Hybrid Caravans Australia
Have you seen the dramatic increase in hybrid caravan models that are available here in Australia?
It seems that everyone is getting on the off road caravan bandwagon and producing these ‘hybrids’, but what are they really, and would they suit you and your style of travel?
- Hybrid Caravans Australia
- What is a hybrid caravan?
- Difference between a hybrid caravan and a caravan
- Are hybrid caravans made in Australia?
- Cost of hybrid caravans
- Is a hybrid caravan right for your style of travel?
- 13 Australian hybrid caravans
- Austrack Campers Tanami X15L Hybrid Offroad Camper
- Opus Camper OP13 Hybrid Caravan
- Stoney Creek Campers Scout-14 Off-road Hybrid Caravan
- Mars Campers – Mars 13X MKII
- Prime Campers – GT13C Grand Tourer
- Fantasy Caravan FT-11A Hybrid Off-road Caravan
- Track Trailer T4 Rhapsody
- Eagle Camper Trailers – Warrior 10 Off Road Ensuite Hybrid
- Signature Camper Trailers – Iridium 13 Hybrid Camper Trailer
- MDC XT12HR MKII Hybrid Off-road Caravan
- Jayco Hybrid Caravan – Crosstrak
- Australian Off Road – Odyssey S3
- EzyTrail Hybrid Caravan – Parkes 15 MK3 Quad
- Hybrid Caravan Manufacturers
What is a hybrid caravan?
A hybrid caravan is a cross between the luxury of a caravan and the off-road capabilities of a camper trailer, but erring more on the side of the caravan.
They’re marketed as being as nimble and robust as an off road camper trailer, but with all the amenities and luxury of a caravan.
Kitchen is outside, with many having smaller kitchen facilities inside as well.
They are off-road capable, with features like offroad suspension, off-grid capabilities (solar, water & waste tanks), angled rear end, bash plates and stone guards.
However, I do feel like there are caravan manufacturers that are just getting on the ‘hybrid’ bandwagon and selling us caravans that are less ‘hybrid’ and more ‘heavy luxury pop-top off-road capable caravan’.
My personal opinion – if you’re truly after a nimble rig that has a few more of the creature comforts than just a camper trailer, then look for the hybrid caravans that are smaller and actually look closer to a camper trailer.
This article by 4wdingaustralia goes in depth into hybrid caravans, why you would want one and what you should look for when buying one.
Have a read of this article to help you understand what you may want, and then come here for my comprehensive spreadsheet of all the hybrid caravans available here in Australia.
TheDirt4WD defines hybrid camper trailers into four different categories (notice the different terminology here, they’re referring to hybrid camper trailers, rather than hybrid caravans). Those four categories are:
- Canvas Hybrid – Often shaped like a teardrop camper, with solid walls around the bed area, but then with a canvas extension that greatly increases the inside space.
- Micro-Hybrid – Less than 5.5m total length and under 2.2m tall. Think small pop-top.
- Full Size Hybrid – Larger and with all the options of different layouts allowing for bunks, bathrooms and whatever else you want.
- Hypercamper – This seems to be a classification of one manufacturer for their hybrids that have lower storage capacity and travelling height.
As you can see, nailing down a definition of a hybrid caravan is difficult.
Difference between a hybrid caravan and a caravan
The key difference between a caravan and a hybrid caravan is where you can take them, and a lot of that comes down to size.
Hybrid caravans are smaller which makes them better suited for off-road tracks where they will follow in the tracks behind the tow vehicle.
In order to be smaller, the kitchen is often on the outside of the caravan, and if there is a bathroom it’s either an external tent or a small wet bath inside.
Are hybrid caravans made in Australia?
There are many hybrid caravans that are made in Australia, and there are also many caravans that are manufactured overseas and imported here.
You’ll also find that some Australian caravan manufacturers will have components manufactured overseas and put together here.
How do you tell if a hybrid caravan has been manufactured in Australia or overseas?
If a hybrid caravan has been built here in Australia, the manufacturer is likely to highlight that point.
But another ‘non-scientific’ way to tell is by the price.
The reason why so many caravans are manufactured overseas is that it’s cheaper. Brands can have their caravans made overseas and shipped here for cheaper than it is to manufacture here.
Cost of hybrid caravans
In Australia, hybrid caravans cost as little as $36,000, right up to $200,000 for a high end, fully featured model. Average cost is in the region of $70,000 AUD.
Is a hybrid caravan right for your style of travel?
Now that you’ve seen the (varied) definitions of a hybrid caravan; you can see that they’re ideal for those travellers who want to go off-road, but would like to still have a somewhat luxurious place to retire each night.
If that’s you, then a small, rugged and off-road ready hybrid could be the right choice for you.
If you’re serious about finding the perfect caravan but need some help narrowing down your choices, we’ve put together a spreadsheet of all the caravans you can buy new in Australia, so you can filter and sort to find the perfect hybrid caravan for you.
The spreadsheet includes the Make, Model, Length, Width, Height, Weights, Number of people it sleeps, whether it has a bathroom or not, the battery set-up, aircon, tow hitch and Base Price; and the URL so you can go and check it out for yourself.
13 Australian hybrid caravans
If you just want to see a selection of some of the hybrid caravans available in Australia, here are 13 that I think would be great for any Aussie adventure. (And if you’re looking for a hybrid caravan with an ensuite, all the campers on this list do include an internal bathroom.)
Austrack Campers Tanami X15L Hybrid Offroad Camper
https://www.austrackcampers.com.au/product-category/hybrids/
With ample room for a couple this off road caravan is a little package that packs a big punch.
The extendable bed means that you have the full size bed as well as a spacious lounge to relax inside on those not-so-great weather days. And that space converts to a bed, allowing you to have an extra double bed if you need it.
The ‘standard’ features on this caravan has lots of those ‘extras’ (like aircon, external gas outlet, fully enclosed annex) that are usually optional (and cost extra) on other caravans. So I love that there’s lots included already.
Travel length: 6.7m
Travel height: 2.65m
ATM: 3000 kg
Base price: $67,990
Opus Camper OP13 Hybrid Caravan
https://www.opuscamper.com.au/op-13/
The Opus OP13 is another compact caravan that has everything you need want for an offroad adventure. You can even bring the family as they have different layouts to choose from, one of which includes bunks. That’s a lot of convenience to fit into such a small unit.
Travel length: 6.25m
Travel height: 2.685m
ATM: 2700 kg
Base price: $59,990
Stoney Creek Campers Scout-14 Off-road Hybrid Caravan
https://www.stoneycreekcampers.com.au/camper/scout-14-off-road-hybrid-caravan/
The perfect couples retreat, the Scout 14 by Stoney Creek Campers is like a little tetris camper with so much fitting into such a small space.
Travel length: 6.6m
Travel height: 2.63m
ATM: 2800 kg
Mars Campers – Mars 13X MKII
https://marscampers.com.au/campers/hybrid-caravans/
The Mars 13X MKII is one of a number of hybrid campers by Mars, and one of their smallest. Even so, there’s still room for a comfy king size bed plus all the mod cons.
Travel length: 6.3m
Travel height: 2.35m
ATM: 2990kg
Base price: $56,000
Prime Campers – GT13C Grand Tourer
https://primecampers.com.au/new-hybrid-caravan/
The bed slide on the GT-13C really adds to the space and allows for that massive king size bed. There are other layouts available in the Prime Campers range that can include double bunks, which makes these little campers great for families.
Travel length: 5.5m
Travel height: 2.5m
ATM: 3000kg
Base price: $61,999
Jan 2025 – The Prime Campers website has been offline for a few months now – I’ll update once I can find more info.
Fantasy Caravan FT-11A Hybrid Off-road Caravan
https://fantasycaravan.com.au/ft-series/
It kinds blows my mind when you see how much can fit into just an 11ft caravan. Of course, having the kitchen outside saves a tonne of space, but there is still a sink inside and bench area that can be used as a kitchen (with a portable stove top) if the weather is bad.
Travel length: 5.73m
Travel height: 2.7m
ATM: 3000kg
Base price: $49,990
Track Trailer T4 Rhapsody
https://www.tracktrailer.com.au/t4-hybrid/
While Track Trailer has 3 models of their off-road hybrid caravans, they’re actually very customisable so you can probably design exactly what you want/need. And they don’t look like every other caravan out there, with their unique window shapes and sleek interior decor.
This is the Rhapsody which looks perfect for a couple.
Travel length: 6.575m
Travel height: 2.55m
ATM: 2650kg
Base price: $159990
Eagle Camper Trailers – Warrior 10 Off Road Ensuite Hybrid
https://www.eaglecampertrailers.com.au/off-road-caravans/
Travel length: 5.42m
Travel height: 2.475m
GTM: 2250kg
Base price: $48,990
Signature Camper Trailers – Iridium 13 Hybrid Camper Trailer
https://signaturecampertrailers.com.au/iridium-hybrid-camper-trailer/
As with most caravans, the Signature – Iridium 13 comes with a lot of optional extras and you can customise it quite a bit. You can have a queen bed and ensuite, or queen bed & single bunk with ensuite, or queen bed and double bunks with no ensuite.
Travel length: 5.4m
Travel height: 2.36m
ATM: 2500kg
Base price: $49,990
MDC XT12HR MKII Hybrid Off-road Caravan
https://www.marketdirect.com.au/product/xt12hr-mkii-offroad-caravan/
It’s hard to imagine something this luxurious on a bush bashing adventure, but it sure would be nice to pull up to a remote campsite and be able to retreat to and indoor haven.
Travel length: 5.58m
Travel height: 3m
ATM: 2800kg
Base price: $59,990
Jayco Hybrid Caravan – Crosstrak
https://www.jayco.com.au/range/off-grid/jayco-hybrid-crosstrak
We all know the name Jayco, as they are big players in the caravan world.
There are 3 different layouts of the Crosstrak hybrid caravan, one of which has bunks.
Travel length: 6.54m
Travel height: 2.6m
ATM:
Base price: $55,379
Australian Off Road – Odyssey S3
https://australianoffroad.com.au/listings/odyssey/
The AOR range of caravans are high spec and specialise in off-road caravans and camper trailers with the Odyssey bridging them both.
I know I said at the beginning of this post that this list included caravans with an internal bathroom… but this one doesn’t. :-/ It has an exterior pod that you can use as your bathroom.
Travel length: 5.4m
Travel height: 2.335m
ATM: 2000kg
Base price: $91,900
EzyTrail Hybrid Caravan – Parkes 15 MK3 Quad
https://ezytrail.com.au/products/parkes-15-mk3-quad
EzyTrail have a number of hybrid caravans in their range and the Parkes 15 MK3 Quad is a large caravan with room for the whole family.
Travel length: 6.9m
Travel height: 2.7m
ATM: 3000kg
Base price: $58,990
Has that selection peaked your interest in a hybrid caravan for your own travels around Australia?
Don’t forget, if you want to be able to sort through the full list of caravans available new in Australia, the Australian RV Directory has you sorted.
Hybrid Caravan Manufacturers
If you’re not ready for that level of in-depth research on hybrid caravans, or you’re wanting to do your own research but just need a list of all the caravan manufacturers that have hybrid models, we can help you out there too!
Just subscribe to our weekly infrequent newsletter below, and we’ll email you the links to download it in either Google Sheets or Excel. Unsubscribe at any time.
JULIE ARCHER
Monday 17th of July 2023
AM INTERESTED IN A SMALL HYBRID VAN WITH SINGLE BEDS, DOES ANYONE MAKE ONE
Tim McLachlan
Monday 2nd of January 2023
Hi There, I purchased your hybrid list on the 4th of October, 2021. I see a new add today on Facebook.
Has the list changed much since October?
If there are significant changes, I will purchase the updated list.
Let me know thank you.
Michelle
Monday 2nd of January 2023
Hi Tim, Yes we've done some updates since then, I'll email you the link. Cheers, Michelle