Ultimate Campers 101 Plus

Making waves

Daryl Buckingham, national sales and marketing manager for Ultimate Campers, asked me to join him at the Bendethera Valley in the Deua National Park, NSW, in an Ultimate 101 Plus. Soon I was heading up Little Sugarloaf Road watching the Ultimate cantilever steeply up and down on the fire road floodways, sometimes almost vertical.

Michael Hackett, previously a designer of luxury ocean yachts, founded Ultimate Campers after travelling extensively around Australia in everything from tents to caravans and finding that there was nothing that suited his needs.

Fifteen years later, Ultimate Campers has grown into a nationally recognised brand. Last year the company moved from Batemans Bay to Moruya, NSW, into a purpose-designed space where the team could continue to innovate, from the design stage to the factory floor. Michael lends his boat-building experience to the camper trailer industry. It's a happy marriage, to say the least.

THE ULTIMATE TEST
The road in from Moruya is an old fire trail built with little consideration for subsequent travellers. The road was so steep that one wondered if the Patrol would make it even without the trailer. But the Ultimate 101 Plus is so light, weighing in at 850kg Tare (1200kg ATM), that we barely noticed it behind us, even on the hairiest descents. There's a Treg coupling between tow vehicle and camper, thankfully, and it got a good workout on this undulating track.

Once we climbed and descended over the first few hills, the Bendethera Valley opened out in front of us slowly. Coming in a little late, the sun was settling behind a few clouds and a family of wombats greeted us at the first open field on the banks of the Deua River.

There are several river crossings over the Deua as you head into the valley and the Ultimate happily went wherever the Patrol did. The ball weight of the Ultimate is quite low, starting at just 45kg. This contravenes the popular rule of thumb that says trailers should have a ball weight of 10 per cent of the overall weight. According to Daryl, though, Ultimate has conducted road testing of its campers under every conceivable condition, and says that a 50kg ball weight makes this camper a lot easier to manoeuvre on the jockey wheel.

After crossing the river three times, we settled on a wide grassy expanse surrounded by stands of gum trees and pine. Once we backed the Ultimate up to a stand of trees so we wouldn't be woken up too early in the morning, the camper took a few minutes to get ready... and that was that. I was busy building a fire while Daryl set up a few Ultimate swags for the boys.

DESIGN
The camper is unique among trailers. It really is a strange admixture of camper trailer technology and marine building techniques. The fibreglass shell is decidedly marine, but Ultimate has chosen to use canvas on the roof because, with the bowed roof poles used, the camper is spacious and airy inside without being heavy or requiring any adjustments.

As you walk in, the kitchen is directly next to the door, so you're practically cooking outside if that's your thing. You can also close out the flies with the split door (bottom fibreglass, top zippered mesh/canvas). The window over the kitchen has clear plastic, so there's plenty of light inside, even in a downpour.

There are six drawers and a large locker on the front of the kitchen, along with a stainless steel sink, stainless steel two-burner cooktop and another storage bin in the back corner of the kitchen bench.

The front of the kitchen bench also hosts a CD player, water level indicator for the 83L water tank, and six switches for the 12V lighting on board. The 12V system comprises six 12V outlets, two fluorescent lights, an Anderson plug and a 90Ah battery with charger. All of that kept us listening to bush favourites like Led Zeppelin and John Prine late into the evening. The boys were enthralled.

A large 90L Dometic RM2350 three-way fridge/freezer is also installed under the extension of the kitchen bench down the offside. A wrap-around dinette provides seating for five comfortably, and also acts as a step up to the bed.

The king-size mattress, flanked by two adjustable reading lamps, is as big as it gets, and is surrounded by windows with mesh and canvas.

Outside the camper, there are four lockable storage bins. There's also a 1340L nose cone devoted to storage.

THE BOTTOM LINE
At about $50,000 as reviewed (starting from $46,400), the Ultimate 101 Plus is cheaper than some competitors, lighter than most and exceptional value for money, while the cash you'll save in the long run on fuel thanks to the aerodynamic shape and light weight will add up over the life of your camper.

The Ultimate is for people who like to cook inside and who like a big bed, while spending less on fuel and being able to move the trailer around off the tow vehicle easily.

Ultimate Campers
North Moruya Business Park
Moruya, NSW 2537
(02) 4474 4410
www.ultimatecampers.com.au