Caravan Review: Snowy River SRS 9 Pod

The brand new SRS 9 Pod by Snowy River is designed to get budget-conscious buyers into the great outdoors…

February 27, 2026

The new year has brought a host of changes for Snowy River Caravans’ 2026 line-up, many of which we’ve detailed here recently.

Among the changes, Snowy has brought all-new models to market, including a B class campervan and the subject of this review, a ‘pod’ style of van known as the SRS 9. ‘SRS’ stands for Snowy River Small – a reference to the diminutive nature of this camper range.

This pod style of van is, in fact, very interesting to me. I’ve always preferred smaller vans, though like everyone I do appreciate a large, lovely rig. But small rigs such as this are easier to wrangle and cheaper to tow over long distances. They don’t always offer the same level of convenience – that’s a given – but it’s a horses-for-courses situation.

In any case, like the rest of the Snowy range, the SRS 9 is built in China and finished off in Australia, and the value for money here cannot be overlooked. The 9, by the way, refers to the internal length – 9ft.

LIGHTWEIGHT SRS

One of the many advantages to a van such as the SRS 9 is the weight factor. I towed it with my personal MU-X but frankly, that’s overkill. It has a Tare weight of only 1173kg, and even when loaded to the hilt (ATM: 1600kg), the SRS 9 could be towed by a vast range of family wagons and sedans. It was a pleasure to hitch up and tow, too.

Now, the SRS 9 is not an offroad van by any means. It’s intended for blacktop adventures and holiday park stays. I set it up on a concrete site as that’s all that was available, but numerous people stopped to check out the van.

With its 270-degree wrap-around awning, rear door and side ensuite tent, the SRS 9 does make a bit of a statement. Now, the awning does take a small effort to set-up, but anyone who has tangoed with a 4WD side awning will manage easily. It appears to be a good quality item, and full annexe walls are available. That might be a worthwhile option, actually, since this van really is geared more towards outdoor living.

Let’s talk about the ensuite tent – a standard feature on the SRS 9 (an ensuite tent isn’t standard on this van’s competitors). The tent is rolled into a bag that’s mounted to a sail track on the offside of the van. Unzip the bag, and the tent will unfurl. Simply zip the floor into place. A ‘window’ provides easy access to the van’s external shower, and of course you could place a portable toilet in this tent, too. It’s a no-fuss bathroom solution that works well, especially considering this van’s price point.

Because there are no internal cooking facilities, the SRS 9 is equipped with a Dometic slide-out kitchen, which includes hot/cold water (a Fogatti instant hot water service is standard), gas burners and a cutlery drawer. One thing I like about this unit is that it’s self-supporting on it’s slide-out tracks – no need to add additional supports. You do, however, need to connect the gas line to the bayonet coupling, as well as connect the water lines.

Speaking of water, the SRS 9 comes standard with a 120L fresh water tank; however, a grey water tank isn’t included, nor does it have a conventional sullage outlet. The reason: the kitchen and shower are external. The shower floor has a drainage point from which you could run a hose, and you could easily collect the sink water in a bucket.

Despite the compact nature of the SRS 9, it doesn’t ‘feel’ sparse on the outside, or as though the important stuff has been overlooked for the sake of keeping the cost low. There’s a checker plate storage box on the A-frame, behind the spare wheel, with gullwing and side doors. There’s a fold-down picnic table and a couple of 12V/USB points too.

The fact the awning offers so much under-cover outdoor space is brilliant. The wrap-around nature of the awning means that you are protected from the sun or rain when you step outside the van’s rear door.

Snowy River builds its vans using its ‘Alopex’ build method. Essentially, these vans are all composite fibreglass sandwich panel constructions with a special ‘honeycomb’ floor. It is built atop a 4in galvanised RHS steel chassis with independent torsion bar suspension rated to 1600kg. As I mentioned, this van gets points for towing and let’s not overlook how much easier such a van is to store – it would probably even fit in your garage at home. Another good reason why I prefer smaller vans.

COMPACT INTERIOR

A major point of difference between this and other vans is the point of entry. While caravans have a typical door, a large section of the SRS 9’s rear wall lifts on gas struts. It may look heavy and cumbersome, but it’s really not – the gas struts do all of the heavy lifting.

I loved that Snowy River incorporated a separate hatch within this same section. It means that you don’t need to lift the entire rear section each time you want to enter or exit the van. I’m a tall fellow at 6’2”, and the hatch worked well for me. I also loved that Snowy incorporated a metal flyscreen for the entire rear wall section – you can open up the entire back end of the van while being protected from insects, and the fact it’s a metal mesh should aid it’s longevity.

Much of the interior space is taken up by the bed but it is a comfortable space nonetheless. The key here is to think of the SRS 9 in a wider context. No, it doesn’t have an onboard bathroom or the extensive features list of a 22ft caravan. But the idea here is to provide customers with the means to escape and make memories in a new van at a much more affordable price – and quite possibly without needing to upgrade the tow vehicle. There’s scope to spec out this van yourself later on too.

There are storage cabinets, a neat slide-out chopping board, a 20L microwave, a cabinet to the side of the bed complete with wireless phone charging pad, and a 24in TV.

We should also touch on the van’s 12V system. Being designed for holiday park stays, rather than extended off-grid living in the bush, the SRS 9 gets a 100Ah lithium battery along with a 200W solar panel and a Projecta PM210-BT3 battery management system; however, no separate DC-DC charger is provided.

SUMMING UP

The Snowy River Caravans SRS 9, with its fibreglass sandwich panel construction and overall neat fit and finish, is a welcome addition to the range. In an era of big vans that give you no change from $150,000, it’s refreshing to spend time with an entry-level RV, and the fact that Snowy has added some competition to this end of the market is also welcome.

The van itself has a lot of visual appeal, too. While it is obviously intended for a particular subset of the RV market, minus some of the features you might be accustomed too, such as an air-conditioner, I felt that the SRS 9 still brought something to the table. The ‘missing’ items are reflected in the price.