Time to Roam Magazine Issue 12 - December/January 2015 | Page 39

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tried + tested camper review
Build a better mousetrap and the world
will beat a path to your door so they say.
For David Hazlewood of Wedgetail Campers
success has become something of a monster
after putting his passion into developing
unique slide-on campers for the high end
of the market over the past seven years.
David was a photographer who loved to work
in the bush, but he found he was spending
too much time managing the camping which
took him away from the actual photography.
So he set out to design a slide-on camper
that would make life away from home simpler
and more comfortable. That camper soon
found favour with others and it quickly went
from a part time passion to a full time job.
Wedgetail Campers was launched in 2007,
with David hoping it would become a nice little
business easing him toward retirement. It’s
now become a full time obsession consuming
most of his day. Wedgetail has evolved at a
rate he never thought possible just a few years
ago. These days he receives enquiries from
all around the world and could be exporting if
he had any left over from the local demand.
Wedgetail is not a bottom rung camper and
is equipped with all the comforts of home. It
follows all the basic rules of slide-on design,
with all the heavier weight in front of the rear
axle line, but does it with a remarkable level
of adaptability and high standard of fit-out.
The camper is built around a sturdy
chassis and has a pleasingly low profile
for best in aerodynamic efficiency.
Set-up is surprisingly quick – just eight minutes
for one person - and involves removing any
necessary items from the rear storage bay,
winching down the rear wall to form the floor of
the entry and shower/toilet, installing the pull-out
steps, dropping in the handrail, unlatching the
top and allowing the gas struts to fold it out over
the passenger side with the winch or a cordless
drill, lowering the support legs under the bed
base (which was the roof seconds before) and
stepping inside and erecting four spreader
bars and four poles to support the roof.
The tropical roof automatically
erects as you do this.
Inside there is a complete living arrangement,
with a queen-sized inner spring bed on
the fold-over extension, and next to it are a
stainless steel sink, two-burner cooker, a
small eating nook, heaps of bench space
and access to the pantry and fridge so that if
conditions outside are really unpleasant you can
comfortably hunker down out of the elements.
There is also a shower, with a gas and/or 240
volt hot water and space heater system and toilet.
All in all, it’s very comfortable. Both the shower
and toilet can be accessed via external doors.
There is doored access to storage compartments

Pros
• Totally Australian
designed and built
• High standard of
finish and fitout
• Very livable interior
with plenty of room
• Well equipped
external kitchen
• Constant upgrading
and development

Cons
• I don’t own one

along the side (also accessible from the outside).
You get LED ceiling lighting and bedside
reading lamps. The dimmable ceiling
light turns on via a remote so that late
evening set-ups can be done without
having to use torches or head lights.
There’s a separate kitchen outside to fully
enjoy the outdoor lifestyle that is so much a part
of such travelling. It features an 80L Waeco
fridge on a swing-away arm and a choice of
either a two-burner cooktop or a Sizzler twoburner barbecue cooker, which comes with a grill
plate. It can be used as a simple gas cooker,
or with the lid rotated over to create an oven.
There are various plastic drawers to use as
a pantry and taps to provide water for a plastic
sink. All this kitchen area is sheltered by the
bed extension above and lit by an LED light.
For quick roadside stops there’s a 2.5m awning
which slides into sail tracking to shelter the
kitchen. For longer stays, when the camper
is fully open, it attaches to sail tracking on the
outer edge of the folded-over roof to extend the
under-cover shelter to 4.3 x 3m. There are walls
for all this area, with screened windows and
doors and a skirt to seal underneath the camper.
The whole unit is well sealed against dust.
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