Off-road Caravans for Sale in Australia

What makes a caravan an off-road caravan

Off-road is the builder's description of what a van is made to handle. This page lists the caravans whose sellers filed them under the off-road style when they placed the ad. A seller can also give a terrain rating (on-road, semi off-road or off-road), but the rating is optional and separate from the style, so a van on this page may carry no rating. Either way it is the seller's word, so check the build as well as the label: a van built for unsealed tracks, not only gravel roads into a caravan park, shows it in the parts below.

When you compare off-road vans, look past the badge at the parts that do the work:

• the chassis and drawbar, and how they are protected from stones
• the suspension, and whether the van sits high enough to clear ruts and washouts
• the coupling, which needs to articulate further than a ball coupling when the tow vehicle and the van twist against each other
• the water tanks, batteries and solar, which decide how long you can stay away from a powered site
• the dust sealing on doors, hatches and lockers

The coupling matters more than it looks. The Western Australian Department of Transport's Safe Towing Guide tells drivers heading off road to use a high articulation coupling, and warns that a high articulation coupling used with a weight distribution system is for highway driving only, not articulated off-road driving ¹.

Off-road or semi off-road

You may not need a full off-road build. If your trips are mostly sealed highways with the odd graded road to a national park, the semi off-road caravans may suit you better, and it is worth comparing their ATMs with the off-road vans. If you want to go further but carry less, compare the hybrid campers for sale as well.

Makes whose current or past ranges include vans built for off-road use include Bushtracker, Kedron, Zone RV, Titanium and Track Trailer, along with the off-road ranges of builders such as Jayco, Lotus and MDC ⁶. Our Bushtracker caravans for sale page lists that maker's vans when one is advertised.

Read the weights before the floor plan

Every towable ad on Caravan Domain asks the seller for the van's ATM, and the seller can add the tare. These are the figures that decide whether you can tow the van legally once it is loaded for a trip.

The WA Safe Towing Guide defines the terms this way ¹:

• ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) is the most the loaded van may weigh, as specified by its manufacturer. It is the GTM plus the tow hitch download.
• GTM (Gross Trailer Mass) is the weight the van's own tyres put on the ground when it is coupled up and carrying its maximum load.
• Tow hitch download, often called ball weight, is the weight the van puts on the tow vehicle's tow bar.
• Payload is the ATM minus the tare, the empty weight. The guide says the payload must not be exceeded under any circumstances, and that safety, insurance and warranty may be affected if it is.

On an off-road van the payload goes quickly. Full water tanks and a second spare wheel count against it. So do recovery gear and a fortnight of food, along with anything bolted on after the van left the factory. The WA guide notes that vehicle and trailer weights can be measured at a public weighbridge, so you can check the real figure on a van that has already been set up for touring ¹.

Ball weight needs the same care. As a guide, the WA Department of Transport puts the tow hitch download at 8 to 10 per cent of the ATM, up to the tow bar's limit, and says heavy items should sit low and as close to the van's axles as possible ¹. The download also counts toward your tow vehicle's GVM ¹.

Can your vehicle tow it?

Under the Transport for NSW towing rules, the loaded mass of a trailer must not exceed the lowest of the ratings that apply, including the tow bar and tow coupling rating and the vehicle's maximum towing capacity ². Your vehicle's handbook gives both a trailer weight capacity and a ball weight capacity, and the WA guide says neither may be exceeded ¹.

The combination also has a limit. The WA guide's worked example uses a vehicle with a GVM of 2,740 kg, a GCM of 4,600 kg and a maximum trailer weight of 2,250 kg: load both to their maximum and the pair weighs 4,990 kg, which is over the GCM ¹. A heavy off-road van behind a fully loaded four-wheel drive is exactly the case that example warns about.

Our tow-match tool takes your vehicle's towing capacity and shows only the vans whose ATM is within it, and when you add your towball limit it also leaves out the vans whose ball weight is over that limit. It is a starting filter, not a ruling: check the plate and handbook of your own vehicle and tow bar before you buy.

Brakes, breakaway systems and safety chains

The national trailer brake standard is Australian Design Rule 38/05, which applies to trailers with a Gross Trailer Mass over 750 kg built from its start dates: new models first produced from 1 July 2019, and every new trailer made from 1 November 2019 ³. For trailers up to 4.5 tonnes ATM it sets these requirements ³:

• every trailer needs an efficient service brake system
• over-run brakes are allowed only on trailers with a GTM of up to 2 tonnes ³
• over 2 tonnes GTM, the brakes must work on all wheels ³
• over 2 tonnes GTM, an emergency brake system must apply the brakes automatically if the van comes off the tow vehicle, and keep them on for at least 15 minutes ³

If the van you like has a GTM over 2 tonnes, whatever its age, the NSW towing rules and the WA guide both say its brakes must act on every wheel and that it needs an automatic breakaway system, which applies the brakes if the van comes off the tow vehicle ²¹. Test that system when you inspect the van, and ask the seller how it is maintained.

Safety chains are the other half. The WA guide says a trailer under 2,500 kg ATM needs at least one safety chain and one over 2,500 kg and up to 3,500 kg needs two, each marked as complying with Australian Standard 4177.4 ¹.

Towing off the bitumen

Once you leave the highway, the rules about people stay the same. Queensland's guide to towing vehicles and trailers says people must not ride in trailers or caravans ⁴. On the move, the WA guide asks drivers to avoid fast steering inputs and hard braking, set tyre pressures to the vehicle's specifications and slow down for cross winds ¹.

Rough roads wear things out faster. The WA guide says towing off road or in rough conditions means the tow bar needs servicing too, and that the van's wheel bearings, suspension and brakes must all be in good working order ¹.

What to check on a used off-road caravan

A used off-road van shows where it has been. These checks take an afternoon and can save a long tow home with a problem.

Chassis, drawbar and suspension

Get underneath with a torch. Look for cracked welds and bent drawbar rails. Fresh paint over a repair deserves a question too. Check the suspension arms and mounts for cracks, and look for oil weeping from shock absorbers. Ask when the wheel bearings were last repacked or replaced.

Body, seals and water

Dust and water get in through the same gaps. Open every hatch and locker and look for red dust lines or water stains along the seals. Push on the floor near the door and under the windows for soft spots. Check the water tanks and their guards for dents from stones.

Power and appliances

Run the fridge, hot water system and lights on battery alone, then on mains power. Ask for the age of the batteries and look at the solar panels for cracks. For the LPG system, ask whether a licensed gasfitter has checked it, and ask for the paperwork.

Paperwork and weights

Match the VIN on the van to the registration papers and the ad, and run a PPSR search on it before you pay anything. Read the van's weights label or plate and compare the ATM and tare with the ad. The Queensland safety certificate rules cover registered trailers and caravans with an ATM between 750 kg and 4,500 kg, and a seller must get a certificate before disposing of one to anyone other than a dealer ⁵. A private seller's certificate lasts 2 months or 2,000 km, whichever ends first ⁵.

Selling your off-road caravan on Caravan Domain

Private ads cost $23 a month for Basic or $35 a month for Premium, and you can cancel at any time. You can upgrade a Basic ad to Premium at any time and pay only the difference for the rest of the month. A Bump moves the ad back to the top of the results once for $9, or $19 for a pack of five, and Featured placement on a Basic ad is $19.

Off-road buyers read the details. Put these in your ad:

• the ATM, tare and ball weight from the van's plate, and the date of any weighbridge ticket
• the suspension, coupling and brake setup
• tank sizes, battery capacity and solar
• what comes with the van and what stays with you

Sell your off-road caravan and include clear photos of the chassis and drawbar, because serious buyers ask for them.