Rick Huckstepp•5 Sept 2017

REVIEW

Sunliner Habitat HA3

Ford Ranger-based motorhome gets you well off the beaten track

When it comes to all-terrain motorhomes, achieving the successful mix of off-road vehicle and add-on home for optimum handling results, is something easier said than done…

Melbourne’s Sunliner have used a number of vehicles under their ‘homes’ over the years and have selected the Ford Ranger 4x4 cab chassis XL to carry their recently released HA3 Habitat.

And after five years of offering a Ford ute-based off-road camper, it’s a recipe that seems to work…

PLENTY OF GRUNT

This vehicle is powered by Ford’s five-cylinder 3.2-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 470Nm of torque through a six-speed auto transmission. It’s a proven and polished set-up and one that’s a good match for the 3500kg upgraded GVM of the Habitat HA3.

But while the factory powertrain is up to the job, that’s not the case with the

Ranger’s standard suspension. If left untouched, the extra weight and higher centre of gravity from the motorhome would result in sagging springs, excessive body roll and less than ideal weight distribution creating steering anomalies.

Fortunately, peering under the rear of this motorhome reveals a set of sturdy rear leaf springs that wouldn’t look out of place on a light truck.

The rear underside of the chassis is swept up to give plenty of clearance when traversing creeks and gullies and as a nice addition, the rear mud flaps are chained back to prevent them being consumed by the tyres when reversing in the rough.

A box style rear bumper supports two water jerry cans and there’s an end cap for storing spare poles or fishing rods along its length. The spare wheel is mounted to the rear wall.

The usual ABS, traction and stability control features, dual range 4WD system and genuine off-road wheels square off a vehicle that’s as ready for the bush as it is negotiating busy city roads, straight from the Sunliner dealer.

Cab wise, the Ranger comes with running steps, a reversing camera, front camera (dash cam style), LED light bar on the nudge bar and a GME UHF radio largely secreted by the well-appointed dash panel.

TOUGH BODY

The motorhome body is mounted on a steel sub chassis, with an insulated one-piece floor that’s fully sealed on the underside.

Sunliner’s ‘ThermoTough’ 12mm seamless cross ply/Duplo foam core walls are rebated and interlocked for strength and support, which allows the motor home to be built without a rigid frame.

Apparently the walls are strong enough to be screwed into at any point without having to look for studs or the like. The roof is a fully insulated bonded core of reinforced timber combined with compressed Duplo foam.

The 150 litre water tank is filled from a lockable port on the outside, close to a hot and cold shower service and a storage locker (another locker holds the Thetford toilet cartridge). There’s also a 30 litre grey water tank, for free camping and national parks.

Hot water is supplied from the diesel heating system which also runs the ceramic cooktop in the kitchen and the central heating.

Remote 240V power comes via a 2000W inverter running off a 150Ah battery managed by Redarc’s 30Amp system, although you’ll still need a generator or mains power to run the air conditioner.

A 150W solar panel and regulator are also wired into the system.

Lighting is LED throughout, with 270 degrees of external lighting for security purposes.

COMFY LIVING QUARTERS

The interior furniture is nicely finished in veneered marine ply and along with the diesel cook top, the kitchen features a sink with flush mounted lid to expand the food preparation options when closed up.

There’s further bench space behind and on top of the fridge cabinet, next to the pantry, with a powerpoint for plugging in your electric jug; away from the wet sink area.

Other kitchen appliances include a 90 litre single door fridge/freezer, microwave, rangehood and purified water tap. A cabinet below the cook top with a pan drawer underneath and cutlery drawer to the upper right, and a brushed aluminium splashback finishes the kitchen off nicely.

The rear of the home features a club lounge with collapsible dining table that converts to an extra bed with use of an infill.

The wall above the lounge has plenty of storage cupboards with more underneath the cushions in the base box. Windows on all three sides of the lounge area will be welcome in a summer breeze.

Opening the bathroom door reveals a shower curtain entrance and hand rose on the back wall. There’s also a very small vanity and a toilet, with just enough room to go about ablutions without being too cramped.

You need to climb up a small step ladder to get to the main bed, which consists of a slab of 15cm thick foam in an east west configuration. The ceiling and front wall of this cab-over section is soft lined in case you bang your head!

With the bed ladder removed, an average-sized adult could squeeze through the aperture into the vehicle cab – another safety feature, or perhaps for when feeling a bit nervous about going outside after a screening of Wolf Creek on the supplied 22in LCD TV/DVD.

The TV fits on a swinging wall bracket (close to 12V, USB, 240V and TV signal points) and further entertainment is available from a Bluetooth stereo system with both internal and external speakers.

VERDICT

Sunliner’s Habitat HA3 not only looks the part but is one of the better appointed 4WD motorhomes we’ve seen.

Ford and Sunliner have met in the middle with a rig that’s well balanced and nicely finished. It should handle many Outback conditions and with no major upgrades required before the rubber hits the rubble…

SUNLINER HABITAT HA3

Base vehicle: Ford Ranger 4x4 single cab XL Hi-Rider cab-chassis

Overall length: 5800mm

Internal body length: 4300 mm

External body width: 2300mm

Internal height: 1950mm

Tare: 3060 kg

GVM: 3500kg

Engine: 147kw/470Nm 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Wheels: SUV alloy with 255/70R16 all-terrain tyres

Brakes: ABS

Stability control: Yes

Cooking: Webasto diesel two-element cooktop

Microwave: Sphere 900W

Fridge/freezer: Thetford T1000 series 90L compressor Fridge / freezer.

Toilet: Thetford 20l cartridge type.

Shower: Internal and external, hot/cold

Air-con: Dometic Flowjet 2200

Air/water heating: Webasto diesel system

Gas: No

Lighting: LED

Inverter: 2000W pure sine wave

Batteries: 1 x 150Ah with Redarc battery management system

Solar: 1 x 150W panel and regulator

Price: $133,990 plus on road costs

Supplied by: Sunshine State RV

More info: Sunliner RV

Sunliner Habitat HA3

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