Caravan review: Wonderland RV Amaroo 2100 offroad family van

We know a thing or two about Wonderland RV’s caravans, so why do we always come away impressed? Shouldn’t the sheen have washed off by now? Nope, they are great.

A testing route

I hauled this Amaroo 2100 near 3000km over 12 days. It was a rush, it always is, but it was a real test with me living out of the van day and night and using it as a base station for feeding a hoard and charging camera gear. The Amaroo 2100 was with us on our support of the Hema Maps 40th Anniversary content trip, a journey through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia with some of the brand’s best mates.

Originally the plan was to pick up the Amaroo 2100 from Melbourne retailer Outbound RVs but with our dates lining up nicely with the Let’s Go SA Caravan, Camping & Off Road Sale, we drove over from Melbourne and picked her up from Off Grid 4X4 near Mount Gambier. After a couple of nights familiarising myself in a local BIG4, we were off.

The first challenge came hard and fast with a run over the Bridle 4X4 Track that links the western flats of Baroota to Bangor, SA, and crosses the ranges between Mount Remarkable National Park and Wirrabara Range Conservation Park. I’ve driven the track many times as it offers one of the best views you’ll find of Spencer Gulf at sunset, but I had not driven it wet and it had rained plenty in the days leading up to our attempt.

Not to worry, the mud was only on the low-lying start and finish of the track with the sharp, hard climbs all dry, loose rock so with a bit of careful momentum, we were up to the Six Poles lookout and camping area without issue.

Under the stars on a chilly night at Bendleby Ranges

Our first evening away came a few hours later at Bendleby Ranges, a privately owned station that is growing in popularity as a 4WD destination and excellent camp. We took the big rig to the top of Sunset Ridge Lookout at dawn the next day (that might seem at odds with when it’s best to be up there, and it is, but we did not want to be the people blocking access with a massive van where it probably shouldn’t have been).

Another night away and a day of shooting content around the station and we were on our way to Willow Springs and the famous Skytrek track. Relax, we did not tow the Wonderland on the excellent self-guided, 80km, six-to-eight-hour loop; we unhitched for this one.

If you have experienced the Skytrek, you’ll know why it is on so many must-do itineraries in the Flinders and now that I’ve driven it, I have it on my list of best experiences. You’ll need a 4WD and some modicum of experience and be prepared for a full day of remote driving. If you are a little less experienced or nervous, ask to tag along with another group.

The crew around the campfire at Warraweena Station

Two days later and we were off to Warraweena Station deep in the western edge of the northern Flinders Ranges. Warraweena Station is at the end of the road that takes you into Beltana, a popular historic town roughly 30 minutes north of Parachilna.

Warraweena offers newly refurbished drop toilets, the opportunity to collect firewood and to explore the station tracks at your own pace. There is a loop to the top of Mount Gill that offers some spectacular views of the setting sun, but at times it is a serious track to tackle. You will need a vehicle modified for offroad use with a lift, good rubber and the real possibility of self-recovery. We used Hema Maps’ team of vehicles for this one and left the city cars at camp.

Rounding out the trip was returning the caravan to Melbourne via a stopover in Swan Hill to get to our near 3000km total drive over 12 days. A proper test then.

Living in the Wonderland

If you are wondering about the diesel heater option, grab it. I am pleased we had one with some mornings featuring strong frosts. I felt for the team camping in swags, only a little, as I drank hot coffee in comfort.

The Amaroo 2100 is classy and luxurious

The pillowtop innerspring mattress was near perfect, you can choose a memory foam mattress. The power systems and ability to make use of the many 240V general power outlets (GPOs) without concern is another mark of luxury. I ran a simple pod coffee machine every morning, fuelling up the team of 12 as much as they needed and ran a powerful 8L air fryer at its maximum when the team needed a quick feed.

For cooking inside there is a great NCE 23L microwave and loose induction hotplate that can be plugged in in the kitchen or outside. Inside there is a Swift rangehood right where it would be logical to use the induction. It should be noted that with only the rangehood ventilated to the outside (all other openings were hatches), this van was the most dust-free I’ve travelled in over dirt roads and that’s without a dust reduction system (DRS). I could hardly believe how well-sealed this van was.

I tried the air-conditioner unit off the inverter to see its draw. Being a new Dometic FreshJet 7 Series, I had hoped to test its draw at idle but never had a hot enough day to really put it through its paces. I did find it worked well as a heater, but it was nowhere as powerful or fast as the Dieselheat Hydronic unit heating the water and air.

Lighting impressed with the positioning of LED strips on the overhead cupboards giving a soft, calming feel at night. Details like the pressed tin splashback, rose gold tapware and soft, burnt orange-coloured leather on the L-shape lounge added to the luxurious feel when I had time to myself.

Rose gold tapware is a standout, as is the pressed tin splashback

Practicalities like the space around the ensuite impressed me too. This van featured two bunks to the rear with a shower opposite and a separate Thetford cassette toilet to its side. With a pleated curtain concertina door offering privacy between the kitchen and rear room, it gave me a heap of space to dry off after showering. There was one thing that I hadn’t experienced, though I had heard of it. It is one of the major options or layouts on offer from Wonderland: the Storage King.

Storage for all

Unless you need the ability to get around the main bed, and I’d expect most family caravanners probably do not, then get the Storage King layout. It fills in the wings beside the main bed with deep pockets perfect for clothes and adds a second tunnel boot that is accessible from under the bed too.

I am a fan of north–south beds with the space to move around the sides but now that I’ve fully filled the storage capacity of a van with the Storage King layout, I would option it if I was buying.

Plenty of storage in overhead cupboards

The Storage King layout adds a second tunnel boot that we made good use of

I was travelling solo, as a support trailer most of the time so I had food for 12 for over 12 days on board plus camera gear. The camera gear took up most of the under-bed area, my clothes the upright wardrobes at the bed head and in the wings, the non-perishables. You might wonder why they weren’t in the overhead cupboards and kitchen drawers — oh they were full of food too and the large cupboard in the centre between the bunk beds and ensuite was other team member’s personal gear and under the bunks were my tools and extra tables and chairs. The fridge seen in our van was a 224L Dometic with an electric compressor (12V or 240V) and we had a second, 45L Engel fridge in the toolbox as a second freezer. If you do similar it would be best practice to keep an eye on that payload then.

Dometic 224L compressor fridge

By the specs

This Amaroo 2100 was plated to 3500kg ATM, modest by comparison to a lot of Wonderland vans I have seen but still a decent consideration. Tare was stamped at 2920kg so we had a calculated 580kg of payload which I reckon we would have been close to if we had the two general purpose water tanks full to their maximum 100L each and the 70L dedicated drinking tank full. As this van was on 3700kg rated Cruisemaster XT suspension, you could have the ATM rated as such, it would be no real concern to the tow vehicle we had.

Self-sufficiency

Living off the grid is a hallmark of what Wonderland does. There is a 3kg NCE washing machine on the wall above the toilet in this van so stopping at a holiday park for a round of washing isn’t even needed. This is a van for weeks away from a power point with one exception, the cassette toilet which with a family on board will likely need to be swapped out for a spare cassette every few days.

1000W of solar adorn the roof of the Amaroo 2100Two 100L freshwater tanks, a 70L drinking water tank and a 100L grey tank underneath

With 200L of water for cleaning and washing up, careless use could see the family run dry in three to five days; with care and some river or sea bathing, you should see over a week.

You might fill up the cassettes, but you will not run out of power. I never consumed more than 20 per cent of its 450Ah battery in a day and with 1000W on the roof the battery was full again by around midday. I didn’t even plug in an Anderson plug while driving, there was no need.

The power system is tucked behind the fridge in a dedicated compartment that is internally and externally vented. It is impeccably sealed as we saw no dust on the REDARC Alpha75 BMS, RS3-3000W inverter or accompanying residual current device (RCD) and wiring. I have to say, the latest charger/battery management system (BMS) from REDARC, the Manager Alpha has made installations of big-power systems so much cleaner and simpler. Gone are separate DC and AC chargers, MPPT regulators and shunts. With REDARC it is practically plug-and-play with two major components (the charger/BMS and inverter).

REDARC’s latest Alpha 75 charger and 3000W inverter

The build

Wonderland RV is known for building tough vans. The brand’s use of interlocking structural ply for walls and fully composite roofs and floors has been well-received for years now. The style of build allows for some needed flex during hard driving and holds its shape well.

Externally, the van is clad in 3mm thick DIBOND an alloy skinned foam panel that is light, has good heat reflection properties and looks sharp in a range of colours. Between the DIBOND and ply, where there is space, panels of insulation are cut to fit.

Under the body of the van sits an S&M chassis. Wonderland and S&M have a long history, with the two companies helping each other with fresh and good ideas. The chassis is locally made, with Australian steel, hot dip galvanised then coated in stone protection. The coating is not covered but the body structure of the chassis has an impressive five-year warranty.

Holding the chassis off of the ground is a set of 3700kg rated Cruisemaster XT coil suspension. I am a huge fan of this suspension. It is lighter and I think strong enough compared to the overkill ATX seen on some vans and you can option XT with airbags now, including a holding tank to reinflate the quality Cooper Discovery tyres Wonderland fit as standard.

Price and range

I’ve reviewed a Wonderland that had a replacement RRP of more than $220,000 and a few at and around $180,000 and to be honest, I thought this van was priced around that, so I was shocked to hear you could buy an Amaroo 2100 from around $122,075, although this one has an RRP of $148,645 after its options.

The barbecue and Engel are not part of the package but can be optioned in

The Amaroo is the most affordable of the Wonderland RV caravans offroad range with the Adventus, Wonderland’s semi-offroad; the Hornet, a more rugged offroader; and the XTR, the most extreme offroader in the range.

The XTR is where airbag suspension becomes standard and truss chassis are common, but do you need all of that? This Amaroo had more than capable suspension, clearance and self-sufficiency specs to take you properly off the grid for days. It is the most affordable of the offroad Wonderland range and it might just be the best buy too.

Towability

For a drive this long with a van of this size, no ordinary vehicle was going to cut it, but I also didn’t want to borrow some built rig. I wanted to test something off of the shelf and relevant to buyers of big vans. In steps the Ford F-150, America’s bestselling vehicle for 2023 (probably 2024 too).

The Ford F-150 XLT Lariat and the Wonderland Amaroo 2100 — the perfect towing couple

Avid readers will know we’ve been sampling the latest US trucks a lot lately. That has been partly due to Ford Australia wanting groups like us to give them feedback but also because I believe they offer a compelling balance of capability and comfort, on paper.

On paper, the F-150 can tow up to 4500kg, well over the Amaroo’s 3500kg ATM and with a GCM of 7720kg for the short wheelbase F-150 Lariat there is room for gear when hauling a big van like we had. Subtract the van’s ATM and the F-150’s kerb weight (2535kg) off the GCM and you are left with 1685kg but that cannot solely be dumped in the massive tray of the F-150 as it is GVM limited to 3220kg. Subtract the kerb weight and ball weight (180kg) from the GVM and you are left with 505kg for passengers and gear, under its calculated 685kg payload but more than some utes will allow.

And for those of us who wonder if it will haul 4500kg legally — yes, easily depending on the ball weight. Say the van is at 4500kg and the ball weight is 300kg, you will have 385kg payload left, so do not expect to take the family and a tub of gear but the generous 7720kg GVM allows for a lot of towing capacity.

Power is good, torque is excellent. Fuel consumption sat at around 22L/100km on the open road and with its 136L fuel tank, I saw an easy 500km between fills. Caravan World contributor Tony O’Kane wrote a good review of the lower spec Ford Ranger XLT and I have a video on our YouTube channel on this XLT Lariat truck that goes into how it felt and went. Go look one or both up, the F-150 Lariat is that good I hope (and expect) Caravan World gets one long term.

On the crest at Sunset Lookout, Bendleby Ranges

Customer care and warranty

Wonderland RV offers a solid warranty, better than most but not quite the gold standard. The three-year warranty covers workmanship, materials and structural integrity, while original equipment (OE) components like appliances and suspension systems, such as the Cruisemaster suspension, are backed by supplier warranties, which may last even longer.

Looking through Wonderland’s warranty document, there are some reasonable limitations, such as no coverage for water crossings above floor height or use on 4WD-only tracks, the warranty remains comprehensive and fair. The document is well-organised and includes necessary service requirements, like inspecting H-moulds every two years.

The wrap

I hadn’t mentioned it before, but Wonderland RV won Caravan of the Year this year. Its excellent XTR 2211 took out the top prize impressing for liveability, comfort and build and in this Amaroo, a more entry-focused Wonderland, these attributes remain. Wonderland RV builds epically capable vans with outstanding luxury and comfort.

Measuring up

Pros

• Price
• Epic electrical system
• Storage King layout

Cons

• Moderate payload
• Sizeable weight for a 21ft van

WONDERLAND RV AMAROO 2100 RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

Wonderland’s most affordable offroad model might be the best buy

TOWABILITY

Effortless for a big vehicle, it might be a challenge with its weight for small utes

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

For a family doing a Big Lap, it is nearly perfect. A little more payload would be appreciated

BUILD QUALITY

Typical Wonderland excellence

LIVEABILITY
With the diesel heater keeping me cosy, I had some of my best nights of sleep

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Decent water, epic power and great storage. This is only held back by the cassette toilet

CUSTOMER CARE

A five-year warranty on the chassis and suspension is great; three years on the body is good

INNOVATION

The interior layout and finishing are standouts

X-FACTOR

I feel like the Amaroo 2100 is not far off the XTR for ability, yet it is substantially more affordable 

WONDERLAND RV AMAROO 2100 SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Wonderland RV Amaroo 2100 price from $122,075 

OPTIONS FITTED

• REDARC Manager Alpha75 behind fridge vertical BMS
• 450Ah lithium battery
• 1000W rooftop solar
• 3000W inverter
• Texture coated chassis
• 45L Engel outdoor fridge
• 4 x Sirocco fans
• Starlink
• Dual pull-out bins in full height pantry
• 224L Dometic compressor fridge
• Dedicated filtered 70L drinking water tank
• Grey water bypass
• Dieselheat hydronic hot water unit and cabin heater
• Rose gold taps
• Sink and bathroom accessories

Wonderland RV Amaroo 2100 price as shown $148,645 

MORE INFORMATION

Wonderland RV

46 Lara Way
Campbellfield Vic 3061
P: 03 8692 0032
E: sales@wonderlandrv.com.au

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