HEY PRESTO! WE REVIEW THE INNOVAN XC CAMPER

By Unsealed 4X4 5 Min Read

The unfortunate reality with most camper trailers I’ve seen, used, and personally abused is that frankly, they’re quite a pain to set up. Usually, by the time my mates are finished setting up their camper trailer, I’ve already set up my tent, inflated my sleeping pad, unrolled my sleeping bag, set up my camp chair and opened a cold beer.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts, the purpose of a camper trailer is to add convenience, if not a little bit of luxury to your adventures in the bush. We expect them to be durable, comfortable and, most importantly, easy to use after a long day on the tracks – which too many companies have forgotten. So when I saw one of my mates setting up an Innovan camper trailer, and saw that his “time to beer” was actually less than mine, I was intrigued to say the least.

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The Innovan does what a camper trailer is supposed to do, and it does it really well. The hard-sided design makes sure you’re relatively well-insulated from the elements outside, but it also makes it easy to set up. Unlock a couple of latches, lift up on the strut-assisted upper half of the camper, pull out the innovative self-supporting awning and you’re done. If it takes you any longer than 30 seconds, you’re doing it wrong. Putting everything away is just as easy, which is great, because the only thing worse than setting up camp is taking down camp.

How well equipped you want your Innovan to be is completely up to you. Virtually all of the modern conveniences of home are available as options – heating, air conditioning, hot water for a relaxing shower, a toilet, and even an outdoor kitchen can be fitted. (There’s a kitchen inside as standard that comes equipped with a three-burner stove). The outdoor kitchen deploys as easily as the camper itself, includes a sink, working space, and marine-grade barbecue, and from my experience quickly becomes the spot where everyone wants to gather.

Storage, to say the least, is quite plentiful, with the entire front section of the camper dedicated to hauling your gear in a rather aerodynamic fashion. The angled compartments at first look a bit odd, that is until you put on your thinking cap. Not only does it add to the aerodynamics of the camper, but when your vehicle’s tyres inevitably throw stones at it, the camper bounces them away from your rear window. A coat of heavy-duty Rhino-Liner protects the camper from stone chips, aiding in durability.

The Innovan had so much storage, that during our trip up Cape York, it became the designated pack mule. Gear was thrown haphazardly into it, and interestingly enough, at the end of the day, even after driving down hundreds of kilometers of rough tracks, it was all where we left it — not thrown around as we expected. This was because of the Innovan’s V8 Supercar-inspired independent suspension that soaked up bumps and corrugations with ease. Rather than using a traditional torsion axle or leaf spring set-up, Innovan designed a suspension system that uses heavy-duty trailing arms matched with height- and load-adjustable airbags. This allows them to not only have a trailer that rides smoother and tows better, but also gives the owner the option to raise the ground clearances in tight situations. So much thought went into the design that it even incorporates adjustable bushings to allow for wheel alignments, and disk brakes for better stopping distance.

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Proudly built in Australia, the Innovan Camper has more in common with a sailboat than it does a camper. Each nook and cranny is filled with something useful, and the use of space is reflective of some serious thought. It’s hard to compare the Innovan to anything else on the market – which is okay, because this represents the next-generation of camper trailers.

Go to innovan.com.au to find out more.

Words: Matt Scott
Images: Neil Davidson and Paul Toohey


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