Eden Trackvan XT 2019 Review

The border battlelines between Victorian and Queensland caravan manufacturers has been drawn for years: Meranti timber, welded aluminium wall frames, or one-piece composite wall and floor panels?

Timber framing, the Victorians argue, allows road shocks to be absorbed locally, rather than felt by the entire wall frame, as can be the case with a rigid aluminium body frame.

Timber is subject to rotting in a humid, tropical environment, the Queenslanders point out; not if you use a one-piece fibreglass roof and pay proper attention to water-sealing, the Victorians counter.

Then there’s the exterior cladding. ‘Old school’ ribbed aluminium is light and panels can easily be replaced if damaged, say the traditional Vics; fibreglass is more hail-resistant, say the Queenslanders.

Coloured aluminium cladding is also hail-resistant and doesn’t discolour with age, say others. It really depends on who you talk to.

Experience counts

With many decades experience in the caravan business, Caravan World on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has navigated a pathway though this maze of opinions with its nine-model XT range of Trackvans that are built exclusively for their Bruce Highway, Chevallum dealership by Campbellfield, Victorian manufacturer, Eden Caravans.

Each of Trackvan’s XT off-road models is built on a 150mm Duragal Australian steel chassis with a 75mm lift and employs premium Brisbane-built Cruisemaster XT coil spring with twin telescopic shocker suspension and a proven off-road DO-35 coupling up front.

That’s unless you shell out an extra $8000 or so to upgrade to the Cruisemaster XT Airbag suspension and disc brakes, as were fitted to our XT.22 review van. Otherwise you’ll get large 12-inch drum brakes like most other off-road vans use.

However it’s in the body construction and cladding that Eden has found its own voice in the Trackvan range, picking the eyes out of the best available technology for long-distance, on and off-road touring.

The walls, for example, are framed with aluminium, but they're hydraulically-riveted rather than welded to allow enough flexibility for shock absorption, while the aluminium gives strength and moisture resistance.

This frame is then covered in 3mm aluminium composite cladding for impact strength and its smooth, colourful appearance, with styrene foam insulation in between it and the fibreglass lined interior walls.

The Trackvan’s roof, meanwhile, is of one-piece composite fibreglass construction and the floor is also a one-piece item to ward off potential water ingress.

This attention to detail and the use of premium equipment was evident throughout the 22ft XT couples’ van we reviewed.  But that may not be the Trackvan’s killer sales-clincher – more on that later...

Solid partnership

The partnership between Caravan World and Eden Caravans has been a positive one since they hooked up nearly three years ago, before which their Victorian partner was Lotus Caravans.

In setting the Trackvan’s specification, Caravan World has ticked premium boxes everywhere, creating what many buyers will regard as a worthy alternative to Caloundra’s Sunseeker or the Kedron range.

Things like the metal-framed, heavy-duty draw runners that Trackvans utilise are often missing from more expensive off-road vans. Compared with these worthy rivals, there’s not much that the Trackvan lacks.

Externally, we’re talking about 600mm deep checker-plate skirting, double-glazed Dometic windows and keyless electric door entry.

Dust is also taken very seriously, with a standard rooftop pressure equalisation vent, and dust-free venting for the big twin compressor Evakool fridge/freezer.

So is self-sufficiency off the grid. This starts with twin 95 litre fresh water tanks and a separate 95 litre grey water tank (all with solid checker-plate stone protection), two 9kg gas bottles; two 130Ah Lead Crystal batteries, two 160Watt rooftop solar panels and a 35Amp Battery Management System.

A Dometic Ibis 4 rooftop air conditioner, a 23-inch TV with a DVD player that can be watched inside or outside via an external exterior entertainment hatch and multiple interior and exterior lighting options, prove that you don’t have to leave comfort at home on your next Outback trip.

A coffee pod machine would be nice too, but you can option one.

Stand-out styling

With its chunky styling, distinctive two-tone grey exterior and bold red accents, this 22ft Trackvan is unlikely to be mistaken for anything else on your travels.

There’s no front boot, or front window, but the extended A-frame allows space for a large checker-plate front toolbox with two jerry can holders riding shotgun. Then, there's further room behind the large truckmesh stone protection screen to house the reservoir for its diesel heater and twin 9kg gas bottles.

If you need room for longer items, there’s a tunnel boot through the front end of the body which while not overly-large in diameter, complements the A-frame box to store just about anything you might need on an extended off-grid trip.

Familiar layout

Step in the front-centre entry door that delivers you to the interior, past the bed, and the interior looks similar to most other large touring vans on the market.

There's a front, island north-south queen bed flanked by mirror fronted robes, two overhead cupboards and a nest of drawers on each side; a good-sized galley kitchen opposite with a recessed microwave and quality appliances, including a full oven; a café dinette lounge; and a 208 litre twin compressor fridge with an adjacent slide-out pantry.

Up the back, you'll discover the Trackvan XT22’s killer feature that we’re sure will clinch many deals. For this model, Caravan World has created a great bathroom – one of the most impressive we’ve seen – with a huge L-shaped combined vanity and laundry on one side, incorporating a below-bench-height 3.5kg top-loading washing machine, a vanity with its central basin in front of a large mirror in the centre and toilet to the right, next to a fully-enclosed shower compartment.

Add lots of drawer and cupboard space inside and eye-pleasing décor (buyers get the choice of a black or stainless-steel kitchen sink and matching tapware) and you have a luxurious and very well -appointed off-road touring caravan.

Weighty issues

Of course it’s not a lightweight with all this gear and its 3mm thick aluminium exterior panels weigh a bit more than ribbed aluminium cladding or fibreglass, but its Tare weight of 2800kg is far from the heaviest for a full off-road luxury van if its size, and leaving a decent 695kg payload for extended touring.

This means that you’ll need a tow vehicle with a true 3.5 tonne towing capability to take it on holiday, but Eden’s experience in building caravans shows through here, with the Trackvan travelling comfortably and surely, thanks to the right balance of its chassis engineering and placement of its features (as long as it's then loaded properly!).

Another worthwhile thing that Caravan World offers on its Trackvans is no restriction on the repairers you can use to fix any small warranty issue you encounter when you’re on the other side of Australia.

Summing up

Priced at $113,640 as reviewed the 22ft Trackvan XT22 is a lot of caravan for the money, putting it about on par with similarly equipped Sunshine Coast-designed, but Melbourne-built Sunseekers, but below an equivalent Kedron, although you’ll probably find a lithium battery set up and an invertor on the latter, while these are options on the Trackvan.

Specs: 2019 Eden Trackvan XT22

Travel length: 8100mm
External body length: 6800mm
External body width: 2350 mm
Travel height: 3170mm
Internal height: 2010 mm
Tare: 2800kg
ATM: 3495kg
Ball weight: 240kg
Body: Aluminium rivetted wall framing, with aluminium exterior cladding and one-piece floor and fibreglass composite roof
Chassis: Duragal 150mm x 50mm steel chassis with 75mm riser and ­­­Cruisemaster DO-35 off-road coupling
Suspension: Cruisemaster XT independent suspension with twin telescopic shock absorbers per wheel
Brakes: Cruisemaster disc
Wheels: Alloy with LT265/75-16 A/T tyres
Water: 2 x 95 litre fresh, plus 1 x 95 litre grey tanks
Battery: 2 x 130Ah Lead Crystal batteries
Solar: Roof-mounted 2 x 160W glass panels
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: 23-litre Swift gas/electric
Cooking: Swift 500 Series 3 + 1 hob cooktop, grill, oven and microwave
Fridge: 208L Evakool 12/240V compressor
Shower: Internal and external hot/cold
Lighting: LED inside, plus exterior lighting on all sides
Price: $113,640 (as reviewed)
Supplied by: Caravan World, Chevallum, Queensland
More info: Eden Caravans, Campbellfield, Victoria