Caravan review: Cub Campers H14 luxury pop-top hybrid

Cub Campers has been building its successful range of camper trailers for 56 years and in recent years has branched out into caravans and hybrids. Malcolm Street took its compact H14 out for a spin.

Cub Campers can make several claims to fame. One is that the manufacturer has been around for over 56 years, with the business in the hands of the same family for all that time. Few, if any, could make a similar claim.

For the most part, Cub has built an incredibly successful range of camper trailers, but in recent years, it has also developed a range of hybrid caravans, which are a cross between a camper trailer and a caravan. To me though, they just look like small caravans.

First off the ranks were the impressive 16ft models in both full caravan and pop-top models, then more recently, Cub shaved a couple of feet off to produce its F14 (definitely more camper trailer-like) and H14 (pop-top) models.

I was able to get my hands on the H14 for a review. By that, I mean virtually standing by the factory door and waiting for it to roll off the production line. Well, it’s something like that, but it indicates the popularity of Cub’s caravans.

The compact H14 will fit into some great camping spots

Cub’s NSW State Manager Matt Kennelly was kind enough to set up the rig for me with a LandCruiser tow vehicle. After that, it was time to head into the Blue Mountains west of Sydney for a suitable photo location.

What I like about the Cub 16ft and 14ft range of vans is that, relatively speaking, they are not big caravans nor overly heavy. Yet, they are designed for offroad use and, as the Cub team would like to point out, made in Australia — Sydney, to be precise — a little differently from most of the rest of the industry, even the local manufacturers.

Size isn’t everything

Cub’s H14 has a tare mass of just 1790kg and an ATM of 2500kg, which ticks quite a few boxes in terms of tow vehicles. For instance, a dual-cab ute, even one a few years old, would be an ideal tow vehicle. There is plenty of spare capacity in engine capacity and tow ratings.

On my drive west, the H14 was a delight to tow, without any dramas. When crossing the Blue Mountains, the Great Western Highway always provides plenty of varying road conditions and Cub’s H14 travelled with aplomb. Another factor came to light unintentionally. The H14 has a width of just 2.23m (7ft 4in) and on a side excursion down into the Megalong Valley, I discovered the road was partly closed because of a recent landslide. Indeed, the temporary road is so narrow that an escort vehicle is required in one particular section — I didn’t scratch the paint at all! The other asset of a reasonably short caravan is that it’s not difficult to get into some great camping spots, which would be impossible for a larger van. And the pop-top means it has a lower height of only 2.5m (8ft 3in) when in travel mode.

With a width of just 2.23m the Cub's nimble body will get down narrow tracks

Engineering

Cub Campers builds its own chassis. Made from BlueScope DuraGal 3mm steel, the chassis is hand-welded using 150mm x 50mm (6in x 2in) for the main rails and drawbar and then coated with Hammertone for effective stone protection.

Like the chassis construction, Cub uses its purpose-built independent suspension, with trailing arms, coil springs and dual shock absorbers. Cub also offers the option of Cruisemaster ATX air bag suspension, which increases the ATM to 2700kg. On the drawbar is an AL-KO offroad ball coupling, which is good for vertical and horizontal articulation and easy hitching. Also on the drawbar is an ARK XO750 jockey wheel, the type that snaps up out of the way when not being used.

AL-KO offroad coupling is a standard fitting

Behind the mesh stoneguard are other camping essentials, like the pair of 4kg gas cylinders, the two jerry can holders and the diesel tank for the Eberspacher HS3 water heater. Like any good caravan, there’s also a storage box on the drawbar, which has an optional large alloy storage bin on a slide-out — which is a convenient feature.

Composite panels are used for the body structure. Filled with XPS insulation, the walls are 30mm thick and the floor sheet 40mm. Wax Converters makes the polyfabric for the pop-top gusset; like the wall panels, it is made in Australia.

If there isn’t enough external storage already, a couple of bins are built into the front offside body. One is dedicated to some of the REDARC electricals and the other offers a generous storage area.

Located externally is the REDARC electricals and a generous storage locker

Enjoy the outside life

It’s hard not to be impressed by the external kitchen facilities. The sideways-facing kitchen bench is beautifully made from Rimex embossed stainless steel and slides out very quickly, making outdoor cooking a breeze. Built into the bench is a stainless-steel sink alongside a three-burner hob. The hinged extension adds greatly to the benchtop space. Alongside the kitchen bench there is a fridge slide-out, and our review van featured a Dometic CFX3 95DZ fridge/freezer. The Fiamma awning, when extended, covers most of the outside living area.

External kitchen finished in Rimex embossed stainless steelA stainless steel slide-out storage box is an option

Step aboard

Setting up the pop-top H14 takes a minimum amount of time and effort. It involves mostly undoing the roof clips and pushing a switch — the roof is electrically operated. Inside, despite being a relatively small area, the wall and roof window area is large and allows plenty of light and ventilation, thus creating a nice spacious feel to the interior. I’m not a big fan of black walls, like on the interior of the pop-top vinyl, but otherwise, the interior colours create a good ambience.

Most of the front half of the van is taken up by the 2.1m x 1.6m (6ft 11in x 5ft 3in) bed, Butting up against that is a two person dinette, leaving just enough room for the offside corner bathroom and a small kitchen across the rear. It’s a very neat compromise of space usage and practicality.

The spacious bed at the front with bed level windowsUnderbed drawer frame forms a handy bed step

It’s surprising when you sit or lay on the bed because being at window level gives a whole new perspective on the world outside. Even with the window blinds in a three-quarter position for privacy, a decent amount of ventilation is still possible. The hinged top compartments on both sides of the bed are helpful for small items. In addition to the reading lights at the bed head, there are Sirocco fans, charger points, mains/inverter power points and Eberspacher heater controls at the base of the bed.

Clambering into bed is quite easy. There’s a step at the base of the bed, which is also the protruding frame for the under-bed drawer. What also makes getting into bed easy is that there are individual Lagun-mounted tables for each seat. They can be moved together to form a larger table or left separate.

The small internal kitchen offers a generous amount of cupboard and drawer space

In the rear, the small kitchen bench area is surprisingly well equipped with drawers — six to be precise plus a multi-shelved cupboard. Like the external kitchen, the benchtop has a stainless-steel sink and a Rimex stainless-steel top.

Similar to the rest of the van, the bathroom is moderately sized and accommodates a flexible hose shower, bench-style cassette toilet (or optional composting toilet for extended off-grid stays), and shaving cabinet. Being a pop-top van, the necessary vinyl curtain is above the door.

Combination shower, cassette toilet and vanity in the corner ensuite

Going off-grid

In standard form, the H14 has a 150Ah lithium LiFePO4 battery, two 180W solar panels and a REDARC 30A battery management system (BMS). This H14 has received an upgrade with Cub’s Off-Grid Pack. It consists of three extra 150Ah lithium batteries, two extra 180W solar panels and a second 100L freshwater tank. To cope, the REDARC BMS is uprated to 75A. In addition to that, there’s an optional 3000W inverter, so running all the 240V devices for extended periods isn’t a problem. Even in base form without the additional and impressive off-grid facilities, staying off-grid for an extended period isn’t a problem; just use 12V devices like the fridge, water pump, fans and lighting.

Customer care

Cub’s warranty is easily accessible on its website. It runs to four pages and it’s worth a read before purchase. Mostly because there are different warranty times for various items. For instance, there’s a nicely defined five-year structural warranty, two years on items like the water pump and gas cylinders, with items like the hitch and water tank only covered for 12 months. The warranty document is much clearer than some I have come across.

Composite panels are used for the body structure and the pop-top gusset is a polyfabric

The bottom line

Cub Campers is onto a winner with its H14 hybrid. It’s not an overly large van but offers the benefits of being highly manoeuvrable, and yet with plenty of storage space and a liveable interior. On top of that it has a very impressive list of fitted components that will ensure a great lifestyle on the road.

Measuring up

Pros

• Cub's iconic Australian made quality
• Great for lightweight travel, it doesn’t require a large and expensive tow vehicle
• No problem with offroad, off-grid travel
• Window area in both the solid walls and pop-top

Cons

• Limited interior space
• Black interior colours, but there are other upholstery colour options available

CUB CAMPERS H14 RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

Cub’s asset is the quality of the installed components in a well-put-together package

TOWABILITY

It is a great towing prospect and doesn’t require a heavy-duty tow vehicle

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

It is ideal for offroad travel in a small and manoeuvrable caravan

BUILD QUALITY

Cub’s production process looks very good

LIVEABILITY

Cub proves you don’t need a large offroad van for a comfortable offroad RV lifestyle

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Especially with the off-grid pack, the only limiter is the cassette toilet, but to fix that you can option on a composting toilet for the ideal package

CUSTOMER CARE

Cub offers a five-year warranty on structure and lithium batteries, with varying time frames for other items, some as short as 12 months

INNOVATION

Engineering time and design to get the space/weight factor reasonable

X-FACTOR

Cub has done a great job downsizing the 16ft model to 14ft

CUB CAMPERS H14 SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Cub Campers H14 price from $89,990

OPTIONS FITTED

• Inverter - REDARC 3000W
• 2 x Sirocco fans
• Webasto Cool Top air-conditioner
• Front storage box pantry drawer
• Off Grid Pack 600Ah – includes:
  • Second water tank (100L)
  • Additional three 150Ah lithium batteries (five-year warranty)
  • Additional two 180W rooftop solar panels
  • Additional battery box
  • An upgrade to a REDARC Manager Alpha 75

Cub Campers H14 price as shown $103,440 

MORE INFORMATION

Cub Campers

23 Loyalty Road

North Rocks NSW 2151

P: 02 8838 8600

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