Putting the Goulburn Off Roader through it's paces

Enthusiastic Goulburn owners Bruce and Margaret took some time out to give us a review of how the van handled their debut trip...

The images you see in this album are NOT of a shiny new Goulburn Off Roader that’s just been rolled off the factory floor. In fact, this caravan is Bruce and Margaret (“Red & Buck”) Rogers’ who purchased it 11 months ago. Unlike some unlucky owners who only get a small trip or two in their first year, you can see by their travel map that they have had a good look at all corners of Australia ( the map depicts their entire travels but the dirt roads are all new in the Elite Goulburn) . Their journey, which started in May, took them over some rough and rugged terrain and yet the caravan looks immaculate.

Bruce and Margaret dropped into the Campbellfield office this week (October 2012) and told us about the trip.

The Rogers' travelled over 18,000km on their debut Goulburn Off Roader trip. Mostly dirt roads, in fact Bruce mentioned that prior to this trip he was always frustrated by not having the freedom to duck off the main roads to really see some of Australia's great camping destinations.

Their journey took them along the Gibb River road, (just before it was graded!) as well as parts of the Oodnatta Track which where good tests for the caravan, but as they describe these weren't the worst roads taken. Their drive along the Leopards Downs Road to Tunnel Creek National Park (seen below, which looks more like a dry creek bed then a road) shook the car like a joy ride at a carnival, "we couldn't breathe our chests where shaking so much" Bruce colorfully told the story.

Expecting to pick up the pieces at the end of the bumpy ride, Bruce talked about how the 2.6 Tonne suspension gave it a softer (and better) ride then I expected. "In fact the tools I took where only used to fix up others vans."

In the words of Margaret "The van held up beautifully".

“What amused us was the admiration for the van, the women where jealous of our en suite...and there were several occasions when campers said \“Ahh I saw you you at ...... (like Gibb River Road) or there as if we stood out in these remote locations..\”

\“Our van often became the magnet for a meeting place. The fact that the door folded back to the ensuite (end of the Goulburn) meant that you can seat more people under the awning". It’s those little things that you don’t think about that makes the van special and the trip so much more memorable.

We thank Bruce and Margaret for sharing their thoughts, photos and experience!

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How does it handle?

New Goulburn owners Frank and Lee took some time out to give us a review of how the van handled the famous Gibb River Road on their virgin journey...

"I thought I would relay my observations on our Elite Goulburn off road. We picked it up on 1st June and a week later we were off to The Kimberley for 5 weeks. Our trip took us straight up the Stuart Hwy to Katherine, across to Kunnunura and then onto to the Gibb River Road through the heart of the Kimberley. We traveled into El Questro, then to Home Valley and onto Mount Barnett. Anyone who's been on the Gibb River Road knows how bad and long the corrugations are. The Goulburn handled it with ease. There were also at least half a dozen river crossings that were also a breeze. The van was truly rock solid.

The Cruisemaster suspension is brilliant taking all the corrugations in its stride. It really gives you peace of mind knowing that after travelling for 800kms on some of the worst corrugations in Australia you can open your caravan door and find everything still intact and everything still turning off and on. On top of all this we then traveled up the Cape Leveque Road to Middle Lagoon. There were parts on this road that were bone-jarring. Again the Goulburn handled it with no problems.

Having our own bathroom ensuite was a real treat. Some of the roadside campsite drop toilets were terrible, or non-existent, so having our own facilities was great. We also chose an outside BBQ on our model. In one word, BRILLIANT. Not just for barbecuing but we cooked roast pork and lamb with all the vegies in it. It was ace - just like home. We had two LPG gas tanks, two water tanks and solar on the roof, so it didn't matter if we were on powered sites or not we were very well prepared and could have stayed virtually anywhere for weeks on end.

If you would like any more information on how the van performed on our trip please feel free to send me an email. One last point, the service we received from Elite Caravans was very professional. Any issues or questions we had were handled very promptly and thoroughly. "

Cheers
Frank and Lee.