Chris Fincham•20 Nov 2017

REVIEW

Roadstar Sirius

All-composite, all-terrain 20ft van shines brightly in Roadstar range

Many RV manufacturers bang on about superior build quality and attention-to-detail, but Roadstar Caravans has put its money where its mouth is with its latest, specced-up Sirius model.

The sleek, striking and super shiny 20ft all-terrain caravan features the latest all-composite construction from the Epping, Victoria-based manufacturer, along with a few unique touches that have become synomous with Roadstar vans since HiTech Engineering took over the business eight years ago.

Like many Roadstar vans built since then, it uses a special, labour-intensive Novatio sealant on all its joins that adds to the build cost but comes with a 10 year warranty and promises to solve one of the biggest issues with Australian-built caravans: water ingress.

While Roadstar still offers the old-fashioned ‘stick and tin’ construction on its cheaper entry-level models, the composite construction puts it among the most cutting-edge of Melbourne manufacturers while providing a distinct point of difference to discerning buyers.

Inside, the Sirius also stands out with its apartment-style Hi-Macs polymer benchtops, car seat-like dinette headrests and minimalist cabinetry with integrated wiring, delivering an aesthetic unlike few locally-built vans.

Of course, all this comes at a premium, but what price for a van like the Sirius, which Roadstar boss Ken Nizam reckons he’d choose as his ‘for life’ caravan (if he wasn’t such a workaholic!)

Shining star

The Sirius is the culmination of many years of design and development, as well as trial and error, from the Roadstar team, and it shows.

The ultra-modern, Euro-style, rounded off exterior, with reassuringly thick edge moulds, is reminiscent of trend setters like Bailey and ZoneRV, which take a similar, painstaking approach to sandwich fibreglass panel construction.

“The 45mm-thick composite floor is bonded to the chassis with a particularly strong adhesive and high-tensile anchor points, while the roof is a one-piece composite fibreglass sandwich panel extending from the front of the van to the very rear of the chassis,” Nizam explains.

“The two side walls are one-piece panels too. The panels all lock together with aluminium extrusion and that same adhesive, virtually making the Sirius a one-piece composite fibreglass sandwich panel caravan.”

Smooth underbelly

The super-smooth and durable white fibreglass finish continues underneath, where Cruisemaster XT independent coil suspension, 12in brakes and very little else apart from gal sheeting covering the four water tanks, can be seen when down on your hands and knees.

Like its beefy off-road van rivals, Roadstar uses every spare inch of the galvanized extended A-frame, and then some.

The review model had a DO35 hitch and mesh stone shield, behind which sat a black checker plate box for the gas bottles, and two more boxes for the slide-out Waeco fridge (with 12V inlet close by to power it) and a petrol generator. Two jerry can holders completed the busy, albeit neatly arranged front end, which also features a high-mounted LED work light.

Not surprising with all that gear on the front, the Sirius has an unloaded ball weight of 260kg. It’s good to see Roadstar has allowed a decent 600kg payload though.

External extras

Externally, the Sirius also comes with three on-side awning lights, rock-solid entry door, twin pull-out entry step, user-friendly roll-out awning, drop-down picnic table and external speakers (to go with the internal ones) for the basic Fusion stereo.

There’s also an ‘entertainment’ hatch for hooking up the 21.5in TV, with a similar set-up inside within the kitchen area opposite the dinette, for watching movies or TV using the optional SatKing set-up.

A slide-out kitchen, with sink and hot/cold tap and tray for a Weber BabyQ (close to the gas bayonet), fills one half of the gal-lined, LED-lit tunnel boot, but there’s a vertical hatch along the rear onside, to make up for any loss of external storage space here.

A rear bar-mounted spare wheel, external shower, two rear worklights and reversing camera complete the ‘outdoor’ package.

Easy living

Australian caravan interiors tend to have that ‘seen one, seem them all’ feel these days, with most manufacturers adopting similar ‘grey nomad’ layouts, gloss cabinetry and natural colour tones for the decor.

But there are a few things that set the Sirius apart from its rivals, apart from its clean, minimalist design, and help justify its top-shelf price tag.

These include the aforementioned, beautifully finished, stain and impact-resistant, 25mm thick benchtops for the kitchen, bathroom as well as fixed dining table, but also the handle-less cabinets with their hidden catches, which Roadstar has been using for a while now and work OK but are an acquired taste.

Also worth noting is the special channels in the walls and behind the cabinetry for the electrical wiring, which adds to a neat and tidy presentation you don’t always find in locally, hand-built vans like this.

Befitting a premium model, the Sirius also gets stitched, monogrammed leather upholstery for the strictly two person cafe dinette, which has well padded seating that doubles as recliners with the pull-out foot rests in play.

Adding to the upmarket feel is the queen bed with coil spring mattress that extends out for longer-legged sleepers, while still allowing sufficient room to move around the bed.

Ticks the boxes

The Sirius also ticks the boxes for interior storage, USB/240V powerpoints and interior lighting (naturally from the big windows and skylights and artificially from the LED reading lamps and downlights).

There’s also soft-glow floor and ceiling LED strip lighting to get you in the mood, and a Sirocco fan and powerful roof-top air-conditioner to ensure you keep your cool…

Given its off-road, off-grid capability, the Sirius is equipped with serious water and power storage options including an Enerdrive lithium battery system, topped up with roof-top solar, that should keep the big Vitrifigo compressor fridge/freezer running for days.

You’ll need mains power to run the washing machine and microwave though, but there’s plenty of gas (18kg in total) to keep the cooktop, grille and oven firing on all cylinders. The good-sized kitchen has heaps of handy bench space, and a filtered water tap sits above the deep, attractive circular sink.

Almost obligatory in luxury caravans these days, the full-width rear ensuite entices with its apartment-style storage options and solid ceramic basin and toilet, not to mention roomy, well-equipped shower cubicle. A solid, lockable door slides across to deliver some privacy.

Verdict

While we didn’t give the Sirius much of a workout apart from dragging it over bumpy grass for the photo-shoot, and turning on a few lights, it’s clear this is something a little bit special in the burgeoning homegrown, luxury all-terrain caravan market.

It’s the little things combined with NIzam’s perfectionist approach that make it stand out from the pack, and appeal to caravan connoisseurs – with the added reassurance of an above-average three year warranty.

$125,500 puts the Sirius towards the upper-end of the Big Lap-and-beyond, touring van market, but you do get the feeling you’re paying for things you can’t always see but will be thankful for in years to come.

We liked:

>> Modern, composite construction

>> Quality interior fit-out

>> Perfect for free glamping

Not so much:

>> High price will put off many buyers

>> Heavy for a composite van

>> Sway control should be standard

Roadstar Caravans Sirius 20ft

Overall length: 8800mm

External body length: 6250mm
External body width: 2350mm
Travel height: 3100mm

Interior height: 1940mm
Nameplate Tare: 2670kg
Nameplate ATM: 3270kg
Ball weight (Tare): 260kg

Body: Sandwich one-piece fibreglass walls and roof, 45mm composite floor

Chassis: HiTech Engineering 150mm x 50mm hot dipped galvanised steel

Suspension: Cruisemaster XT tandem, independent coil, 3.7T

Brakes: 12-inch electric drum
Stability Control: Not fitted

Wheels: 16in Alloy with 265/75R16 Federal Couragia M/T tyres

Fresh water: 2 x 95L

Grey water: 1 x 95L

Hot water: Swift 28L gas/electric
Battery: 1 x 125Ah Enerdrive B-Tec lithium and charger

Solar: 2 x 150W roof-mounted
Air-conditioner: Air Command Ibis 3 reverse cycle
Gas: 2 x 9kg

TV: Teco 21.5in
Cooking: Swift 3+1 gas/electric cooktop, grill, oven and rangehood
Fridge: Vitrifrigo 230L 12/240V compressor

Microwave: dLuxx

Washing machine: Lemair 3.5kg top loader
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED

Options fitted: SatKing receiver and sat dish

Price: $125,500
Supplied by: Roadstar Caravans, Somerton, Victoria

Roadstar Sirius

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