Jackaroo Caravan

Ah, those golden days of caravanning. Summer holidays by the seaside in cramped leaking bondwood vans in over-crowded council reserves; the overheating Holden followed by long queue of fuming motorists as you coaxed your overloaded holiday home around the precipitous Great Ocean Road, up the Bulli Pass – or even scarier, down it!

Then there was the smell of leaking gas and those memorable nights as family and friends crowded around the tiny Laminex table and kero lantern.

But the vans of yesteryear had character, with their distinctive bull-nose ‘brows’ and jutting ‘chins’, whereas most of their modern equivalents have been styled by the wind to the point of safe sameness.

But what if you could buy a new, relatively lightweight caravan with the distinctive style and same compact size of those of old, yet with all the modern caravan comforts including the latest appliances, plumbing, electrics and even an internal ensuite?

That’s what Jarrod Wade and Craig Walters, joint managing directors of The Caravan Repair Shop in Arundel on Queensland’s Gold Coast thought as they received an increasing number of requests to refurbish old caravans in between their core business of repairing late model vans after accident, hail, or water damage.

“We met a lot of people who loved the look of the old Viscount or Millard vans, but often when we pulled the body off an old chassis, we found it and the suspension were rusty, or damaged and beyond economical repair,” Jarrod Wade explained to caravancampingsales.

“We were telling customers ‘we could build a new traditional-looking van cheaper than repairing yours’, so we did and found there was a ready market for the idea.”

The Jackaroo caravans that Jarrod, Craig and their small team are now building, are just that; a brand new caravan with all the latest creature comforts, but a traditional look, weight and even price.

All are a compact 16ft long, which is large for an older van, but once you get past its classic ‘Viscount’ profile, everything is new again.

To keep the ‘classic’ look, the van has ribbed aluminium cladding, aluminium framing and ply wall lining to keep its Tare (unladen) weight down to below 1500kg.

It also sits on a new, galvanized steel chassis, with its one-size 100mm x 50mm A-frame and chassis running continuously from hitch to its galvanised steel rear bar on which a single spare 15-inch wheel is mounted. Underneath, you’ll also find a large 115-litre fresh water tank.

The review van had simple leaf springing and a solid beam axle, but conscious that many customers might want to travel further than the local beach resort, Jackaroos are also available with Vehicle Components’ CRS independent trailing arm, coil spring and shock absorber suspension as an option.

But it’s once you step inside that around 30-40 years of caravan design peels away.

With its modern kitchen and appliances, front island double bed, centre lounge and rear corner combined shower/toilet ensuite, it ticks most of the boxes that today’s caravanners want.

True, the kitchen bench-tops are timber and the cupboards have visible hinges, but they are there for their retro look rather than necessity. Almost sadly there wasn’t a single square centimetre of traditional marble-look, round-edged Laminex to be seen – surely an oversight?

What’s surprising is how well the modern interior blends with the old exterior design, and the modern double-glazed Aussie Traveller windows with their built in midgee-proof screens and block-out blinds, Thetford cooktop and grill, modern three-way 190-litre Dometic fridge-freezer, standard microwave and digital TV do not really spoil the retro experience.

Even the optional slimline, roof-mounted reverse cycle air conditioner fitted optionally to the review van doesn’t seem overly out of place.

Also impressive for a van of its compact dimensions is the amount of storage space, although Jackaroo only quote a 300kg payload – the minimum expected these days for a single-axle caravan.

As well as the many overhead and lower cupboards and drawers, there’s a great unencumbered rectangular space under the lift-up bed, flanked by two tall hanging robes and twin chests of drawers.

And if we told you that you could get all this in a caravan that can comfortably be towed behind a regular Australian family car or compact SUV, you would be even more impressed.

Many Australians, some of them young families wanting to relive their childhood caravanning days, will opt for the Jackaroo’s alternative layout with twin bunk beds in the same 16ft package.

The other attraction for buyers is the price, with bunk vans starting at around $38,000 and ensuite vans from $39,500, with fully optioned vans unlikely to cost more than $43,000.

The Jackaroo also comes standard with retro style wheel spats, while optional custom paint and decals means buyers can easily match the van's look to a classic tow vehicle.

The first Jackaroo off the line was named ‘Belle’ buy its purchasers and was  delivered in ‘Memphis Belle’ livery. The second was called ‘Les’, after the late father of its new owner, so all are expected to reflect the personality of their owners.

Not surprisingly, there has been a rush of interest, but with their on-going repair business, The Caravan Repair Shop only plans to build eight Jackaroos in 2015, with just two production slots available this year.

It’s a great concept and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if both of these spots are filled by the time you read this!

WE LIKED:
>> Retro look with modern comforts
>> Overall packaging and standard features
>> Light weight
>> Killer price

NOT SO MUCH
>> Not retro enough! Would like to see a few traces of old ‘Laminex’ inside
>> Small production volume means many will be disappointed

VERDICT

The Jackaroo is an appealing package, delivering true individuality combined with practicality to a travelling couple or family for a very affordable price.

Being able to take it on holiday with an existing large sedan or light 4WD is a real bonus.

JACKAROO CARAVAN

Travel (overall) length: 6.4m (21ft 4in)
External body length: 4.88m (16ft)
External body width: 2.40m (7ft 10in)
Travel height: 3.0m (9ft 10in)
Interior height: 1.95m
Tare weight: 1460kg
ATM: 1760kg
Ball weight: 90kg
Body: Ribbed aluminium cladding over aluminium wall and roof frame and inner ply walls
Chassis: 100mm x 50mm galvanised steel A-frame and chassis rails
Suspension: Leaf spring and beam axle
Brakes: Al-Ko 10-inch electric
Wheels/tyres: 15in alloy with 225/70R15
Fresh water: 1x 115 litres
Battery: Single 100Ah AGM
Solar: Optional but pre-wired
Gas: 1 x 9kg
Cooking: Two gas burner gas cook top
Microwave: Camec
Fridge: 190-litre Dometic three-way
Toilet: Dometic cassette in combined shower/toilet ensuite
Shower: Internal shower in ensuite; optional exterior shower
Lighting: LED
Price (ex-Gold Coast): from $38,500,depending on options
Contact: Jackaroo Caravans, Arundel, Qld