Pioneers by Trakmaster break cover

Five months after adding Pioneer Campers to its expanded RV portfolio, Ararat’s Gason Industries displayed the first ‘Pioneer by Trakmaster' hard roof campers at Melbourne Leisurefest.

Visually distinguished from their predecessors, built by prior owners Actro-Pickering in Dandenong by their white clamshell rear ‘pod’, the latest Pioneers feature a new Gason-manufactured chassis and sheet metal, while their trailing arm independent  coil-spring suspension is a single shock absorber per wheel ‘Trak2’ version of the dual shock ‘Trak1’ system now built in-house for most Trakmaster caravans.

The other change in the new Pioneers is their new poly-formed fresh water tanks; while the same 125-litre size, they're lighter and reportedly easier to manufacture than their stainless steel predecessors.

With pricing virtually unchanged at $62,595 for the entry-level Wilpena and $69,795 for the up-specced Mitchell that's expected to account for the lion’s share of hardroof sales, the Pioneers form an important stepping stone into Trakmaster ownership.

Although not displayed at Leisurefest – because only one has so far been built by Trakmaster for a customer – the bottom rung under Gason ownership is the folding hardfloor Onyx and Longreach camper trailers, which retails from $46,595.

With prices for its most popular full-height caravans now starting at nearly $100,000, Trakmaster has also reached down to plug the gap between the Mitchell and its fixed design $98,000 Flinders series caravans with the re-launch of the 13ft 6in x 7ft Explorer pop-top model.

Originally introduced in early 2017, but garnering only modest interest then, the rebooted $91,170 Explorer has now snapped back into focus for many Outback travellers due to its in-vogue composite wall construction, competitive 1800kg tare weight, outside kitchen and wide range of options that can include air suspension, lithium battery power and air conditioning.

Meanwhile, the long-standing Trakmaster Gibson that sits below the Explorer, remains available as an even-smaller 13ft 6in x 6ft 6in fixed-size traditional ‘stick and tin’ pop-top caravan, from $77,750.