Are you in the market for a caravan that can handle major highways but also successfully navigate well-maintained dirt roads, gravel tracks, and the semi-maintained roads of national parks?
If so, chances are a semi offroad caravan is exactly what you’re looking for. As the perfect middle ground between a touring and offroad caravan, it offers versatility and adaptability that’s guaranteed to lead to many fantastic adventures across the country.
View our range on this page and refer to our FAQs for the most up to date information related to our selection. If you have any other questions not covered here, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
FAQs
Semi offroad caravans are the perfect go-to for those who want a caravan that can handle maintained roads and light unsealed roads, including dirt, gravel, campsites, festival grounds, well-drained paddocks, and certain stretches of national park roads.
Thanks to their hybrid focus, you can just as easily enjoy a road trip along the Great Ocean Road as much as on gravel tracks in rural areas. They offer far greater versatility over touring caravans and are much easier to tow around than a full offroader.
They’re still built tough, but without the degree of bulk that offroad caravans have. And because they sit between touring and offroad, they’re priced at a point that is typically quite cheaper than offroads and not much more expensive than touring caravans.
Right now, we have semi offroad caravans in stock by the fantastic manufacturer Great Aussie. These include the following models:
- 2024 Great Aussie Gravity Caravan 226 Bunk 2 Axle S/N 9115
- 2024 Great Aussie Gravity Off Road Van 196 Bunk 2 Axle S/N 9122
- 2024 Great Aussie Gravity Caravan 206 2 Axle S/N 9132
Yes. Semi offroad caravans are designed to traverse both sealed roads and a range of light unsealed roads such as dirt, gravel, and semi-maintained roads.
While your semi offroad caravan can be upgraded in a number of ways to enhance its capabilities on less-travelled roads, it’s important to note that a complete upgrade to a full offroad caravan setup is not possible. This comes down to the fact that, fundamentally, semi offroad and full offroad caravans are manufactured in significantly different ways.
For example, the chassis of a full offroad caravan is completely different from a semi offroad caravan, utilising different materials that are designed for high-stress terrain. By comparison, a semi offroad caravan’s chassis is rarely engineered to handle things like prolonged corrugation (worsening road conditions), steep inclines or deep ruts.
Similarly, suspension systems can be fundamentally different, and the same with ground clearance, underbody protection, body construction and sealing, and so much more. So, the process of upgrading from semi offroad to full offroad isn’t feasible.
That said, you can certainly make your semi offroad caravan a bit more resistant for offroading, such as upgrading tyres, adding stone guards/mudflaps, etc. But, ultimately, if your ideal is to eventually have an offroad caravan, it’s best to outright purchase an offroad.
Generally, when it comes to fuel-efficiency with towing a semi offroad, you’ll find that it’s a good middle ground between touring and offroad caravans. Touring caravans tend to have the best fuel efficiency because of their lighter weight materials, but can only be used on maintained roads. Offroad caravans can use the most fuel overall, but they’re the most efficient option for prolonged offroading adventures.
As a semi offroad caravan is an in-between of these both, it tends to offer a more balanced experience in terms of fuel efficiency. Being lighter weight than offroad caravans, they usually create less drag and are more aerodynamic, which means better fuel efficiency on maintained roads and can also offer greater efficiency for light off-roading, such as on dirt, gravel, and semi-maintained country roads.
How regularly you take your semi offroad in for maintenance mostly tends to be based on how often you use it and how old it is. If your semi offroad caravan is essentially like your home and you’re travelling in it all the time, it’s a good idea to bring it in for a caravan servicing at least once every six months or 10,000 km - whichever comes first.
If you use it on a case-by-case basis (e.g. you use it for a larger road trip and then don’t use it again for several months until the next larger trip), then you bring it in based on distance travelled. For newer caravans, this can be done about every 10,000 km.
For older or refurbished pre-owned caravans, we’d recommend bringing them in for a service every 5,000 km travelled.
Below are just some of the interior features included in the current range of semi offroad caravans:
- A deluxe 6’2” pillow-top mattress
- Large sized, double-glazed windows
- Interior cabinetry
- Comfortable dual density lounges
- Block out blinds
- Pull-out pantries
- Ensuite
- Nooks beside master bed with 240V and USB outlets for electronic device charging