Outback RVs Adventurer 4x4

WE LIKED:
>>  General workmanship
>> Electric rams on pop-top
>> Good electrical system

NOT SO MUCH:
>> A few things but they were all owner choice

One of the differences between the caravan and motorhome industries, apart from the obvious motor bit, is while there is a good selection of purpose-built, offroad caravans available, true offroad motorhomes are much harder to find.

There are a few reasons for that – the specialist engineering requirements as well as the limited availability of 4x4 base vehicles, which in some cases are very expensive.

A cab chassis which does have some popularity is the Isuzu NPS 4x4 which is also quite popular with bushfire brigades, especially the crew cab model.

That said, I was a little surprised to get a call to visit Outback RVs – a small Sunshine Coast, Qld-based manufacturer known for its well-made offroad caravans – to look at the company's new Adventurer 4x4 motorhome.

It turns out that a customer wanted a motorhome body for his Isuzu 4x4 cab chassis built with the same expertise as the Outback RVs’ caravans.

Outback RVs’ Terry Freeman rose to the challenge and some months later, the end result was sitting outside the factory awaiting my arrival.

SEPARATION ANXIETY

One of the difficulties with an offroad motorhome is the bit where the cab is joined to the house. The Isuzu’s tilt cab is one problem but another is the fact that the cab chassis can flex, so a flexible connection is required between the cab and motorhome structure.

A simple way to avoid this problem and save a considerable amount of money (I’ve seen a 4x4 flexible connection manufactured in the US which cost about $10,000) is to keep the cab and house part of the motorhome totally separate. This also means that cutting the driver’s cab is not required.

That’s exactly what happened with the Adventurer – the customer supplied the Isuzu 4x4 cab chassis and Outback RVs built the house component.

It was built as a pop-top to keep the travel height down and in many ways looks like a slide-on, which I am told can certainly be done for this design.

Like Outback RVs' caravans, the chassis of the motorhome component is painted Duragal steel, while the walls and pop-top roof are welded aluminium.

25mm of insulation is fitted between the frame components and while the aluminium cladding might look familiar, it’s a new style complete with a layout on insulation. The lower skirt of alloy checkerplate is mainly for protective reasons but it looks good too.

Keeping things familiar, the entry door is a Camec security screen model; the windows are Seitz hoppers with integrated blinds and screens, and the awning is a Dometic item.

There isn’t a great deal of external storage which isn’t really surprising: two bins on the nearside (the others being for the gas cylinders), a Thetford toilet cassette and an external shower.

Adjacent to the mid nearside bin are two 12V and one 240V outlet.

NO FUSS INTERIOR

Inside, the Adventurer is quite a straightforward layout and getting set up is pretty simple too.

No unclipping and lifting the roof – instead, four electric rams can be operated by a switch near the doorway.

Both the gusset side walls and the rear have screened windows but the only other roof features are LED downlights.

The buyers chose the colour scheme of white, blue and grey which meshes well.
At the rear are two single beds with a cabinet in between, while the offside wall has the kitchen bench and the nearside wall has a cabinet and dinette.

That leaves space at the front for the offside shower/toilet cubicle, some front wall storage cupboards and the entry door.

Both the beds have custom-made innerspring mattresses fitted.

Simplicity is the word for the kitchen. It comes with a three-burner cooktop, stainless steel sink with drainer and a Vitrifrigo 130 litre fridge.

That leaves room for a moderate amount of benchtop working space and I did like the splash panel which prevents water getting on to the bed.

A microwave can be fitted but was not required by the owner.

Under-bench storage consists of three drawers and a cupboard, while lighting comes from an LED strip light mounted underneath the top of the wall flange.

At the rear end of the bench are both a 240V and 12V power outlet plus a TV antenna connection.

On the opposite side, the sideways-facing lounge/dining seat with single pole mounted table accommodates two people quite well and the adjoining cabinet offers three good sized drawers.

SQUEEZY SHOWER

Fitting a shower cubicle into a pop-top design is always tricky but this one fits in quite well and comes with both a flexible hose shower and a Thetford cassette toilet.

The owners opted for a shower curtain rather than a solid door but I understand the latter is certainly available and would be my preference.

Some of the neat little features in this layout are the cupboards on the front wall. They're not particularly wide but offer a generous amount of storage space, including one with multiple shelves which would make a good pantry. 

Handy to the entry door, the upper cupboards contains the relevant power switches, pop-top ram switches and solar panel regulator.

Designed for remote travel, the electrics are quite simple with two 120ah deep-cycle batteries, 30A charger and two 120W solar panels.

The Isuzu runs on a 24V DC system, so a DC-DC converter had to be fitted since the house part is set up for 12V. As noted there's a good supply of 12V sockets.

BEHIND THE WHEEL

Driving the Isuzu isn’t difficult, but for those who are used to the Euro-style cab chassis, which is more car-like than truck-like, the Isuzu is definitely a truck... and a serious truck at that, with suspension and 4WD to match.

As long as that's kept in mind, there won’t be any un-met expectations.

On my brief drive, the 4WD handled the undulating track very well and visibility was excellent. Overhanging trees are less of a problem with the pop-top roof and there is also less height to watch for side scrapes when the truck leans to one side.

In this instance, the buyer supplied the cab chassis which cost $73,500 and the house part came in at $85,000.

VERDICT

If you're looking for a 4WD motorhome, then the Outback RVs Adventurer is certainly a good option.

It comes with just about everything you might need for outback travel, done in a bit of style.

Yes, it doesn’t have features like internal cab access but all the basics and a few luxuries are certainly there.

There’s no doubt the Isuzu NPS is a very capable vehicle and the Adventurer has been built to match.

OUTBACK RVS ADVENTURER 4X4       

Base vehicle: Isuzu NPS 300 with tilt cab   
Engine: 5.2 litre turbodiesel   
Power/torque: 114W at 2600rpm/ 419N at 1600-2600rpm     
Gearbox: five-speed manual
Brakes: drum
Tare: 1900kg              
GVM: 6000kg
Licence: Light Rigid Truck
External length: 6.38m (20ft 11in)
External width: 2.2m (7ft 3in)     
Internal height: 2.0m (6ft 7in)  
External travel height: 2.72m (8ft 11in)   
Cooktop: Cramer Three-burner       
Fridge: Vitrifrigo 130 litre
Microwave: no        
Gas: 2 x 4.5kg      
Lighting: 12V LED
Batteries: three 120aH
Solar panels: two 120W
Toilet: Dometic china, cassette
Shower: Vari height flex hose        
Hot water: Truma 14 litre
Freshwater: 280 litre
Greywater: provision available      
Price: $158,500 (on-road, Qld) 
Supplied by:  Outback RVs, Noosaville, Qld