Sunland Winton 2005 Review

By Malcolm Street

It fascinates us to ponder where some caravan manufacturers get the inspiration for their model or range names. For instance, one manufacturer names vans after his grandchildren; another used names to indicate the status of the van.

However, others are not so obvious: Qld-based Sunland has three ranges in its model lineup – the Griffin, the Longreach and the Winton. The last two are easy to understand because they are outback towns in Queensland, but we had to think twice about where the name Griffin came from – sure, it is one of the ‘burbs of Brisbane, but one look at the fanciful description of the van on the website suggests that staff at Sunland might be avid Harry Potter fans!

Sunland is a relative newcomer to the Australian caravan scene, but even a casual glance at its range reveals a wealth of experience.

Named after the famous Queensland train, Sunlander, the company produces a selection of caravans, each designed with a level of fitout to match a particular budget; starting with the Griffin then moving up the ranks to Longreach and finishing with the newest addition, and the subject of our review, the upmarket Winton.

When CW visited Sunland’s Brisbane dealer, Carmart Caravans, Michael Sexton introduced us to the Winton.

“As Sunland’s latest design, this van is aimed at the luxury end of the market,” he said. “It’s a multi-purpose caravan that is ready to take on Australia and any conditions the land can dish out. Inclusions are items like a full ensuite, battery pack, solar pack, washing machine, LCD TV, compressor fridge and polished timber floors.”

Sunland calls its Winton a ‘dual purpose’ van – that is, built tough enough to withstand both on-road and offroad touring.

Outside
With an ATM of 2660kg, the Winton is certainly in Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol towing territory, but then it does come with quite a few features. They start with the 3in x 2in (75mm x 50mm) hot dipped galvanised chassis and drawbar that runs right back to the suspension mounts.

Riding on trailing arm leaf spring suspension and fitted with shock absorbers, the Winton has 16in six-stud wheels that are fitted with 12in electric brakes. Axles are rated at 1800kg and for safety and convenience on either side there are Trail-A-Mate jacking points.

Stabiliser jacks on all corners are the quick-acting, drop-down variety. Fitted between the chassis rails are two 70 litre polyethylene water tanks. Built from food-grade polyethylene, the tanks are tough enough not to need any extra mechanical protection and they don’t need any strapping because the mounting points are already moulded in.

On the extra-long (6ft/1.8m) drawbar, there’s not much except two 4kg gas cylinders, jockey wheel and mains pressure tap, the latter two mounted inside the drawbar frame. Around at the rear is a fully galvanised loop style bumper bar complete with mounted spare wheel.

The Winton is quite well equipped externally. Along the nearside there are the obvious features like the Camec triple-lock door, electric step, A & E awning and external powerpoint. However, there is also a 12V socket plus TV antenna connection for the Winegard antenna and not one but four external lights – two under the awning, one above the door and a grab handle light.

Along the offside is yet another light (remember to pay the power bill!) plus the all-important Thetford cassette door. Windows are the tinted Galaxy polycarbonate variety, all hoppers, except for the sliding window beside the door.

Completing the Winton’s external picture is the gal sheet-lined boot, with yet another light (always useful here) and two deep-cycle batteries plus battery charger.

Inside
The full rear bathroom gives an open plan feel to the rest of the van. A front bedroom, offside kitchen, nearside dinette all sound like a fairly conventional setup.

However, there are a couple of surprise extras and some classy touches like the leather seats, glass fronted overhead lockers and rounded bed base that add that extra bit of elegance to the interior design.

Included in the general fitout are items like slimline venetian blinds and extensive use of Tasmanian oak timberwork – it’s undoubtedly a question of taste, but to CW’s eyes, the windows sans curtains looked a little bare.

Starting at the front, the Winton bedroom area looks to be fairly standard: north-south innerspring mattress bed, with bedside cabinets on either side and overhead lockers above.

One departure from the norm includes a head board (for those who like to read at night) and not one but two shelves behind the bed. Of interest are the mirrored wardrobe doors which are hinged on the inside, thus meaning you can open the door and use the mirror while sitting on the bed.

When the metal frame of the bed is lifted, it gives access to the storage area underneath, which is a mixture of open space and drawers. Extra storage room is found at the end of the bed, with diagonal cupboards in both corners at the foot.

Mid-van, the kitchen area is quite substantial. In addition to the usual appliances – Caprice stove, Waeco Coolmatic fridge, stainless steel sink and microwave oven – there also happens to be a washing machine, an LG Fuzzy Logic 4.5kg washing machine to be precise. No more trips to the laundry!

Although the washing machine does result in a chunky piece of benchtop space, it tends to take away from the cupboard and drawer space somewhat.

However, this is supplemented by three large overhead lockers, some of which have extra shelving. Instead of the usual top-hinged locker doors (perhaps because these are all frosted glass), they are hinged on the side.

Additional kitchen storage is also provided by a slide-out pantry, which fits into the ‘breakfast bar’ between the dinette and bedroom.

Sprung-base leather seats add style to the dinette, and are perhaps a reminder of just how far caravan décor has come in the last few years.

Actually, it is not quite a ‘true’ dinette, because the corner seat isn’t there; instead there’s a couple of diagonal shelves plus benchtop area. It’s quite a neat little idea, mainly because the corner seat is never really used as a seat, anyway.

The result is somewhere to place books and drink glasses, should the table be unavailable – a likely occurrence because it’s designed to be used outside as well as in.

Across the rear of the Winton is a very spacious bathroom, with small windows in both side walls and a vanity unit across the rear wall. Complete with cabinet space underneath and a large mirror above, it’s quite a pleasant setup.

In the nearside corner is a fully moulded fibreglass shower and in the opposite corner is the traditional Thetford cassette toilet. Shelving alongside provides storage for essential items like toilet paper.

Utilities
There’s certainly 240V power available, but much of the Winton power system runs off 12V, which is supplied by two deep-cycle batteries charged by either a 240/12V battery charger or solar panels on the roof.

Halogen downlights or reading lights supply most of the lighting inside, except for the fluorescent fitting above the kitchen sink. The 12V control panel is located above the kitchen bench.

Entertainment is provided by AM/FM radio/CD/DVD player mounted above the kitchen. There’s also a flat screen TV mounted on a swivel at the end of the kitchen, in such a way that it can be seen from both the bed and dinette.

Most will be happy with the kitchen area and there’s no shortage of space in
the bathroom.

Luxury, together with on/offroad capability, comes at a bit of a price – not only a financial one – because this is quite a heavy van and must be paired with an adequate tow vehicle.
 
Just like the Sunlander, which wends its way up and down the Qld coast between Brisbane and Cairns, the Sunland Winton can follow suit, or travel anywhere else in Australia for that matter. It will be oozing sophistication all the way, of course, toting the ‘essentials’ that make all the difference to caravan touring in style.

We liked:
• General layout – rear bathroom gave an ‘open plan’ layout feel
• Quantity of external lighting – no groping around in the dark, that’s for sure!
• Kitchen setup – all the necessary features, including storage and bench space
• Dinette – leather seating and corner shelving made this a stand-out

We would have liked:
• No washing machine – a weighty, non-everyday use item
• Curtains – windows looked a little bare
• The AM/FM radio/CD/DVD player better positioned – above the fumes and heat from the stove is not the ideal location