In this product review, Pat gives you his thoughts on the Track Trailer T4 Hybrid Caravan.
It looks like a ‘regular’ single axle off-road caravan by all intents and purposes. Off-road suspension and tyres, loads of ground clearance, and a bed up against one end. But in reality, that’s like comparing a Datsun Fairlady to a Lamborghini Huracan. Yes, they’re both sports cars, but one is a supercar, and the other is not.
If you hadn’t already worked it out, the Australian-engineered and built Track Trailer T4 is the Lambo in this analogy. With their glut of winding roads and doorway to Europe, it makes sense that the Italians would design sexy fast cars that know how to corner. Yet it makes even more sense that Australia would be the home of the finest off-road creations on the planet.
The caravan industry in Australia has, however, had a chequered past. Manufacturers come and go with the seasons, and things like R&D and warranty are what some builders consider ‘optional’. Track Trailer sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. While its trailers remain essentially hand-built, the roots of the company lie in military contract fulfilment. Before building fancy $100K-plus off-road caravans, they built off-road trailers for the Australian Army.
Before Tesla had a Trunk, the T4 had one…
HYBRID-OGRAPHY
The Track Trailer T4 is known as a hybrid, which refers to its ability to bridge the gap between a traditional off-road camper trailer and a caravan. And I think it’s worth pausing here to discuss what that means. Most caravans that talk about being ‘off-road’ are, by definition, not. These very traits kill them while they may load up with additional armour, axles, and strength. It not literally kills them but kills them in an off-road sense. Weight is the enemy of the off-road caravan, as, without driven wheels, it becomes an anchor in off-road conditions. A heavy off-road caravan doesn’t do well at all off-road. Think soft sand, mud, and distance – all relatively common in our nation.
With their exhaustive history in off-road conditions (look no further than the Tvan), Track was never going to do anything but create a clean slate to build their new hybrid. Two axles? No, let’s make it one to save weight. An off the shelf chassis? No, engineer our own to save a few kilograms. Decisions like this helped create a unit with a meagre tare weight (from 1850kg) yet a massive living space (15ft). This is highly significant, folks, so don’t gloss over this point. We’re talking about a luxury 2.5-metre-tall off-road caravan that weighs less than many canvas-tented camper-trailers.
The translation of this weight, or lack thereof, comes into its own when you drop it onto your hitch. The tare ball weight sits at between 140 and 170kg. It will always ride better when laden, but it felt assured and confident even unladen. I’ve been lucky enough to tow the T4 in many outback locations, and every time it surprised me. It simply feels like you’re dragging something far, far smaller. Acceleration is better, fuel consumption, cornering, and most importantly, the ride over broken roads. Yet that last fact should come as no surprise. The T4 Hybrid features the same MC2 suspension design as the Tvan (albeit with four shock absorbers rather than two). This suspension is, in my eyes, the best in the game, with incredible wheel travel – far more than the vehicle that’s towing it!
DUST’N’DIRT
Anyone who has dragged a caravan on an outback dirt road will appreciate that it doesn’t always go well. Things can fall off (like plumbing), things can fall apart, and dust can get in. There have been many a caravanner who has slept in a dust bath after conquering the Kimberley. To this end, Track has focussed on every orifice of the T4 to ensure dust has a devil of a time getting in. The hatches all feature compression locks and double-lipped automotive seals. The doors? The same. And those areas like the fridge that need some ventilation to breathe through automotive air filters. Even the ginormous roof is one piece, maximising strength, and minimising dust ingress. The extending roof is operated via four electric motors. If the roof comes in contact with something (like a tree branch) on its way up, it will sense this and halt all four motors rather than potentially damaging the van.
Over the years, housing designers have made it their top priority to ‘bring the outdoors inside’ with bi-fold windows and floor to ceiling glass. Those massive panoramic windows are fully bonded, becoming part of the superstructure (as in modern vehicles). You don’t quite realise just how good the windows are until you’re presented with an uninterrupted outback sunrise or sunset. Yet caravan manufacturers have stood still, putting this issue in the ‘too hard’ basket due to its engineering challenges. After all, the internal framework of a traditional caravan would always get in the way of oversized windows. Track managed to conquer the issue, and this is just one reason you’re looking at a $140K-plus hybrid. Being cool isn’t cheap, it seems.
SWEET FEATURES
The pop-up pantry is another dead cool feature that could be considered the ultimate caravan party trick. Press the button, and up pops your corner pantry from the benchtop. It’s quiet and quite frankly hilarious to watch. But it’s also practical, utilising a part of the cupboard space that would otherwise be dark and inaccessible.
Most caravans are merely a sum of their parts – parts from different companies that come ‘off the shelf’.
As a result, every door, hatch and lid comes with a unique key, making the owner look like a Pentridge Prison officer from the 1970s, with keys jangling off their belt. Track minimised the number of keys and integrated central locking into the T4. So now, via the Redarc RedVision App, you can lock and unlock your van. You still have compression locks to engage before hitting the dirt, but it’s a one-touch affair when you simply want to lock her up to have a feed at the Broome Bowlo.
INSIDE & IMPROVEMENTS
The interior is comfortable and customisable. You can swap the configuration of the main bed to be north-south or east-west. You can choose to have bunks up the back of the van, a kitchen, or a shower. Or you can have a kitchen inside and outside – it’s your call.
Having lived with the T4 over many outback miles, I’ve mulled over improvements I would like to see. First and foremost, more colour scheme offerings could be made. The black/grey and white combinations could be broadened to include more earthy tones. No, not necessarily sandy taupe, but earthy greens and blues, more reflective of the Australian bush. Likewise, the interiors are a generation behind the colours and designs you’ll find in modern yachts – a place where Track has previously sought inspiration (see their magnetic canvas attachments). I would also like to see a higher grade of tyre with stiffer sidewalls. There is up to 1.2-tonne of weight on each tyre, and I think a tyre with a heavier sidewall would result in even better handling. Having said that, I’m sure tyre choice could undoubtedly be negotiated with the dealer.
With average pricing around the $140K mark, the Track Trailer T4 is definitely for the discerning buyer. But as is often the case, you have to have money to make money. The resale value of a Track Trailer does more than hold its own. There have been many instances where buyers have sold their used vans for the same or more than their purchase price. So, if your budget extends, you would be slightly mad not to look at a T4 for your next outback adventure.
SPEC SHEET
HEIGHT: 2550mm
GUARD / BODY WIDTH: 1990mm
AWNING / MAX WIDTH: 2055mm
DRAWBAR LENGTH: 1000mm
FULL LENGTH: 6575mm (21.5ft)
INTERIOR LENGTH (measured at bench height): 4590mm (15ft)
WEIGHTS:
TARE: 1850-2000kg
ATM: 2650kg
PAYLOAD: 800-650kg
BALL WEIGHT (TARE): 140-170kg
WATER CAPACITY:
WATER TANK SIZES, MAX TWO TANKS: 210L front-mounted water tank / Optional – 50L mid-mounted water tank
GREY TANK SIZES, MAX ONE TANK: 50L rear-mounted grey water tank
BLACK TANK: 16L cartridge – for convenience / *Additional cartridges available
PRICED FROM: $140,000
MORE INFO: tracktrailer.com.au
