Complete Campsite Jabiru

What we liked

Clever tent design
12V system

Not so much

Heavy for a side-fold
No stainless-steel sink

The Complete Campsite is the reigning champion in CamperTrailer Australia's Offroad Camper of the Year contest for good reason. The company meticulously crafts their campers in Australia using as many domestic components as possible.

The end product isn’t just a simple trailer built right, it is an elegant touring machine built right, with an imaginative take on what used to be the humble box trailer.

The Jabiru is the starting point for Complete Campsite, and the entry into the marque at $24,950. Apparently the average camper trailer customer is looking to spend within a few grand of $20,000, so the real question with the Jabiru then is, are you getting what you need and want for the price?

Not long ago we took two Complete Campsite campers out to the Stockton Dunes to give them a good belting, get some beach driving in and try our hand at sandboarding on some old boogie boards. The general consensus was that the adults were great at the former two and miserable at sandboarding. We wrote it down to being too tall.

On tow was a Jabiru with a few options (16ft tent, 60L Engel fridge, bike rack, bed bag and 240V system: $30,400) and an Jabiru with a bunch of options (16ft tent, 60L Engel fridge, side lockers, custom toolbox, alloy wheels, boat rack with storage basket, bike rack, heavier duty axles/springs: $37,930). I guess the lesson here is that you can get whatever you want in a CC camper, you just have to ask.

The super-specified Jabiru has an ATM of almost two tonnes with the beefed up suspension, because that’s what the customer wanted. We’ll be looking at the cheaper of the two for this review from here on out.

The Jabiru’s running gear is simple but effective: a 45mm square axle riding on eight-leaf Outback suspension. Ten inch electric brakes are standard, as are new tyres on 15in Sunraysia six-stud rims.

The spare is carried on the rear door, which helps to keep the ball weight down and makes access quick when you need it.

The coupling is a Hitchmaster DO35 from Vehicle Components (Hyland optional), which is quickly becoming the industry standard for reputable builders, as it is fully ADR compliant.

Besides including solid running gear, one of the singular features of the CC range is the 12V system. It’s the nicest I’ve seen in a camper trailer, much less a soft-floor design. Housed in an offside locker and mounted together, you get a 100Ah AGM deep-cycle battery, 15A Ctek charger, 150W pure sine inverter (safe for laptops, etc.), voltmeter and water tank level indicator.

There are three 12V outlets and eight lights around the camper, including two reading lights at the bed head. Our review model had the optional 240V system, which can be run off the 12V system in a pinch, or straight to shore.

WHAT’S COOKING?

The Jabiru comes with a deluxe kitchen, built from powdercoated zincaluminium, which slides out of the camper’s rear. Finished in powder blue with an extension that nearly doubles the bench space, it houses a pantry, large locker with cutlery drawer and slide-out sink tub, a three-burner Smev cooktop (with glass splashback) and flick mixer tap.

The kitchen feels solid, and runs on good quality bearings. All of the water and gas fittings use quick connects so there aren’t hoses running everywhere while you’re packing things up. Next to the kitchen is a drawer for storage, or you can use this as a fridge slide with the optional 60L Engel.

For liquid storage, there is a 90L water tank plumbed to the kitchen and outside tap with 12V pump, along with two 22L jerry cans and room for two more onboard. Twin 4.5kg gas cylinders are also included with holders.

With all of the standard inclusions and nifty ideas, like the awning stays on the end window that hold the window up using sprung steel instead of poles and guy ropes, it is hardly surprising that the canvas work on the Jabiru is equally classy.

Using all Australian canvas, the tent erects quite easily, utilising a cantilevered system and gas struts that pretty much opens the tent for you, with almost no adjustments to interior poles necessary. It is definitely one of the more cleverly engineered tent frames I’ve come across.

The tent canopy on this 16ft version is 4.9x2.8m. For you property moguls, that is about 1.5 squares of quality country real estate. And if you’re hauling around kids, that is plenty of room for nearly half a dozen of the rug rats to sleep under the canvas.

The doors on the tent are in the right place, too, offset towards the camper so that you can put all of your gear, or cots, out of the way in the main floor area.

All six window screens are all heavy-duty Screentex material. The awning nearly doubles your under-canvas area, and it comes with a kitchen wall and half-front wall to keep the kitchen protected from the elements.

One of my favourite things about the awning design from CC is the kitchen skylight. It can get pretty dark under canvas, especially at dusk when we’re doing a lot of cooking, and this makes a huge difference letting in natural light, even when it is raining. The guys even throw in 4.3m of annex floor matting, so you can leave those daggy Ugg boots at home.

The walk-in design was Complete Campsite’s originally, and they still do it well, with a fold down staircase leading to a large carpeted area at the foot of the bed. There is a storage well beneath the bed base, which can have wooden drawers fitted optionally.

Another option, but a great idea, is the Complete Campsite bed bag. It solves the age-old problem of what to do if you have to pack up the canvas wet. Just zip up the heavy canvas bag around the six inch high density foam queen size mattress and your bed is still high and dry when you unpack the tent to dry it out.

IN A NUTSHELL

Considering that you ordinarily have to miss out on much of the finery of camping when deciding upon a soft-floor camper to accommodate your family, it is refreshing to find out that you can have your cake and eat it too with a Jabiru.

Starting at $24,950 ($30,400 as reviewed), there isn’t anything left to spend to live in style in the bush. The components are all quality, and the trailer itself is solid as a rock. I’m a fan.

The Complete Campsite Jabiru 16ft

Tare: 1040kg
ATM: 1600kg
Suspension: Eight-leaf spring
Brakes: 10in Electric drum
Coupling: DO35
Price (as shown): $30,400

The Complete Campsite
16 Dyer Crescent
West Gosford, NSW 2250
(02) 4323 9214
completecampsite.com.au