Review: Snowy River Caravans SRP20 Pop-Top

In recent years, Snowy River Caravans has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of caravans in Australia. It’s perhaps not surprising: the value offered by Snowy River can’t be ignored. The shell and chassis of Snowy River Caravans are built in China and shipped to Australia, where they have found a dedicated following of new and experienced caravanners alike. The fit-out/assembly/QC is completed in the Snowy factory in Somerton, Vic.

Recently, we showed you the Snowy River Caravans SRL216S, a slide-out model with all the fruit. This month, we had the opportunity to hitch up a new pop-top in the range, the SRP20. For 2026, this 20-footer – along with two other new models – takes the Snowy River pop-top range to six vans, whereas until now it had been limited to three models: an 18ft family pop-top, and two 19-footers in both family and couple’s configuration.

But customers, apparently, told Snowy River they wanted more size options. Therefore, for next year, the brand is releasing this 20-footer, a 17-footer and a 14-footer, the last of which particularly interests me, since I have a preference for small vans.

INSIDE THE SNOWY RIVER

One of the key attractions of the Snowy River pop-top range is the ease with which they set-up. Having to lift a heavy roof, complete with a heavy AC unit on it, has long been an argument against pop-tops. However, thanks to an electric ram that Snowy River includes, it’s literally just a case of pushing a button. Undo the four catches that keep the roof secure for travel, set the awning to ‘open’, push a button on a remote control, and watch as the roof lifts as if by magic. As someone who once did his back while lifting a pop-top roof, I think this alone is a fantastic feature. I appreciate that this system can be manually overridden in the event of a failure.

Stepping inside, you’ll find a bed in the front, a nearside cafe dinette, an offside kitchen with a 174L compressor fridge-freezer, and a rear bathroom.

The north-south bed is surrounded by wardrobes and overhead lockers. Both bedside tables are equipped with a wireless charging point while the reading lights have integrated USB points. On this note, reading lights with USBs is now a standard feature for 2026 whereas they’ve been optional until now. In fact, that’s the theme with the 2026 pop-top range: a host of features that were previously optional are now standard. This also includes things like the slimline J-mould rubber found on this van, a new oval washbasin with tap for the bathroom, dual bug lights under the awning, three drawers at the vanity, and a drop-down table leg for the dinette so that you can convert the dinette to a second bed.

New features for 2026 include a three-way kitchen sink tap, a larger shower door, and even full provision for Starlink Mini.

Now, are you familiar with the ‘tri-fold’ style of dinette table that fold out to create more table space? Well, Snowy has reimagined this feature, creating a table that slides and folds instead. It’s difficult to describe so I recommend watching our video. It’s a good design, though.

Another feature: the fact that Snowy River includes insulation for around the pop-top gusset, with window spaces to match. The only thing I’d add would be tassels or a way to keep both the gusset flap and the insulation flap neat when rolled up.

Given the spaciousness of the front bedroom, the bench space in the kitchen is a little tight. That said, the four-burner cooktop and griller are recessed below bench height, with a hinged section of benchtop above, so it’s manageable. A small but noteworthy point: Snowy River has included plastic collars to finish off the holes where the pipes enter/exit the cabin beneath the sink in the kitchen and bathroom. Brilliant.

That leaves the bathroom. There’s a curtain for privacy rather than a solid sliding door, along with a wall-mounted front-loader washing machine, a cassette toilet, a shower and vanity.

My over-riding impression of the interior of the Snowy River SRP20 is that it offers a sense of space and comfort. It feels bright and open, and it’s easy to set-up thanks to the electric roof.

BUILDING THE SRP20

The SRP20 is built atop a 4in galvanised chassis with a 6in A-frame, and torsion bar independent suspension. All that said, the van does ride low – it’s not built for hardcore offroad touring. Think sedate trips on hinterland highways and stays in holiday parks. Thanks to its low travel height, though, the van should be easy to store under cover.

The structure is made from ‘Alopex’, the trademarked name Snowy River gives its wall construction – vacuum-bonded fibreglass sandwich panels with an XPS foam core for structural strength and insulation, along with some aluminium framing. I don’t mind the black mouldings found at the rear, either.

Anther small feature that I appreciated: the fact that Snowy River included a front window with a stone guard. Front windows fell out of favour for many years by Australian manufacturers for reasons I don’t understand, but it’s nice to see one here – the natural light it provides helps the bedroom feel bright and cheerful.

On the nearside, the SRP20 offers a full awning, a fold-down picnic table, a couple of speakers (there are speakers internally, too, hooked to the onboard sound system), and a tunnel boot. 

The 12V system is comprised of a 200W solar panel and a single 100Ah lithium battery. It isn’t overly fancy, no, but it should do the job considering the type of touring for which this pop-top is intended. It uses the Projecta PM210-BT3 power management system, which includes a 30A AC charger, DC-DC charging, an MPPT solar input, a Bluetooth-enabled touch screen for monitoring and control, and water tank monitoring. Speaking of water tanks, the SRP20 gets two 95L fresh water tanks, with the filling points clearly marked on the offside.

Because the van does sit quite low, I did struggle a bit to deploy the corner stabilisers so that they were dead vertical, and the mud flaps sit quite close to the ground, but I managed. That said, the van was a dream to tow, with no issues whatsoever behind my MU-X. In terms of weight, it is about what you’d expect: 2303kg Tare, though with its ATM of 3000kg, there’s an excellent payload capacity on offer. Hitching up is easy enough too. The van uses a simple 50mm ball coupling – it gave me no difficulty. 

GORV’S VERDICT

I think the Snowy River SRP20 would appeal to couples who, first and foremost, seek value for money. At $66,990 RRP, there’s no doubting the value on offer here. I also believe that the argument against pop-tops – the fact they require some setting up – has been largely mitigated by the electric roof.

So if pop-tops are your thing, and you’re seeking bang for your buck out of a van that offers genuinely good living space and the main creature comforts, take a look at the 2026 SRP20 pop-top by Snowy River Caravans.

THE SCORE 

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

• I’d like a way to secure the pop-top windows and insulation window flaps to keep them neat when unzipped
• There was some errant silicone here and there throughout the van
• I struggled a bit with the corner stabilisers since the van rides quite low

COMPLETE SPECS