Coromal Pioneer Silhouette

Gidday Flux,

I have a PS391, and the only things we added were 3 deluxe flys with shadecloth covers, and an Aussie Traveller awning and annexe.

I had it fitted afterwards and am very happy with my decision not to get a bag awning. The Aussie takes only a minute to set up and needs no ropes or pegs unless it gets really windy. The frame and poles are all integrated into the box it lives in.

The dealer gave me a pole carrier to take the poles and pegs for the flys.

We put some of that non-slip matting in the cupboards to stop things sliding around.

I bought a 12V plug and wired a double cigarette lighter to it so as to run accessories from the battery. In our camper the 12V outlet is in the cupboard next door to the fridge.

When you get your brake controller, make sure you get a good quality unit. I got rid of the cheap Hayman-Reese unit for a Tekonsha Prodigy, and it's a far superior unit such that the trailer braking is barely noticeable. It's nicely balanced, where the HR was either on or off and had no deceleration sensing.

I've seen one or two with extra water tanks, but we get away with 1 tank over 3 days.

We have had our 391 pioneer for about 18 months and we have done about 20000KM with a large proportion of that on dirt tracks through SA/NSW/QLD

It is reasonably quick to put up without the awnings. I would say about 15 minutes. You can add another 15-20 minutes for the three awnings. Sometimes I cheat and just allow the end awnings to drape over and tie them under the beds. This is only when it is wet and windy. The large awning that we have is a standard bagged awning that will self stand if there is no wind. It is safer to peg it however. We have had the whole awning lift up in gusty conditions.

The Pioneer is higher off the ground than the standard camper and we have a stone deflector on the front. This makes it a bit awkward to pack and unpack. I need to climb up on the draw bar for the front bedslide (larger one). You do become more adept with experience, but you must have good mobility to clamber up and down. (We look enviously at the poptop vans with roll out awnings).

We have had a problem with dampness getting onto the bedding when it rains. We use a doonah and it touches the canvas in places.The black waterproof strip is not high enough. I rig up some rolls of thick plastic around three sides of the bed if rain is expected. Also the pushout kitchen section gets very damp on the inside. This is not actually a problem as long as nothing touches the canvas.
We had a few items fixed under warranty. The water tank leaked and was replaced. The step that covers the winding mechanism collapsed and was repaired. A stopper on the bed slider sheared and I replaced it with a sturdy rivet.

We are still enjoying the benefits of the pioneer. It is very roomy and comfortable. We take it on all sorts of rough tracks and enjoy bush camping more than caravan parks. We carry a porta loo under the table and set it up in a toilet tent. The van can be a little breezy (gaps everywhere) so it is more suited to summer than winter.

Kingo