Barry Ashenhurst•21 Aug 2012

REVIEW

Goldstream Vacationer Series 2

How does a beefed-up camper trailer handle a 10,000km, Adelaide to Gulf of Carpentaria torture test?

The idea behind this crazy caper was to test the Goldstream Vacationer to the max, as they say.

Our plan was to leave Adelaide then shoot up the middle to Alice Springs – where Alice doesn’t spring as much as lay about a lot – then photograph the attractions in the region for a few days before resuming the journey to the one million-acre property known as Lorella Springs at the top of the NT, only 85km from the Gulf of Carpentaria.

EASY LIVING

Okay so that sets the scene; now for the detail. The Goldstream Vacationer RV is a rising-roof van, not a pop-top.

You could say it’s designed for those who’ve had the camper trailer experience but would like a little more comfort and convenience, without having to invest in a very expensive home on wheels.

Not many caravans are made for genuine offroad driving, but this van h andles bad roads very well. The offroad package comprises double-ply wallswalls, a toughened chassis and larger axle, beefed up shocks, and checkerplate where it does the most good.

And this thing’s easy to live with. There’s work involved when you decide to haul in for the night, but not much.

To erect the Vacationer you merely insert a crank handle into a slot in the front of the van near the boot, release the corner locks, then crank away and up she goes.

To drop the top you obviously perform the reverse, making sure as you do that the curtain sides are tucked in nicely. By the time we'd raised the top half a dozen times, we could set up the Vacationer in about 10 minutes. And that's including the big fly ends that cover the bed extensions and keep the rain out.

The beds are large doubles, supported by two external struts at each end. We found them very comfortable (the beds, not the struts), although care had to be taken not to put any weight on the beds before the support struts were in place.

The van is exceptionally well ventilated, with two large insect-screened windows in each side and three more around each slide-out bed. There’s also a ventilation hatch in the roof (which has to be shut while you’re driving, so you don’t suck passing crows into the van).

A small venturi next to the hatch is designed to vent dust that might enter while you’re driving. Did dust enter the van while we were driving? Yeah, it did, but not a lot. And most of it seemed to be getting in through the door vents.

LOW-LEVEL STORAGE

By nature, a van of this type is forced to provide all cupboard and locker space below the level of the benchtops – because that’s where the roof will sit when you crank it down.

As you’d imagine, this encourages the designers to be clever with storage space. In this model, a cupboard or drawer has been inserted wherever there’s space for it. To be honest, we had no trouble finding room to stash the enormous amount of food and gear we took with us.

We did have problems with the fridge, though. The 93 litre Thetford is a three-way unit – gas, van battery or mains power – and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s certainly too small if you intend to vacation in the Vacationer for much longer than five minutes.

For long trips you’ll need supplementary refrigeration like a large Engel or Waeco in which to store perishables and cold drinks. The Thetford also seemed to work better when set on 3 or 4 when using gas, rather than the recommended setting of 5; in fact, on 5 it shut down a few times and we had to chuck out a whole lot of food.

The cooker is a four-burner Thetford Minigrill MkII, a three-way unit that works very well on any of its potential power sources. Below the sink is a small LG microwave that we used occasionally for heating but not cooking.

As a matter of interest, our 9kg gas cylinder lasted six weeks when asked to keep the fridge running during free-camping, as well as power-up the cooker.

Space, or the lack of it, is a touchy subject on the caravan scene – he with the most space wins – but we’d have to say the two of us never felt cramped in the Goldstream, though the breakfast bar table takes up some valuable space and cements you into position once you’re seated behind it.

We’d like to see another powerpoint in the front of the van, too. The only one up front is a TV powerpoint hidden in a cupboard and accessed through a small port in the benchtop.

We know this is a TV-specific arrangement. Still, it’d be nice if you could power up a computer or battery charger without having to crawl inside a cupboard to do it.

A towel rack would be nice, too, although where you’d put it I have no idea.

Any more complaints? Yeah, too many keys. One for the door, one for the crank hatch, one for the boot and another for the fresh water hatch. Goldstream RV isn’t alone in this regard – almost every van on the market comes with a handful of keys.

VERDICT

Final impressions are very good. The glitches we’ve complained about are minor. Even the small fridge can be worked around with a supplementary portable cooler.

We took the Goldstream on pretty ordinary dirt roads, like the 170km of crumbling whatever-it-is between Hermannsburg and Kings Canyon, and flogged it without mercy everywhere else.

We had deep-creek crossings, endless corrugations and hard-edged potholes, lumpy and oddly-cambered bitumen pretending to be a road on the Tablelands Highway between Cape Crawford and the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse, and much more as well.

In all this, not once did the Goldstream swerve or do anything unexpected. It sat square and straight behind the ’Cruiser and felt stable everywhere.

It was awfully dirty when we got it home to my joint on Lake Macquarie I have to say, but over 10,000km, nothing on it had broken, cracked, shattered, split, warped or buckled.

WE LIKED

>> Decent storage space

>> Dirt road capable

>> 10 minute setup

>> Good ventilation

NOT SO MUCH

>> Small fridge

>> too many different keys

>> fixed table -- prefer a fold-out

GOLDSTREAM RV VACATIONER SERIES 2

Overall length: 6.1m (20ft)

External body length: 4.5m (14ft 9in)

External width: 2.2m (7ft 3in)

Internal height: 2m (6ft 7in)

Tare: 1210kg

ATM: 1510kg

Ball weight: 120kg

Chassis: galvanised steel

Suspension: Al-Ko beam axle (1600kg with leaf springs and shocks)

Lighting: 12V fluorescent

Fresh water: 60 litre

Price as shown: $31,000 (tow-away, Vic)

Supplied by: Goldstream RV

Goldstream Vacationer Series 2

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