Rhinomax Renegade 2019 Review

When it went on sale in 2016, we described Rhinomax’s Scorpion as a ‘game changer’.

With a body length of just 3100mm and a width of 1970mm, it weighed not much more than a Tvan, but offered almost as much bushability, a quicker set-up and more caravan-like comforts once you arrived.

Rhinomax dubbed it a ‘micro hybrid' and it soon attracted a number of imitators. Now they’ll need to go back to the drawing board,  as its new big brother – the 2600mm longer Renegade – is likely to become Rhinohax’s best-selling Hybrid when production catches up with pre-launch demand later this year.

More than a Scorpion on steroids

Cynically, you could call the Renegade a Scorpion on steroids, but it’s much more than that.

By offering distinctly more living room, additional rear bench-space to accommodate a slim stainless steel sink and a gas or induction cooktop, plus enough exterior locker space to accommodate the larger external steel slide-out kitchen fitted to Rhinomax’s 15ft hybrid models, the Renegade appeals to a much broader buyer group.

Rather than simply tempting camper trailer buyers with more comfort, as the Scorpion does, the Renegade offers enough features for small caravan and larger hybrid owners to downsize and take advantage of a smaller footprint, easier to tow and more mobile off-roader.

With a body length of 3650mm (12ft) and an overall length of 5700mm, the Renegade is the size of a largish hard floor camper trailer and its Tare weight – although around 200kg more than the 10ft Scorpion’s –  is still in that ballpark.

This means it can be towed off-road with relative ease by most medium size 4WD SUVs, with its roof-closed travelling height at 2280mm the only comparative limiting factor.

Clever packaging

Compared with the Scorpion, the Renegade has a more compact tool box fronted by twin jerry can holders on its A-frame to allow greater articulation on tight tracks. Topped by a wood box, the module is still large enough to house a large (optional) EvaKool cabinet fridge on the other and the unladen ball right of 115kg can handle that with ease.

The careful location of weighty items like the 110 litre water tank (an extra 85 litre tank is optional) around the axle line ensures that the Renegade tows well, whether laden or empty. This has been further aided in the Renegade by Rhinomax’s  decision to locate the spare 17inch alloy wheel and tyre in between the chassis rails, a la Track Trailer Topaz, rather than have it swing away at the rear to access the shower pod.

The Renegade’s space management that allows it to deliver caravan-like comfort within the confines of a 12ft pop-top is its remarkable trick, one that it borrows from the Scorpion and builds upon.

Quite simply, it consists of a front-hinged pop-top and a front hinged north-south queen bed with innerspring mattress, that both rise at 45 degrees when you set up camp to release enough interior space to cook and dine inside if you wish.

With this arrangement, the bed can be left made up, so bedtime doesn’t mean arranging cushions and linen, as you need to do in some other small caravans and campers of its length.

In the Renegade, the extra body length has freed up even more space when the bed is raised, with room to seat four adults around the rectangular, swing-away table, and the flat space left under the raised bed is free to use as an additional servery.

Quick and easy set-up

The beauty of the Renegade – again like the Scorpion – is that set-up is ridiculously quick and easy.

Find some level ground, release the two over-centre roof clamps and push up. You can then choose to raise the bed on its gas struts, unzip the roof curtains for more ventilation, or eat inside or out depending on your mood, the time and the weather.

Choose the optional height-adjustable air suspension and even levelling becomes easier.

The other feature that the longer Renegade brings to the party is a deeper bench that extends across the rear of the hybrid's interior, above a nest of seven drawers with positive locking buttons.

Thanks to the extra body length, this bench is now large enough to accommodate a stainless steel sink with mixer tap on one side and either a permanent or portable gas or electric induction cooktop on the other.

While the Renegade is designed primarily for outdoors living, this gives users the real option of cooking and dining doors and/or even being decadent and watching TV in bad weather.

Finally, the clever carry-over feature from the Scorpion that allows the cassette toilet to be accessed from inside by removing one offside seat cushion, means you don’t need to duck outside when its pouring down, or leave the security of the hybrid in the middle of a dark night when free-camping.

Such a simple, yet effective solution has won the Scorpion many fans, including the increasing number of single women currently travelling around Australia.

Outside shower set-up

Showering, as with the Scorpion, still takes place outside in a drop-down screen that's housed in the top-hinged rear pod. You could choose to house the cassette toilet there when set up for more than overnight camping.

The shower tent drains through its floor, but if you want to avoid having to pack it up muddy, slip a couple of foam flooring grids under the base.

Now that we’re outside, the other big benefit of the Renegade’s extra length over the Scorpion is that its more capacious sided lockers allow Rhinomax’s largest stainless steel kitchen to be fitted.

With a sink and mixer tap, a three-burner gas cooktop, a large cutlery drawer and nearly a metre of prep benchspace, it’s one of the most practical slide-away kitchens in the bush, with a major advantage being that it's fully covered by the Renegade’s standard Thule wind-out awning when it’s deployed.

Even with the large kitchen fitted, there’s sufficient exterior storage space in the Renegade. Apart from the fridge and generator slide compartments in the front drawer-bar box, there’s a large storage locker on the right hand side of the body, just ahead of the compartment dedicated to the Renegade’s twin 120AH AGM batteries and their lithium compatible Enerdrive 40amp battery management system and DC-DC charger, plus a 1000W inverter.

If you option an electric induction cooktop, it will come with a 2000W inverter.

A pair of 160W roof-top mounted solar panels complete a comprehensive power package that should allow owners to spend plenty of time off the grid, especially if they option the additional 85 litres of fresh water storage.

Summing up

For a reasonable (for premium hybrid campers) $71,990, the 12ft Rhinomax Renegade has enough features to keep both downsizing caravanners and up-scaling camper trailer owners happy.

It’s close to a complete, compact package that should perfectly match the aspirations of many space and weight-conscious adventurous couples.

Rhinomax Renegade 12ft Hybrid

Travel length: 5700mm
Body length: 3650mm
External body width: 1970mm
Travel height: 2280mm
Tare weight: 1520kg
ATM: 2000kg (upgradable to 2500kg)
Ball weight: 115kg
Body: Insulated fibreglass composite body panels and pop-top
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised steel, 150mm x 50mm with DO-35 off-road coupling
Suspension: 2200kg-rated Cruisemaster XT independent trailing arms and coil springs with twin shockers per wheel
Brakes: 12-inch electric
Wheels: 17in alloy with 265/70R17 off-road tyres
Fresh water: 1 x 110L (second 85L tank optional)
Battery: 2 x 120Ah AGM; 1000W pure sine wave inverter. Enerdrive 40AH battery management system
Solar: 2 x 160W roof-mounted panels
Gas: 2 x 4.5kg
Hot water: Gas
Cooking: Exterior three gas burner slide-out kitchen with sink
Fridge:  Optional external EvaKool portable
Shower: External rear hot/cold shower
Toilet: Inside/outside accessible cassette
Lighting: LED throughout
Price: $71,990
Supplied by: Rhinomax Off Road Campers, Kunda Park, Qld