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NEWS
Mountain Trail joins caravan crowd
Cutting-edge, compact off-road hybrid camper coming from Albury, NSW manufacturer in early-2017The builder of one of Australia’s best off-road camper trailers, is planning to launch its first fixed roof, hard-walled hybrid camper early next year.
After two years of research and design, Albury, NSW-based Mountain Trail Campers is preparing to build the first prototype in October, followed by real-world ‘destruction’ testing later this year.
Mountain Trail’s Nick Edwards said the plan is to then release the 15ft 4in (4.7m body length) off-road caravan at the 2017 Melbourne Caravan Supershow in late-February.
Describing it as a “luxury off-road hybrid”, the computer-designed model will feature timber free construction including composite panels for the floor, walls and roof. Lightweight sandwich panels will also be used for the furniture inside.
The grey nomad-friendly layout will include a north-south queen bed up front, dinette/lounge with swing-away table in the middle, and a combination shower/toilet and wardrobe/storage area along the rear wall.
Heating and cooling will be taken care of with an under-bed air-conditioner and diesel-fired hot water and air heater.
“It’s going to be lined with luxury leathers and vinyls, so when you walk in it won’t look all stark and white, it will look really luxurious,” Edwards says.
Underpinnings will include Mountain Trail’s own independent coil spring/shock suspension and hot dipped galvanised chassis, and the front storage box from the EDX hard-floor camper will be mounted on the drawbar.
The EDX’s external stainless steel kitchen will also be adopted, including three-burner cooker, sink with 12V powered tap and 95 litre slide-out fridge.
Adding to its off-road capabilities will be a 30 degree departure angle and up to 210 litres water storage including a grey waste tank.
The semi-monocoque design should deliver a similarly clean, modern look to Mountain Trail’s premium camper range, right down to the laser cut stainless steel badging.
“The way we’re building this it will be stronger and lighter than what everyone else is making,” Edwards claims.
Mountain Trail is employing an electronics engineer to take charge of the vehicle’s electrical and media system, which should incorporate a ‘plug and play’ wiring harness and lithium battery options.
Overall, the new hybrid will be 6.4m long, 1.96m wide and 2.7m high, making it a good match in width and track for the LandCruiser 200 Series.
Already the first Australian manufacturer to offer electric set-up across both its soft- and hard-floor camper range, Mountain Trail has been modernising its factory with the introduction of new CNC machinery along with more efficient Lean manufacturing processes and an automotive-style production line.
Staff numbers have doubled over the past 12 months and the company is looking to boost factory floor space to cope with increasing demand following the introduction of the company’s first off-road caravan.
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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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