Trakmaster Kimberley Platinum

Victoria’s Trakmaster caravans celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, but it hasn’t remained a leading custom off-road builder for that long by making change for change’s sake.

In many ways, the company reflects its nearly 1000 owners, who eschew untested innovation for proven solutions.

So you’re unlikely to find a new construction technique or cutting-edge power management system on a Trakmaster until it’s proven its worth many kilometres from the nearest 240 volt power source.

In this respect, being fitted as standard or optional equipment to a Trakmaster caravan in itself is a valued product endorsement, not unlike Royal approval.

So it came as a bit of a shock to see a relatively conventional-looking Trakmaster Kimberley Platinum Series on display at Melbourne’s Leisurefest last October featuring gloss acrylic cabinetry instead of the traditional timber tones preferred by customers.

Moreover, it turns out that the most popular Trakmaster model currently being built is the new, severe rear-cutaway, composite-walled Pilbara model, for which the favourite colour choice features the adventurous red flame decals first seen on the prototype more than 12 months ago.

What’s happening here?

Well it seems that under new Operations Manager Richard Metcalfe, Trakmaster is moving (albeit slowly and still carefully) with the times.

But loyal followers of the brand, many of whom are enjoying their second, third and even fourth Trakmaster, need not fear: traditional ‘Trakkys’ are still available in the expanded model range.

The Leisurefest Kimberley Platinum ‘show van’, reviewed here, represents what many will see the best of both worlds, past and future.

Like the previous Kimberley Platinum model introduced in 2013, it packages the most popular Trakmaster features in a single premium-spec model. So it has tough, stucco-finished silver aluminium cladding over sturdy meranti timber wall-framing – a construction stalwart of Trakmasters since the first example was built in August 1995 by Outback tour specialist Russell Seebach and his son-law, qualified carpenter/builder turned cabinet maker Craig Miles.

Some other specialty off-road caravan builders, notably Queensland’s Bushtracker, have labelled timber framing ‘old fashioned’, preferring a very stiff aluminium structure, but Trakmaster has long stuck to the theory that timber framing, while strong, is a natural material that adapts better to climatic extremes.

With virtually all Trakmasters ever built still happily travelling remote parts of Australia, it’s hard to argue with that philosophy and even the latest composite-walled Pilbara models still have their front and rear sections formed by fibreglass cladding over a timber frame.

The test Trakmaster has the ‘Cross Country’ bodywork with its aggressively angled rear chassis and bodywork that allows the van to cross difficult terrain more easily than with a conventional chassis – even one good on-road ground clearance.

The compromise here is in the choice of interior layouts, as it limits the places where things like the kitchen, ensuite and so on can be located.

This example has what Trakmaster believes to be an optimum layout for a compact, 15ft 6in x 7ft 6in wide remote area caravan, with the kitchen and combined shower and toilet up-front, a bench-style lounge/dining table and 12 volt compressor fridge and storage cabinet opposite and twin single beds separated by a wardrobe and chest of drawers at the rear.

Trakmaster finds many of its customers prefer single beds to a double or a queen because they’re more comfortable in hot, tropical weather, fit better into a compact layout and provide more ventilation and storage options.

But if you and your partner want to remain closer together, a north-south or transverse double or queen bed can be accommodated in a slightly modified layout. After all, as Richard Metcalfe reminds me, these are caravans custom-built within the bounds of safety, legality and practicality.

What’s a bit of a shock to the system though is the lack of any timber tonings inside the Kimberly show van. Instead of the usual Tasmanian Oak and similar hued picture-frame cupboards and doors, Trakmaster now offers customers the alternative of high-gloss silver, dark grey, gold and white cabinetry similar to that already used by a number of other caravan manufacturers.

There’s no meaningful weight saving and no extra strength, just a different, more modern look that I personally like, although there will be many travellers who still prefer the warmth of natural timber and I can understand that.

We have solid timber floors at home and lots of timber furniture, so my wife and I prefer the trees outside, rather than inside, our travelling home away from home!

Regardless of your personal preference, it certainly gives the Kimberley a new and more contemporary look and its flat panel finish with positive brushed stainless steel push button latches looks easy to clean.

The front kitchen with its four gas burner Swift cooktop, with grill and oven below, stainless steel sink and drainer and adjacent bench top serving space is impressively large and useable, while the front right hand corner combined shower and toilet ensuite, while a little squeezy for larger travellers, is roomy enough for those like me that aren’t.

Interior storage is also impressive, with large cupboards lining most of the upper walls, more storage under the beds, while there’s a large double-doored pantry on the entry door side of the fridge.

As previously mentioned, the layout is optimal for what at 15ft 6in is pretty small for a full-height, tandem-axle caravan, when other makers retain a single axle format for off-road vans stretching up to 18ft long.

Apart from allowing a generous 830kg of payload, thanks as well to its robust, tailor-made 150mm x 50mm continuous A-frame and main chassis rails, Trakmaster believes that its 3500kg-rated Sugarglider trailing arm independent tandem suspension delivers a smoother, shock-free ride to the caravan.

So while a number of makers claim that their vans can ‘Do the Gibb River Road’, this Kimberley will do the return and many more trips along it without shaking apart.

Cupboards are back-screwed and bonded into place and have positive latches, while dust is kept at bay by a rooftop ‘scupper hatch’; which serves to pressurise the van’s interior.

Outside, the Trakmaster looks and is as tough as you’d expect. The traditional, angular bodywork is well protected against stones and bush scratches by an optional mesh stone shield ahead of the twin 9kg gas bottles up front, stone mesh on the A-frame, padded lower front bodywork, a checker-plate fronted boot-lid and black Alucobond cladding on the lower sides.

Attention to detail, like small protective shields in front of the forward Al-Ko corner drop jacks, a sturdy brass tap located out of harm’s way on the inside of the A-frame, a separate lockable and dust-sealed cover for the gas bayonet, a front pole carrier through the bodywork and a sturdy and high-mounted rear bumper bar housing the Kimberley’s 16 x 8in spare steel wheel and tyre and twin jerry can holders completes the picture of a manufacturer whose customers are accustomed to remote area travel.

A single 140W roof-mounted solar panel, two 100 amp/hr deep cycle batteries, two 100-litre shielded water tanks that can be filled independently by Trakmaster’s ‘manifold’ water management system plus a standard 120-litre Dometic fridge complete the picture of self-sustainable travel.

So why would you pay a base price of $73,215, or $87,580 with the options on the test van, for an off-road caravan when you can buy something like a similarly-sized Kokoda for around $50,000?

No disrespect at all to Kokoda, who in my experience make good caravans, but you get what you pay for and in the Trakmaster Kimberley Platinum the quality and experience built into this caravan goes very deep.

My only gripe is that a number of items on the Kimberley Platinum that are standard on vans at half its price are extra-cost options at Trakmaster.

These include things most buyers take for granted on caravans these days, such as the hot-dipped galvanised chassis, roof-mounted air conditioner, Dometic roll-out awning, single solar panel, the external A-frame tap, the van’s water tank level monitors and even the front boot light.

WE LIKED:
>> Very high quality
>> True remote area construction and features
>> Very workable, compact layout
>> New interior look

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Extra cost options that many buyers would expect to be standard
>> Stucco finish on cladding reportedly harder to clean than smooth ribbed aluminium
>> End price with needed options puts it beyond reach of many travellers

VERDICT

Twenty years on, Melbourne’s Trakmaster continues to do what its customers want it to do: build very high quality, remote area caravans.

Even with new designs currently on the drawing board and a continuing swing towards composite sidewalls and new interior décor, there are no plans we are aware of to change anything that will compromise those core values.

But watch the bottom line if you get pen happy with the options list!

2015 TRAKMASTER KIMBERLEY PLATINUM SERIES

External body length: 5.28m                                   
Travel length: 7.140m                               
External body width: 2.310m                                                              
Travel height: 2.93m                                          
Tare: 2171kg                                          
ATM: 3000kg                              
Ball weight: 215kg                     
Chassis: Hot-dipped galvanised 150mm x 50mm                
Wall structure: Stucco-finished aluminium cladding over meranti-timber insulated frame              
Suspension: Sugarglider independent with single shock absorbers per wheel                             
Brakes: 10in Dexter Electric drum                                                                          
Electric Stability Control: Dexter DSC and Al-Ko ESC Optional
Wheels/tyres: 16 x 8in Steel/LT265/75R16 BFG A/T Off-road           
Fresh water: 2 x 100L
Battery: 2 x 100Ah AGM
Solar: 1 x 140 Watt roof-mounted panels                                                      
Air-conditioner: Truma Aventa Comfort?                 
Gas: 2 x 9kg                  
Cooking: Four-burner gas with grill and oven                                                   
Fridge: Dometic RM2455 120lt AES (Compressor fridge optional)                                                                      
Microwave: Optional                                                                                      
Ensuite: Combined shower/toilet                                     
Lighting: LED throughout         
Entertainment system: Optional 19-in TV with HDTV antenna. CD/radio/iPod with twin ceiling-mounted speakers                                                                                                    
Price (ex-factory) $73,215. As tested $87,580           
Supplied by: Trakmaster, Bayswater, Vic