Elite Hume Series 2 Offroader

It’s big, it’s heavy and it will take you and your family into the heart of the Outback. What’s not to like?

‘Off-road caravan’ means different things to different people. For some, it means a tough and nimble vehicle that can follow a 4WD tow car into some of the special remote places in our vast, under-populated land.

For others it means a self-sufficient home-away-from home – perhaps one large enough for the whole family – that doesn’t have to shy away from rough and corrugated main roads to get to major tourist destinations like the Kimberley.

And it’s for this latter group of travellers that Melbourne’s Elite Caravans build the Hume Offroader Series 2 Diamond that we have just reviewed.
Just as a Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol 4WD looks large and cumbersome in a suburban environment, so the Hume looks huge on the bitumen – and it is.

Measuring 23ft 6in internally (24ft 7in body length), the Hume Series 2 Offroader is designed to sit behind a large 4WD on a broad, unmade red stretch of Australiana. It dwarfed our Isuzu MU-X tow tug, which while capable of hauling its 3.0-tonne mass, was clearly at the limit of its comfort zone.

NEVER-ENDING SPEC LIST

Sitting alongside the Ballistic and the Goulburn near the top of Elite’s broad offroad caravan range, the Hume is unapologetically designed for independent living.

Like its major market off-road van rivals such as Queensland’s Bushtracker and Kedron, it ticks all the major off-road boxes:  a full stem-to-stem 150mm diameter Supergal steel chassis, 3.7 tonne-rated Cruisemaster XT tandem independent suspension, twin 95 litre fresh water tanks plus a separate 95 litre capacity grey water tank, a brace of 105Ah deep cycle batteries, a 135W roof-mounted solar panel, chunky 16-inch all-terrain wheels and tyres and extra-high checkerplate side panels.

Like most large off-road vans, the Hume Series 2 features ribbed aluminium body cladding over a Meranti timber frame, but like Melbourne’s Trakmaster uses a Silver Stucco finish to add panel strength and make it more hail-resistant.

Our test van also had room outside for a range of other off-road essentials, including a storage hatch with slide for a generator on the off-side, an external shower, an external TV port and – not really to our liking – a locker for a huge 60 litre Engel fridge-freezer on a slide in the middle of the van’s body on the door side. More on that later...

STEP UP IN STYLE

Inside the Hume 24ft 7in is well equipped for home-like living in the least homely places.

As well as a lift-up island north-south queen-size bed (with square-end pillow-top mattress) up front, there are double single bed bunks on the offside rear of the van.

And while the adults have a 22-inch LED TV to watch, plus a state-of-the-art Fusion sound system with iPod connectivity and inside and outside speakers, the kids have separate drop-down Axis DVD players with wireless headphones in their bunks to keep them busy and out of nature’s way.

Beside them in the ensuite is a large Whirlpool front-loading washing machine, with a full-height mirrored robe above, while opposite the bunks the combined toilet/vanity and fibreglass shower cubicle are accessed via separate doors, each with a security catch to keep them closed over corrugations.

BUSY INTERSECTION

Al-Ko concertina doors front and rear allow both the front bedroom and bunk areas to be closed off from the central kitchen/lounge area at will. However it’s in the central communal areas that we felt the layout of this particular caravan fell down.

For a start, the food preparation area is very small, with less bench space than we’ve seen in caravans up to three metres shorter. True, there’s a drop-down preparation board above the three gas burner/single electric hotplate cooker, grille and oven, but obviously this can’t be accessed if the cooktop is in use.

The only other prep or serving area is the stainless steel drainer next to the sink, which is fed by separate mixer and filtered water taps.

Opposite, the L-shaped leather lounge also has problems. Because of the height of the large 60 litre Engel fridge and its slide, the lounge cushions have been set to a height that even someone of 190cm height can’t set their feet flat on the floor unless perched on the edge of the seat.

To make matters worse, the lounge’s cushions are held in place by hard edge boards, which you tend to slide over while getting under the single pedestal, island table.

A further problem is that setting the lounge so high has meant fitting a small, rectangular window into the nearside wall, which combined with the relatively small kitchen window opposite and dark furnishings and floor, made the centre of the Hume a fairly gloomy place, necessitating the use of the van’s profusion of LED lights.

The Gladstone, Queensland customer who originally specified this layout for his own Series 2 Hume felt the ability to access cool drinks from the Engel from under the van’s huge seven metre-long awning was worth these compromises, but others will disagree.

For them (and us), the better solution is to leave out the fridge slide on that side, lower the lounge height and fit a much larger window, something that Elite says is easily done as part of their custom building.

BIG CAVITIES

While the kitchen may be small, it’s the only area of the Hume Series 2 that justifies this description.

Storage space inside the van is huge, starting with the space under the queen-size bed that features twin slide-out clothes baskets, while there’s additional space in the twin mirrored robes beside the bed and in the drawers beneath them and across the front roof section.

And if you’re prepared to forego the large cupboard under the sink, you can option a dishwasher.

Between the cooker and the 215 litre Waeco compressor (12V volt) fridge freezer there are twin pull-out pantries, while there are generous overhead cupboards all 'round.

The only problem with having all this space in the Hume Series 2  – inside and out – is that if travellers fill them with stuff and top up the water tanks they will probably exceed the caravan’s listed permissible weight.

The Tare (empty) weight of our Hume test van was 3023kg and its permissible ATM (maximum) weight was 3423kg.  So if your fresh water and grey water tanks were full, that would account for 285kg of that 400kg load-carrying capacity.

Add a second spare wheel and tyres (optional), a generator, fill that big Engel and Waeco fridge-freezer, add other food, chairs, tables, kitchen gear, clothing, etc and it’s easy to see that this van could easily weigh 3500kg-plus on the hoof.

This means it would not only exceed its plated ATM but also the braked trailer towing rating of most large four-wheel drive wagons and utes available in Australia, including a Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series. That’s not to say it would be unsafe – the Hume’s Cruisemaster XT independent suspension is rated to carry 3700kg – it’s just that you may technically be outside the regulations.

However the Hume Offroader Series 2 is far from the largest caravan that Elite builds. The company, which was started in 2008 and was purchased by the sales and marketing team of Peter Smith and Adrian Cappola in 2010, was the NSW Caravan & Camping Industry Association’s Caravan Manufacturer of the Year in 2013 and continues to push the RV boundaries.

They recently built Australia’s first tri-axle caravan (the Murray) with Cruisemaster independent suspension and at Geelong’s inaugural Caravan, Camping & Outdoor Expo over the Australia Day weekend displayed their new Ballistic Armageddon.

Priced at $135,000, it was packed with enough technology including a fuel cell to allow travellers to stay away from a 240 volt power point for up to six months at a time!

VERDICT

The big and heavy 24ft 7in Hume Offroader is not for everyone and we did not like some aspects of the layout on the test van, which was based on a specific customer’s spec. 

However, Elite is largely a custom builder and those wanting a strong, very roomy, full-featured off-road caravan for a big Australian trip with the family will surely find a layout to suit their needs.

WE LIKED:
>> Room to move
>> Strength
>> Quality equipment and fittings
>> Huge storage space
>> Standard grey water tank
>> Great for kids

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Size and weight for off-road travel
>> Limited legal load capacity
>> High and uncomfortable lounge seating on test van
>> Pokey lounge window
>> Small kitchen bench space

ELITE HUME OFFROADER SERIES 2 DIAMOND 24FT 7IN

External body length: 7.5m (24ft 7in)
Internal body length: 7.2m
External body width: 2.337m
Travel height: 3.10m
Tare: 3023kg
ATM: 3423kg
Frame: Timber frame
Cladding: Ribbed aluminium, stucco finish
Chassis: Supergal 150mm throughout with Cruisemaster XT independent tandem suspension with twin telescopic shocks per wheel
Brakes: 12in Al-Ko electric
Stability Control: Al-Ko ESC optional ($1200)
Wheels: 16in alloy wheels fitted with 265/R70-16 offroad tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95L
Grey water: 1 x 95L
Battery: 2 x 105Ah AGM battery plus single 135 watt solar panel
Air-conditioner: Air Command Ibis
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Cooking: Three-burner gas, plus electric hot plate, grill and oven
Fridge: Waeco 215-litre 12v compressor
Microwave: Daewoo 20-litre
Toilet: Thetford C402 cassette
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED throughout
Price (drive-away, Vic): $107,500
Supplied by: Elite Caravans, Campbellfield, Vic