Viscount Wild Shark 2022 Review

Viscount is one of Australia’s oldest caravan brands that saw it fade to obscurity in the 1970s only to be revived under a new owner, the Melbourne-based Concept group, more recently.

Unlike the original iteration of the brand based out of Sydney, Viscount now builds its five-model range out of Australia’s RV manufacturing heartland, the Melbourne suburb of Campbellfield.

The Wild Shark is a new premium model in the Viscount range, with a model name suggesting free spirit and adventure, or discouraging you from ever going in the water again, depending on your perspective. It’s not a plain model name, and you’ll either love it or hate it.

Long and short trips covered

The review van is a two-berth ensuite, tandem-axle luxury off-road full-size model that's well set-up for a couple doing the big lap, or shorter trips where some off-roading and off the grid camping ability is required.

The Viscount Wild Shark sits on a 6inch steel corrosion-proofed chassis and rides an AL-KO Cross Country independent trailing arm suspension, with 15-inch alloy wheels and 235/75R15 tyres of Light Truck construction.

A Cruisemaster DO-35 off-road coupling is fitted as standard, as are two 9kg gas bottles, a checkerplate aluminium toolbox with an off-side slide out, and a protected water tap. The gas regulator on the A-frame is also covered so it's shielded from stone damage.

Underneath, the water tanks are encircled in steel sheeting and most of the plumbing is tucked away so it won’t get damaged by road debris and such.

The rest of the exterior is quite conventional, although the tunnel boot with access both sides is a welcome feature. There's also a drop-down picnic table, external gas bayonet, awning and lights and external power on the nearside, and toilet cassette access, water heater access and power inlet and water inlet on the offside.

While there’s slide-out storage available in the offside of the toolbox, maybe a slide-out or some other method of retaining a cooker and/or fridge on the nearside would work too, for those wanting to cook outside when camping.

Solid traditional construction

The 20ft 8in long body on the Viscount Wild Shark comprises a Meranti timber frame with smooth 3mm aluminium sheets (Viscount’s option over the corrugated aluminium side sheeting for the rest of its range since late 2020). A protective 625mm-high grey checkerplate adorns the front, sides and rear panel.

Payload is a decent 500kg, and while ATM is more than 3000kg (but only by 19kg) you could easily justify this purchase if your tow rig can only tow three tonnes.

Choice of layouts

While there are seven layout options available for the Wild Shark, in the case of the review caravan, we find a couple-friendly floorplan including a north-south front bed, offside centre kitchen and nearside cafe dinette and a rear ensuite.

The interior fit-out is par for the course when it comes to the latest Campbellfield built vans, but its execution is quite good, especially in terms of storage, space and finish.

The kitchen in particular has a lot of storage options, ranging from large cupboards right down to small drawers. The tall pantry adjacent to the fridge (itself a generous 200-litre capacity) plus the small pull-out pantry towards the front of the kitchen are very useful.

The kitchen bench space is average rather than exceptional, but there’s nothing bad about that – it's about as good as it gets for this size caravan.

Sleeping and storage well covered

The front sleeping quarters are pretty unremarkable save a few details: you get a nook at the head-bedhead side with not only 240volt power points but a 12volt and two USB-A ports. The storage up here not only extends to top lockers, side hanging space and drawers, but an under bed storage area for larger items

The rear ensuite offers a fair bit of space, and like the kitchen there’s eye-catching black tapware plus a vanity with a black sink, cassette toilet, a top-loader washing machine and a separate shower cubicle.

The 12V electrics are powered by a 110Ah deep-cycle battery mounted in a checkerplate box on the offside exterior, adjacent to the chassis rail. The battery is fed by two 170W rooftop solar panels, and a BMPRO BatteryPlus35-II-HA lithium-ready battery management system supervises the current. There's also a BMPRO Trek3 digital display to run and monitor the system.

Summing up

The Viscount Wild Shark offers a touring couple a good balance of value and features, plus a decent design that while not ground-breaking, includes some handy details like bedroom nooks plus plenty of storage options, particularly in the kitchen area.

While it has adequate off-the-grid-ability, there could be a touch more sophisticated electrical storage as standard (like a lithium battery) but no doubt that's something you could organise at purchase for extra cost if desired.

How much does the Viscount WS3.5 Wild Shark couple's caravan cost?

Price: $81,490
Options fitted: None
Travel length: 7160mm
Body length: 6540mm
External body width: 2340mm
Travel height: 3200mm (estimated)
Interior height: 1970mm
Tare weight: 2519kg
ATM: 3019kg
Ball weight: 165kg
Body: Timber frame, aluminium composite panels
Chassis: 6in galvanised steel
Suspension: AL-KO Cross Country independent
Brakes: 10in drums
Stability Control: No
Wheels: 15in alloy on LT235/75R15 tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95 litres
Battery: 1x 110A/h
Solar: 2 x 170 roof panels
Air-conditioner: Gree roof-mounted 240v reverse cycle
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Swift 28-litre gas/electric
Cooking: Thetford four-burner gas cooktop/grill/oven
Fridge: Thetford Bounty 200L fridge/freezer
Microwave: NCE 240v
Toilet: Thetford ceramic cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12V LED
TV: 24in TV/DVD
Supplied by: RV Connection, St Marys NSW
More info: viscountcaravans.com.au