First look: Ellis Force 220

In direct contrast to the trend of Australian-made camper trailers to become more luxuriously equipped and sophisticated to counter cheaper Chinese imports, comes the counter-movement by a few small local builders to go lighter and simpler.

Ellis Recreational Vehicles, which until recently was based in Ayr in Tropical North Queensland, but has recently re-located to the Sunshine Coast, fits into that latter group.

Its current entry-model Force 220 (F220) camper trailer is compact, tough, relatively inexpensive and, with a Tare weight from just 510kg, is light enough to go anywhere that any compact 4WD will take it.

At the same time, it has been engineered to be virtually indestructible in the harshest environment, utilising cutting edge one-piece fibreglass body construction, military-grade suspension engineering, and has a huge 350mm ground clearance and a wading depth of up to 950mm.

The real attraction of the F220 is that you get all this from $22,500, putting comfortable extreme adventure travel within the reach of former tent campers.

From surfboards to campers

The interesting thing about the F220 is that its concept has come from an ex-patriate Welsh surfboard maker, whose fresh eyes almost three years ago ago saw what was missing from the Australian off-road camper market.

After emigrating to Australia in the early 1990s, Ellis was working in the WA mining industry as an electrical engineer when he and his school-teacher wife decided to take their children on a long ‘lap’ of the country in a hard-floor camper trailer, but they didn’t make it all the way around.

“I got tired of the effort needed to erect and pack it up each day we were travelling and mentally designed a better camper,” recalled Ellis.

That opportunity came when they got to Ayr in tropical North Queensland, loved it and decided to stay. They rented a house with a large workshop and Ellis began to indulge his dream, using his fibreglass flopping and engineering skills to build his first camper, single-handed.

Unique construction

What makes the Force unique is its construction, which involves bolting its cutting-edge ‘vinylester’ infusion one-piece body shell to a hot-galvanised steel ladder chassis. The result is the lightest and smallest camper trailer in its class at just 2200mm long by 1900mm wide with a Tare weight of just 510kg.

Even with the optional Darche Intrepidor 2 rooftop tent, 270-degree roll-out Supapeg awning, 45-litre portable fridge-freezer and DC-DC charger (as reviewed here), it still weighs in at around 600kg.

In practice, this means you can un-hitch the F220 and push it into the best camping spot, even facing its off-road OzHitch away from the tow vehicle to get the best spot.

Gone with galvanised

Initially, Ellis clad his galvanised steel chassis and stone-prone areas of the camper with Raptor protective coating, but he has swapped to bare hot galvanised steel for the camper’s triple-prong drawbar because of concerns that stone chipping could detract from its appearance.

Typical of his forward thinking, which focusses on light weight and durability, is the little camper’s suspension, which at a quick glance has ‘box trailer’ written all over it.

However, its deceptively simple leaf springs are robust military-wrap 60mm eye-to-eye steel, while the 45mm thick and two-tonne rated solid steel beam axle is fitted with parallel bearings, rubber bump stops, single nitrogen-filled telescopic shock absorbers per wheel and 10-inch off-road brakes.

Sixteen-inch diameter CSA wheels fitted with Maxxis Bighorn 764 mud terrain tyres complete the rough country-ready suspension and wheel package that's designed for simple repair and servicing in remote areas.

Quick and easy erection

Erecting the F220 is fast and simple. Raise the two poles holding the Supapeg awning to their full height, unzip the awning bag, swing it around to the camper’s rear and then secure two expandable alloy poles with guy ropes. If it’s very windy, there are spreader pole to add extra rigidity.

Then unzip the Darche tent, made from good-quality Australian canvas with its built-in double bed, using the attached ladder to pull it out from the right-hand side of the camper and hold it in place with a simple adjustable strap.

Ellis RV offers two other optional tents – a larger one from Darche with a full queen bed and another of their own design with an even larger tent that extends further to allow a double bunk bed to be erected for family travel.

Cooking under shelter

Now that you’re set up, which should only take five minutes with practice, it’s time to get cooking and this activity takes place on the left-hand side under the shelter of the awning.

The optional 45-litre top-loader fridge slides out from the camper’s front locker on a slide that incorporates a wash bowl, sink and tap. A second stainless steel slide houses the two-burner portable Primus gas cooker (or Weber Baby Q), while a deep pantry takes up the remaining room in the camper body above the wheel arch.

The beauty of the large awning is that there's also room for a table and chairs under cover at the rear of the vehicle.
Hidden treasures

The camper’s right-hand side front locker is reserved for its electrical system, which consists of a single 100AH battery as standard and a 15amp smart battery charger, while the cavernous locker above the wheel arch can house whatever you like.

The final locker on this side holds a single 4kg gas bottle (there's room for  a larger 9kg bottle) with a through-the-body pole carrier located below it on the latest production models.

Additional storage for things like hoses, cables and ground-matting is provided in the F220’s large front boot, which is topped by a stainless steel wood rack.

Other features that will endear the Force to adventure travellers are its generous 350mm ground clearance and a maximum wading depth of 950mm, although 750mm is recommended as a sensible limit.

Few gripes

What’s not to like? Not much, really.

Towing and setting up the F220 reminded us of how little you really need to have to camp quickly and comfortably and the vehicle’s tiny footprint and light weight means you can squeeze and level it into tight places that regular campers – or even tents– can’t access.

Moreover, at its weight, you could get it there behind a small 4WD, such as a Suzuki Vitara or a RAV4, with the main limiting factors being their ground clearance and wading ability.

Finally, it’s locally made in Queensland (albeit by a Brit!), using quality local components as much as possible.

Priced from $22,500, the F220 comes standard with a 100Ah battery and 15amp battery charger, a two-burner cooker, a 12V tap, LED lights, USB and 12V outlets and two 60-litre water tanks.

Options galore

Recognising that many buyers will come from tents and will already have equipment like a 12V fridge, and other camping items, Ellis Recreational Vehicles offers a wide range of options that make little impact on its weight and versatility.

And while the F220 is the company’s entry model, Paul Ellis has an even smaller Force 180 and a larger Force 250 on the drawing board for release by mid-2018, both of which will be bolted to the same basic chassis.

Verdict

The Force 220 is proof that camping can be a lot simpler than most of us make it. By reducing size and weight and through simple, well thought out solutions, it will take adventurous couples further.

Specs

Ellis Recreation Vehicles F220 Camper

Overall length: 3200mm
External body length: 2200mm
External body width:2430mm
Travel height with awning: 1800mm
Tare: From 510kg
ATM: 1350kg
Payload: Up to 700kg
Ball weight: 80kg
Body: Composite fibreglass single piece body shell
Chassis: Hot-dipped galvanised steel ladder chassis with 2.5t OzHitch off-road coupling
Suspension: Military wrap 60mm long eye-to-eye leaf springs with nitrogen-filled single shock absorbers perc wheel and rubber bump stops shock absorbers per wheel
Brakes: 10-inch off-road electric drum
Wheels: Alloy CSA 16-in with mud terrain tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 60L
Battery: 1 x 100Ah lead-acid AGM with 15amp smart battery charger
Solar: Optional portable panel
Gas: 2 x 4.0kg
Cooking: Portable 2-burner Primus stove
Fridge: Optional 45L top-loading portable
Bathroom: External shower. Hot water service optional
Lighting: LED
Price: From $22,500. As reviewed approx.$26,000
Supplied by: by: Ellis Recreational Vehicles, Moffat Beach (Sunshine Coast), Queensland