Johnno’s new flagship heads west

Johnno’s Camper Trailer's new X-Calibur flagship off-road model is finishing off a five months’ tour of duty in Western Australia.

After appearances at various caravan and 4x4 shows across the eastern states since August, the X-Calibur show-stopper will appear at the Bunbury 4x4, Camping & Boating Expo in late-November and is currently residing at at Johnno’s North Perth showroom.

The impressive new four-berth, off-road family camper marks a major move upmarket for the Queensland-based Johnno’s Campers, which has operated a nationwide sales and rental business since 1979.

The new X-Calibur is the first ‘hard floor’ model from Johnno’s, and around double the price of the Aussie manufacturer’s previous range-topper, the soft-floor Evolution camper.

Johnno’s describes it as a cross between a hard-floor camper and a hybrid. With a claimed 15 minutes set-up time, it has a roof that folds forward to unveil a spacious, canvas-covered living area including an innerspring queen mattress, bench seats and two bunk beds.

Starting from $49,990, the X-Calibur sits at the top end of the off-road camper market, joining premium 'canvas' offerings from the likes of Mountain Trail, Conqueror, and Ultimate.

However, Johnno’s Campers’  North Perth store owner Stephen May, who is also on the board of the Caravan Industry Association of Western Australia, reckons it offers better value than some of its rivals.

“It’s cheaper than the Conqueror and I reckon it’s built better,” he said.

Designed for remote outback travel, the standard equipment list is long and includes two 4.5 gas bottles, slide-out kitchen with BBQ and wok burner, hot water service, 100 litre water tank, slide-out for 85 litre fridge, external shower, 120aH deep cycle battery and Redarc battery management system.

Johnno’s has packed plenty of storage compartments into the compact 5.5m x 2m body including a pantry and toolbox. Also included is handy recovery gear such as an axe, shovel and two Maxtrax.

With extensive use of aluminium for the chassis, frame and body, Johnno's has kept Tare weight to around 1400kg. It rides on Cruisemaster off-road independent suspension with 12 inch electric brakes and a hand brake also included.

Although not attracting any buyers May said there was plenty of interest in the X-Calibur at the recent Perth 4x4 Show. May said he’s also looking forward to taking the new model out for a test run soon.

Johnno’s Campers’ boss Lesley McCown said a number of orders have been taken since the X-Calibur’s first public appearance at the Adelaide Caravan and Camping Show in August, and the first production examples are now rolling off the line. ??

Fitted with various options including a shade sail, the X-Calibur show model has a pricetag of $57,000.

Johnno’s said the X-Calibur is the first in its new X-Series range, so expect more upmarket off-road models to follow.