Kedron Cross Country (XC) 2006 Review

‘The boys from Kedron’ is an expression you might hear around the industry from time to time. When used generally, ‘the boys’ often means just a team of people from a particular company.

In this case it can be taken more literally, for Kedron is a family owned company – Barry Gall and his sons: David, Peter, Craig, Ashley and Glen.

Kedron Caravans has a 40-year history in the caravan industry. In its early days, Barry started selling caravans out of the back of a service station.

Gradually the business expanded, with each son joining the company when they grew old enough. Up to 2000, Kedron sold other manufacturers’ caravans but in that year, following the collapse of Gazal Caravans of which Kedron was a dealer, the Gall family made the bold decision to manufacture their own caravans.

Since then they haven’t looked back and Kedron has gone from strength to strength. The Kedron team are not just caravan builders, either.

As demonstrated by their Cape York, Kimberley and Gulf videos, they are out there using and testing their products as well.

In its caravan line up, Kedron offer three different ranges: the Enduro is built for long distance touring that characterises the Australian outback.

Up one level is the Cross Country (XC) that is built for travel both on and off the bitumen. At the top of the tree is the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) range, built to go anywhere for the person who really wants to see it all.

For this review, CW opted for the Cross Country (XC) range and took an 18ft (5.5m) for a spin. Except for the custom extended drawbar, it looks like an ordinary caravan, but not when you look closer.

At the base of the XC is a galvanised chassis built from first grade BHP export steel. It has one tonne corner stabilisers fitted and it rides on a 2600kg rated axle, which is fitted with wheels to match the tow vehicle, in this case a Toyota LandCruiser. Military style shackle leaf springs with polyurethane bushes are used for the suspension, and stopping power comes from 12in (30cm) marinised brakes that have flush plugs fitted.

That means a hose can be used to clear mud and dust easily from around the brake drum. For the frame, the Gall family believes there is only one way to go – aluminium that’s held together with high tensile solid rivets and in the case of the roof, welded. Naturally the external cladding is also aluminium, and walls and roof are insulated.

Standard features around the outside include the Camec triple locker security door, tinted polycarbonate window, awning, galvanised steel bumper bar with two spares on it and drawbar complete with stone deflector, two 9kg gas cylinders and mains pressure tap. For our caravan, the customer ordered an extended drawbar so that two bicycles could be carried as well.

External storage consists of a generous front boot and a front offside locker that’s been designed for a Honda 2kVA generator. On top of the roof are those get-away-from-it-all features, three solar panels plus a closer to civilisation Winegard TV antenna and a roof mounted Coleman air-conditioner.

Tasmanian Oak is used for the extensive internal cabinet work and it looks great, complemented by mink coloured curtains and upholstery. Our rear side entry door caravan featured a front bedroom layout with a dinette on the nearside and a bathroom cubicle in the rear offside corner. The kitchen fits on either side of the bathroom, across the rear and along the offside.

Up front, the north-south queen-sized bed occupies most of the bedroom. On either side are hanging wardrobes plus bedside cabinets below. Three drawers and decent sized bed side shelves are a plus, as is the shelf behind the bed.

Above the bed are three overhead lockers and the bed also lifts up, assisted by gas struts, to reveal a substantial storage area underneath. Ventilation and natural light is provided by windows on three sides with a Four Seasons hatch above.

Halogen reading lights and powerpoints are provided on either side of the bed, and there’s a ceiling-mounted fluorescent light.

Comfortable for two, the dinette seats have drawers underneath and four overhead lockers above. Lighting is courtesy of a halogen reading light and a central fluorescent.

Across the rear, the kitchen bench contains a stainless steel sink next to a full Swift stove. Not much benchspace here but there’s certainly plenty of storage space above and below, both cupboards and drawers. It’s worth pointing out that all drawers we opened and closed did so in a smooth manner.

Along the offside is the other half of the kitchen with a big 230 litre Vitrifrigo fridge taking up most of the space alongside the shower cubicle.

Underneath the fridge is a locker containing two water pumps and the hot water heater.

Next to that is all bench space with four drawers, two cupboards and three floor lockers underneath. In the area above the kitchen bench are two quite deep overhead lockers, along with a Sharp microwave oven. It’s at a height that is reasonable for most people and there is no shortage of benchtop space underneath for lifting things in and out.

A flatscreen TV is mounted on a swivel bracket at the front end of the bench, taking up little space, and it can be seen quite easily from either the dinette and the bed.

Having a corner bathroom does mean the caravan is quite compact. On one side there’s a flexible hose shower and on the other is a Thetford cassette toilet with a fold down wash basin plus wall cabinet above. I did like the window – on small bathrooms it certainly creates a more spacious feeling.

In the utility department, all lighting is 12V that’s supplied from both a 240/12V transformer and two 130ah deep cycle batteries that are charged in the normal way via the roof-mounted solar panels.

Underneath the XC are three water tanks, two for the shower and one just for drinking which has its own water filter.

With this particular caravan, Kedron had also supplied its ‘Tow Pack’ as well, which includes a brake controller, Anderson plug for charging the battery and Hayman Reese distribution hitch.

Before this caravan review took place I had never been to the Kedron factory. It happened to be raining on the day of my visit but that did not deter the enthusiasm of the Gall family.

First impressions mean quite a bit in our industry and I was suitably impressed by the professional approach and attention to detail, despite the fact that it looked like being a wet day.

I noted that same approach going on with a couple of customers who happened to be there ordering their caravan, and that attitude was certainly reflected in the design and build of this Cross Country.

It is a caravan built from much experience, not only in the factory but on the road as well. Everything from the Tasmanian Oak cabinet work to the galvanised chassis appeared to be well fitted together and the new owners look set for quite a few happy years on the road.