Majestic Trailblazer 19.6 reviewed at Caravan of the Year 2024 presented by MSA 4x4 Accessories

A mid-sized offroader with an upper-middle price tag, the Majestic Trailblazer 19.6 meets the brief for an off-grid couples van.

CATHERINE BEST — AUTHOR OF ULTIMATE CARAVAN TRIPS: AUSTRALIA

Value for money

A luxury mid-size couples caravan, the Trailblazer 19.6 by Majestic Caravans is an attractive offroader with all the bells and whistles. There’s no shying away from the fact it’s an expensive caravan, especially for its size at a touch under 20ft. You won’t get much change from $172,000, but what you will get is an Australian-built caravan with an underbody that’s top of the league. From the 12in truss chassis and Cruisemaster ATX Level 3 airbag suspension, to the one-piece composite fibreglass roof and Cruisemaster DO35 hitch — this is a showpiece van that will get you to Cape York or along the Gibb River Road without breaking a sweat.

Also reflected in the price are the sophisticated Projecta power system and the quality features and finishes throughout, together with the included extras, such as the outdoor Dometic kitchen, filtered drinking water tap, dual reversing camera, firewood/lead storage box, custom dual-slide lockable toolbox and STEDI underbody rock lights. There’s also some clever innovation in the design. I like how the electrics are contained in a purpose-built cupboard in the bathroom, which frees up valuable storage space.

Suitability for intended touring

The Trailblazer 19.6 is designed for adventurous, discerning couples who want to get away from caravan parks and hit the dirt off-grid. For that it has the solar capacity (510W), battery power (400Ah lithium, plus a 3000W inverter) and water (200L) to keep the lights on almost indefinitely. The beefed-up chassis and suspension will take couples to the furthest reaches of Australia, and they won’t sacrifice any creature comforts when they get there. The appliances (gas oven/cooker/grill, outdoor kitchen and 274L compressor fridge) will keep caravanning gourmands happy, while the Swift 24L gas/electric hot water system and generator slide provide some redundancy for alternative power. If Majestic substituted the cassette toilet for a composting model, couples could comfortably eke out a week in this van off-grid. Overall, the Trailblazer is a beautiful looking van with an abundance of storage inside and out. But, more importantly, it’s built tough.

TIM VAN DUYL — CARAVAN WORLD CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Build quality

Underpinning the Trailblazer 19.6 is a locally made truss chassis with an extended drawbar.

Truss chassis are a lot stronger and raise the body of the van higher off the ground without too much of a weight penalty, maybe 100–150kg, over a box-style chassis. The truss chassis design does move the centre of gravity higher which must be taken into account around low trees, in high winds and at speed but the offroad clearance gained is a big win. 

The chassis is first coated with DuraGal then a Hammertone-like coating that looks smart and should offer a heap of protection from stone damage. The body is built the traditional way with a stapled meranti frame and aluminium composite walls. This combination is the lightest way to build a van and its one-piece roof should reduce water-ingress concerns. 

The appliance brands used are all top-notch as is the Cruisemaster ATX suspension that has had 12in disc brakes fitted for added braking power and lower maintenance costs.

Innovation

It’s funny to say, but one of Majestic’s best innovations is one of its longest-standing hallmarks — its way of making cabinetry. With an in-house laminator and CNC machines, the team packages a lot of extra storage spaces into all of their trailers with a neat, tidy rolled-edge finish. When you have spent some time in a Majestic and then look at other vans, you’ll pick up on the way Majestic makes best use of the machines at their disposal. 

They can, and do, put in the extra bit of work to finish cabinetry well and make full use of the space. 

Their work with Nikpol also stands out and I mean literally. Walk inside the Trailblazer and you’ll be blown away by the simple and classy finishes and colours used. It might look simple but it’s hard to get the interior of a van to look so damn good. 

MALCOLM STREET — CARAVAN WORLD FIELD EDITOR

Liveability

Majestic’s Trailblazer 19.6 interior layout will look familiar to anyone who knows the caravan market. It’s the tried and trusted front bed and rear bathroom layout that works for many buyers. The 5.95m (19ft 6in) van has plenty of usable space inside, so there’s room for the nearside kitchen bench and a very comfortable-looking cafe dinette. The kitchen bench is long enough to easily fit in the Thetford cooktop/grill/oven and a moulded sink/drainer. All stylishly done in black. There’s also a generous array of cupboard and drawer space.

Across the way, the upholstery of the cafe dinette is very plush looking and matches that of the bedhead. An interesting addition to the dinette table is an angled moulding that is designed to accept the Fusion radio, a power point and a USB charger point. A downside of this is that the table height cannot be adjusted, so there will be slight modification to this novel idea. Inside the van, the window space is quite generous. Up front the bedroom windows have been designed as double tier for safety reasons, rather than a single large window.

Externally, there’s a Dometic slide-out kitchen bench, complete with a cooktop and stainless-steel sink. Just like the inside, there’s a generous external storage, including a large drawbar storage box, complete with slide-outs.

Towability

Majestic’s Trailblazer 19.6 is quite a heavy van with a tare mass of 2770kg. It does have an ATM of 3500kg, making the 730kg payload quite generous. On paper, a Ford Ranger looks to be a good tow vehicle which it certainly proved to be on a tow test, when it handled the lightly loaded caravan very well. Some of the roads we travelled on weren’t the smoothest, but the Trailblazer riding on its Cruisemaster ATX suspension was well behaved behind the Ranger. There was no rear-end sway and little fore and aft pitching. 

As always, with vans around this weight, there’s always the dilemma of the tow vehicles when the van is loaded up. Ford Rangers and their contemporaries with a gross combined mass (GCM) of 6000kg are always marginal for legal and safety reasons, so heavier-duty alternatives are often a better option. If a brand-new vehicle can’t be afforded, then maybe something a couple of generations old like a Nissan Patrol (even the petrol-powered variant) or the venerable Toyota LandCruiser might be the way to go. Another option, not often considered, is a light truck: Isuzu (NPS), Mitsubishi (Fuso), Hino (300) and Iveco (Daily) all make them!

Customer care

Majestic Caravans are manufactured in Victoria, but there are dealers in all states and territories. This means there are plenty of good choices for getting your van serviced and repaired, especially as any number of repair agents can be used as well.

Majestic provides a three-year structural warranty that covers everything. A third party, Integrity Car Care Pty Ltd, handles any warranty claims. As with many caravan warranties, it’s a part of the contract that the owner has the van regularly serviced by an authorised agent. The servicing details are not listed in the Caravan Warranty — Terms and Conditions. 

If, for some reason, regular servicing is not done, the warranty will lapse, but it can be reactivated if the necessary servicing is done. That is laid out in the warranty document, which is required reading by any owner. Not every manufacturer does this, but the warranty is transferable to a new owner, if the van is sold. It’s also possible to purchase an extended warranty from Integrity Car Care. 

JOHN FORD — CARAVAN WORLD EDITOR

Self-Sufficiency

The Majestic backs up its offroad looks and capability with an off-grid package that will suit the needs of most travelling couples. Its quality electrical installation includes three 170W solar panels sending current to 400Ah of lithium battery powered through a Projecta inverter/charger. There’s provision to plug in an extra solar panel or blanket if needed. The system is very neatly installed, and components are handy to reach for maintenance, with the inverter under a dinette lounge and the main Projecta power management board in its own cupboard in the ensuite.

The 3000W inverter will run all manner of domestic appliances as well as the air-conditioner as long as the weather stays sunny. Twin 9kg gas bottles are on hand for water heating and cooking and this spreads the load so that you can stay longer in the bush. 

Water supply is reasonable with two 100L freshwater tanks and the 100L grey tank that makes sense for national and council RV parks. A third 100L freshwater tank is an option but you need to consider there’s a total of 530kg payload because the two full freshwater tanks take up 100kg each. Refrigeration comes into your time off-grid, so it’s good to see a 274L compressor fridge, the largest currently in the 12V range. 

X-Factor

The Majestic Trailblazer 19.6 has the look and equipment factor of a ready-to-go offroader. Sitting high on a black-coated 12in Proline truss chassis, chunky offroad tyres and a high-end suspension, the van attracts a lot of attention. Numerous buyers in this category will be attracted to the unique forest matte green exterior panels over lively graphics and black checkerplate. While you might call the Trailblazer a show pony, it’s backed up by a 25-year pedigree of the company building very well-respected vans. Where it will win fans is in the high level of standard features included in the price because there’s not much you would add to hit the road.

The Cruisemaster ATX Level 3 suspension is practical and a great X-Factor showpiece at camp as you quickly level the van from the remote panel or your phone.

The interior of the van also impressed us. It’s finished with care and fine attention to detail. The upmarket vinyl wall laminates and tan leather-look upholstery at the dinette and bed head are particularly appealing and unique.

MAJESTIC CARAVANS TRAILBLAZER 19.6 SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Majestic Caravans Trailblazer 19.6 price from $171,990

MORE INFORMATION

Majestic Caravans
61 Learjet Drive
Caboolture Qld 4510
P: 1300 873 510
E: admin@majesticcaravans.com.au

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