176 caravanworld.com.au
RATINGS
VALUEFORMONEY“Verymuchintheeyeofthe
beholderthisonebutfitnessfor
purposeisa factor”DRIVEABILITY“I reckonthisisa veryeasy-drive
motorhomeandthatmakes
fora relaxingtrip”
SELFSUFFICIENCY“Verywellequippedfor
remotetravel”LIVEABILITY“Notanoverlygenerousinterioryet
oneI wouldbepreparedtoaccept”
SUITABILITYFOR
INTENDEDTOURING“Desirea 4X4motorhomethatis
equallyathomeonthefreewayora
roughbushtrack?Thisisit”LAYOUT“Verypracticalandonethatworks
wellfortwopeople”QUALITYOFFINISH“It’sclearthatHorizondoesn’tuse
anythinginferiorandalsodoesa fair
bitofproducttesting”BUILDQUALITY“Horizonissomethingofa boutique
manufacturerintheRVworldand
doesseemtoputitsmotorhomes
togetherquitewell”CREATURECOMFORTS“Fortheremote,offroadtravellerit
hasmostofthethem”INNOVATION“NotmuchinthisareabutHorizon
doesseemtohavea policyof
continuingproductdevelopment”
X-FACTOR“Ah,it hastobethecolourscheme!"striking orange and black striped colour
scheme is actually a wrap job rather than a
paint job and it’s been done very well. Apart
from anything else, it catches the attention in
just about any crowd.
In some ways, converting a van into
a motorhome is a bit easier that doing a
coachbuilt. Certainly there are holes to be
cut, like for the Dometic Seitz windows, the
gas cylinder bin, water heater and cassette
toilet, but the overall body structure does not
have to be changed. Except of course to add
features such as the awning, solar panels, TV
aerials, snorkel, bullbar and the like. I’d like to
point out that this particular motorhome has
a long options list (see below) and that does
reflect in the difference between the price
of the base motorhome ($187,000) and the
review vehicle ($218,800).
Just a comment on windows here: awning-
style windows work fine most of the time
but if used in the wall directly behind the
sliding door, they often become accidentally
damaged. Dometic does make a sliding
window that works very well in this situation.
A problem with van conversions (of all sizes)
is that it’s difficult to keep annoying insects
out unless some elaborate precautions are
taken. Horizon has a solution to this problem,
and it is an option, but the zipped flyscreens
on both the sliding and rear doors are a good
investment, I reckon.VAN VARIATION
By their very nature, van conversion layouts
will be limited in variation and practicality
but the Waratah’s is a tried-and-tested one
that works quite well.
There are two single beds (but can be
double) in the rear, a nearside kitchen bench
and an offside bathroom cubicle. Up front,
both cab seats swivel around and there are
both a table and a forward-facing two-
person seat behind the driver’s seat. Space,
particularly perceived space, is something
of a premium in a motorhome like this but a
reasonably light interior and features such
as angled-back overhead lockers make for a
fairly spacious feel.
In a motorhome like this, there really isn’t
going to be any external bin capacity but
opening the rear doors gives under-bed
access, where it is possible to stash all the
camping essentials — chairs, table, power
leads and hoses, yet still have room left over
for other items.
That under-bed storage is why the bed
area looks like it does, that is two single bed
mattresses with an infill in between. So,
you can have two separate beds, a sort of
combined north-south double or a tranverse
double. The latter depends on how tall you
are. A benefit of this setup, apart from the
flexibility, is that a Lagun-mounted table can
be fitted between the bed bases, creating aTOP TO BOTTOM The rear bed setup is two
single beds with an infill to create a double;
clever storage ideas to keep crockery and
glassware safe while tackling rough roadssecond day area. Also between the beds is
a small step — just high enough to fit a small
drawer underneath.
For a relatively small motorhome, the
kitchen bench area is quite spacious. Having
an under-bench 110L fridge helps that but also
fitted in are a combo three burner cooktop/
stainless steel sink plus an LB microwave
oven fitted under the bench. All that still
leaves room for a bit of benchtop space plus
five good-sized drawers, some of which have
been fitted with formed sections to hold the
plates, cups and glasses firmly in place. Not a
bad idea for a motorhome designed to go in a
few rough places nor ones which are not!
Compact bathrooms are just that and most
likely to be 'wet' also, as this one. Features
include a Thetford cassette toilet, flexible hose
shower, small corner washbasin and shaving
cabinet, plus a towel rail and shower curtain
to prevent water dribbling out.
Even though this is a two-berth motorhome,
it will transport four people around if
needed, given the two cab seats and the two
forward-facing seats in the rear. It won’t quite
accommodate four people at meal time,
given the size of the table but for drinkies
and nibblies (assuming it’s too cold/wet to sit
outside) it’s fine.