|
Sporty Van
With smaller four wheel drives grabbing
the lion's share of the market,
Track Trailer has come up with a camper to meet their needs
With its radical Leggo like design and tough
off road ability, the T'van rocked the camper trailer world when it was
launched in 1999. Why? Well, for the most part, camper trailers have canvas
that folds onto the bed area, whether they have a hard roof that doubles
as a floor or not. Not the T'van - its canvas section is stored in the
flip top roof, allowing the interior space to be used for storage.
While the original T'van was a rock hopper,
the Sport has been designed with more mild tracks in mind Essentially
it's a stripped down version of its heavy duty stable mate. That the Sport
exists at all is due to the growing popularity of softy roaders, the Outback,
Forester, X-Trail and the like.
Not quite as capable as the heavy duty T'van,
the Sport wears the same wheel and tyre package as the Subaru Outback.
External
Track Trailers, the company that builds
T'vans, use a combination of steel and fibreglass to construct the Sport,
the shape of which is hard to describe. It slopes to the front, while
the back has several angles, creating its unusual style.
Two large storage areas are fitted dup front
on either side of the van. Both have flush mounted locks for security.
On the sides of the van at the rear there are two jerry can holders, the
passenger side holding a hand pump system for water and a plug for external
power.
On the roof are two good sized wind up vents.
The front vent is locked in place with a pin, as it'll cop a buffeting
from the wind while driving. The front of the T'van has a stone/pebble
guard running the full width and up to the first angle change, where the
roof section starts running up and back towards the rear of the van. Rounding
out the walls are two large side windows, tinted for privacy.
|
|
| Rims such as these Subaru Outback jobbies make the T'van
Sport a perfect match with the Outback. The Forester we used did just
as well, though, it can be matched to suit the vehicle in most cases.
|
The chassis and A-frame, manufactured from
4x2 inch galvanised steel, provide a strong base for the van. The A-frame
houses a 50 mm ball coupling and a 200x50 mm AL-KO jockey wheel mounted
on an easy lift swing away mounting system, eliminating the need to fully
remove the jockey wheel.
The T'van Sport's MC2 Asymmetric link suspension
with coil springs and Koni shockers is what separates this camper from
the others. Apart from its self steering geometry, there's 250 mm of wheel
travel afforded for off road use. If the T'van Sport is towed behind a
two wheel drive or low slung four wheel drive, then the vehicle will be
the limiting factor. Pulling up isn't a problem - 10" electric brakes
are fitted as standard while the hubs and wheels can be matched to suit
the vehicle.
THE LIVING AREA
The rear door, which forms the back wall
of the T'van, lifts up to expose the bed area. This area is split level,
with the bed on the top level. The floor area, which includes some under
bed storage, is 1.5 m x 1.2 m. Then there's a storage bin under the floor,
which is 50 x 80 cm. On the heavy duty T'van, this area houses the water
tank.
Along each side of the bed are tie-down
rails to secure your gear when it's packed inside. On the Sport, the spare
wheel is mounted on the passenger side of the van. I found that when lifting
the floor hatch lid, it hit the strapping on the wheel cover, which means
some care would be needed to avoid ripping the cover. Mounted above the
floor area are two lights, a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher.
|
|
The fly wire screens zip into
place |
There's enough room inside
the tent section to offer cover on inclement days. |
With the lift up lid comes the ability to
house the canvas living area up underneath the lid in a hammock system
that clips and zips to contain everything. Once undone, the canvas utilises
a cross pole and two upright poles to stretch everything into place, while
pegs are used around the base to secure it to the ground.
The tent section is a little fiddly to set
up, but with experience it'd become easier. The full T'van version has
a solid floor the canvas is attached to, so setting it up is easier. There
are two side access doors in the tent area and the back wall has a full
length fly screen window for plenty of ventilation. A nifty idea to keep
the back wall taut is a bench section that is tied onto the upright poles
and secured to the wall with Velcro,
The living area isn't huge, but for two
people, it's more than adequate, and the optional awning provided even
more space. Folding everything away is a but of a pain - I had to fight
to the get 6 oz canvas back into a small enough package to stow it securely
overhead but once again, with practice it would become easier.
OPTIONS
The idea behind the T'van Sport was to manufacture
a camper light enough for the growing small 4WD market. As such, many
of the features of the original T'van have been included as options on
the Sport. This means if your vehicle can handle a heavier towing load,
you can add the options you need and tailor a camper package to suit.
Some of the options available include the
kitchen assembly, annex with full skirt, water tank and associated plumbing,
rear deck tent assembly as featured on the big T'van, and the drawbar
assembly.
On top of the above specs, which start to
add up in the weight department, you can get insect screens, extra battery
outlets and more. The package can end up as big or small as you'd like.
WORTH BUYING???
I'm the first to admit the T'van Sport is
an unusual shape and will take some getting used to aesthetically. But
with a tow ball weight of just 60 kg, a tare of 675 kg and a GVM of 925
kg, the T'van Sport is a great camper for those with smaller vehicles.
As far as towing goes, the Sport sat on the road well, with no bad handling
traits and plenty of ability off road.
The T'van Sport offers a lot of van for
the money. I could see myself spending plenty of time with a camper like
this and being very comfortable.
|
