Explorex conquers wild west

It’s not all quiet on the western front as Perth caravan builder ramps up heavy-duty off-road range

When it comes to dedicated builders of big, hard-core off-road caravans, Queensland heavyweights Kedron and Bushtracker are two that spring immediately to mind.

But there’s another, lesser known manufacturer of heavy-duty vans located on Australia’s west coast that’s making a strong case to join this exalted company.

Perth-based Explorex Caravans started life in 2003 as a supplier of purpose-built caravans for the mining and remote service industries and moved into production of ‘domestic’ vans in 2009.

However, with the end of the ‘mining boom’ the Explorex range of hardcore touring vans now make up the majority of the 50 or so Explorex vans built each year, according to sales manager Stuart Marr.

“That side of the business has grown and the mining side has died off over the last couple of years,” he said.

In response to growing demand for big, go-anywhere, long-range vans, Explorex has been ramping up its touring range recently including the release of its first smooth-sided van, a 19ft 6in Gibb River tandem axle Titanium model covered in Dibond aluminium composite panels rather than more traditional aluminium ribbed cladding.

“Bigger models like our Coral Bay 6.9 are aimed at those people doing a 12-18 month trip. It’s got quite a large ensuite in it, which is a lot bigger than you’d normally get in a caravan,” Marr said.

As well as a ‘regular’ off-road range, Explorex offers ‘Extreme’ versions with even more ground clearance, rear cut-aways, more external storage, and higher-rated Simplicity trailing arm suspension. Catering mainly to grey nomads, the 18ft to 23ft single and tandem axle models sit in the $80,000-$120,000 price bracket, with most having an ATM of at least 3000kg.

The ‘domestic’ models are built to similar high standards as the on-site mining vans, which includes use of a sturdy hot dipped galvanized chassis and steel frame, all produced in-house.

“We use galvanized tubing for the frame, all fully welded. The main thing for us is we’ll back it up with a 10 year structural warranty, so you can’t break it,” he said.

Fortunately, the interiors offer a few more creature comforts than more basic mining versions, including the latest gloss finishes and Oak timber edging on the “glued and screwed” 15mm ply cabinetry, as well as the use of latest technology like Finscan-like CZone digital switching ‘smart’ systems with touchscreen panels.

“Our mining vans are taken into areas people would never think about taking a caravan, and as (the touring vans) are built exactly the same way, we know from that they can cop some punishment and do the job,” he said.

“If the customer wants to go on the Gibb River Road, up to Cape York or along the Great Central Highway, they’re up for it, and our warranty covers it.”

Looking to expand

As one of a handful of RV manufacturers in the west, Explorex currently has just the one dealer, George Day Caravans in Perth, but is looking for an east coast representative, either in Melbourne or Adelaide. A small display at the 2016 Melbourne Caravan Supershow resulted in a couple of sales.

“Most of our buyers are local, and most of our sales are factory direct, but we do sell a few over in the east,” Marr said.

The company also exports, shipping the odd touring van to New Zealand as well as a mining van to Saudi Arabia last year. There’s also an active Explorex Owners Club, which runs regular trips attracting up to 30 owners. One owner recently claimed to have conquered the very bumpy Kalumburu Road to the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley, which is generally regarded as very caravan-unfriendly.

Marr said Explorex plans to add a new ‘mid shower/toilet’ Titanium layout with front club lounge later this year, but has no immediate plans to tap into the growing hybrid/compact off-road van market.

There’s unlikely to be an Explorex pop-top either, as Marr reckons “they tend not to cope with off-road (dusty) conditions as well (as a fixed roof van)”.

“We don’t believe there’s such a thing as a dust-free van,” he said. “You’ve just got to try and minimise it as much as possible, and we find the gas vent on the door is the biggest culprit.

“Everything on the van gets sealed up as much as we possibly can. The only difference with the mining vans is that we use a tropical roof that’s mounted on top of the van and provides extra shading and ventilation.

“We haven’t put one on a touring van although people have asked us for it… It would ruin your fuel economy, and do you want an extra eight holes in your roof? We pride ourselves on having a single sheet roof with no joins.”

Explorex conquers wild west

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