Chris Fincham•15 Aug 2017

REVIEW

Mars Rover Lifestyle

Rugged hard-floor camper trailer gets you out there in comfort for under $20,000

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock the past decade, you’d have noticed the entry-level camper trailer market in Australia has been totally swamped by Chinese imports.

Undercutting their Aussie rivals to the point where most have gone out of business – or headed upmarket – imported campers now account for as many as 10,000 sales annually, if anecdotal evidence is any guide.

By all accounts, Melbourne-based Mars Campers is now one of Australia’s Top-5 camper trailer brands, averaging around 120 sales a month according to national sales manager Celso Prado.

Running its own factory in China (from which it also supplies campers for other brands) Mars offers a range of side-fold, soft-floor campers priced from $7000-$12,000, along with rear-fold, hard-floor models ($8500-$15,500) and forward-fold, hard-floor campers ($15,500-$20,000).

Like most of the bigger brands, it’s starting to move into the growing hybrid/caravan market with a $12,500 teardrop trailer and $35,000 ‘loft’ camper introduced recently.

For this review we looked at the range-topping Rover rear-fold camper, which from $15,490 offers plenty of ‘bang’ for your bucks…

Quality up

The ‘early days’ of cheap Chinese campers were a real minefield, with shoddy suspensions, cut-price fittings and leaky canvas just some of the issues confronting buyers.

I remember a few years ago looking at a Chinese hard-floor camper that was already showing disturbing signs of rust despite just leaving the production line.

But times are changing, and overall build quality and design has improved a lot, particular if this Mars camper is anything to go by. While you don’t get the marine carpet and two-pack paintjobs of the

premium Aussie campers costing up to three times the price, the Rover ‘demo’ presented well considering it already had a few trips under its belt.

The solid construction begins with a 150 x 50 x 4mm hot dipped gal chassis, and up to 2mm thick steel and composite aluminium body panels, finished with black Hammertone paint and some nice touches like polished stainless steel edging around the wheel guards.

The hard lid/floor is similarly built with lots of sturdy steel and aluminium checkerplate, and has screw-in adjustable feet to ensure a level base when camping.

Designed for dirt

Designed for off-road use, the Rover is fitted with a Treg-style poly-block coupling, heavy-duty jockey wheel, Anderson plug, four stabilizer legs, 16in alloys with mud tyres, trailing arm independent coil suspension with twin shocks per wheel and a spare tyre mounted on a rear-mounted swing-away holder.

Tucked up behind the axle is a checker plate-protected, stainless steel 120 litre water tank, with the option of another 60L tank further forward.

While we’d think twice before punishing it to the same extent as a Tvan, the Rover offers enough road clearance and underbody protection to provide confidence when tackling rougher terrain. And if you do get into trouble there are two rear recovery points with shackles to help you get out.

Toolbox options

Continuing the rugged black theme, the drawbar-mounted toolbox is finished in a ute liner-type, spray-on finish, with black-coated checkerplate stone shields on both sides stopping stones from peppering the front of the trailer.

The toolbox with strut-assisted lid can swallow a number of items that require easy access like the jockey wheel, fire extinguisher and awning accessories, with holders on the outside for two 9kg gas bottles and jerry cans (not supplied).

Other items like recovery gear can be strapped on to the steel ‘wood rack’ behind the toolbox, while the closed lid has four main beams that can be used to secure other gear like kayaks or mountain bikes.

Also accessible with the camper closed is another two-part toolbox on the offside. One section has a slide-out for the optional portable hot water system or perhaps a very small generator, while the other carpet-lined compartment might hold camp chairs and table.

Solid kitchen

The stainless steel kitchen slides out on the onside, as do three, pull-out storage drawers and another slide-out for a 74 litre fridge that connects to a 12V socket nearby. There’s an LED light inside the lid as well as an exhaust van/vent to dissipate heat from the fridge.

Apart from the two leg supports that kept falling out because the locking pins were missing, the kitchen appears a solid unit and includes a Thetford three burner gas cooker with glass lid that might block some of the wind, at least from one direction.

There’s also a sink with drainer and fold-down tap powered by a 12V pump, a flexible LED spotlight, one 12V and two USB points and a large, self-supporting fold-out food prep area or breakfast bar.

The stove hooks up to the gas supply via a hose that connects under the trailer, and there are three kitchen drawers held in place by magnets take care of cutlery and other odds and ends.

The only issue we could see is that you have to push the fridge back into the camper in order to access some of the drawers.

Not so fiddly

Another traditional bugbear with Chinese campers is the excessive effort required to set them up, with some examples requiring more than 30 vertical poles and spreader bars to erect the full awning.

The Mars Rover is a lot simpler, at least in setting up the main tent. It took two people about 10 minutes to unlatch the lid and open the tent with assistance from the manual winch, before stepping inside, fitting and adjusting four supporting poles to tension the canvas before opening the flaps on the windows.

However, factor in more time and effort to zip on the separate awning, and add the rest of the poles, guy ropes, floor and walls. We didn’t attempt this during our photo-shoot but have included a couple of images to show what it looks like fully set up.

To address concerns about imported canvas, Mars uses heavy 15oz canvas for the tent, which is double-stitched and reinforced in ‘high risk’ areas to help prevent leaks. The tropical roof remains attached to the camper when folded up.

Room to move

Inside the main living area there are the usual entry doors on each side and eight windows in total, with ‘midge proof’ screens and zipped flaps on both sides.

At 175 x 210cm, the lino-covered hard floor should be big enough for a porta-cot or some stretcher bunks for the young ‘uns, or for an indoor dining area if the weather turns foul.

For lighting there are three LED strips with individual switches, attached to exposed cords tucked along the walls. Four canvas pockets (two on each side) are a handy feature for holding wallets, phones, and car keys.

Gets you going

The standard 12V electric system comes with one 100Ah battery and charger, although there’s space for three under the bed, which is a queen size topped by a firm, coil inner spring mattress.

The switches are located near the base of the bed together with display panels and gauges for the battery and water tanks, as well as another 12V socket.

There’s no 240V inlet although the camper can be pre-wired for mains power supply, and there’s an external plug for connecting the optional solar panel.

Interior storage consists of two under-bed, pull-out clothes drawers, with another locker for awning poles, although in future these will be relocated to a locker on the roof which will free up space for other items inside.

Completing the standard package is a small, fold-down checker plate step to make climbing into bed easier.

Wait, there's more...

For an additional $3500, buyers can upgrade to the ‘Deluxe’ version, which adds baked silver enamel paint, a boat rack, 120W portable solar panel and solar controller, additional 60L water tank, wooden (instead of steel) bed base, CD player and speakers, 1000W inverter/240V outlet, electric winch, portable hot water system and portable toilet.

Then you just need to add a portable fridge to deliver a camper that covers the basics while remaining under $20,000…

Verdict

There’s plenty of competition in the $15-$20,000 imported camper market, but the Mars Rover stands out for its combination of standard features and decent build quality.

It shapes up as a good entry-level camper for couples or young families who want to access secluded national and state park campgrounds. And with a fully loaded weight of 2000kg it’s easily dragged behind most medium SUVs, as well as bigger 4WDs and dual-cab utes.

We liked:

>> Value for money
>> Decent kitchen
>> Solid underpinnings

Not so much:
>> Winching takes some effort
>> Some fiddly bits
>> Mostly no-name appliances

Mars Campers Rover Lifestyle

Travel length: 5350mm

External body width: 1800mm

Travel height: 1360mm

Tare weight: 1350kg

ATM: 2000kg

Ball weight (Tare): 180kg (est.)

Body: Steel/aluminium, black Hammertone finish

Chassis: 100mm x 50mm x 4mm hot dipped galvanised steel, powdercoated

Suspension: Independent, coil springs, twin shocks per side

Brakes: 12in electric

Stability Control: n/a

Wheels: 16in alloy with MT tyres

Fresh water: 120L

Battery: 1 x 100Ah standard

Solar: Optional

Air-conditioner: n/a

Gas: 2 x 9kg holders (bottles optional)

Hot water: Portable gas (optional)

Cooking: Thetford three-burner gas stovetop

Fridge: Provision for 74L portable (optional)

Microwave: n/a

Toilet: Optional

Shower: n/a

Lighting: 12V LED

TV: n/a

Price: From $15,490 (plus on-road costs)

Options fitted: None

Supplied by: Mars Campers, Springvale, Victoria

Mars Rover Lifestyle

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