Retreat Whitsunday FRV 2021 Review

Much is now expected of the 15 year-old family-owned and operated company that last year brought us Australia’s first commercially available fully-electric caravan, the Retreat ERV Hyper. But apart from its modern family styling and construction, the 2021 Retreat Whitsunday with its dealer-fitted FRV pack is a relatively conventional, albeit competent touring caravan.

Nothing wrong with that when it comes to long-term family caravanning value, which is the forte of the 19ft 4in semi off-road 194B family bunk model reviewed here. Simplicity in technology, off-the-beaten-track, can be a virtue.

Jam-packed for dirty adventures

The Retreat Whitsunday is already a well-featured on-road tourer, before the dealer-fitted FRV Pack is fitted.

Standard equipment includes AL-KO 'rock & roll' suspension, post-form bench-tops, piano hinged doors, self-closing drawers, twin towel rails, Ranger roof hatch and a tub lined tunnel boot, not to mention a reverse-cycle air conditioner, gas bayonet, water filter, microwave, mini-grill and TV provisions like a 24 inch TV arm, external TV point and antenna.

However if you option the $8500 FRV pack you add a four-inch raiser, a 450mm longer A-frame and a DO-35 off-road coupling to the 150mm diameter Supagal steel chassis, plus the Alpha Xtreme Duty 3.7 tonne coil suspension underneath.

The FRV pack also includes an extra 190W solar panel on the roof, a second 120AH AGM battery, a grey water tank, higher checkerplate side protection, AL-KO Electronic Stability Control, a reversing camera and a larger 190-litre compressor fridge, which turns the Whitsunday into a true semi-off road caravan with more free-camping and National Park possibilities.

All new Retreat Caravans are now built with the 'rot-free' RXP composite wall construction introduced on the ERV, which includes a polyurethane cross member frame with closed-cell core XPS foam insulation. Combined with a one-piece roof, they together improve the cabin’s thermal insulating properties, meaning it stays cooler in summer and warmer in winter, while minimizing usage of air conditioning and heating.

The FRV pack is available on Whitsunday models in 18ft, 19ft, 20ft, 21ft and 22ft body lengths, with two, three, four and five-berth configurations, but I reckon our 19ft 4in four-berth review van hits the sweet spot for an adventurous family.

While it's relatively short for a family bunk van, it's not short of features, is relatively affordable and its length combined with the FRV pack gives many more options for interesting remote-area travel.

Perfect tow vehicle match

Hitched up behind a latest model Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain crew cab ute the Retreat Whitsunday bunk van felt right at home for a family adventure before the kids want to go their own way.

Plenty of room for them in the back seat, plus room for their beach toys and sporting gear to be stored safely in the Isuzu’s 975 litre capacity tub, which is protected from light fingers by its lockable metal roller blind.

With its uprated 140kW/450Nm, 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel teamed to a new six-speed auto, the D-Max was rarely caught short hauling or reversing the 2620kg Tare weight Whitsunday, although it’s advisable to select 4WD on the simple dashboard control to ensure traction on slippery, grassy, or sandy surfaces. 

If it’s really slippery, or hilly, the latest D-Max also has a diff lock that can be engaged at speeds up to 8km/h when you're in four-wheel drive low-range and it will disengage conveniently when you hit 30km/h or more, so you’d be unlucky to run out of traction when hauling the Whitsunday off-road.

The Isuzu’s turning circle of 12.5 metres isn’t a class leader, but it's amongst the best for a 3.5 tonne capable tow vehicle and the rig can be jack-knifed safely if need be to get out of trouble on a narrow track.

Add its 2021 drive-away RRP of $59,990 to the Retreat Whitsunday 194B FRV’s $83,147 and the total new rig cost is a relatively affordable $143,137 in these cheap finance times.

Tough underbody

But is the Retreat Whitsunday FRV tough enough to follow the D-Max into the rough stuff? A look underneath and you’d think so.

The obvious feature here is the Whitsunday’s distinctive ‘trellis’ section ARV chassis, which saves weight by replacing the solid steel centre section of the main 150mm members with a bridge-like steel latticework to achieve similar strength and ground clearance, with a weight saving.

The Whitsunday’s 265/75-16 off-road tyres on alloy wheels enhance ground clearance and being a popular size, are reassuringly available around Australia for adventurous travelling families.

Twin battery boxes are mounted high on solid sections of the chassis ahead of the tandem axle set, where they should be out of harm’s way. Above them, the FRV model’s checkerplate external protection 800mm up the bodywork to guard against scratches from trackside shrubbery.

Twin front lockers – the front one right through the body and unobstructed– are both sheet-lined and should accommodate all the things you will need outside, like hoses, electrical cords, ground-matting, folding tables and chairs and maybe also a Weber bbq.

A hidden rear body storage locker behind the Retreat’s single spare wheel is designed officially to give access to the rear of the van’s front-loading washing machine, but it’s also handy to store other small items when you’re sightseeing or out for a walk.

If you don’t have the load-bed capacity of the D-Max, an A-frame mounted checkerplate tool box would be handy, but in any case, some sort of truck mesh stone shielding would at least prevent the otherwise unprotected twin 9kg gas bottles from being shot-peened.

As it is, there’s shielding for the A-frame-mounted cold water tap, but despite some convoluted protective wrapping, the Retreat’s plastic waste water pipes further rear are still a bit vulnerable.

Family-friendly interior

Living with the Retreat Whitsunday 194B FRV on long trips should be largely drama-free, with enough room for a family of four to move around without tripping over each other, thanks largely to its front, east-west queen bed and bench-lounge layout.

The finish is classy, with its rolled post-form benchtops and all all of the things a travelling family might need, like a microwave, mini grill, air conditioner, roof hatch, internal and external TV points, antenna and a 24-inch TV arm.

Piano hinges on the main cupboard doors are a nice touch in a van that will probably travel down some rough roads.

Negatives? Well, kitchen bench space is pretty skimpy for a family of four unless you commandeer the rectangular dining table that fronts the van’s bench lounge seat. But as this lounge only sits three comfortably you’ll need to snuggle up to seat a family of four, or else the fourth person needs to perch on the bed at family meal times.

When it comes to bedtime, the kids should be happy, as each of the double-stacked twin bunks has its own opening window with flyscreens and block-out blinds, individual reading lights and USB ports to charge iPads and phones.

A 3.5kg family-size front-loading washing machine sits in between the bunks and the bathroom is ideally placed to catch dirty clothes, while the twin drawers and six clothes-shelves in the twin-door cupboard above are ample for the bunks’ likely occupants.

But can we please have a solid sliding door to shield this noisy area off from the living area of the caravan?

Summing up

Having sold more than 5000 caravans in 15 years, Melbourne-based Retreat is an experienced Australian manufacturer that clearly understands its customers.

So it’s not surprising that the Retreat Whitsunday is a well thought-out family caravan, and the fact that they have made a family layout work so well in a relatively compact 19ft 4in tandem-axle van is impressive.

The addition of the dealer-fitted FRV ‘all-road’ pack adds further versatility for adventurous families.

How much does the 2021 Retreat Whitsunday 194B with FRV Pack cost?

Price: $83,147
External body length: 6200mm                                                External body width:2500mm
Travel height: 2980mm                                                      
Interior height:1970mm
Nameplate Tare: 2300kg
Nameplate ATM: 3200kg
Payload: 900kg
Ball weight (Tare): 175kg
Body: RXP sandwich panel wall and roof construction with lifetime anti-rot warranty
Chassis: 150mm x 50mm galvanised steel
Suspension: Alpha Xtreme Duty 3.7T independent trailing arm
Brakes: Dexter 10-inch drums
Wheels: Alloy wheels with 255/15 tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95L
Battery: 1 x 120Ah AGM with BMPro management system
Solar: 190W roof-mounted
Air-conditioner: Truma Aventa reverse cycle, roof-mounted
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Cooking: Swift 3+1 gas/electric, cooktop and grill
Fridge: Waeco 190L three-way gas/electric
Microwave: NCE
Toilet: Dometic cassette                                                         Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED
Supplied by: Freestyle RVs, Somerton, Victoria
More info: Retreat Caravans