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NEWS
No off-road limits for SLR
Queensland off-road truck specialist ramps up expedition vehicle line-up with new Unimog and EuroCargo 4x4 models on the wayWe know the market for six-figure, off-road caravans is booming, but it seems local sales of all-terrain, truck-based motorhomes costing up to half a million dollars or more are rising too, according to Gold Coast-based SLR Motorhomes.
Earlier this year the Queensland expedition vehicle specialist rolled out its biggest and most expensive truck camper to date, a $600,000 SLR Commander 4x4 motorhome that weighs 18 tonne fully loaded, houses an ATV and can handle just about any terrain on the planet.
But that could be upstaged soon by similarly-priced, cross-continent motorhomes based on the latest Iveco Eurocargo and Mercedes-Benz Unimog 4x4 trucks that are about to roll out of SLR’s busy Gold Coast factory.
SLR Motorhome’s Warwick Boswerger said the increasing desire for travellers to get well off the beaten track and discover remote regions is just as strong for motorhome buyers as caravanners.
“It’s the same way caravans are going, pretty much every caravan sold is now off-road,” he said. “It seems everyone in Australia wants to be able to go down some tracks and reach more places than just travelling around on the bitumen.”
While SLR’s volume seller remains the slightly smaller, Isuzu-based Adventurer 4x4 motorhome, with 70 built so far, he said demand for more luxury and capability has driven sales of bigger motorhomes like that based on the MAN TGM 18.340 4x4 truck, which boasts a 1250Nm engine and 12 speed transmission, 50in tyres and a six tonne payload.
“We’ve got another five or six of that (MAN truck-based) Commander type on the go. Most of those are Australian (buyers), but you’ll find a lot of them will actually be travelling the world in these things,” Boswerger said.
Custom-built for a Brisbane buyer, the latest Commander 4x4 was the first SLR based on the MAN truck with bigger 18 tonne GVM. Its six metre long body houses a typical caravan-style luxury layout including electric lift-up king bed, while the MAN military-division fit-out extends to tubeless Michelin XZL tyres, winches and bash guards.
Other remote camping features include a remote-controlled tyre inflation system, 800 litre fresh water and 150 litre grey water storage, and a power set-up that includes two 360Ah lithium batteries, six 150W solar panels, and 2500W Mastervolt inverter.
“Because the owner wants to travel throughout the world in the really, really rough stuff, including some trips across Russia and South America, he’s also had the air intake lifted so the fording depth is about two metres, it’s pretty serious,” he said.
SLR is also planning to offer motorhomes based on the Iveco Daily 4x4, not unlike Queensland rival Travel Trucks' Scrubmaster, when the new model becomes available.
For those who want more than four driven wheels, MAN or Mercedes-Benz Zetros 6x6- or 8x8-based truck campers are also possible, although don’t bank on much change from a million dollars.
SLR also received international attention earlier this year with its first Aussie Bushman model, based on a Isuzu NPS 300 truck, complete with solid, electric pop-top roof and eye-catching Australiana livery.
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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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