Caravan review: Vacationer Roughrider 196C couples offroader

Despite the slightly misleading name, the Vacationer Roughrider is anything but rough — built to handle tough tracks but ensuring its occupants travel in style.

In brief:

• Luxury offroad caravan
• External length of 5.84m (19ft 6in)
• Built for offroad travel with Cruisemaster XT independent suspension
• 300Ah lithium battery and 3000VA inverter as standard

The phrase ‘living the dream’ is often used by those enjoying their post-work years travelling around Australia in a recreational vehicle (RV). There are many ways of doing that — everything from a camper trailer to a motorhome to a very well-set offroad caravan.

Vacationer Caravans, a Victorian-based manufacturer, is a company that builds vans for the latter category — that is, for those who like to travel in a bit of style and don’t have too many budget concerns.

Founded in 2010, Vacationer offers various layouts and models within its range, which specialises in offroad caravans, single and tandem axle. My review van, with an external length of 5.84m (19ft 6in), carries the name Roughrider. While this name might sound like a van that doesn’t ride well, I soon discovered that first impressions can be misleading.

The Vacationer Roughrider 196C will stand out on the road

Some manufacturers are a little coy about how their vans are framed, but not Vacationer — its aluminium-framed build is front and centre on the company website. Is an aluminium frame better than a timber frame? The fact that offroad specialists such as Kedron, Bushtracker, Sunland and Prime Edge all use aluminium is an answer in itself. For the Roughrider’s body structure, aluminium composite is used for the walls and fibreglass composite is used for the roof. Underneath, honeycomb flooring is used.

The external colour scheme is a bit of a standout, well, at least the orange and black flash decals. Metallic grey forms the primary body colour, and there is the ever-present black alloy checkerplate around the lower areas. Vacationer has given the Roughrider something of an angular look, but it’s also exceedingly purposeful.

There’s the expected tunnel boot storage and a well-sized box on the drawbar, complete with slide-outs on both sides. In addition, there are two bins, one above the other at the nearside rear, and a firewood box on the rear bumper.

Rear storage bins are handy, but the upper one is awkward to reach by shorter peopleFront external storage with tunnel boot and drawbar storage box

Getting into the rough

Like any offroad caravan, the Vacationer Roughrider 196C has a solid chassis. Built with SupaGal RHS steel, the chassis has a 150mm (6in) chassis and 100mm x 50mm (4in x 2in) main rails with a similarly sized raiser. All the water tanks have alloy checkerplate protection and thought has been given to protect all the vulnerable components in some fashion.

Cruisemaster components are used for the hitch (DO35) and the suspension — XT independent with coil springs and dual shock absorbers per wheel. Twelve-inch electric brakes are a standard feature, as are the 16in alloy wheels and Mickey Thompson Baja Boss all-terrain tyres.

The Vacationer Roughrider 196C is offroad ready with Cruisemaster XT independent suspension

What kind of tow vehicle do you need?

Caravan weights occupy the minds of many owners and potential owners. Or it should do if it doesn’t already. The Roughrider 196C has a tare mass of 2687kg and an ATM of 3500kg, giving a payload of 813kg which is quite an impressive figure and will absorb filled water tanks and gas cylinders without a problem. But it does bring into consideration the tow vehicle. While the Ford Ranger I was using did a great job of towing the Roughrider, anything over a loaded caravan weight of 3200kg is really in heavy-duty tow vehicle territory. That’s particularly the case for anyone contemplating serious offroad travel. There’s nothing like having a bit of spare capacity in engine power and towed weight.

To find out more about popular tow vehicles like the Ranger, check out our Tow Car of the Year 2025 vehicle comparison.

You’ll need a decent tow vehicle

Is the Roughrider 196C off-grid ready?

Vacationer has given the Roughrider the full lithium LiFePO4 treatment in the form of a 300Ah battery and a Victron MultiPlus-II inverter/charger with a 3000VA/2400W rating and a maximum charging current of 120A. In addition, the van comes with a 12V–12V 30A DC to DC charger and a 50A MPPT regulator for the three 200W solar panels. It’s more than enough capacity to stay for a lengthy time off-grid, mainly if the air-conditioner isn’t used for an extended period. All the major electrical components are fitted under the dinette seats, the battery under the front seat and other elements under the rear seat and they are all relatively easily accessible.

Victron electrics, including the inverter/charger under the rear seat

In addition, all the primary cable connections are labelled, making modifications and fault tracing easier. The water tank gauges and Victron inverter controls are slightly less easy to get at or, at least, read. Located in the overhead locker above the dinette, they are fitted to the side wall of the fridge cabinet, not the back wall. Anyone who uses multifocal glasses has a problem.

Alloy checkerplate protection on all water tanks

Luxury aesthetic

What’s impressive about the interior of the Roughrider 196C is the luxury aesthetic. That’s to be expected in a van that has a price tag of nearly $150K. It’s a very stylish design and includes the deceptively simple look of the waterfall benchtops and the leather upholstery of the cafe dinette. Both the cafe dinette seats have a hinged leg rest, a positive invitation to sit back and evaluate the van’s interior. That might sound a little whimsical, but it’s a factor to consider in a luxury van purchase.

The leather upholstered dinette with embroidered motif oozes comfort

Vacationer has stuck with the tried-and-trusted layout for the mid-door van, with a front island bed, rear bathroom, mid-area kitchen and dinette. The variation on the theme is the angled kitchen bench.

Plenty of storage

Internally, the general storage is well above average. There are plenty of drawers in the kitchen bench, along with the usual array of overhead lockers. Under the bed are double tier drawers, which is a nice use of the space.

The bathroom has cupboards, functional shelf space and a selection of mid-sized drawers. All the cabinetry fits together very well and the door and drawer catches, hidden or otherwise, were positive in operation.

Under bed storage with a double tier of drawers

How comfortable is it?

A benefit of the angled kitchen design is the resulting amount of benchtop space. That’s even with the black sink/drainer and the NCE two-burner induction hob. The rest of the cooking facilities include the NCE microwave oven in the overhead locker cabinet and the Thetford Duplex grill/oven under the induction hob. Facing the kitchen, the Thetford 274L compressor fridge offers a generous cooling capacity.

A notable feature is the excellent benchtop space and kitchen with all the mod cons you’d expect

Like the dinette seat upholstery, the bedhead under the front overhead lockers has a matching material on the wall. It gives the effect of a short canopy above the bed and is subtly enhanced by the bed illumination — reading lights plus the semi-concealed lighting under the overhead lockers and in the pillow cubbies. The more practical side is the caravan queen bed with pillowtop mattress and the stylish bedhead storage.

Good crossflow ventilation around the bed

Down the back, the bathroom area looks cramped, but that’s primarily because of what’s fitted in it rather than because it is too small to be practical. The essentials — toilet, shower cubicle and washing machine (well, it is a luxury caravan) — all fit in with no practicality problems. It’s also a well-ventilated area with fan hatches and a window.

The bathroom has all the essentials

Final thoughts on the Vacationer Roughrider 196C

As noted in my introduction, the name Roughrider is slightly misleading. It is built to handle rough roads for sure but also to ensure that the van’s occupants live in style when on the road. It has a very generous storage capacity and is a well-appointed (inside and out) van. Luxury for two indeed.

Measuring up

Pros

• Overall, the finish is well done
• Spacious internal layout
• Luxury feel inside
• Dinette to relax in
  
  

Cons

• Tow vehicle depends on the load carried
• Water tank gauges awkward to read
• Upper rear storage bin needs a small ladder
• No warranty details on the website
  
  

The Roughrider 196C is built for rough roads

VACATIONER ROUGHRIDER 196C RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

It’s a luxury offroad van

TOWABILITY

It tows well but will need a heavy-duty tow vehicle when fully loaded

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

Built for offroad touring in style

BUILD QUALITY

It is well finished off with good attention to detail

LIVEABILITY

Spacious interior with room to move and generally relax

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

It has a good battery and solar panel capacity; the only limit is the toilet cassette capacity

CUSTOMER CARE

Three-year manufacturing and five-year structural and chassis warranty

INNOVATION

There’s not so much innovation about this van but rather the use of a number of tried-and-trusted industry practices

X-FACTOR

General storage capacity, inside and out

VACATIONER ROUGHRIDER 196C SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Vacationer Roughrider 196C price from $147,000

OPTIONS FITTED

N/A

Vacationer Roughrider 196C price as shown $147,000

Updates For the MY25 range

Please note, this model and specs are part of the 2024 Vacationer range. The new 2025 models are bolder, more powerful and more impactful.

Vacationer has the aggressive new external moulds, three-in-one microwave/air fryer/convection oven, toolbox, stickers and airbag suspension (to name just a few MY25 updates).

Eternity has gone bigger and bolder, with a larger battery, more spacious toolbox, three-in-one microwave/air fryer/convection oven, more solar power, a new battery management system and new runway cabinetry lighting (to name just a few).

For more information, head to the Parravans Newcastle website.

MORE INFORMATION

Parravans Newcastle

329 Pacific Highway

Heatherbrae NSW

P: 02 4983 1551

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