Traveller Review
I will start by saying that I have no connection to Traveller or Nomad Caravans except as a customer
We bought the Traveller 12 months ago and we have traveled about 8000klm with around 1200klm on dirt and off road some the off road we have done has been a good
test with creek crossings deep gullies and farms that we needed a lot of clearance and wheel articulation and if a van was going to show signs of weakness it would do so with the use it has had.
The Start
We are a family of 4, two adult and two kids 14 and 16 with kids of that age we wanted a van that will house them know but will also be a good van for us when the kids get older and leave.
My wife and I come from camping families and we have camped with our kids from when they where still babies we started in Tents and in 1998 I built our first Camper Trailer cost to build $5200 sold in 2005 $8500 it had been every where but it was a good design and
well looked after which is why I don’t mind paying for quality and good design.
From the time we decided we wanted a van to the delivery was almost two years. We went to every camping show to get ideas and looked at so many second hand vans we lost count. We did our sums and decided that to buy new as apposed to a van up to six years old would only be another 10% to 15% of the total cost and we would get the van we wanted not make do with what some one else had and designed for there use.
We wanted the van to have the following attributes;
Full Off Road Capabilities.
To be able to Cary two Trail Bikes on the Draw Bar (legally) and be able to still jack knife the van with the bikes on.
Fully galvanized for beach work to prevent rusting.
To be able to be self sufficient with out 240 volt power indefinitely and
drinking water for two weeks at a time.
The Chassis had to be strong enough and all attachments out of the way so it be dragged on the ground when exerting barges on Morton and Fraser Islands.
Easy to tow on and off road.
Quality of fittings ease of use and Tradesmen finishers where a top priority I did not want to be looking at a van for the next 20 years thinking I wish I had built this my self. I was prepared to pay the price for a quality out come.
Picking the Van Manufacturer
We went to Jayco, Coromal and Sunland who will custom make if you want what they want and there staff make you feel like they are doing you a favor. So we where down to the Bush Tracker, Kedron or Traveler they where all of a very high standard with good finishes and built by Tradesmen.
We went with Traveller because of there professional sales team that where easy to deal with and where not in a rush to
sign us up until we where fully happy and all our requirement catered for this, involved a lot of communication back and forward to there
Melbourne factory but it was worth the effort as we where getting a van that would do every thing we wanted it to.
To say the building of the van went without any thing going wrong would be wrong but even when there where problems the ability of there staff to handle them was second to none with constant emails of the van as it was being built and they keep us up to date all the time through the process although at times stressful it ended up a pleasant and worthwhile and we got what we wanted.
The Chassis 8.5 / 10
Is made from 2 x 100mm x 50mmx2mm steel beams welded on top of each other for the two side rails with 100mm x 50mm x 2mm cross members and a 150mm x 50mm x 4mm draw bar that is married in to the chassis rails and extends 1850mm in front of the van so the van can jack knife at a 90 degree angle to the tow vehicle. It was then hot dipped. It is as strong as you like the welds are all good you could nearly tow the van with out wheels it is so
well built maybe even a bit of an over kill in some areas. (Built by G & S Chassis)
Suspension and Running Gear 8.5 / 10
Simplicity Independent
Suspension with 12inch wheel drums and electric brakes Alloy wheels with
Dunlop 225 x 70 x 15 S/P tires. The tow hitch is a 3.5t hyland 50mm ball all directional hitch. The van sits behind the tow vehicle as if it was not there. There is no pushing or pulling and the electric brakes give you confidence when towing. When on farms the independent
suspension works
well keeping the van steady and level on most terrains.
Bike Racks 8.5 / 10
Are on the draw bar and will hold two full size Trail Bikes. When the van is fully loaded with bikes and all our gear it has a ball weight of 275kg which is
well within the limits of most large 4 x 4s.
Rear Bar 9 / 10
Is rated to carry 250kg with four support bars that slide under the van and can be adjusted to extend past the end of the van from100mm to 450mm
Storage 9 / 10
The Generator, Porta Potty, Weber Baby Q, External Shower
Toilet Tent and ropes and pegs are in a pullout draw 1200mm long 600mm wide on 100kg draw runners in the Tunnel boot which gives easy access to these items.
Batteries 9 / 10
2 x 6volt 225amph which gives the van 225amph at 12volts these are stored on a pull out draw at the bake side of the van for easy maintenance.
The van also has a 40amp true charger so we can top the batteries up in a short amount of time with the Generator limiting the time our neighbors have to listen to the noise of a generator running.
Electrics Inside and Out 5 / 10
There are plenty of 12 volt and 240volt out lets 5 fluorescent lights outside and 4 inside this gives plenty of light with little power usage. There are points for the TV and DVD both inside and out which is very convenient. The quality of the electrics left a lot to desire but was fixed as soon as it was bought to Travelers attention with out any fuss.
Plumbing and Gas 8 / 10
There are 2 x 90litre water tanks, HWS with 2 x 9kg gas bottles and a 12volt sure flow pressure pump which is fine for pumping the water to all the out lets and gives good pressure when operating the external shower and tap on the draw bar.
I will end up putting another 1 or 2 water tanks in as when the kids are with use and if they shower it uses the water and we run low in a short time around three nights with a extra tank it will make those long week end easer.
The Kitchen 8 / 10
The Kitchen is located at the rear of the van in a L shape with a large bowl sink and dometic
cook top range hood on the back wall of the van you then come around to a microwave and then 120litre three way fridge with overhead cupboards over the top of the sink and fridge. There is also a pantry opposite the sink there is plenty of room to work with plenty of space and a fold down section over the top of the stove so when you do not use the stove you have plenty of space.
The Dinette and Lounge 8.5 / 10
The Dinette and Lounge are opposite each other this is where the staff a t Traveller came into there own into the design process, we wanted a van that would house our kids now but would also be a two person van when they are not with us, so we did not a van with bunks. The Traveller team made our dinette and lounge 1950 mm long and the lounge is 700 mm wide, this allows both these areas to become beds for both kids and has proved to be a great solution when traveling. The dinette bed will comfortably sleep two teenage kids as we have done on a few occasions.
Bedroom 8 / 10
To cater for the extra long lounge and dinette we opted for queen size mattress that is in two pieces, through the day you push the bed in and you have plenty of room to walk around to the cupboards and at night you pull the bed out which gives you less room but is still quite easy to enter and exit the bed, the mattress is an innerspring mattress which is very comfortable and you always get a good night sleep.
Entertainment system 5 / 10
There is a LCD flat screen TV above the fridge which can be viewed from the lounge, dinette and bed, there is a DVD and surround sound system above the TV and can be operated by remote control anywhere in the van or annex
Unfortunately we have not have a lot of luck with the LCD TV’s we are now on our third TV they just keep blanking out, although this is inconvenient Traveller never hesitate at replacing these TV’s.
There is also a CD/Radio in the van which can be heard inside and outside the van with in external speakers.
Cleaning 9 / 10
With the quality fittings and tradesmen finishes in the Traveller everything has clean lines and quality laminates that are easy to keep clean the floor has a one piece vinyl
with a quick sweep once a day and a mop once a week when traveling cleaning is not a problem I wish our house was as easy as that to keep clean.
Customer Service and follow up 10 / 10
Our experience dealing with Traveller and Nomad caravans has been a pleasure to deal with a relatively small that still believes in giving the customer what they want and although at times we were both challenged coming up with designs at no stage did I feel uncomfortable dealing with Nomad Caravans.
There after sale service is second to none and although we have had very few problems with the van they have never hesitated in rectifying or advising us how to better use our van.
I without any hesitation would refer people to either Jim or Anita at Nomad Caravans in Burpengary 07 3888 4455, they are a pleasure to deal with and if we purchased or upgraded another van I would not look elsewhere when comes to quality of product, service and price you will not do better.
There are Photos on my members rig and profile
Hope you enjoy this review
BBB