketing plan. Often smaller manufacturers find it difficult to be good at both. Camper trailer manufacturers, because they are camper trailer enthusiasts themselves, prefer the building to the business and marketing side of things.

Enter Rob Fraser, who runs a company called OzRoamer. In a former life, Rob was a business consultant to many companies, large and small. A couple of years ago, he and wife Karen decided to take time out from the hurly-burly and spent seven months travelling around Australia. Along the way he also spent time observing the various makes of camper trailers. Cape York in particular came to his attention.

Cape York is a Cairns-based firm and has been building trailers of various types since about 1987. Among its clients are Telstra, NRG Energy and various hire companies. Since its products spend a fair bit of time travelling on outback roads, the company knows a thing or two about building a tough trailer, but until a few years ago the company wasn't really into marketing as such, distributing only in a local capacity.

To cut a long story short, Rob and the team decided they could do business together, in that Cape York builds camper trailers and Rob Fraser, through his company OzRoamer, distributes them. OzRoamer also operates a hire service so people can 'try before they buy'.

Cape York offers a wide range of camper trailers: onroad, offroad, rear-fold and side-fold to suit a wide range of tow vehicles. Its basic philosophy for each range of trailer is to offer a premium design. One of the latest products is the intriguingly-named Wedge Explorer which, because of its Tare weight of circa 835kg, is aimed at owners of soft-roaders, including vehicles such as the Subaru Outback.

The first thing that caught CW's attention was the striking blue colour of the trailer body and the polished alloy doors of the front storage box. It made a nice change from the galvanised grey we've seen a bit of lately.

The business part of the trailer, ie, the chassis, is hot-dipped galvanised and built from 3in x 2in (75mm x 50mm) RHS steel. It rides on independent trailing arm suspension that is fitted with coil springs and Pedders Foam Cell shock absorbers. For the 15in x 7in alloy wheels, 60mm stub axles and 3300kg parallel bearings are used, while 12in electric brakes supply the stopping power.

RHS steel measuring 4in x 2in (100mm x 50mm) is used for the drawbar. Starting at the front is an offroad AT35 coupling, ratchet handbrake, jockey wheel plus the handy bracket to store the electrical plug.

Occupying most of the rest of the drawbar is an alloy storage box. Designed to take a fridge easily, it has doors on both sides and is lined with marine carpet. Digressing slightly, a fridge that Rob Fraser recommends is the eutectic Autofridge. Eutectic-style fridges have a refrigeration cycle that is well suited to camper trailer users.

The Wedge drawbar has a fairly clean look and that is partly because the 4.0kg gas cylinder and jerry can holder are hidden between the storage box and the camper trailer body. Adding to the look is the polished aluminium checkerplate that is fitted to three sides of the storage box and the front part of the trailer body as well.

To give it lighter weight the trailer body, including the top, is built from 3mm alloy, but the frame for the floor base is made from stainless steel. Pinchweld rubber seal is used around all openings, thus minimising dust entry.

Most spare wheels are either mounted underneath the trailer or on the drawbar, however, Cape York has opted to fit a hinged bracket at the rear, which swings out of the way quite easily when setting up the tent. There are some benefits to this concept, mainly the ease of getting to the spare wheel when required.

The canvas work on most camper trailers is something that a number of manufacturers seem to do well. Cape York is no exception: Rob told CW that they specify a "double-loop-sewn method" to give extra strength to their canvas products.

Windows space is very generous in the Wedge with large windows all round. All bedroom windows and the nearside 'tent' window have internal canvas blinds. Externally, the two offside and the rear door/window have an external blind as well. A generous awning covered both the area on the nearside of the trailer and at the front as well.

Being a rear-fold camper, set up time was minimal. With the trailer top unclipped, it folds over very easily. This is greatly assisted by a small but clever piece of engineering - a cantilevered lift, which operates in conjunction with the gas struts. The awning can be left on the trailer when it's packed up, and this reduces set up time.

The small step that fits into sockets at the nearside rear of the trailer enables most people to be able to reach the highest part of the awning when setting up - it also doubles as a small seat for taking a well earned break!

When set up, the hard floor area measures 7ft 5in x 6ft (2.25m x 1.84m) and has height-adjustable legs.

Cape York gets a big tick for supplying decent guy ropes that have both a spring tensioner and a runner that is easy to grab hold of and use.

The all-stainless-steel kitchen slides out into position very easily, that is, after you have released the secondary catch, which is built in to prevent a serious mishap, should you forget to secure the kitchen bench before driving away.

Fitted with a Smev three-burner cooktop (no grill) and sink (no drainer), the bench also has two drawers and a large fold-out shelf/table, which is definitely a plus. Unlike other designs we have seen, the cooktop and sink face towards the front of the trailer, thus placing them in the same "operating" area as the fridge.

The 110mm queen mattress occupies most of the lined trailer area. It sits on a construction-grade (ie, reasonably waterproof) ply timber base, also lined with marine carpet and doesn't quite occupy the entire width so there's a bit of space on either side of the mattress for night essentials. Under the bed, which lifts easily, is a large lined storage area.

A practical, single gooseneck reading light is supplied (two available). If two people want to read they can share the light and if one wants to sleep, the light can easily be turned away to suit.

Power (12V) is supplied by two x 100 amp hour deep-cycle batteries, which are stored in a compartment under the underbed storage area and the battery charger is in the front storage box. Three lights are supplied: one above the kitchen, a bed reading light and a Col fluorescent light inside the tent.

A point of note is that all electrical cables are run in protective flexible conduit and both those and the water pipes are all neatly strapped up. t's little points such as these that make the difference when choosing a camper trailer.

The bottom line
Cape York has done an excellent job with building and designing the Wedge Explorer. It doesn't have quite the 'boofy' appearance of a trailer built for solid work behind a LandCruiser (Cape York can supply one if wanted), but it's not meant to, and is priced accordingly.

The Wedge has a quality feel, with several innovations that make it stand out from its competitors. If you are a soft road owner looking for a camper trailer, this unit may be the one for you.

For more information, contact OzRoamer in West Pennant Hills, NSW, (02) 9872 6300, email info@ozroamer.com.au, or log on to the web at www.ozroamer.com.au

Cape York Wedge Explorer
Overall body length: 2265mm
Overall body width: 1840mm
Overall length open: 6700mm
Interior length: 4500mm
Interior height: 2500mm
Nameplate Tare weight: 770kg
ATM: 600kg
Chassis: hot dipped galvanised
Trailer body: alloy
Suspension: independent
Tow coupling: offroad AT35
Advised ball weight: 60kg
Water tank: 130 litre
Gas bottles: one x 4kg
Price as reviewed plus o/r: $28,890

We liked:
- Large fold-out kitchen shelf
- Striking blue colour scheme
- Attention to safety detail

We would have liked:
- Overall look may not suit everyone