Caravan Review: Hilltop Hotham Luxury Limited Edition

Early this year, I met the owner of the first Hilltop caravan ever made. Like the subject of this review, it was a Hotham. Ron Galea was incredibly happy with his van, which he bought in 2015. The layout and the build quality appealed to him, and in all his years of ownership, the only problem with the van was a leaking hot water service.

But the company has upped the ante with the Hotham range with the release of this 20ft 6in Hotham Luxury Limited Edition model. The idea was to provide a special van in limited numbers, with more equipment than you can shake a stick at, as well as some interesting features that are quite new to the industry.

I’ve checked out plenty of Hilltops over the years and spoken to just as many customers. Not one has had a bad word to say about their van or the company. Step inside this Hotham Luxury Limited Edition and you might start to see why.

LUXURY HILLTOP LAYOUT

It starts with a north-south bed in the nose of the van. Surrounded by overhead lockers and wardrobes, along with niches complete with 12V/240V points, not to mention wireless phone chargers either side, it is a very comfortable space. I liked that the controller for the diesel space heater was placed within arm’s reach, meaning you can stay in bed while the van warms up!

The nearside kitchen doesn’t lack bench space. Though there’s a cooktop, griller and oven (with the cooktop recessed below bench height, providing yet more space), as well as a black sink with mixer tap and filtered drinking water, there’s plenty of room to work here. I immediately noticed that the microwave had been positioned slightly below the overhead locker space, putting the hot food inside within easy, safe reach.

Hilltop had given this van a cafe-style dinette upholstered in faux leather, and it looked great if somewhat traditional. It had a tri-fold table, a little cabinet underneath, and the inclusion of powerpoints here is very welcome.

Hilltop had given this van a generous 220L Dometic compressor fridge. After all, when you’ve got 400Ah of lithium battery capacity, why not use it? The 12V system included an impressive 1000W of solar on the roof and a Hitech electrical panel that incorporated a 2600W inverter, a 60A MPPT solar regulator, a 60A DC-DC charger, a 40A mains charger, as well as a Hitech battery monitor.

When it comes to entertainment, this van provided a high-end Fusion stereo system with Fusion speakers inside and out, as well as a 28in smart TV on a swivel arm that would allow you to watch telly from bed or the dinette.

As for the bathroom, that stretched across the rear of the van. It included generous linen storage, a cassette toilet, a fully moulded fibreglass shower cubicle, and a central vanity complete with a 3.5kg top-loader washing machine beneath the benchtop.

But for as much equipment as this van offered inside, it was the quality of the fitout that really caught my eye. I don’t think anyone could credibly fault it, and it is quite characteristic of what we’ve come to expect from this manufacturer. The LED strip lights hidden above the overhead furniture certainly added a touch of class, too. Oh, and Hilltop had wired the van for Starlink – you wouldn’t need to fit your own RJ45 data point for the Starlink dish!

ALL-NEW EQUIPMENT

I mentioned new features… and they are pretty useful. First, the Hotham Luxury Limited Edition sported a new door from Camec that had a combination lock. Anything to reduce the amount of keys on the caravan key ring is a good idea, although the door can still be locked and unlocked with a key. Perhaps keep the key in the glovebox as a backup in case you ever forget the combination. In any case, when you open the door, the entry step automatically deploys, and retracts when you close the door – another neat idea.

Towards the front of the van, Hilltop has fitted a slide-out Dometic kitchen, which is bound to be useful; however, the special shower fitted just above is what impressed me. Now, there’s nothing wrong with traditional external shower setups – and this van even had one at the back – but this design is superior, in my view.

Essentially, there’s a separate hose that very easily and quickly connects to a flush-mounted point on the side of the van, and by then giving it a twist, not only is the hose connected, you can control the water pressure and the temperature. I believe we’ll start seeing more of this feature, and a tip of the hat to Hilltop for including it.

While Hilltop can frame its vans in aluminium, most customers opt for meranti timber, and that’s the case with this Hotham Luxury Limited Edition. Clad with composite aluminium and checkerplate, it is a rigid, sturdy-looking rig sitting atop a 6in SupaGal chassis complete with a 12mm ply floor that is ‘sandwiched’ by aluminium sheeting. This flooring system is vacuum-pressed – no water can ever get in.

When I looked underneath, my eye immediately went to the checkerplate employed to protect components such as the plumbing and the two 95L water tanks. I would, however, love for the spouting of the grey water tank to be protected by checkerplate too.

The suspension is Level 3 Cruisemaster XT airbag – the control panel is mounted to the nearside. Speaking of the nearside, the treatment of the fold-down picnic table is interesting. Recessed into the wall, behind the table, is a small metal shelving system, giving you somewhere to place your wine glasses or cutlery during happy hour. Neat.

The rear bar is much more than a spare wheel carrier. Complete with storage on both ends, as well as a pull-out tray, a couple of lockable jerry can holders, and even a firewood box, there’s nothing to complain about here. 

There’s also a storage box on the A-frame. Like the rear bar, it’s fabricated from powder-coated aluminium – a much better look than the traditional checkerplate – and gets slide-out trays either side. And yes, Hilltop had included an Anderson point in the nearside space, allowing you to power your portable fridge. It’s a small but thoughtful touch.

Yes, this van has some weight to it, with a Tare of 3100kg and an ATM of 3980 providing a payload capacity of 880kg. As a result, Hilltop had fitted a DO45 coupling. Oh, our van also had an electric jockey stand as well as the bracket for a traditional wind-up jockey wheel.

GORV’S VERDICT

Did I mention there’s a lot of equipment fitted to this van? But more to the point, it’s done in a cohesive, thoughtful way. Things such as the new Camec door, the picnic table design and the new shower system are all very welcome. The layout, while traditional, is attractive and functional. Frankly, I think two people would be very comfortable and happy in this limited edition Hilltop Hotham Luxury.

THE SCORE

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

COMPLETE SPECS