Caravan Review: Wonder Roo Offroad Air | Custom Features

Wonder Roo Caravans is a boutique manufacturer operating in Campbellfield, Vic. It isn’t a huge factory, but it’s clean, organised, and the customers I have spoken to have been pleased with the service they’ve received. As for their vans… well, they love them.

Take Wayne and Ann Marie Hicks, for example. I met up with these Wonder Roo customers in May to take the grand tour of their new van. Now, this was a custom model based on Wonder Roo’s EV model, and as the decals say, it’s designed to be ‘Off Road’ and ‘Off Grid’. 

The owners of Wonder Roo have a background in engineering. For them, custom caravan manufacturing is a challenge that they relish, and both Wayne and Ann Marie were beyond happy with their purchase. 

Wayne has a decades-long career as a truck driver behind him and admits to coping some friendly jostling from his mates about ‘joining the other side’. But it has held him in good stead when it comes to towing, and he rates the van’s towing performance highly.

CONSTRUCTION AND POWER

Wonder Roo builds its own chassis. In this case, it’s 6in hot-dipped-galvanised RHS steel fitted with Cruisemaster ATX Level 4 airbag suspension. The ‘Level 4’ refers to the features and capabilities of this system. It is self-levelling for towing, or can be set to your preferred ride height, while the airbags can be inflated/deflated independently to achieve level when setup on uneven ground. While there is a control panel mounted just inside the entryway, it can be activated via remote too.

This van was framed with 25mm TIG-welded aluminium insulated with XPS foam. XPS is the foam widely used as the structural component of fibreglass sandwich panels and it’s known to offer excellent thermal properties too.

Wayne and Ann Marie put considerable thought into how they will use their van. Ultimately, they decided that their lithium battery capacity of 400Ah negated the need for a gas system. But how will they charge those batteries? Well, that’s why their van is fitted with 1000W worth of roof-mounted solar panels, along with the Redarc Alpha 75 power management system.

As a result, they have the flexibility to run portable induction cooktops inside and out, instead of a conventional gas stove. Of course, that means they’ll need an inverter. They opted for a Redarc pure since wave 3000W unit, which has the grunt to also run their reverse-cycle air-conditioner and any other 240V appliance – not necessarily all at the same time, but I’m sure they’ll manage!

Notably, Wonder Roo has positioned this electronic equipment in the tunnel boot, behind vented plexiglass to keep it safe from gear stowed in the boot. It’s a thoughtful design.

A neat idea: the inclusion of two fold-down picnic tables. One is a conventional type, while the other features a recessed shelving unit complete with a 240V point intended to power the portable induction cooktop. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this idea, of course, but I do like it

On the A-frame, Wayne and Ann Marie opted for a storage unit fabricated from checkerplate with slide-out trays either side. Now, I said this van didn’t have a gas system… but that’s not really true. You see, the couple did include a couple of 9kg gas cylinders inside the central storage locker of the A-frame box. These cylinders are plumbed to a gas bayonet near the tunnel boot, so that Wayne and Ann Marie can fire up the barbecue they intend to fit to the boot in the future. As much as I personally like the idea of being ‘gas-less’, I do think it’s wise to have a gas backup.

That said, it is limited to the exterior of the van and as a result, they could legally exclude the gas vent at the lowest point (the doorway vent has been blocked off), which only serves to better insulate the van from water and dust ingress.

The external features continue at the rear. There’s a rearview camera, and it’s worth pointing out the lockable jerry can holders mounted to the bumper. Further, Wayne and Ann Marie opted for the BOS jockey unit, which provides easy height adjustment using a portable drill – it’s a great piece of equipment.

WONDER ROO INTERIOR DESIGN

I found this custom Wonder Roo to be bright, cheerful and thoughtfully designed on the inside. The owners had a few special requests from the company, one of which I believe to be surprisingly rare in Australian caravans: a solid sliding door to separate the front bedroom from the living quarter. It makes sense: one partner can go to bed and achieve some solitude while the other stays up to watch the TV or enjoy a wine or two with friends.

I tell you what, by excluding a conventional gas cooktop, they really freed up kitchen bench space, so much so that they have a proper coffee machine set-up and still have acres of space left over. The kitchen includes a stainless steel sink with filtered drinking water, a rangehood, a microwave recessed into the lockers above, and a series of drawers and cupboards. Wonder Roo specifically highlights the strength of its drawers and cupboards, describing them as “capable of handling the roughest terrain”. The cupboard spaces were specifically measured and built to ensure they could accommodate appliances such as a Thermomix and an air-fryer.

Between the L-shaped dinette and rear bathroom are a full-height pantry and a 224L Thetford compressor fridge, mounted off the floor to allow for a large drawer beneath. I liked the pantry space specifically because it didn’t involve pull-out shelves which, in my opinion, take up space unnecessarily. Instead, there are some shelves and really, what more do you need?

Moving to the rear bathroom, there’s a feature here that’s worth touching on. You see, Wayne and Ann Marie were all set to have a composting toilet fitted but, in the late stages of the build, they came across an RV toilet that is not in wide use here. It’s called the Tiny Separett. It works by separating the waste into two separate containers. The urine goes into one container, while the ‘other stuff’ goes into a bag which can be removed, tied off and disposed off appropriately when convenient. It requires no chemicals – just biodegradable bags.

Have I touched on everything? No. Suffice it to say that Wayne and Ann Marie are very happy Wonder Roo customers. They spoke to me about the service they received, and every word was glowing. With his trucking background, which over the years has also given him a knowledge base in all things mechanical, Wayne spoke highly of the build quality too.

Oh, on the morning I caught up with the couple, the weather was typical Melbourne: absolutely freezing. Fortunately, they’d included a diesel-fired Eberspacher heater (the fuel tank is mounted to the A-frame’s storage unit). Given the toe-numbing temperature, they were very glad to have it!

SUMMING UP

This custom Wonder Roo finished up with a Tare weight of 2800kg and 185kg on the ball (unladen). With its ATM of 3500kg, not only is it spot-on in terms of the towing capability of the couple’s 200 Series, it offers 700kg of payload, which seems quite reasonable.

I have been seeing some very interesting and undoubtedly well built caravans from Wonder Roo these last couple of years, and have spoken to a number of people who’ve trusted this company with their money. So far, it’s been positive feedback, and I don’t mind admitting that I’ve come to rate these vans highly.

While my own two eyes tell me that they’re well-finished caravans, it’s the customer feedback that interests me more… and on that score, Wonder Roo Caravans is kicking goals.

HITS & MISSES

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