Michael Browning•1 Oct 2017

REVIEW

MDC XT12-HR

Chinese-built MDC off-road caravan sets new benchmark for value

A new Australian Off Road Matrix Series IV full-height off-road caravan currently costs $109,900 and will rise to $113,900 from November 1, but we have just reviewed MDC's latest full-height XT12-HR off-road caravan – an RV that costs around one third of that price and, on paper, ticks most of the same boxes.

Now I'm not suggesting that the Chinese-built MDC is equivalent to the AOR, but depending on your budget and travel priorities, it's well worth looking at, if only for a reality check.

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VALUE PACKED

For a start, let's see at what the little MDC gives you for its introductory retail price of just $34,990 (a price that, incidentally, undercuts its familiar pop-top sibling by $5000):

• A 150mm x 50mm galvanised steel chassis

• Independent trailing arm suspension, with twin shockers per wheel

• A fully-welded body frame with aluminium composite body panels

• 16-inch wheels with Land Cruiser size off-road tyres

• A 10-inch swing-up jockey wheel

• An impressive ATM of 3000kg, which translates into a massive 1200kg payload

• A large exterior slide-out stainless-steel three-burner kitchen

• A queen-size north-south bed

• A combined interior shower/toilet bathroom

• Fresh and grey water tanks

• An electric awning

• Twin 100Ah deep cycles batteries and a standard 1000W inverter

• Two jerry can holders and twin 9kg gas bottles

• A five-year chassis and structural warranty

That's a mighty impressive list, considering that some of these items are on the options list of off-road caravans costing many times the MDC's price.

Even if you add the $1800 optional 3 x 100W roof-mounted solar panels and the $2500 Dometic air conditioner, as many might, you've still got change out of $40,000. So, should you buy an XT12-HR, bank the difference and head off for that bucket-list trip you've always promised yourself?

It probably depends on where you want to take it, how fast, how heavily laden and how often…

While the well-known brands like AOR, Trakmaster, Bushtracker and so on have an army of devoted owners who are fearless in advising the makers of their caravans how they can improve their product, based on theirs and other owners' experience, you don't have a lot to complain about when you are only outlaying $35,000.

So, while there's no suggestion that the little MDC XT12-HR could be fragile, similarly there's no hard evidence out there that it will stand up to hard punishment for trip after trip over years. Having just returned from a major 14,500km northwest Outback odyssey on which nearly one third of the roads were rough and unsealed – a trip on which I passed two premium-brand caravans stranded by major suspension failures – I know that conditions out there can be merciless.

However, that's not to suggest that the XT12 HR will fare any worse; it simply has not been on the market long enough for anyone to know.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Certainly, on paper, it looks up to the job. While its detail finish is not in the same class as its up-priced equivalents, it's fine for the money. A few blanked-off body holes and lower-grade interior hardware are perfectly fine here, considering what else you don't have to pay for.

Let's start with the outside. As its name suggests, the XT12-HR is a full-height 12ft caravan that is just 5500mm long from its McHitch off-road coupling to its spare wheel, which is mounted on a cut-down bumper with twin supporting arms. Plus It's is a handy 2000mm wide, so you can take it most places except overgrown tracks.

Given those modest dimensions, it was surprising to find that the XT12-HR has a relatively high tare weight of 1800kg – 200kg less than its XT12 Pop Top brother – but the van's short length and sturdy underpinnings make its quoted ATM of 3000kg pretty believable. The conclusion is that MDC hasn't tried to skimp on weight or features with the HR – just size and price. To be honest, with only a single 80-litre fresh water tank, plus a similar-sized grey tank to fill, no sane person needs a 1200kg payload on an off-road holiday!

With its combination of silver aluminium composite panels and lower black propeller-plate cladding all round and with its twin gas bottles stone-protected by a propeller-plate-clad box, it looks capable of surviving the worst the Gibb, Kalumburu or Tanami roads could throw at it. Personally, I would prefer some more resilient stone mesh up front to stop stones ricocheting back onto the back window of the tow vehicle.

Other than that, there is evidence of some careful thought by people who have travelled in the Outback. For example, the upper-lips of the twin jerry can holders are rubber lined to prevent chafing of plastic or polycarbonate fuel cans; the fresh water tap is on the inside of the A-frame to avoid stone strike; while lower front mud-flaps on the van minimise under-floor damage.

Pity they ran out of inspiration at the rear though, where a spaghetti maze of plastic pipes, ring clamps and cable ties does not inspire the same confidence about the long-term serviceability of the plumbing and electrics. I'd be spending an hour or two under here before a major trip, tidying things up and protecting vulnerable ones but, given the XT12-HR's price, that's no big deal.

STORAGE SPACE

Unlike what you would expect to find in such a short caravan with an exterior slide-out kitchen, there’s quite a lot of exterior storage space on the XR12 HR. There's no front boot as such, but there are two big lockers with drop-down lockable doors on the right-hand side, plus a front storage locker on the left side. Another smaller hatch to the rear of the entry door contains a slide to house a portable fridge. You'll need one, as there isn't one inside.

It is in this rear fridge locker that you'll find the electric switch for the power-operated awning. Unlike other similar units we have reviewed, it has a simple on-off switch that doesn't need to be held down to deploy the awning. While it's a cool feature – particularly in a caravan at this price – you have to open the locker to activate the switch, which would be much more convenient if it was located just inside the doorway.

Other adjacent features that will be appreciated by off-road travellers include the press-stud vinyl pad that blocks the lower door vent door when travelling or fording and the twin D-shackles on the rear chassis ends to allow convenient recovery, should you get bogged.

A drop-down side-mounted picnic tray (another item that is often optional) and double-glazed windows represent more appreciated exterior features, while the pull-out 304-grade stainless steel kitchen has a large prep tray, a three-burner gas cooktop with a cutlery draw beneath and a stainless-steel sink with a fold-down hot/cold flick-mixer tap.

COMPACT INTERIOR

Inside, things are expectedly compact, yet workable, given that most travellers who purchase this sort of caravan plan to spend more time outdoors anyway.

Immediately to right, right along the windowless rear wall, is a good-size stainless steel sink with a mixer tap. It has a drop-down lid, which forms a large flat benchtop when utilising the top of the nest of drawers alongside.

These drawers provide handy utensil or food storage while, if conditions are bad outside, the benchtop could house a small two-burner cartridge cooker, if desired.

The right-hand rear corner combined bathroom has a rather clunky lock for its solid door and there's not much space for either showering or abluting inside – but it's there if you want it.

A tall storage cupboard alongside the shower/toilet cubicle houses a wardrobe in its upper half, while shelves beneath provide additional clothes/linen/towel storage.

As it's obviously geared for outdoor living, the interior dining arrangement consists of opposing small lounges, while the removable table slots into the base of the bed and lives on the bed or in the cupboard when not needed.

However, there has been no skimping on the queen-size bed, which has an innerspring mattress and spreads from wall to wall terminating in a vinyl bedhead.

Large cupboards that line the upper walls provide plenty of clothes storage, given the informal nature of travel that XT12 HR owners are likely to undertake.

It all works surprisingly well and while the quality of the materials used is obviously geared to the MDC's price-point, they are acceptable for the van's use.

VERDICT

If you don’t have a storage problem and overgrown tracks are not where you plan to travel, the MDC XT12 HR is hard to fault at its price. Whether it will take you where you want to go – and back – is a long-term question seeking an answer, but MDC has tried hard to ensure it will. Plus, there’s a 5-year warranty for peace of mind.

WE LIKED

>> Package and price

>> Lots of included 'extras'

>> Compact size and tow-ability

>> Five-year warranty

NOT SO MUCH

>> Average finish

>> Vulnerable pipes and wires at the rear

>> Awkward placement of awning power switch in rear locker

MDC XT12-HR

External body length: 5500mm

External body width: 2000mm

Travel height: 2820mm

Interior height: 2000mm

Tare weight: 1800kg

ATM: 3000kg

Ball weight: 200kg

Body: Welded frame with aluminium composite wall panels and propeller-plate protective cladding

Chassis: 150mm x 50mm galvanised steel

Suspension: Independent trailing arm coil-spring suspension with twin shock absorbers per wheel

Brakes: 12-inch drum brakes

Wheels: 16-inch off-road steel wheels with 265/75-16 tyres

Fresh water: 1 x 80L fresh plus 1 x 80L grey water tanks

Battery: 2 x 100Ah d/cycle

Solar: Optional 3 x 100W roof-mounted panels

Fridge: Optional portable fridge-freezer

Air conditioning: Optional Dometic, roof-mounted

Microwave: N/A

Toilet/Shower: Combined interior corner shower and toilet

Lighting: LED

Base price $34,990

Supplied by: MDC Caravans, Rocklea, Queensland, www.marketdirect.com.au

MDC XT12-HR

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