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NEWS
Kokoda shows dark side
Melbourne caravan boss caught testing 22ft black beast that promises ‘five-star’ green ratingMelbourne’s Kokoda Caravans has a reputation for delivering affordable, value-packed caravans, but it’s now having a serious crack at the premium, heavy-duty off-road end of the market, judging by the look of its latest model.
Featuring an eye-catching gloss black exterior with matching V8-powered American tow vehicle, the soon-to-be-released 22ft Boss Limited tandem axle model was spotted during a two-week ‘shakedown’ in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges this week.
Cooking up some lunchtime snags on the slide-out BBQ at a Hawker rest stop, Kokoda boss George Mamo told Caravancampingsales that he was heading to Darwin, via the dusty Oodnadatta Track, to road-test some new features Kokoda plans to introduce on a new range of “extreme off-road vans (that are) five star environmentally friendly”.
While not giving too much away, Mamo hinted at a US-imported product that provided a solution to dealing with ‘black water’ waste when in the Outback.
He’s also trying to solve the problem of dust ingress on gas-vented vans with a new type of ‘positive pressure’ system, as well as trying a more unconventional approach of running a toolbox-mounted petrol generator that powers the van’s roof-top air-conditioner while moving.
“Dust ingress is a big problem in this industry, so I’ve set up this van so as we travel on a bull-dust road I’ll actually put the air conditioner on and the Sirocco fans on, to try and pressurise the van and see if it prevents dust ingress,” he said.
The Boss Limited test van employs Melbourne-built Roo chassis and Tuffrider independent coil spring suspension rated to 4.4 tonnes, with twin EFS shock absorbers per wheel and 65mm bearings.
The Meranti timber wall framing is clad with 3mm thick aluminium composite cladding with plenty of checker plate protection along the sides and underbody.
Set up for free camping, it has four water tanks including a 100 litre grey tank, plus four 120Ah batteries, four 150W solar panels and a 3000W inverter.
While the interior was out of bounds to cameras, it promises five-star luxury with a drop-down TV, washing machine and satellite dish among the appliances fitted.
A hefty Tare weight of 3300kg, ATM of between 3800kg-4400kg and plated ball weight of 374kg, necessitates a big tow vehicle like Mamo’s matching black Ford F-250 Super Duty Platinum V8 pick-up, and Kokoda is considering partnering with a local American pick-up converter to offer buyers a complete package “so it’s all set up and off they go”.
While the 22ft Boss Limited is likely to be Kokoda’s most expensive model to date, Mamo hopes to offer it for less than $100,000 drive-away in order to undercut rival models built locally as well as overseas.
He said the next step for Kokoda is to introduce a 21ft full composite off-road van including a ‘core’ floor and ‘hybrid’ chassis, that’s light enough to be ‘Prado-friendly’.
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Written byChris Fincham
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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