Time to Roam Magazine Issue 9 - June/July 2014 | Page 34

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tried + tested camper review

“ You get a lot for
your money and a
heap of comforts
that would
only have been
available in the
most expensive
brands only a
few years ago.”

internally and at the kitchen. There are four storage drawers under the
internal lounge and internal window covers enabling you to close up at
night without having to step outside if the weather turns really nasty.
In case of a light shower, there’s plenty of protection anyway with external
over-window awnings on all the openings except on the kitchen side, with
gussets back to the main tent sheltering the window from all but the worst
in weather. All windows and the roll-down door have midge-proof screens.
The awning has the three side walls included, as well as an annex
floor which seals to the walls with velcro. The top of the camper
has a tropical roof, providing additional shading to the roof canvas
to keep the interior cooler in the heat and warmer in the cold.
All the canvas is plain weave 470gsm on the roof and
420gsm in the walls and the roof lining has a unique aluminium
impregnated polyurethane lining on the underside which
does great things in thermally insulating the camper.
Along the driver’s side of the Overland Grande is the living area, with
a slide out kitchen at the rear and a large fridge slide and pantry drawer
at the front. In our test camper the kitchen was steel with small cutlery
drawer, a large stainless steel sink and large three-burner Smev cooker,
however the company says future versions the kitchen, which is free
standing without the need of support legs, will be all stainless steel.
The kitchen tap, which is connected on set-up, along with the gas, is
electronic and turns on automatically when raised into operating position.
The fridge slide and the pantry is also being converted to stainless
steel in future orders, with sufficient space for up to an 80 litre Waeco or

Pros
• Value for money
• Plenty of internal
living space
• Quick set-up
• Polyurethane finish
to roof canvas for
thermal insulation

Cons
• Limited bench space
around kitchen
• Spreader bar awning
set-up takes time
• Fiddly need to adjust
tent bows
• Heavy draw bar weight

Engel fridge, with both options available.
On the opposite side of the camper is the
water tank filler in a small locker at the rear
and on the opposite side of the front box,
behind the fridge and pantry, is the electrics
centre and another pull-out storage drawer.
The electrical options start with a standard
100Ah (amp hours) gel battery, which can
be lifted to a 140Ah version, or, in coming
models, to a second 100Ah battery.
There’s a mains charger, five resettable
circuit breakers and an amp meter.
At the front are rings for two 9kg gas bottles
– that’s a lot – and two jerry can holders. The
firewood-cum-luggage rack on top of the
front box, an Al-Ko offroad ball coupling, large
stone guard and swing-up jockey wheel.
The body is welded steel, finished in twopack paint and stainless steel trim. The
wheel flares, hinges and fasteners are also
stainless steel and there’s checker plate
aluminium on the front and top of the front
box and the top of the fold-over roof.
The wheels are 16 inch alloys with all terrain
tyres, on six-stud hubs. The suspension is
dual-shock trailing arm independent for the
smoothest ride, with 2.6 tonne rated bearings
and full toe-in and toe-out adjustment. The
chassis is 75 x 50 x 3mm and the drawbar
is 100 x 50 x 3mm, all fully galvanised.
Chinese-made campers have come a long
way in recent years and with the experienced
intermediaries such as Blue Tongue keeping a
close eye on the specs and the quality, there’s
no doubt they will continue to improve.
The Overland Grande forward-fold
camper has much to offer, not the least
being its $19,000 asking price. You get a lot
for your money and a heap of comforts that
would only have been available in the most
expensive brands only a few years ago.
Take a look and you’ll be impressed.

YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER
Echo 4

Eagle Cheyanne

Echo 4X4 is a brand of campers imported from South Africa, with all their models
featuring excellent engineering and often unique and interesting features. The Echo
4 is one of their smaller campers, and at $19,900 is comparable in price with the
Blue Tongue Grande Overland but is a very different format. It comes with a side
fold-down kitchen but uses a portable cooktop, extensive drawer storage on both
sides, but no fridge. There is full crockery and cutlery for six people, 100L water
tank and electric water pump. The roomy front box is enhanced by the rear storage
with slide, and it also comes with Echo’s
unique microdot security system. There is
plenty of LED lighting, a 240V as well as
12V electrical system and 70Ah batt