Small enough for easy towing and large enough to be comfortable, the Wildtrack Offroad 16ft Hybrid X is ideal for couples who like to explore off the beaten track.

Explorer RV is a north Brisbane dealer that specialises in offroad caravans. It is owned by Tony Scott and Mark Teitzel, two keen caravanners who enjoy the outdoor lifestyle with their families.

When I first met them, they enthusiastically talked about a trip to Alice Springs and the East MacDonnell Ranges via the Plenty Highway and the Binns Track. Both men have plenty of offroad travel under their belts, which gives a very good experience for the range of caravans available at Explorer RV.

A typical example is the Wildtrack Offroad 16ft Hybrid X. Apart from anything else, it’s a relatively small van designed to be highly manoeuvrable on dirt tracks and in similar offroad situations.

Well put together

Wildtrack caravans are built in Victoria by Prime Edge Caravans, a manufacturer that builds good vans and is known for the quality of its interior fit-out. Indeed, the 16ft Hybrid X’s interior does nothing to change that impression. The cabinetry all fits together neatly, with a finish that looks and feels great — everything from the smart-looking benchtops to the glossy overhead lockers. There are power points and USB hubs everywhere and the light fittings are in all the suitable locations.

The Wildtrack has an external kitchen

The Hybrid X has a rear entry door and features the standard interior layout of a rear bathroom, front island bed, and central kitchen and dinette. Despite the van’s short length, the interior still feels very easy to live in. I like the extra-large window area, which delivers abundant natural light and ventilation, and the general ambience of the interior.

The internal kitchen the Offroad 16ft is best described as minimalist with just enough length to fit in a square sink and a two-burner Thetford induction hob. That’s OK, though, because there’s external cooking sorted with the slide-out kitchen outside on the Hybrid X model. Bushtucker makes it from stainless steel and includes a two-burner LPG hob, stainless-steel sink and a sliding extension. There isn’t an external fridge (unless you have one in the car) but the Dometic 224L compressor fridge inside should be more than adequate for all occasions. The inside kitchen also has the ubiquitous microwave oven mounted in the overhead locker space. Kitchen storage is a bit limited with just one cupboard and a couple of drawers.

Two-burner induction cooktop

The dining area faces the kitchen and is simple to set up, with just a table and a tandem seat parallel to the wall. It’s nicely comfortable for two people, and the Nuova Mapa table mount is fully height adjustable and can be moved around to suit requirements.

Like the rest of the van, the rear bathroom is well-fitted out. It has an impressive-looking vanity cabinet across the rear that includes a large wall mirror. In addition to the corner cupboard and overhead lockers, the lower open shelves, stylishly done, offer practical storage space. Both the shower cubicle and separate toilet — a Thetford ceramic bowl cassette — have ventilation hatches.

There's a roomy bathroom down the back

Up front, the island bed is well-ventilated by the large windows on each side, a decent-sized roof hatch and two Sirocco 12V fans. It is almost like sleeping under the stars but with solid walls and no flapping canvas. The bedhead cabinetry fits very neatly into the front wall area. Removable shelves are fitted into the wardrobes; both have the increasingly common pillow cubby area below. On either side of the bed, the cabinets aren’t symmetrical; the nearside one is more of a step and the offside, at bed height, is slightly extended which would be useful for someone needing a sleep apnoea machine.

A large window by the bed

One side of the bed gets a step, the other a cabinet

Off-grid use

The Hybrid X features included an Enerdrive eSYSTEM Combi SI battery management system (BMS). Mounted behind an offside panel, the charger is rated at 100A, the inverter at 3000W and the pair of MPPT solar controllers and DC to DC charger all rated at 40A. The 240Ah lithium LiFePO4 battery is mounted on the chassis rail in front of the offside wheel.

All that is highly impressive and gives the van a very good off-grid capability. It comes with the standard pair of 95L freshwater tanks and a single 95L grey water tank which is handy for stays in national parks.

Plenty of power onboard

Good looker

Matching the interior, the exterior is very well put together too. The team at Explorer RV is keen to point out that the Wildtrack vans have an aluminium frame that is hydraulically rivetted. For the cladding, the sides, front and rear are all sandwich panel construction, and the roof is one-piece fibreglass. Mostly out of sight, the floor is also a one-piece, a honeycomb structure.

There’s little doubt that the gold colour of the cladding is very eye catching and that is complimented by the waistline of black X-plate. It looks a bit classier than the more usual alloy checkerplate.

Equally eye-catching and quite practical is the Wolf rear bar and spare wheel carrier. Built into the rear bar are two jerry can holders, a firewood box and a lockable pull-out drawer. It’s very well engineered.

The Wolf rear bumper bar structure has a purposeful look

For the outside lifestyle, in addition to the external kitchen and awning, the mid-wall picnic table is surrounded by a TV mounting bracket, external speakers, power point and a 12V/USB hub. The external lights on the front, nearside and rear walls are all the white/amber style.

Van storage

There’s the usual storage built into the van body, with a well-sized tunnel boot, even with the slide-out kitchen, and two storage boxes on the drawbar. Those come with a slide-out tray for something like a Weber barbecue and a slide-out drawer. Between the two drawbar boxes is where the two 9kg gas cylinders are mounted. That location does have the advantage of being protected (there’s a mesh stoneguard on the drawbar) and well-ventilated but just a little awkward to get at.

Bushtucker slide-out kitchen

Offroad travel

Being an offroad van, the 16ft Hybrid X is well set up for that purpose. The DuraGal box section chassis has 200mm (8in) laminated rails, 150mm (6in) drawbar rails and a Cruisemaster DO35 hitch. Cruisemaster 3T ATX independent suspension, with coil springs, shock absorbers and trailing arms, helps smooth out rough roads. Both the freshwater tanks are mounted forward of the suspension and all the tanks have galvanised sheet protection. Rock sliders are fitted front and rear.

Cruisemaster ATX coil spring suspension is standard

On the road

For an offroad van, the 16ft Hybrid X isn’t overly heavy. Having a tare mass of 2212kg and an ATM of 3000kg gives a good payload of 788kg. It’s a van that doesn’t require a Toyota LandCruiser for safe towing. Indeed, any number of dual cab utes should be more than capable. My tow vehicle, a turbo diesel Ford Ranger proved more than equal to the towing task and the van was very well behaved, both on the freeway and bush tracks.

The van towed well on bitumen and rough tracks

The bottom line

A good thing in a small package is how the Wildtrack Offroad 16ft Hybrid X is best described. This little van has it all — easy towing, a small but comfortable interior and a good electrical capacity. It’s a great van for both couples and solo travellers who don’t desire an overly heavy offroad caravan.

In brief

• 16ft single axle caravan
• Built for offroad travel with Cruisemaster ATX independent suspension
• Front island bed,
• rear bathroom layout
• External and internal kitchen

Measuring up

Pros

• Stylish looking van
• Small enough for easy towing, large enough to be comfortable
• External kitchen
• Rear bumper bar design
• Five-year warranty

Cons

• Small kitchen layout
• Nothing of particular note

WILDTRACK OFFROAD 16FT HYBRID X RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

Not the cheapest van on the block but it’s been very well built and has all the essentials and much more

TOWABILITY

Great towing van for highway travel and narrow bush tracks

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

Well designed for offroad and off-grid travel

BUILD QUALITY

The interior fit-out and finish is particularly good

LIVEABILITY

It has a compact interior but is well kitted out for external living

SELF SUFFICIENCY

Good battery/inverter and solar panel capacity

CUSTOMER CARE

Excellent with a five-year structural warranty that includes offroad travel

INNOVATION

A small package that has an abundance of features

X-FACTOR

A great-looking van with a touch of class about it

WILDTRACK OFFROAD 16FT HYBRID X SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Wildtrack Offroad 16ft Hybrid X price from $112,900

OPTIONAL EXTRAS FITTED

• Enerdrive eSYSTEM Combi SI battery management system
• 3000W Enerdrive inverter
• Induction internal cooktop
• Dometic 224L 12V compressor fridge
• Bushtucker stainless-steel outdoor kitchen
• Cruisemaster 3T ATX coil suspension
• Exclusive Wolf offroad rear bar and spare wheel carrier
• Maxxis Razr All Terrain tyres
• Rock sliders

Wildtrack Offroad 16ft Hybrid X price as shown $124,900

MORE INFORMATION

Explorer RV Caravans

2a/218 Leitchs Road

Brendale Qld 4500

P: 1800 960 111

E: info@explorerrv.com.au

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