Ridgeline: New Camper from Australia

[haven]

Since most of our Australian members frequent this section of the forum, I decided to post here.

Queensland has a new camper manufacturer called RidgeLine. The first model uses an Iveco Daily 4x4 chassis to carry a compact popup camper. The camper options are described here
http://www.traveltrucks.com.au/pop-top-campers

No illustrations of the camper are available today, but there is one photo here
http://www.traveltrucks.com.au/vehicles-4-sale
Scroll down to find the photo.

A photo of the Double Cab with camper, seen from the other side of the vehicle, is on this page
http://www.traveltrucks.com.au/accessories/2-uncategorised/8-iveco-snorkel

I think it's fair to say that the first RidgeLine is a no-frills camper designed for rugged off-road use.

RidgeLine is a trade name for TravelTrucks Pty Ltd, with an address in Brendale, a suburb north of Brisbane. TravelTrucks has two principles, Kym Bolton and Col Gilliland. Bolton is familiar to readers of this forum as the original owner of camper manufacturer EarthCruiser. (That company is now owned by Overland Vehicles Pty. Ltd. Lance Gillies, a partner with Bolton in the original EarthCruiser, runs the company, and participates here on ExPo.)

Kym Bolton and his wife Lyn have traveled across Asia, through North America and down to Panama in their EarthCruiser camper. So there's no question Kym has an informed opinion about what works for adventure travel. Kym's website has a page that explains why he likes the Iveco Daily for adventure travel
http://www.goannatracks.com/Home/Iveco_Daily_4x4.html

 

[fg4oz]

I like it. Keen to see more photos and info.

 

[haven]

I borrowed screen shots of the RidgeLine campers referenced above. The web site assets say this is a "V3" model. Looks like the camper on the double cab is removable from the tray. Gotta love the low profile of the vehicle!

A note about the Iveco Daily 4x4 chassis: Load rating is for 1950 kg, or about 4300 lb. That's 65% of the load rating for a Canter with dual rear wheels. Since many people convert to single rear wheels, the Canter effective load rating goes down, too.

Isn't there a different driver license requirement in Australia to operate a truck over 3500 kg total weight? I think the EarthCruiser models are downrated so anyone with a driver license can operate one.

4300 lb is still a good payload. The Ford F350 crew cab 4x4 with single rear wheels has a payload of about 3300 lb, in comparison.

 

[Thespoon]

Haven
the Iveco Daily 4x4 here in Australia can be registered with a GVM of 4495 kg , a payload of 1950kg and can be driven with a car license. Alternatively it can be registered with a GVM of 5200 kg and a payload of 2655 kg, but to drive it, you must have at least a "Light Rigid" Truck license.
Happy travels
Adrian

 

[Wyocrawler]

Why can't we get the cool stuff in the U.S. ? Makes me sad.

 

[haven]

There was a lot of speculation that Chrysler would choose the Iveco Daily as its new van to compete with the Sprinter. But Chrysler chose to use the Fiat Ducato instead. The Ducato has its advantages, but it lacks the rugged 4x4 available in the Daily line.

If you like the Daily 4x4, you'll love the Bremach T-Rex. Bremach is an Italian company that makes Unimog-style 4x4 utility vehicles. They are slightly smaller than the Daily 4x4. A southern California company called Bremach USA imports the chassis and cab as a kit from Italy, and adds USA-compliant engines. Gasoline, diesel and electric powerplants are available.

http://www.bremachusa.com/