Pioneer Verve 2022 Review

Is there room in the increasingly crowded Australian hybrid caravan market for a new player?

Melbourne’s Track Trailer believe so and have pitched the new Pioneer Verve into this hotbed market with its in-house innovation, quality construction and award-winning know-how from building Australia’s top hardshell camper trailer – the Tvan – as its principal points of difference.

However the new full-height Verve, which enters the market priced from $128,500 as the culmination of the Pioneer Campers’ journey over the last 25 years, has few real technical highlights.

Its overall tip-to-tail external length is 6091mm (20ft), or 4280 mm (14ft) internally; it is a bush-track friendly 2077mm wide including its awning and 2855mm high; it has coil spring Trakmaster caravan-developed coil suspension, 12-inch Cruisemaster drum brakes and a manual wind-out awning.

The toilet is a regular cassette type, not composting, and there is very good external storage.

Standard power comes from two 100AH Revolution lithium batteries fed by two 600 Watt rooftop solar panels and all-up weight starts at a very respectable 1871kg Tare with an ATM of 2600kg, leaving a decent payload of 729kg.

But it is beautifully built and should get you to and from wherever you want to go for many years to come. Track thinks it’s just what many Australians coming out of COVID lockdown want. They could be right...

Superior construction

Using a proven manufacturing technique developed for the Track Tvan and now fully utilised across the entire Track range including the T4, all panels are finished in a highly durable gloss powder-coat before being riveted together externally using skeletal supports.

Reinforcements are incorporated internally to allow for easy fitment of cabinetry and to further improve strength, with high density closed cell foam used for insulation.

All paneling employs return folds protecting all external edges and preventing water and dust ingress; this process also lends itself well to the ‘full height’ design of the Verve, as the roof can easily support the external accessories.

Given that many Pioneer owners may want to criss-cross Australia through its climatic extremes, the Verve takes dust-sealing seriously.

It starts in the tapered front clamshell boot – an idea borrowed from the Pioneer’s big brother, the Track T4 – with an optional positive pressure blower on the left hand side of the A-frame box and continues with pressure locks on all outside body hatches and the Verve’s optional, custom-made rear entry door.

The other side of the A-frame box houses two 45kg gas bottles, while the clamshell boot itself has an ARB adjustable aluminium tie-down rack. A generator can be housed in the separate large 250-litre capacity slide-out drawer in the front of this box, while twin 20-litre cradles are mounted on the rear bumper.

More external storage

As well as housing the slide-out fridge and kitchen, the Pioneer Verve’s other slide-out hatches boast a total of 1770 litres of storage space, meaning you can carry a large amount of stuff, payload permitting.

To do this, you need to subtract the full weight of the underfloor front 150 litre and centre 100-litre fresh water tanks, along with the extra weight of any options you have chosen and the extra gear you carry, but a travelling couple is unlikely to break the weight bank.

Starting at a trim 1871kg and with a drawbar weight of 196kg on its standard DO-35 pin coupling, it’s already weight-right for a true off-road caravan as our taste-test on the challenging roads in South Australia’s picturesque Bendleby Ranges showed.

It’s here that Track’s suspension experience shone, as the Verve’s trailing arm coil spring and twin telescopic shocker independent single axle set-up borrows the best from the company’s extensive Tvan and the T4 ranges and blends it with the proven Trak-2 suspension it inherited when it purchased Trakmaster in early 2020.

On top of this, Track has gone to extra trouble ensuring that each Pioneer is fitted with a  ‘custom designed’ chassis and suspension to ensure even weight distribution to achieve good towing stability.

The suspension also takes into account the overall dimensions of the body, including its height, and is tuned to reduce sway during long corners or from wind buffeting such as by a passing truck.

By managing these factors at the design stage, taking into account the placement and weight of optional features, the aim has been to achieve uniform, safe handling on a range of surfaces, so a sudden transition from sealed to unsealed surfaces at speed, as can happen regularly in Outback travel, doesn't catch you out.

This stability is helped by the Verve’s one metre long drawbar, which tames the liveliness of its single-axle set-up, along with the low placement of heavy items, like water and waste water tanks and batteries, at chassis level.

Battery and solar power

Talking of batteries, thus is one area where the Pioneer Verve moves up a notch in the technical hierarchy, with a pair of ultra-light Australian-made Revolution LiFePO4 batteries, both connected to a Revolution Eco (max 1000W) inverter.

A maximum of four Revolution 100AH batteries can be optioned and they can be changed and upgraded, without the need to change any charging components.

Track says the benefit of standardising on the Revolution brand is that (like Track) they are an Australian family company that has decades of hands-on local experience. Unusually, they have an inbuilt Battery Management System (BMS) and have the re-assurance of a three-year warranty.

Another proven Australian product in the Pioneer’s palette is its Redarc Manager 30 Multi Stage AC-DC battery charger and DC-DC charger, that are combined with a MPPT solar regulator to feed input from the two 160W standard rooftop panels, a dual battery isolator and a  load disconnect controller.

A Redarc RedVision display with Bluetooth control to monitor power consumption can be controlled via the Verve’s own screen or through a Smartphone App.

Outdoor living focus

As befitting both Track’s and Pioneer’s camper-trailer origins, the Pioneer Verve is designed with a specific focus on outdoor living. Single-piece doors allow easy access to external storage on both sides of the Verve’s lower body, allowing direct access to every single area.

Set-up is simple. Lift the Verve off its DO-35 hitch with the standard height-adjustable ARK jockey wheel, lower the van and level it via the included chassis-mounted spirit-level and then slot in the two rear legs to stabilise it.

The door side is dominated by a large 115-litre external pantry that has deep shelves to accommodate a variety of food packaging, with compression locks and seals to keep dust out.

To its left is the slide-out kitchen, with the powder-coated stainless steel Premium optional version fitted to our test Verve, which has twice the bench space of its smaller Standard kitchen counterpart.

With a Thetford three-burner glass-topped stainless steel cooktop and matching stainless-steel sink with a flick mixer tap, draining board and cutlery drawer located below, the kitchen has convenient single handed operation.

Another really handy feature is its integrated windshields that are raised manually, while a large pull-out 95 litre dual zone Evakool cabinet fridge drawer emerges from the Verve’s body on the kitchen’s left.

Compact interior

You enter via the rear door to find the separate internal kitchen on your right and the combined shower and toilet ensuite straight ahead.

If you specify the north-south queen bed option over the standard east-west double configuration, there’s not much to your left except a nest of two drawers on the offside wall, with a fabric-covered three or four-seater lounge on the left and a two-seater on the right either side of a large dining table that folds flat across the bed for travelling.

There is handy storage for things like suitcases under the seats and the foot of the bed.

The rear wall inside kitchen module has a total of five pull-out drawers, two-burner cooktop above a small built-in upright fridge. The left side of the kitchen benchtop houses a small sink above the optional microwave, with a flick mixer tap accessing the van’s gas/electric hot water system, while a separate hand-pump dispensers filtered drinking water.

A novel feature of all the Verve’s drawers is their one lever central locking that stops them from accidental opening during travel.

The cabinets that line the upper walls feature long top-hinged powder-coated doors that seal securely for travel with magnetic catches. An open shelf below these lockers is the perfect place for maps and other odds and ends, or for items that can be recharged while you're travelling. Elastic-fronted open shelves on either side of the bed are ideal for storing your clothes at night.

Another really good idea is the easily accessible ‘power tower’ on the left hand side of the door entry that houses all the individual light switches and Redvision display, the control for the hot water system, plus a cigarette lighter socket, two 240 volt plugs and two USB outlets – and, if you option it, the diesel space heater.

No scrambling about on your knees!

Compared to pop-top caravans, this full height design delivers minimal set-up time and easy access for roadside stops. Other benefits include larger interior overhead lockers, lighter construction weight with fewer components and less opportunity for water or dust ingress.

Lastly, the roof is vastly better insulated than a ‘pop-top’. The downside: It may not fit into your garage.

Heat in tropical areas is dealt with by an optional rooftop reverse cycle air conditioner, behind the standard roof hatch, aided by opposing windows and 12v Sirocco fans at the bedhead.

The flat-screen TV sits on the bedhead wall, or it can be re-positioned on the ensuite wall to watch it in bed.

The north-south bed layout also incorporates storage areas on each side where things like your phone, water bottles, and books can rest at night.

Clever bathroom

The corner bathroom has other clever design elements, including a swivelling toilet, a row of towel hooks and a shelf to hold soap and shampoo dispensers. 

But Track’s designers seem to have run out of ideas when it comes to a mirror, so you’ll recognise Verve owners by their beards! What’s wrong with one on the inside of the ensuite door?

My only other request would be a small grab handle near the entry door to make getting in and out easier.

So there we have the new Pioneer Verve. Priced within the heart of the hybrid compact caravan pack, it lacks some of the tech bells and whistles of its rivals, but makes up for this with many clever and thoughtful features and a high level of construction quality.

Summing up

The Pioneer Verve is a thoughtful and well-made off-road caravan from one of Australia’s most respected makers that has integrated Pioneer’s history into its new full-height hybrid. The Verve’s lack of technical complexity should make it suitable for long-term serious remote area use.

How much is the Pioneer Verve full-height off-road hybrid caravan?

Price: From $128,500
Travel length: 6996mm  
External body length: 6091mm
External body width: 2035mm                                                               
Travel height: 2975mm (with air conditioning)             
Tare: 1871kg (base spec)
ATM: 2600kg
Ball weight (Tare): 196kg
Body: Powdercoated, in-house sheet metal with integrated insulation
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised Australian steel
Suspension: Trakmaster ‘Trak-Two’ independent trailing arm coil suspension with twin shocks and Dexter sway control.
Brakes: Cruisemaster 12-inch electric drums
Wheels: 16 x 8in-inch alloys
Water: 1 x 150L and 1 x 100L fresh water tanks, plus 1 x 50L grey water tank
Battery: 2 x 100AH Revolution Lithium batteries with 1000W inverter
Solar: 2 x 160W roof-mounted panels
Gas: 2 x 4kg bottles
Cooking: 3-burner internal and external cooktops
Fridge: 2 x compressor fridge/freezers
Bathroom: Combined shower and cassette toilet
Lighting: LED                                                                                                             
Supplied by: Outback HQ, Bayswater North, Victoria
More info: Pioneer Campers