“I would never do that with my van…”
I’m willing to bet you’ve had that though once or twice in your touring life. You’ve watched as someone has towed their van down a treacherous embankment or up a gnarly hill and thought, what the heck are they doing?
I don’t mind admitting that those thoughts crossed my befuddled brain as I watched Chris Michel of Vision RV punish his new-release Elysium 21.6 in a way that no caravan deserved to be punished.
But as with most things, context matters. This wasn’t showboating or cowboying. Sure, it was fun, but the intention was educational, and it was controlled.
But let me tell you, watching a 21ft 6in offroad caravan traverse terrain better suited to an unhitched 4WD with 35in tyres and double-locked diffs is eye-opening.
In early September, I found myself at Springs 4×4 Park in Queensland. Vision RV was holding a muster for its members at this haven for 4WD enthusiasts. Ruts, hills, water crossings… this place has it all. And if you’ve ever seen online clips of 4WDers tackle Beer O’Clock Hill as people cheer from their camp chairs as they sip their evening drinks, well, that’s right here at Springs.
Chris is the kind of person who puts his money where is mouth is. He’s travelled widely around Australia, and he understands the offroad lifestyle. So what was the idea behind towing his company’s new 21ft 6in caravan through a course designed exclusively for 4WDs?
Ultimately, it was about showcasing what the Vision RVs were capable of, in the event you found yourself in a tight spot.
“It’s not something i would say everyone with a 21ft 6in van is going to do, but I have been down some tracks where I have had no choice. You go through an obstacle and you just know there’s no going back, so you have to take on every challenge in front of you,” Chris said. “Sometimes you need to do some gnarly stuff.”
But further to that, it was demonstrating the van could take a few knocks. Rubbing the chassis or the fibreglass sandwich panel walls against the ground or an overhanging tree branch won’t cause damage (unless you’re really trying, of course). “I don’t say those things should be your first course of action and be blasé about it, but you can do it with a van like this – get down some tighter tracks. It really does make for a genuine adventure van.”
DOWN AND DIRTY
The first obstacle was an example of a ‘chicken track’ – a track carved into the terrain as a safer alternative route. It consisted of a sharp right-hand turn immediately followed by a rise. In a solo 4WD, it would’ve been a piece of cake. With a big van on the back of Chris’ 300 Series, the tight turn wasn’t a problem, but the ramp-over as he negotiated the rise was. The A-frame of the van became hung-up on the crest, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“We just had to help the van wheels to pop up a little bit so that the A-frame didn’t have as much friction. But we have engineered the A-frame that it can handle that reverse deflection when it rubs the ground.”
The message to the throng of Vision RV customers watching the demo: don’t hang your chassis or A-frame up on a crest every day, but if you find yourself in that situation, the van has been designed to handle it.
In any event, Chris eventually resorted to his vehicle’s winch. The van crested the rise, undamaged. The lesson: if you’re going into gnarly territory, be prepared. Without that winch, he would’ve been stuck for some time.
The next obstacle was a gully in the dirt, a deep gouge that a well-equipped 4WD would make look easy. But with about 3000kg of caravan on the back, correct wheel placement becomes even more critical. As the crowd of Vision customers watched, Chris approached the obstacle… and became promptly stuck.
But, again, it was about demonstrating the capabilities of the van. This was where the Elysium’s Garmin Connect 50 system, which includes a portable tablet that shows the real-time attitude and angle of the van, its suspension settings and much more, came into play. A spotter (in this case Lucas, the owner of Springs 4×4 Park) could relay that data to Chris in the driver’s seat, providing direction as to the van’s lean and positioning. Was a wheel about to pop up, or slide down an embankment, did he need to tilt the van left, or maybe right?
All of this data gave Chris the confidence to proceed with the obstacle… though in the end, the raw muscle of the tow vehicle, all that torque and tension on the driveline, and the technical insight from the Garmin, were not enough to see him through. A snatch was needed – kinetic rope to the rescue. For the onlookers, it was another opportunity to learn about safe vehicle recovery from someone who knows a thing or two.
“There’s no point me just showboating. As much as I love this caravan gymkhana stuff, it’s really important that we talk through the logic – we want our customers to be safe,” Chris said.
THE FINAL OBSTACLE
So far, he’d negotiated two obstacles that most people would simply refuse to attempt with a caravan on the back, and so far, the van was undamaged. But Chris still had one obstacle to go. And as he said, it was the perfect example of what could happen when you needed to exit a location only to find that the way out looked a little rough. In this instance, the exit involved a hard right turn, with the track narrowing to the width of a car – most other caravans would’ve been stuck.
However, with a small amount of branch pruning and precision wheel placement, he was able to affect the manoeuvre without damaging the van, though I did spot one branch side-swipe the van and when I checked for bush pinstripes, I found none. “That’s why we use really good quality German fibreglass,” Chris told me later.
But in the event you did end up with scratch, it should buff out. “That’s why we use gloss – all the matt finishes on caravans, you can’t fix them as easily.”
For Chris, this final demonstration vindicated his decision to make his Vision RV vans a little narrower. You don’t notice the ‘missing’ 140mm or so of width inside the living space, but you do notice it when you’re towing the van through the bush.
Ultimately, he viewed the day as all part of his testing… performed in front of curious customers. I take my hat off to him. How many other caravan manufacturers would do that? Not too many. Was a part of it just Chris Michel indulging his inner child, the boy who loves playing in the mud and breaking things? Probably. But it was also a particularly insightful exercise about vehicle recovery, approaching obstacles with a critical mindset, having faith in your van and equipment, and knowing how to use everything correctly.
If you’ve read this article and remain dubious, watch the included video. Boundaries were pushed, lessons were learned and fun was had.
But while I think it’s absolutely brilliant peace of mind to know your van can handle that kind of punishment, my opinion hasn’t changed: I would never do that with my van – even if it was a Vision RV!
