Caravan review: Gibb River Caravans GR23C

Gibb River Caravans is a new name in the industry — importing composite vans and chassis from China and fitting Australian suspension for local offroad touring.

Gibb River Caravans, introduced earlier this year at the NSW Caravan Camping Holiday Supershow, is a new name in the Australian caravan market. The Gibb River (the road) isn’t — being well known among offroad travellers, but the parallels are apparent. And while primarily built overseas, Gibb River vans are designed as Aussie offroad tourers.

Imported composite caravans from China are rapidly becoming part of the Australian caravan scene and the Gibb River range built by Skyline is designed to take a slice of that. The Gibb River vans body, chassis and box are Australian designed and built overseas, while the suspension is Australian-built and fitted in the brand’s factory in Melbourne, Victoria. 

Gibb River offers a selection of models and van lengths. There are several 19ft 6in (6m) designs, family bunk layouts in both 21ft (6.4m) and 22ft (6.7m) lengths and a 23ft (7m) club lounge model.

The latter model, a GR23C, with the club lounge drew my attention and Newcastle dealer Fair Dinkum Caravans in NSW happened to have one in its yard. Fair Dinkum’s Justin Pisaruk organised the van, and shortly after I was hitched up and ready to roll. 

Weights and measures

With an external length of 23ft 4in (7.11m), a van isn’t going to be lightweight, but the Gibb River GR23C doesn’t score too badly.

Although my Volkswagen Amarok handled the van without any problems during our tow test, the GR23C has an ATM of 3500kg and a tare mass of 2933kg. Consequently, when fully loaded up, it’s not really dual cab ute towable, but more like a heavy-duty 4WD. Once you’ve allocated about 200kg to the freshwater tanks, there’s a payload of about 360kg left for everything else in the van. 

Internal construction

The box section chassis is made by Skyline and manufactured from DuraGal steel with 150mm x 50mm (6in x 2in) rails for the chassis and drawbar. The TEKO TuffRide suspension is rated at 3500kg and has coil springs, trailing arms and two EFS shock absorbers per wheel. The 16in alloy wheels are fitted with 12in electric brakes. As per a normal chassis design, the checkerplate protected water tanks are fitted between the chassis rails and the battery boxes are affixed to the offside chassis rails. The entire body — roof, walls and floor are made with fibreglass sandwich panels that are 28mm thick for the walls and roof and 50m thick for the floor. The bodywork has been designed so that it can stand alone and is easily transportable without any chassis for support. 

What’s most interesting about the overall van build is that, for the most part, it looks like a typical Australian-built caravan. Quite stylish at that. There’s the usual lower waistline of alloy checkerplate for added protection when heading off the beaten track, the drawbar storage box is made from the same material, the door is an Aussie Traveller design, and the awning is a Dometic product. Being a more extended van there are front and rear tunnel storage compartments 

Off-grid

As an offroad caravan, the GR23C is well-equipped for freedom camping. Two 95L freshwater tanks and one 95L grey tank cope with the water facilities. For the electrics, Gibb River supplies two 100Ah AGM batteries. That’s interesting since the craze these days is for lithium LiFePO4 batteries, but for many travellers, AGM batteries are more than adequate and cheaper, too. Two 200W solar panels keep the batteries charged up, as does the Projecta PM235 30A charger. Like the AGM batteries, it’s not a topline unit but one that’s well-rated and keeps the budget down.

For more info on power management for off-grid travel, check out this feature. 

Club tourer

I’m a fan of a rear lounge in a caravan and with a body length of 23ft 4in (7.11m) that is readily achievable. That leaves the rest of the interior space for a split kitchen, split bathroom, a front island bed and room to spread out. The colour scheme is primarily black (cupboards and benchtops), grey (upholstery and overhead lockers) and white (walls and ceiling). I prefer a little less black, but that’s a personal choice. All the cabinetry is made from CNC-cut 12mm ply timber. 

The club lounge benefits from windows in the rear and offside walls but not the nearside, which detracts from the outswide view a bit. I know that’s to do with the awning mounting, but I’ve seen a van built for the New Zealand market (home of the window-surrounded rear lounge) that indeed had a nearside window. Each side of the rear lounge has a reading light with a built-in USB charger point and a mains power point under the nearside seat. 

Split catering

Cooking, washing up and storing foodstuffs and cooking/eating utensils are easily handled in the split kitchen. The nearside benchtop is filled by the cooktop, grill and powder-coated sink/drainer but there’s plenty of space for your cooking preparation on the opposite bench. There’s also plenty of drawer, cupboard and overhead locker space, even with the top-loading washing machine having a position in the offside bench. The microwave oven is located below the grill instead of in the usual position adjacent to the overhead lockers. Butting up against the bathroom wall is the 175L compressor fridge, offering plenty of cold food and drink storage. 

Forward space

The bathroom fits between the kitchen and bedroom. It is complete with a nearside shower cubicle and offside Thetford cassette toilet; there is still room for a trendy-looking vanity cabinet with a pedestal wash basin and door-less storage compartments. Fan hatches are fitted on both sides. For privacy, there are sliding doors on both sides of the bathroom, but neither has locking mechanisms, either open or closed. I suspect this is an omission that will be corrected in future models. 

The front area is taken up by the 1.98m x 1.53m (6ft 6in x 5ft) bed with a pillowtop mattress. It’s a standard-looking arrangement with large windows on either side offering nice natural light, side wardrobes with pillow cubbies and overhead lockers. The extended bedside cabinets are a little different. 

Customer care

Gibb River’s warranty period is better than many manufacturers. It is three years for structural, chassis and suspension. There are 28 dealers throughout Australia, plus authorised repairers.

The bottom line

The Gibb River range of caravans will undoubtedly cause more than a ripple in the local industry. If the GR23C — a van with much to offer in terms of a spacious and comfortable layout — is any indication of the range, then there will be something to suit every budget and taste. 

MEASURING UP

Pros

• 23ft 4in (7.11m) offroad van under $90,000
• Rear club lounge
• Spacious layout
• External storage
• Warranty period better than average

Cons

• Window winders felt a bit flimsy
• Bathroom doors lacked holding latches
• No rear nearside window

GIBB RIVER GR23C RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY
Exceptional value for money for an offroad van

TOWABILITY
Requires heavy-duty tow vehicle but well-behaved on the road

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING
Built for offroad use with a spacious interior

BUILD QUALITY
Generally well built

LIVEABILITY
Club lounge layout offers room to move

SELF SUFFICIENCY
AGM battery and solar panel capacity are excellent

CUSTOMER CARE
Three years structural, chassis and suspension — 28 dealers throughout Australia

INNOVATION
Construction method using Chinese body with Australian-designed and engineered chassis is different

X-FACTOR
Looks much like a locally built caravan

GIBB RIVER GR23C SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Gibb River GR23C price from $85,990

OPTIONS FITTED

• Toolbox
• Four-arm rear bumper
• Front and rear LED work lights
• Reverse camera
• LED internal and external lights
• Soft close drawers 

 Gibb River GR23C price as shown $87,990

MORE INFORMATION

Fair Dinkum Caravans NSW
39 Camfield Drive
Heatherbrae NSW 2324
P: 02 4002 7245

THE NEXT STEP

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