Caravan Review: Australis Coastline XT 226

Australis Caravans is a growing manufacturer based in Craigieburn, Vic, and in that time it has established a small range of caravans. Starting with the Coastline range, Australis expanded to include the Overland and High Country.

The first Coastline was a 20ft family model, but company directors Mark Chadwick and Alex Nastevski had long planned to create a slide-out model, too. In early October, that plan came to fruition when the Coastline XT 226 rolled off the production line.

The Coastline CT 226 is a family model with rear-nearside bunks, a spacious bathroom and all the gear you’d expect from a 22ft 6in top-end van with a slide-out. I’ve checked out plenty of Australis models since the company launched. While I am partial to the High Country offroader, I think this could be this manufacturer’s best model yet.

FIRST AUSTRALIS SLIDE-OUT

The centrepiece of the layout is undoubtedly the slide-out. Featuring a leather club lounge with a table that can lower to form the base of a bed, it’s a very attractive space. It even has inbuilt cupholders!  Being on a raised platform, it almost feels like the seating in a Gold Class cinema. While I would personally prefer separate USB points, there are reading lights with integrated USB outlets. I think some USBs next to the cupholders would be nice touch. There’s a couple of slimline overhead lockers as well. Truly a comfortable, appealing space. Like all slide-outs, it opens at the push of a button.

Immediately opposite is a very attractive kitchen. The interior styling, I must admit, is something Australis Caravans does well. In this case, there’s a black sink with matching tapware that includes a separate tap for filtered drinking water. There’s a cooktop with three gas elements and one electric, with a griller and fan-forced oven below, all recessed below the benchtop with a hinged section above. Everything lines up nicely – nothing sits askew.

Looking below the sink, I discovered that the cabinetry had been configured to hide the entry/exit points of the plumbing, so that you don’t have to look at the silastic sealing up those holes – it’s a neat finish that other manufacturers might consider. There are a number of small touches like this throughout. These are thoughtful things that make a difference to the owner’s overall appreciation of their van.

Let’s talk about the rear section of the van. With two bunks (1880x740mm), each with a 12V NCE fan and reading light (again, with integrated USBs) and a large wardrobe, it is a very useable space. Now, with layouts such as this, quite often you’ll find a washing machine in the lower cupboard of the wardrobe; however, Australis has instead fitted a wall-mounted washer/dryer combo in the adjacent bathroom, freeing up wardrobe space considerably.

Now, I would normally balk at the concertina screen fitted to close off the bathroom, but here it works well. These screens fold back tightly, whereas solid doors that open outwards sometimes make things cramped. With the bathroom concertina screen open, this rear bedroom area ‘feels’ more spacious. I’ll point out, though, that the rear bedroom/bathroom is separated from the main cabin by a solid sliding door, which is my preference.

On the topic of the bathroom, it gets a small but functional vanity, a cassette toilet and a fully-moulded shower in a separate cubicle. It isn’t the biggest bathroom on the block but I felt it was designed sensibly within the space available.

That leaves the front bedroom. It incorporates a queen-size bed, a couple of wardrobes with niches (USB points and 240V powerpoints included), overhead lockers and even small bedside tables. There’s really nothing I’d change here. No doubt the NCE 12V fans either side would be welcomed by this van’s eventual owner, too.

I’ve really only scratched the surface on this van’s internal features. There’s obviously a reverse-cycle air-conditioner, a 23L flatbed microwave, a 24in smart TV, a Bluetooth Furrion stereo system linked to internal and external speakers, and a 224L compressor fridge. A small point: Australis has included a full-height pantry in the kitchen, but it’s in three separate sections. This means not having to open the entire pantry – which would be a pain in small space – every time you want to grab something.

EXTERNAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Australis Coastline XT 226 rides on a 4in chassis with a 4in raiser. The A-frame has been extended 450mm, too, allowing for a decent checkerplate storage box to sit behind dual 9kg gas cylinders (though only the holders are provided) which are protected by a mesh stoneguard. The tank for the onboard diesel heater, which is mounted to the front of the storage box, has also been wrapped in checkerplate.

Now, more and more manufacturers are opting for custom-made A-frame boxes fabricated from powder-coated aluminium. In time, I think Australis might consider doing this too, but for now, there’s nothing wrong with the checkerplate. Each side contains a slide-out to accommodate, say, a portable fridge on the nearside (Australis has included an Anderson plug here for this purpose) and a little generator on the offside. Though when it comes to external cooking, you’ll find a slide-out Dometic kitchen out from under the awning – it’s just a matter of connecting it to the gas bayonet and water taps mounted nearby to the chassis rail.

Let’s talk 12V power. The Coastline XT comes with two 300Ah lithium batteries, each mounted to the offside chassis rail behind checkerplate. Australis has fitted four 200W solar panels to the roof and, if that isn’t enough, there’s an Anderson plug near the batteries so that you can augment your solar input with a portable panel, if necessary. It adds up to a lot of juice for off-grid living.

Speaking of off-grid living, you’ll need an inverter. In this case, there’s a 3000W Projecta unit wired to all powerpoints in the van. With 600Ah of lithium power, 800W of solar – and let’s not forget the supplied 30A DC-DC charger – I see no reason you couldn’t live quite comfortably off mains. Water, therefore, becomes the principal limiting factor. Australis has addressed this via two 95L tanks and a single 95L grey tank. The dump outlets, though, are unprotected, so as a DIY job, you might consider wrapping them in pool noodles or similar before travelling on gravel travel tracks for extended periods.

Front and rear LED lightbars, a reversing camera, decent external storage, X-plate protection along the sides… there’s a lot to this caravan but space precludes me from mentioning everything. But in terms of weight, obviously it adds up. At Tare, this tandem-axle rig sits at about 3000kg. I say ‘about’ because it hadn’t been accurately weighed at the time of publication.

However, Mark Chadwick says that, according to Australis’ calculations, a finished Coastline XT 226 shouldn’t weigh more than three tonnes Tare. With an ATM of 3500kg, there’s approximately 500kg of load-carrying capacity. With two full 95L water tanks, and assuming a full 95L grey water tank, and perhaps 18kg of gas, the van should offer about 200kg of payload capacity

GORV’S VERDICT

As you can see, this van packs a punch. In terms of the equipment fitted, it’s hard to fault. Every base is covered and then some. You wouldn’t know that it was this company’s first slide-out model, either – it appears pretty slick.

Yes, it’s a big one and it’ll need a 3500kg-rated tow vehicle, at least, but it would also be one very comfortable home away from home.

THE SCORE 

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

COMPLETE SPECS