Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 reviewed at Caravan of the Year 2025 presented by MSA 4X4 Accessories

Built to tackle Australia’s toughest tracks, the Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 blends rugged offroad ability with smart family-friendly design and the premium build quality this heritage Aussie brand is famous for.

In the hands of the Deralis family for more than 50 years, Royal Flair Caravans is a manufacturer that produces a wide range of caravans. There are plenty of conventional layouts, of course, but there are others like the Piazza series with a front deck on the drawbar and the Raptor models that feature a toy hauler. Then there’s the more standard AussieMate, but even that comes with a few trick features — like a drop-down bed and the eye-catching external colour of sage green.

ALLISON WATT — CARAVAN WORLD DEPUTY EDITOR

Build quality

Royal Flair has just celebrated 50 years of manufacturing caravans so it must be doing something right in a very competitive industry.

The 19ft 6in (5.95m) tandem axle AussieMate family van it brought to this year’s COTY is the top of the range offroad model which was officially unveiled at the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Melbourne back in March.

It’s a heavy-duty offroader and looked the part in its new sage green colour, black raptor coating and impressive decals. Royal Flair is a boutique builder, not a mass manufacturer. About four vans come off the production line each week, and the company has a big emphasis on quality over quantity.

The Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 is a boutique couples van built for offroad adventures

The AussieMate 19’6 is built with a marine ply CNC cut frame, clad with aluminium composite panels at the front, side and rear, a one piece roof and a 16mm honeycomb floor. All internal furniture and cabinetry is CNC cut and bolted together.

The chassis is 150mm (6in )x 50mm(2in) x 5mm steel with an extended A-frame so its extremely robust. The chassis is protected with Enduro advanced protective coating which has a rubbery texture so that it doesn’t chip. Textured powder coated panels are used instead of checkerplate — they are higher at front of van where most protection is needed and lower at the back.

Suspension is Cruisemaster XT level 5 airbag with auto levelling. A Black Jack electric trailer jack comes as standard.

Up front is a toolbox with slide-outs for the gas bottles on one side and a generator on the other. There’s an external picnic table, entertainment hatch to bring the TV outside, easy access to the auto-levelling suspension and a built-in Ziggy barbecue. All the electrics are tucked neatly away in an easily accessible cupboard on the offside. A neat rear bar houses the spare wheel and a couple of jerry cans to extend the tow vehicle’s range.

Suitability for intended touring

The AussieMate 19’6 is designed as a tough offroader that you can take down any Aussie road. And while it’s relatively small for a family van, its innovative layout means there’s enough space for everyone. The triple corner bunks up front were a real point of difference for the AussieMate and are big enough to sleep big teenagers or even adults.

Down the back, Royal Flair has adopted tried and true motorhome technology with a motorised queen bed which drops down from the ceiling at night. During the day you have a very usable club lounge area with plenty of space for everyone.

The Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 has a popular rear bed, mid kitchen, front bathroom layout, but with a twist

The central kitchen has bench space on both sides, a large fridge, microwave and induction cooktop. Most campers opt to cook outside, but if you are forced indoors, the AussieMate 19’6 has you covered. For external cooking, the Ziggy barbecue and gas bottles mean you’ll always be able to cook even if the sun doesn’t shine.

Speaking of sun, there is ample solar and battery power for off-grid adventures. As with most vans, fresh water supplies will eventually run out, but the AussieMate 19’6 has a generous 210L on board.

Towability

The AussieMate 19’6 is a relatively heavy van for its size with a tare of 3151kg and ATM of 3751kg which means that the average 4x4 dual cab ute is going to be out of contention as a tow vehicle. You might be looking at a larger US truck to pull it comfortably and legally.

We towed it empty with a LandCruiser 200 Series, which handled the van really well and was legal at the van’s tare weight. The van towed smoothly and without any vices, as you might expect from a builder with vast experience in getting things right.

Royal Flair told us this caravan is designed and complied to the vehicle that the customer requires. The model brought to COTY was compiled for the LandCruiser 200 Series with a Lovells upgrade, giving it a 3800kg towing capacity so it can legally tow the fully loaded weight of the caravan at its 3751kg ATM.

The AussieMate can be made from a standard 2800kg tare to 3500kg tare, depending on options fitted, to suit a wide range of vehicles and cars.

The AussieMate 19’6 isn’t a lightweight van and needs a decent size tow vehicle to pull it

MALCOLM STREET — CARAVAN WORLD FIELD EDITOR

Self-sufficiency

The AussieMate 19’6 is certainly built for off-the-grid living. It has three freshwater tanks — a 95L, 65L and a 50L — so there is plenty of water capacity, leaving just under 400kg of payload for everything else. To open up more camping locations, there’s a 100L grey water tank. The toilet is a standard Thetford cassette, which will contribute to water use when off-grid, so a composing toilet might be a sensible option.

The 12V power system uses all high-quality components and has a single 628Ah lithium LiFePO4 battery, four 200W solar panels and an Enerdrive charger/inverter rated at 3000W. The pair of 40A MPPT solar controllers and the 40A DC-DC charger are mounted in a panel on the van’s offside. There’s plenty of power capacity for the microwave oven, Dometic FreshJet air conditioner and 274L compressor fridge.

There's plenty of solar and power for off-grid stays

Two 9kg gas cylinders are a standard feature and are mostly used for the Swift 28L water heater and a barbecue connection. Given that the kitchen bench is fitted with an induction hob, the gas cylinders should last for a considerable time. When things get cool, the AU Focus diesel heater has a 9.5L tank.

Liveability

Royal Flair has been quite creative with this AussieMate layout. As mentioned, it’s designed for families with a drop-down bed over the club lounge in the rear, a split central kitchen, leaving the front for the bunk beds and bathroom. It’s a slightly unusual layout on several fronts. The larger-than-normal triple bunks are a big plus for those with older kids and adults who might want a bunk for the night. The drop-down bed is an east-west arrangement, which is necessary in this size van and alloys a good-sized club lounge below. Like any decent club lounge seating, there are all-round windows. On the rear wall, the built-in shelves are quite a useful feature, as are the wall lights that double as bed reading lights.

The bed drops down over the large club loungeThe layout allows for a large split kitchen in the centre of the van

The kitchen benches on both sides of the mid area are well-sized. Fitted into the nearside benchtop are the sink and 2300W induction hob. Underneath, the cupboard and drawer space also features a twin garbage bin slide-out and a wire basket pantry. There are no wall-mounted power points on either side; instead, there are pop-up power points with USB charger outlets. On the opposite side, the other kitchen bench and the adjacent wardrobe cabinet offer plenty of cupboards and drawers, as well as hanger space.

Pop-up power points give a modern, sleek feel

Outside, the drawbar storage boxes on both sides have slide-outs fitted, the nearside being for the two 9kg cylinders, while the mid-nearside bin contains the slide-out fitted barbecue. The rest of the nearside and offside bins offer adequate space for all the usual camping items. The only slight problem is the rear nearside bin is blocked by the awning arm when it’s closed. For night-time use, scene lights are fitted all round, so it’s nicely set up for exterior living.

Value for money

Royal Flair has always built an upmarket caravan and a number of what might be called specialist models within its range. Definitely not mass-produced, the Royal Flair has a much more boutique nature about it, which does make it harder to judge its value for money against other offroad caravans.

However, by looking at the way the AussieMate 19’6 is produced, the level of inclusions and the different layout approach makes the figure for just under $170,000 look quite good. Before I get to that, there were a couple of oddities. Most of Royal Flair’s competitors use an aluminium frame but this manufacturer still uses timber with ply sheeting in a jigsaw style, not the ‘sticks and tin’ approach, it should be said. The second is that for a 5.95m/19ft 6in van, the ATM figure of 3715kg is odd. Because of the high tare mass, it realistically pushes the van into US pickup truck towing territory.

I particularly like the AussieMate’s bunk van layout, which is a little different from most by having larger bunk beds and a drop-down bed in the rear. The high-powered electrical system and the generous storage capacity all add value, as does the overall look of the van — something that Royal Flair has always been good at.

JOHN FORD — CARAVAN WORLD EDITOR

Ease of use

By installing a lifting double bed above the club lounge, Royal Flair has efficiently used the 19ft 6in layout to create a very roomy interior for this size family van. Access to the bunks for the children is straightforward, and the large bunks are easily large enough for an adult. I like the roomy ensuite with a separate toilet setup and a decent-sized shower with a grate that adds a more homely experience.

The bathroom is a decent size to suit family travel

There may be some compromises on bench space inside, but the van is essentially designed for outdoor living. It's well-designed and has good ergonomics for the outdoor kitchen.

The lifting bed allows for a roomy club lounge and oversized dining table, making it one of only a few family vans to offer seating for everyone.

Switching to the sleeping layout is seamless, and the bed is large once deployed. It’s an east–west layout that not everyone will love, but it’s pretty much the only design option in a van this size.

With plenty of solar and efficient electronics, there is ample power to supply a family and keep the youngsters’ devices running indefinitely.

I like the built-in Black Jack, which minimises hassles around hitching, and the Cruisemaster XT airbags, which makes levelling the van when you reach camp quick and easy.

There's easy access to the fridge from the front entry door

Innovation

Royal Flair was an early adopter of the lifting bed setup in a caravan. Although it has been common in motorhomes for some time, Royal Flair has perfected the design and made it a signature part of their range for many years. It’s not that common to have the AussieMate’s roomy liveability for a family in a 19ft 6in van, and this one works a treat.

I love the van’s look. Its well-proportioned exterior shape and exclusive sage green colour scheme stand out, and the subtle dark logo up front is an excellent counterpoint to all the loud offroaders we see so often.

The van uses the Bosch Trailer Safety Control system, which despite being a valuable safety feature, is unusual in most caravan brands. The system monitors movement and applies individual brakes to minimise sway, while the ABS braking maximises braking effect. An odometer is part of the package and helps monitor service intervals.

The exclusive sage green colour is striking

Customer care

Royal Flair is one of Australia’s heritage brands, boasting 50 years and three generations of experience in crafting high-end caravans. With attention to detail and a dedicated team of long-term staff, the vans leave the factory with everything sorted. Each van undergoes water testing and weighing after the build process, ensuring you know your actual payload before hitting the road. Royal Flair’s membership in the RV Master program instils confidence in buyers. Roadside assistance applies for the first 12 months.

The warranty adheres to the wording required by Australian Consumer Law (ACL) guarantees. The terms are clear and cover offroad use but stipulate that owners must drive according to conditions and reduce tyre pressure when appropriate. A five-year warranty applies to the caravan build, but appliances are covered according to the supplier. While owners are expected to approach suppliers with warranty issues, Royal Flair offers assistance if there are any problems. Owners must adhere to three-month and then 12-month service intervals.

X-Factor

Much of Royal Flair’s appeal is its 50-year history of making quality vans. The AussieMate 19’6 is a true offroader with a high level of self-sufficiency that will get it to distant destinations for extended camping in comfort. Understated looks hide its true nature, and I like that it just gets on with being tough without any fuss. The well-executed design of the lifting bed will always impress, and it turns the van into a much more liveable space without compromising style. The wrap-around club lounge creates a spacious interior for the family to enjoy on a cold evening or on days of wet weather. All in all, the Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 combines clever design, genuine offroad capability and the high build quality the brand is known for, making it a standout choice for adventurous families.

ROYAL FLAIR AUSSIEMATE 19’6 SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6 price from $168,990

OPTIONS FITTED

N/A

Royal Flair AussieMate 19’6  price as shown $168,990

MORE INFORMATION

Royal Flair Caravans

62 Willandra Drive

Epping Vic 3076

P: 03 9357 8118
E: sales@royalflair.com.au

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