First motorhome across Australia?

A father and son in a four-wheel drive ute camper are hoping to become the first people to drive a motorhome across Australia from west to east.

The trans-Australia crossing will follow the path set by TV stars Mike and Mal Leyland, whose historic crossing of the Australian continent from west to east 50 years ago made them Outback legends.

Unlike the Leyland Brothers, who took 111 days in their four-wheel drive to make the crossing, Richard Harris and his son Benjamin are hoping to do it in 11 days.

That’s three days quicker than a pair of Aussie-built Bailey caravans towed by LandCruiser wagons, which completed the 7000km, across-Australia endurance test last year in 14 days.

Unlike the Bailey vans, the Suncamper will kick off at the most westerly and caravan-unfriendly part of the Australian mainland at Steep Point, Western Australia, finishing at Byron Bay on the NSW coast.

The route includes more than 2200km of unsealed and corrugated roads including Australia’s longest major Outback highway, the 1126km Grand Central Road from Laverton to Yulara.

The vehicle being used is a Sherwood 4x4 campervan based on a 3.0-litre Toyota HiLux, built by NSW motorhome specialist Suncamper.

It retails for $125,000 but can be rented for $275 a day from Escape Rentals, a Sydney business run by Richard Harris and his wife.

The 12 months old campervan has already clocked about 25,000kms, about half of that off-road including a blast up Big Red in the Simpson Desert.

The Harris family are no strangers to Outback challenges, with Ben already laying claim to being the youngest person to walk across the Simpson Desert. In 2012 the then 15-year-old took 12 days and two hours to complete the gruelling 432km journey by foot.

The pair will do it a lot easier in the Suncamper, which boasts a compact but well-equipped interior including a double bed, kitchen, and dinette, as well as luxuries like an air-conditioner, microwave and digital TV.

The vehicle is currently on display at the Sydney Supershow, and will start making its way to the starting point in Western Australia on April 17.

The trip will be filmed and a documentary produced upon completion. The journey is also being used to raise money for the Lifeline charity. To donate click here.