Hot on the heels of the release of the new range of Lumberjack Campers comes the latest Otway Forward Fold Hard Floor with an added slide-out bed. We have all testified to the setup advantages of a hard-floor camper, yet its physical elements often restrict the internal volume. Taking a hint from the pop-up camper brigade, Lumberjack has included a separate slide-out bed section in its latest offering, creating a far more functional layout for a family.

Emanating from Victoria's West Coast, Lumberjack campers entered the market with significant momentum and are making rapid progress, nowadays with pods, hybrids and toy haulers. They are well-positioned in the budget camper category, offering a range of sensible options and accessories on intelligently designed and constructed bases.

My initial view of the new Otway model, particularly the sensible slide-out option in the forward-folding camper design, excited me. I spent much of my youth in the beautiful Otway Ranges, so the model name was appealing.

Camper Trailers to Suit A Family

The Otway takes hard-floor camping to a level that greatly appeals to larger families. It's one thing to say there's room to assemble bunks on the floor, but who wants to carry and assemble extra bunks for children at every stop on a long, winding, or straight and dusty road. The extra pull-out double bed provides additional innerspring accommodation and allows children to play in bad weather. It also opens up the camper's centre section to a spacious dinette where the family can eat or play games - reminiscent of the old days before modern gadgets reduced family interaction.

The centre dinette easily converts to another double bed or twin singles. Adding this to the Queen-size innerspring mattress on the folding section means you could easily sleep a whole group under the main tent's roofline. The internal upholstery makes life comfortable with thickly padded cushions and backrests. The U-shaped dinette seats the whole party if needed. I'll note that this camper will become the social centre of a group of companion trailers.

Ample Storage

Storage is always at a premium, and the Otway provides a considerable amount of enclosed cavities under the seats and plenty of other options. I particularly liked the virtual wardrobe (not hanging) immediately to the left of the curb-side doorway, which has two deep drawers and three large cabinets. It is a terrific area to transport enough clothes and toiletries for the clan. The attractive laminated timber panelling has positive locks and offsets nicely against the deeper wood-grained flooring. Such surfaces will allow the camper to be easily cleaned. There’s even a sound system as standard equipment; however, with the tribe of kids, I can’t guarantee your sanity due to the doof doof factor!

There is a large body of canvas with a tent covering the entire internal living space and a fully enclosed 3.9m x 2.4m annexe, all made from 14 oz rip-stop material. (international rating) The whole camper is enclosed by double-sided windows with fine mesh flyscreens and comes with complete annexe enclosures and a PVC floor. Of course, all of this canvas takes more time to assemble, so you may choose to erect the main foldover tent for a short stay and complete the whole assembly once you have safely reached your destination. There’s even a self-erecting tropical roof over the main body. The Otway does have a considerable amount of poles and takes some effort to erect; however, it comes complete with a folding strap, winch and gas struts to make the effort easier and safer.

 

Outside under the annexe, we find a slide-out stainless steel kitchen and the hinged main doorway that pops out a pair of checker plate steps as a safe stairwell. The kitchen is a pretty neat affair with a sink with pressurised hot/cold water and a drainage board closest to the camper. It combines a four-burner stove with folding wind deflectors to the outside; a further pull-out bench extends out in front, and a utensils drawer and even a handy pull-out tea towel rack to the side. Underneath is an adjustable leg for level stability even on sloping sites.

In front of the main body are two large, full-width cavities with sliding floors on both sides of the trailer. The unit closest to the doorway on the kerb side is designated as an electric fridge enclosure complete with 12-volt power; however, the Lumberjack fridge/freezer, as displayed, is optional. Out in front, the 70 X 50 X 4MM RHS galvanised drawbar peaks to a polyblock off-road coupling, Anderson plug, swing-away 10” jockey wheel, a permanent winch mount for the foldover mechanism, full-width replaceable mesh stone guard and mounting brackets for twin 4kg gas bottles and two jerry cans.

Lots of Additional Features

The drawbar connects to an RHS painted and galvanised chassis construction that appears very strong and suitably welded. Off-road specialists will appreciate the independent trailing arm suspension featuring twin gas shock absorbers and a coil spring on each side. I was pleased to see replaceable stub axles, and I'd order a spare to keep in the road kit if planning long-range off-road trips.

Water carrying capacity is maximised with a 100-litre and a 65-litre stainless steel tank, housed well up in the chassis away from potential damage, and topped with checker plate alloy shrouding. The camper's certainly built for purpose. However, I'd spend more time protecting water lines and electrical cables against potential rock damage or unexpected impacts from things like a drop bear jumping into the chassis.

The Lumberjack Otway has four wind down stabilisers and rides on 265/75 R16” Cooper Discoverer All Terrain tyres with attractive alloy mags and 10” electric brakes. This brings us to the rear of the trailer with its twin swing-away arms and spare wheel mounting brackets. These swing out easily and form the stabilising point for the extra extendable bed. The brackets add to the strong presentation, making excellent rear impact protectors, and they also conveniently house the LED road lighting and number plate up nice and high and unobscured rear end vision. There’s also a further mounting for the removable winch that is required to close the foldover unit, but can also double as a bike rack or recovery point.

The Otway comes fully equipped with double 100 AMP deep cycle batteries fitted to a sliding tray in the rear driver's side compartment. This compartment also contains a power isolator and fuse box. Inside the camper body, there's a switch panel with a voltage indicator, water level gauges for both tanks, controls for internal and external LED lighting, and 12-volt charge sockets.

On the driver's side, Lumberjack has provided additional storage facilities and an external pull-out shower with hot and cold water from the optional gas hot water system. An external shower curtain arrangement is supplied as standard, but wasn't provided for our test unit. All external doors have compression locks and automotive-style rubber seals to minimise dust ingress. The unit's finished in attractive deep grey hammertone paint. Alloy checker plate offsets give the Otway a classy look. The roof is checker plate and can carry a large load, like a rooftop tinnie, kayaks, or firewood. The entire rim also provides plenty of tie-down facilities.

Off-Road Ability

We loaded her up to my old 4-cylinder turbo diesel Disco and set off with the Otway Camper, headed for its namesake ranges. The 1400kg tare was towed very easily with a suspension system that seems well matched for the weight. I hesitate to say that it would have tracked just as well, or perhaps even better, with some added load. With an ATM of 2000 kg, you can carry plenty of gear for the family.

We busted through some cranky ground with plenty of rises and falls, and the Otway simply tagged along behind unpeturbed. The entry and relief angles were good, particularly considering the amount of equipment stored inside the camper. It never bounced, dragged or felt unstable in any way.

Lumberjack have become a leader in camper design and construction heading into brave new worlds with their latest range of pods, hybrids and toy haulers to cover all bases. But in my mind I am still singing that old Monte Python favourite, "He's a lumberjack and he's OK", just as I was right through the hills, valleys and beaches of Victoria's Otway Ranges and Great Ocean Road.

Measuring Up

Hits

  • Seems strong

  • Well designed

  • Independent suspension

  • Plenty of storage

  • Bedding combination

  • Drop-down dinette

  • Stainless steel water tanks

  • Top loader capacity

 

Misses

  • Heavy tent to erect

  • Swing down jockey wheel 

 

Specifications

Trailer

Tare: 1400 kg

ATM:  2000 kg

Suspension:  Independent trailing arm with coil and twin shocks on each side

Brakes: 10” electric

Coupling: 360-degree polyblock off-road

Chassis: full box welded construction

Drawbar:  70 x 50 x 4mm hot dip galvanised

Body: 1.6mm powder-coated

Wheel/tyre: 265/75 R16 off-road tyres with six-stud steel rims

Style: Mag

 

Dimensions

Box size:        (L)5.36m x (W) 2.08m x (H) 1.59m

Length:          (hitch to tail lights) 5.36m

Annex Tent Size:      3.9m x 2.4m

 

Accessories

Gas cylinders: 2 x 4kg (holders only std)

Water: 165 litres

Cooktop: 4-burner

Kitchen: stainless steel construction with sink, wind deflectors, pull-out bench, utility drawer, tea towel rack

Battery: 2 x 100AMP deep cycle

 

Provided by: Lumberjack Campers, North Geelong, Vic.

 

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