Over decades, sand, wind and water have sculptured the Cooloola Recreation Area on the northern fringe of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, creating high sand dunes, coloured sand cliffs and sweeping beaches, making it perfect for an offroad adventure.
With this in mind, the home of the largest remnant of coastal vegetation in southern Queensland seemed the ideal place to put On The Move’s Crossfire hybrid camper to the test. After all, if its name is anything to go by, this camper promised to be just the ticket to enjoy and explore this large and remarkable piece of wilderness.
While Rainbow Beach provided the opportunity for us to see if the Crossfire had the right stuff for the rough stuff, a rain shower or two and a threatening thunderstorm turned the usually pristine waters inky, the sand sticky and the trip a little more tricky...
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
When it comes to exterior storage, the large checkerplate toolbox nestled on the drawbar is a great piece of kit, providing mountains of storage. However, it’s so large it does make you wonder about its potential to prompt a new chum traveller to overload it, placing too much on the ball, which could affect the stability of the tow vehicle’s steering and braking.
On our test run, the toolbox was empty and presented no problem. But then, on balance, this is a small issue as you’re unlikely to bump up the ball weight above the tow capacity of your tow vehicle given that it has a Tare weight of just over 1.6T, an ATM of a smidge over 2T and a ball weight of 107kg. In fact, given I’d expected a ball weight of around 160kg, I did wonder if the camper wasn’t a smidge tail heavy, perhaps due to the interior ensuite.
However, the absence of undue sway as we drove on either the hard stuff or the soft stuff removed all my worries. In fact, it suggested that even with a modest payload in the toolbox, you’re not likely to cause this trailer too much grief. And that sounds like good design to me.
The toolbox isn’t the only exterior storage. Limited internal space means accessing under-bed storage would be too difficult from the inside. On The Move solved that problem by placing a tunnel boot under the bed with external access through exterior hatches on either side. For my money, that design solution turned a problem into an advantage.
Unfortunately, while this weekend warrior has solar to help provide power, it didn’t have an inverter to make the most of its dual 155W solar power arrangement feeding two 100Ah batteries. Fortunately, that’s available as an optional extra. In an era when increasing numbers of travellers seem to be hitting the bush camp scene, an inverter producing pure sine wave 240V power would be nice as standard kit, especially for those of us addicted to using laptops and other electronic gadgets.
When it comes to hitting the beach for the weekend, this camper is ready to help you keep the sand outside after a day’s surfing or fishing thanks to an external shower with access to hot and cold water.
INTERIOR
Despite its offroad credentials that set it up nicely for holidaying outdoors, arguably, you’ll discover its most surprising feature only after you pop the top and look inside.
On the inside, you’ll find a tight living area with just enough space for a couple on a weekend adventure. In case bad weather forces you inside, there’s a microwave and a good-sized fridge to heat up the pizza and keep the beer cold while waiting out the rain. If the rain keeps falling, there’s a 48cm TV to keep you entertained while your favourite travel show showcases those far away ports where the sun is shining.
Although the living space is limited, there’s a good reason for that. The design has sacrificed some living space for an internal combo shower-toilet ensuite. That’s a little piece of luxury you just don’t expect in a rig of this size, and it saves you from smelling like the leftovers of the bait packet you picked up on the way to the beach on Friday afternoon.
BATHROOM
While the ensuite is a convenient luxury, it’s a tad on the small side. If you’re like me and a bit on the large side, don’t drop the soap as you might find yourself having to step outside the shower to give yourself enough room to pick it up. If that’s too hard, there’s always the external shower. Just make sure you don’t scare the locals. Nonetheless, enjoying a good shower is dependent on 124L of water storage or hooking up to town water somewhere.
THE VERDICT
Perhaps the ensuite is a little small, and the toolbox a little too big considering there’s also a handy tunnel boot. However, from rugged good looks to practicality this is certainly a camper worth considering for those that want to hit the wild outdoors or, like us, find a long straight beach ripe for fishing and stay a little while.
HITS & MISSES
Pros…
- The look and finish
- The simple exterior kitchen
- Hot and cold water inside and out
- The easy set up
- Ensuite facilities in a short hybrid configuration
- Toolbox
Cons…
- Small internal living area
- Ensuite small in size
- No pure sine wave inverter for the solar
Check out the full feature in issue #96 January 2016 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.