Crusader XCountry Mad Max 2025 Review

2025 has been a big year for Melbourne's Crusader Caravans, with the roll out of significant redesigns across the entire line-up, including fresh full-size and hybrid models and, more recently, a new cut-price entry-level range.

Covering a broad cross-section of the market, the Crusader line-up now covers everything from budget-friendly to premium off-grid ranges, for both couples and families and with set-ups from basic on-road touring to heavy-duty, off-road configurations.

Crusader's MY25 XCountry Series sits right at the top of the range, aimed at couples and available in one single axle and two twin axle sizes. Our review van -- the 19ft 6in XCountry with its very ocker 'Mad Max' moniker - sits in the middle of the line-up.

It's a dual-axle, 6.0m long (body), 3500kg ATM off-road luxury cruiser that starts at $170,476, with our optioned up review 'van hitting the showroom floor at $181,000.

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Quality composite build

Like all Crusader 'vans, the 19ft 6in XCountry Mad Max couple's model boasts a full composite body construction.

After starting off more than two decades ago with a range of more traditional timber-framed 'vans, Crusader began transitioning to composite construction a few years back, starting with its smaller Chameleon models, before rolling it out across the entire range with the move into its new factory in 2022.

So, Crusader has had plenty of time to figure out how to build a decent composite 'van. Composite is an umbrella term for many construction methods, and they're not all created equal.

Crusader's composite panels are the real deal, with a fibreglass skin on both sides and an extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam in the core. Crusader uses 40mm thick panels for the walls and roof, and 50mm for the floor. Panels like this have great insulation properties, are strong and lightweight.

The body panels are also one piece, eliminating many joins (potential leak points) associated with other manufacturing techniques.

The most interesting one-piece component is the roof/front wall. It extends from the top of the rear wall all the way through to the floor at the A-frame. It’s interesting because the rigid 40mm panel is 'folded' in four places to achieve the caravan’s profile. The folding is achieved by a process known as back cutting, where a series of precise slices are made on the rear side of the panel so it can deflect.

If you're curious, you can watch this Crusader YouTube factory video to see how it's done. It shows an overhead crane lifting the huge roof section onto the caravan body.

If you look closely, you can see the back cut on the panel. Even though the back cutting kind of looks like it's weakening the panel, it's a well-proven and trusted manufacturing method used throughout the industry. If I were shopping for a new 'van, I would go for this method to avoid the joints used in other vans.

When you're paying close to $200K for a caravan you expect decent underpinnings, and in that regard the XCountry Mad Max certainly delivers.

The eye-catching 19ft 6in off-roader is fitted with Cruisemaster’s latest top-tier ATX airbag suspension designed for heavier vans that will be used in demanding conditions.

The ATX spec list is impressive: heavy-duty trailing arms and 63mm stub axles; high-performance, monotube shocks with a remote reservoir; Firestone airbags, and the latest integrated Body Control System (BCS), which enables ride height to be adjusted and automatic levelling of roll and pitch at campsite.

There are also hydraulic disc brakes fitted for superior stopping power compared to run-of-the-mill drum brakes. Finding Dexter ESC fitted as standard was a pleasant surprise, as this is something you rarely see on disc brake 'vans as it requires more sophisticated engineering and cost.

The Melbourne-made Intelligent Engineering chassis represents a classic heavy-duty spec with a 150mm A-frame/main beams and 50mm risers. It’s finished with black Raptor coating and features rear recovery points if you get stuck and need to be dragged out backwards.

Off-grid power to go

Also befitting the premium price tag is an electrical set-up with sufficient power to run the electrical appliances off-grid for extended periods.

This includes two 620Ah Lifetek lithium sealed batteries fed by 1320W rooftop solar, with a Victron 50A DC to DC charger and a Victron 3000W inverter for the 240V appliances.

A vital part of the off-grid readiness of this set-up is the Eberspacher combination diesel water and space heater. Keeping water and air warm demands a lot of energy, and using diesel for the job keeps more electrical power in reserve.

The Ogo composting toilet will also help you stay off-the-grid for longer as it does not need emptying as often as a cassette toilet and doesn't require any water. Speaking of water – there's 220L of fresh water and 110L of greywater storage which can be bolstered further with jerry cans.

So all up, there should be enough off-grid power to get a few hours run time out of the Dometic Fresh Jet 7 Pro air-conditioner, especially if the sun keeps shining; not to mention keep the 274L Thetford compressor fridge running cold too.

The 'van also gets a multi-function Euroappliance oven that does it all – convection, microwave and grill. We spotted a range hood, but curiously, there's no cooktop on the bench below it. That’s because Crusader provides a portable plug-in Westinghouse induction cooker.

The upside is you can take the induction cooker outside if you want, while also freeing up the internal bench space for other tasks when you're not cooking.

A nifty feature on the expansive bench is the pop-up power point tower. Pop it up to fire up your coffee machine or air fryer, and when you're done, you can just pop it back down.

The 3.5kg top-load washing machine located in the bathroom also means there are no excuses for not remaining well-laundered in the outback.

Other interior standouts

The regulation front bed/mid-kitchen/rear bathroom floorplan in the 19ft 6in XCountry Mad Max offers plenty of clever features to further set it apart.

The slide-out tri-fold table in the cafe lounge rapidly transforms from a compact horizontal surface to a full table surface in seconds. With the table folded up, it's very easy to get up and down without banging anything. However, you do need to be a little bit careful not to put a glass of wine or cup of coffee across the step, otherwise you'll be cleaning up a spill.

Just inside the entry door is a very tall four-door pantry. It’s not very deep, but that means you can see the contents easily, and stuff won’t move around too much in transit.

Hot tip – put contents you want to access from the doorway on the left side and contents mainly used inside on the right. This means the door will be swinging away from you for easier access.

The doors and drawers in the 'van have nice ergonomic latches that you can see at a glance if they have been left unlatched. This helps prevent travelling with unsecured furniture.

The drawers have a lovely soft-close function, but they're not perfect. The bedside drawers are a little awkward to close as they rub slightly against the mattress. And the drawer underneath the fridge could be made deeper if the plumbing behind it were more compactly routed.

Rather than go for a single large window on either side of the bed, Crusader has gone for two vertically stacked smaller windows. This allows the lower window blinds to be closed for privacy while keeping the upper ones open for ventilation. I also suspect having two smaller windows slightly open would promote better ventilation than just having one large window open.

There's also a roof-mounted CaraFan dust reduction system above the bed on the review 'van, to keep it all nice inside when hurtling along dusty roads.

Exterior highlights

Back outside, and the fun party trick on the XCountry Mad Max is a liquor cabinet 'pantry' concealed behind a drop-down door under the awning. The party trick could be even more fun with the addition of a couple of stays here to hold the door horizontal, and create a mini bar!

The electric awning and powered steps make camp set-up easier than usual, and there's also a sensor that rolls up the awning if the wind picks up, protecting against expensive damage.

The A-frame toolbox is enhanced with jerry can holders on the sides, some slide-outs on the inside and a wood box on top. The compartment in front of the toolbox would normally be reserved for gas bottles, but this van is gasless. So, you get some bonus storage space, perhaps for hoses and extension cords.

The fancy rear bar packs as much punch as the A-frame storage, with two more jerry can holders, another wood box, a diesel tank and a spare wheel. Opening up the rear bar hatches also reveal cavernous drawers on both sides.

A word of caution. This 'van has a light unladen front end of 146kg and the potential to add a lot of weight at the rear. As always, sensible packing for centralised weight distribution needs to be considered to optimise the caravan's towing stability.

Should I buy a Crusader XCountry Mad Max?

Founded in 2002, Crusader Caravans has cemented its status as one of Australia’s major caravan manufacturers. It now has a production capacity of around 2000 units a year, thanks to an automotive-style factory where it focuses on the efficiencies of mass production. Such facilities can also bring consistency of quality with all the best systems and procedures in place.

While some boutique builders might suggest 'mass produced' equates to inferior quality, I don’t buy it. Car manufacturers have large-scale production down to a fine art and generally deliver consistent quality. Manufacturers such as Crusader that have invested heavily in high-tech equipment and implemented dedicated work stations with staged quality sign-off are leading the way.

Checking out this review 'van, I saw nothing to contradict this.

The price is right for what you get, and it does come very well appointed. The 637kg payload is good, but 220kg of water can eat up a big chunk of this.

The good news is that the XCountry Mad Max can be easily re-rated to 4000kg ATM to provide another 500kg of payload. Of course, you'll need to match it to the right tow vehicle.

Price: $181,000 (as reviewed, tow-away)
Travel length: 8500mm
External body length: 5960mm
Travel width: 2475mm
Travel height: 3097mm (variable as it has airbags)
Tare: 2863kg
ATM: 3500kg (can be re-rated to 4000kg)
Ball weight (Tare): 146kg
Body: Fibreglass XPS composite sandwich panels
Chassis:  Hot dip galvanised steel
Suspension: Cruisemaster ATX BCS, DO-35 pin coupling
Brakes: 12in hydraulic disc
ESC: Dexter
Wheels:  MPC 17in alloys, Cooper Discoverer LT 265/70 R17                              
Water: 2 x 110L and 1x 110L grey
Battery: 2 x 620Ah Lifetek lithium
Solar: 1320W roof-mounted
Gas: Nil
Hot water: Eberspacher combination diesel water/space heater
Cooking: Euroappliance multi-function convection/microwave oven and Westinghouse portable induction cooker
Fridge/freezer: 274L Thetford compressor
Microwave: 34L - multi-function convection
Toilet: Ogo separating toilet
Shower: Moulded fibreglass
Lighting: LED downlights and strip lights
Air-conditioner: Dometic Fresh Jet 7 Pro
Washing machine: 3.5kg Aussie Traveller top load
TV: 27in Smart TV
Audio: Portable Bluetooth radio and speaker
Supplied by: Crusader Caravans Melbourne
More info: Crusader Caravans