Caravan World – May 2019

vocabularyatBushtracker.

Beforeyourchoiceofexteriorcladding

(aluminiumorfibreglass)isaffixedtothe

frame,everylittlecreviceisfilledwith25mm-

thickcoolerboardinsulationforthewallsand

75mm-thickfortheroof.Foraddedprotection

anddurability,aluminiumcheckerplateis

fittedtothebottommetreofeachvan.

TUFFENOUGH

The45-degreerakeattherearofthevannot

onlyformspartofthatdistinctiveBushtracker

shape,butalsohasa functionalroletoplay.

Duetothedesign,whenenteringorexiting

steepcreekcrossings,there'sfarlesschance

ofmakinganexpensivesacrificetothe

offroadgods.If yourambitiondoesoverride

yourability,a full-widthsteelskidplateand

rearchassisprovideextraprotectionas

wellasa mountingpointforyourMaxTrax,

protectionfortheNarvaLEDtail-lightsanda

pairofHDchassis-mountedrecoverypoints.

Underneaththevan,there'sactuallynota

lotgoingonatall.ApartfromtheSimplicity

suspension,everythingelseismountedup

niceandhighunderneaththecomposite

floor.Anyelectrical,potableornon-potable

waterandgaslinesarerunveryneatlyalong

thechassisrailsashighaspossible.

Galvanisedsteelplatesareusedtodeflect

rocksawayfromanyvulnerablefittings,

easieraccesstothetwin9kggasbottles

mountedtotheA-frame.Atthepointyend,

ere'stheFastwayZipbreakawaycable

ystem,Hitch-Ezy5tfullyarticulatinghitch,

Dhandbrakeandelectriclegalongwith

othpotableandnon-potablewatertaps.

Providingthestructurefortheone-piece,

resin-infusedcompositefloortobebonded

to,andmountedtothetopofthechassis,

isa galvanisedandfullyweldedsub-frame

withfullwidthcrossmemberstomaximise

support.Thiscompositeflooringmaterial

enduredmonthsofrigorousfieldtesting

beforenowbeingutilisedinallBushtracker

builds.It'sgotthermalinsulatingproperties

forthosehotdaysandcoldnights,iscrush-

resistantandwillnotdelaminate.

Builtlikea brickshi...Sorry.Builtlike

a house,witha slab/floorandstudwall

construction,thesevansaremadetough.

Externalwallframesaremadeofstructural

aluminium,either2mmor3mmwall

thickness,with5mmonthejoints,whichare

thenboltedthroughthecompositefloorto

thesub-framebelow.

Formaximumstrengthandstructural

integrity,allcornersarethrough-boltedand

weldedtogether.Unlikea house,however,

there'snotimberinthisframe,meaningthat

traditionalcaravanproblemssuchaswater

damageanddryrotjustdon'texistinthe

suspension.Thisvanemploysa tandemaxle,

fullyindependentSimplicityloadsharing

suspensionsystem.Bushtrackerhasbeen

providingthissystemasstandardequipment

forthepast20-plusyears,andstillfeatureson

morethan 90 percentofitsbuilds.

With300mmoftravel(150mmupand

down),it'sdesignedfortheworsttheAussie

Outbackcanthrowatyou.Bushtrackersays

thatif thissuspensionisgoodenoughfor

theAustralianDefenceForce,thenit'sgood

enoughforthem!

TheA-frameisfullyincorporatedinto

theheavyduty,hot-dippedgalvanisedand

laminateddoublechassis,whichissprayed

witha bodydeadener,helpingtofurther

protecttheunderbody,whileproviding

additionaldustandwatersealing.Asisthe

casewithallBushtrackervans,justlike

ourtestvan,theA-framecanbeextended

by300mmasanoption.Thisisperfectif

youneedextraroomfora firewoodrackor

generatorbox.

Ourtestvanwasfittedwiththenew

pivotingfrontstoragebox,enablingmuch

h

L t r

ABOVE AND LEFT The 24in flatscreen TV is on an adjustable swing arm above the kitchen bench and

secured to a custom wall bracket so you can watch from all angles, or simply stow it away

158 caravanworld.com.au