Ultimate X20

You can’t help loving Ultimate Off-Road Campers for their clever thinking, lightweight and extreme off-road ability and high quality engineering and construction.

Some 1700 Aussies have felt this way over the 20 years since Michael and Wendy Hackett began building their boat-shaped, all-fibreglass campers, while another 11 a month on average are falling in love with their idea.

Now Ultimate have topped their mainstream camper range with an anniversary model called the X20. Priced $6420 above the previously top-selling XPLOR, the X20 is poised to take over its mantle, with Ultimate estimating that based on orders to date it will account for around 60 per cent of sales in the coming year.

Like other Australian camper trailer manufacturers, Ultimate has been feeling the pinch of imported Chinese-built campers, which now virtually own the low-price camper market and are making rapid inroads into the medium-priced sector.

Their response, like a some other local manufacturers, is to move further upmarket with higher quality and higher-specced products into a market that the imports neither seek, nor can compete in.

While a basic Ultimate Camper cost  $32,000 a decade ago (and sells for around $35,000 today), current prices start at $42,500 for the XTRK. Yet Ultimate believes this model will account for as little as 10 per cent of sales in the year ahead.

Based on feedback since the X20 was first shown at Sydney’s Rosehill Supershow in April, price in the market where this 20th Anniversary model is positioned is less of a consideration than design and quality.  And although conceptually very similar to the first Ultimate produced in 1994, the X20 has both in spades.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, and if you think that camper trailers should look like chunky war surplus, then the Ultimate may not be your cup of tea,

Its sleek, aerodynamic lines, which resemble an upturned boat, are soft, stylish and unlike any other camper trailer. The X20 embellishes this concept with its unique two-tone white and grey gelcoat fibreglass finish, matching grey canvas top, carbon rear spoiler to deflect dust, and lightweight 17-inch black chrome alloy wheels shod with premium Cooper tyres.

But what makes it truly special is the list of standard inclusions such as a carbon fibre galley bench and table, its new custom interior design with a profusion of drawers in place of cupboards, unique moulded grey and orange upholstery, cushions and quilt cover, built-in in hot water/shower system, a 40A Redarc DC-DC charger, a Fusion CA-CD800 Sound System and a 700W inverter.

Ultimate says you could option up a $52,500 XPLOR to similar technical specs, but why would you, when you can have the exclusivity, special colour scheme and better resale value of the Anniversary model?

Like all Ultimate campers, the X20 is built around the philosophy of off-the-ground comfort and quick set-up.

The official website quotes an erection time of just three minutes, but Ultimate’s sales executive Jeff Ludlow says he allows himself five from go to whoa, seated with a cold beer in hand. “It’s not meant to be a race,” he says.

It was less fun in the 60-70km/h winds we experienced on a very wintry Melbourne morning when we conducted our review and while Jeff says his ‘vertically challenged’ wife can erect an Ultimate single handed, it took two of us to keep the front and rear awnings from blowing over the roof before their flexible robs could be inserted and slid into their receivers on the camper body.

But you can also zip off the awnings and in which case the clever over-centre action of the telescopic struts allows one person to easily control the ‘flip’ of the Ultimate’s hard lid (which can hold up to 110kg, for things such as bikes, surfboards or even a ‘tinnie’), which when open forms the base for the camper’s massive king-size bed.

Stretch the canvas from the inside with four spring-loaded black spreader bars, secure its skirt to the body from the outside with a series of easy rubber straps, re-arrange the three separate mattress cushions and you're finished.

Whereas early (and entry model) Ultimates proudly bared their fibreglass construction, the X20 dresses it up with new, beautifully finished cupboards and drawers and its eye-catching carbon fibre kitchen benchtop.

However while the carbon fibre used here and elsewhere certainly saves weight, in reality it only compensates for the extra equipment included in the X20, like its hot water system, Fusion stereo, 700W inverter and so on. But it looks really good and is also practical.

Having a two-burner SMEV cooktop and a 110-litre 12v compressor fridge inside means that you’re not at the mercy of the wind, rain or temperature when travelling in cold or bad weather.

But when the sun shines, you can clip on the ultimate’s optional exterior galley, utilise its external hot water shower head and cook on a portable cassette gas cooktop to achieve the full outdoor camping experience. Way to go, I think.

It’s when it’s miserable outside that the Ultimate comes into its own. Being largely self-contained with a good-sized U-shaped lounge, single pedestal (carbon fibre) table and a good-sized kitchen you can stay in for the night and enjoy that lovely camping sound of rain on canvas, without fear of leaks or floods.

Another feature designed to make the Ultimate X20 bad weather friendly is the two-way hatch that hides its optional 20-litre PortaPotti. Remove it from the inside for those cold, wet nights; locate it outside under the optional room you can hang under the bed when the weather is balmy.

The carbon fibre table can also be relocated outside, with a folding base included as part of the X20’s spec.

If it’s still raining or wet when you want to leave, folding the X20 (like other Ultimates) doesn’t mean you’re going to have a wet bed at night, as the canvas Safari flysheet ensures that the interior is always kept dry, even when folded.

Despite its skimpy 850kg tare weight, which will barely impact on the cruising economy of most tow vehicles, the Ultimate’s other great feature is its huge front boot. With the spare wheel out back and the gas bottles and twin deep cycle batteries stored in separate compartments, the nosecone of the Ultimate is left free for a range of things you would like to take on holiday – up to 550kg of it if you wish.

The X20’s empty ball weight is a puny 45kg, so you can easily pick it up to move it or hitch up, but if you fill the 110-litre water tank located behind the axle, you can fill the boot and still have a very low ball weight.  The biggest issue many owners report is forgetting that their Ultimate is still behind them!

VERDICT

The Ultimate X20 is, arguably, the ultimate canvas-roofed camper. Its combination of light weight, genuine off-road ability, quick set-up and all-weather comfort is unmatched, although there are hard roof options from Track Trailer and Vista for similar money.

At nearly $60,000 it’s pushing hard into hybrid pop-top territory, with its main market rivals being Track Trailer’s long-standing Tvan and Vista’s RV range, but the Ultimate’s clever design, top build quality and unique features – further enhanced by its X20 standard equipment – make it a preferred option for those who love canvas over their heads without most of its shortcomings.

WE LIKED: 
?>> Light weight and innovation
>> High quality construction
>> Go-anywhere ability
>> Huge storage space

NOT SO MUCH:
?>> Awnings tricky to put up single handed when windy
>> Would like a strap to hold PortaPotti in place
>> Top price for a canvas-roof camper

ULTIMATE X20

Travel length: 4.25m
External body length: 4.0m
Internal body length: 2.0m x 2.0m (with King-size bed erected)
Interior height: 1.9m
External body width: 2.0m
Travel height: 1.8m
Tare: 850kg?ATM: 1300kg
Ball weight: 45kg
Wall structure: Fibreglass
Chassis: Duragal
Suspension: Trailing arm independent with Lovell coil springs and Koni shock absorbers
Brakes: 10in electric Al-Ko off-road
Wheels: 17in lightweight alloy wheels fitted with 265/70 off-road tyres
Fresh water: 110-litre fresh water
Battery: Dual 110Ah AGM deep cycle
Air-conditioner: n/a
Gas: 2 x 4kg
Cooking: Two-burner Smev gas cooktop
Fridge: 110-litre 12v compressor
Toilet: PortaPotti (optional)
Shower: External hot & cold shower
Lighting: LED  
Options fitted: Truma heater, Outdoor Galley, PortaPotti
Price $58,920 (Ex-NSW)
Supplied by:  Ultimate Campers, Moruya NSW