Camper Trailer of the Year 2016 Finalist: Bushranger Great Divide
When you think of hybrid campers, it’s easy to imagine the top-of-the-range, heavy offerings retailing between $70-120K. This little ripper comes to the rodeo at only $41,950 placing it within grasp of a wider cross-section of offroad travellers who want a few creature comforts. There are loads more appealing features to this tenacious little hoodlum than just a great kitchen and a low price. It has the offroad credibility to help you explore this great land in confidence and style, rather than on horseback, as did its namesakes.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
The whole shell is mounted to a tough little nugget of a fully galvanised chassis and drawbar with an Austrack fully independent trailing arm, shock absorbed independent leaf suspension that tracks beautifully on the asphalt. Offroad, it carries the 1060kg Tare and 1450 ATM load extremely smoothly over corrugations, craggy ground, rocky inclines and muddy bogs. Trust me – we tried them all, plus a few deep river crossings to boot! The Great Divide features reasonable turning ability – it has plenty of ground clearance in my book and the departure angle is good from the short trailing overhang.
Out on the galvanised 100x50x3mm A-frame drawbar, the Bushranger sports a Treg offroad polyblock coupling, mesh-style stone screen, twin 4.5kg gas bottle mounts, dual jerry can holders, and the mounted spare wheel. There’s also a handbrake for the 10in electric brakes and a removable jockey so it can be used even in the most undulating terrain. Two 100Ah Century deep-cycle batteries are also neatly mounted in plastic boxes, tucked in tight and out of harm’s way in front of the tub. The undersides have wear padding to reduce stone damage. There’s even a handy water tap for washing off the gunpowder after a showdown!
The Bushranger Great Divide has very low towing weight making it a most attractive partner for the long and dusty road. It also has relatively compact dimensions at only 4.5m overall length, less than 2.1m wide and 2.15m in overall height that are designed to sit in the slipstream behind larger 4WDs, drastically reducing drag and increasing fuel economy.
INTERIOR
This Bushranger has gathered a treasure trove of bounty. There is a Projecta 10A charger and an Anderson plug to the towing vehicle, a 120W solar panel fitted permanently on the roof, water tank gauge, mains water, lockable filling points, 12V outlets, battery management system, a Sony twin speaker sound system, LED lights all round including yellow insect repelling options and twin rear stands. I reckon that the entire unit is such good value that I would be ordering the optional air-conditioning for those hot, steamy nights on the trails.
HITS & MISSES
Pros…
- Compact, lightweight design
- Separate bedroom
- Sensational kitchen
- Shower/ensuite
- Offroad ability
- Accessory selection
Cons…
- No grill
- No air conditioner (yep – I know, soft, eh!)
BUSHRANGER GREAT DIVIDE SPECS
Trailer
- Tare 1060kg
- ATM 1450kg
- Suspension Austrack independent shock absorbed leaf
- Brakes 10in electric
- Coupling Treg offroad
- Chassis Box-section galvanised
- Drawbar 100x50x3mm galvanised
- Body Aluminium exterior; foam, timber composite
- Wheel/tyre 15in all-terrain tyres with aluminium mag wheels
- Style Pop-top hybrid
Dimensions
- Box size 3000x2050mm
- Length (hitch to tail lights) 4500mm
Accessories
- Gas cylinders 2x4.5kg
- Water 2x60L poly
- Cooktop Smev-two burner
- Kitchen Stainless steel sink with hot/cold mixer, Waeco 80L compressor fridge, utensils and drainage racks, six bottle wine cooler, pantry and storage
- Battery 2x100Ah deep-cycle Century
Price as shown
- $41,950 (drive away, Vic)
Check out the full feature in issue #98 March 2016 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.