Motorhomes come in all shapes and sizes from Sunliner Motorhomes but often the smaller ones have a slightly lower profile – no pun intended. A case in point being one of their latest motorhomes, the Ranger, which comes with the additional feature of four wheel drive, certainly of interest to those who like to explore a few bush tracks.

Cab and Chassis

Sunliner’s Ranger is actually based on a 4X4 Ford Ranger, in the case of my review motorhome, one powered by a 3.2 litre turbo diesel motor and a six speed auto gearbox. The Ranger has a GVM of 3200kg and a tare weight of 2415kg thus giving it a considerable load capacity but I don’t reckon you’d want to use all that.

Above the Ford Ranger chassis, the body is again done in the same Sunliner style as with all their motorhomes, that is with composite fibreglass (Thermotough) walls and moulded front and rears. That also includes a sidestep under the cab doors. That might sound like an odd extra but along with the moulded luton and the rakish looks of the Ford Ranger, it does dilute the boxy look quite considerably.

On the Road

Whilst the Ranger is available with a smaller 2.2 litre turbo diesel, there’s no doubt that the larger 3.2 litre engine with a max power output of 147kw and a max torque of 470Nm is the way to go with this  motorhome. Certainly the smaller motor will deliver the goods but as I coasted around the hills and dales around the Newcastle area, the Ranger just rumbled along very easily, making life very easy for the driver, especially as the six speed auto gearbox slipped easily through the gears without any drama. Note for any keen drivers, the 3.2 litre motorhome is also available with a 6 speed manual but the 2.2 litre engine only comes with the auto.

Although the interior rear view mirror style reversing camera works quite well, the standard external mirrors on the  Ranger certainly are not wide enough for the motorhome body. They do come with a mounting hole for a set of supplied extension mirrors that it seemed to me that it looked a bit temporary given they be in full time use and something like a set of Clearview external mirrors would have a much neater look, as well as being more practical and operable from inside the cab.

One of the characteristics of this style of motorhome is they give the impression of being slightly top heavy and tend to roll from side to side especially on rougher roads but on the Ranger that seemed to be less obvious than usual and gave the impression of quite a stable ride.

Although the Ford Ranger is definitely a four wheel drive vehicle, I suspect the Ranger motorhome should be treated more like an all wheel drive vehicle, given its construction method. That’s not being derogatory to Sunliner, indeed they suggest a very similar thing on their website.

Department of the Interior

With a motorhome that is only 5.7m in length with an engine in front of the cab, there isn’t going to be a great deal of internal living space nor much variation in layout design. All that said, the Ranger layout is quite well put together. Naturally there’s a luton bed over the cab and with a forward door entry, a compact version of a club lounge in the rear. That leaves enough room for a small bathroom directly behind the driver’s seat, along with a three quarter height wardrobe and a split kitchen filling the middle area. Apart from the luton bed area, overhead lockers fill the top wall area all round. Above the driver’s cab, the bed base is fixed and cannot be lifted up to give more air space in the cab below.

Sitting Back

Seitz hopper windows all round improve space perceptions no end and their added advantage (when compared to a sliding window) is that they can be left open in the rain – something much appreciated on my review trip when it was mostly raining but also very warm! That’s especially true when seated at the club lounge. It’s situated such that it’s possible to sit quite comfortably whilst observing what might be going on outside, no matter what the weather. Sunliner has opted to fit a Lagun table mount. It’s not quite in the Zwaardvis class but a vast improvement on a single pole fixed mount and makes it very easy to move the table around making it very practical in a dinette/ lounge arrangement like this.

Catering

Meal times are going to be relatively simple which is only to be expected in something the size of the Ranger. The offside cabinet adjoining the dinette comes with a two burner cooktop sans grill above and a 90 litre three way fridge below. On the opposite side, the slightly larger kitchen bench there comes with a stainless steel sink avec drainer on top and cupboard space below, along with a  cutlery drawer. That leaves the overhead locker area to be where the microwave oven is fitted in.

Sleeping Hours

When bedtime comes there are two choices – the luton/cab over bed or the making up the dinette bed. I suspect for many couples they’ll opt for the luton bed given it’s the larger, measuring 1900mm  x 1420/ ft x ft and the dinette bed has a slightly odd shape. Although having said that I do know a few couples who are happy to take a bed each! There is only one reading light for the luton bed and that is in the corner by the entry door. A short ladder which clips on to the side of the bed gives easy up and down access, and can be flipped on to the bed when not being used.

Keeping Clean

Looking for a compact but usable bathroom? Then look no further because the Ranger certainly has one of those. It does of course come with a variable height flexible hose shower, as well as a Thetford cassette toilet. Additional features include a mirror and loo roll holder, both mounted on the door. In the case of the latter, it would be good to remove the paper before  taking a shower. Speaking of that, the water tank is only 65 litres, so if planning a few days in the bush, then water conservation would be a good idea.

Electrics

Standard in the Rangers are a 130 amp hour deep cycle house battery, a 30 battery charger and a 80W solar panel. The latter isn’t oversized but should cope with general living especially if the fridge is run on gas. LED lights are fitted throughout and an option is a 1000W inverter. Given this is an off road unit, a 12V socket or tow might have been useful.

Verdict

There are certainly some pros and cons to the Ranger’s style of motorhome, ie a small cab chassis conversion, when compared to the number of large van conversions which offer a similar or sometimes more internal living area. However, for the traveller who likes to get to some remote places, there’s no doubt that the 4WD Ranger offers some good  possibilities. Although it’s not going be a Toyota LandCruiser in terms of off-road ability, particularly with the small house on the back, it is still considerably better than a more conventional motorhome both in terms of AWD capability and ground clearance. Its size too, whilst offering limited internal living space is a major asset when negotiating narrow bush tracks or roads with tight corners and multiple undulations. So if exploring areas with rough road access is your desire, then the Sunliner Ranger might well be for you!

A word on price

Generally speaking we are required to publish an on road price but that becomes tricky when a dealer sells to someone in a different state. For instance, in NSW the stamp duty component on this motorhome is $4,249.00 but in QLD it would only be $3,605.00 for the same vehicle. With this motorhome also, the price is affected by the base vehicle. If a Ford Ranger 2.2 litre turbo diesel manual vehicle was used, then there would be a price saving of nearly $12,000.

Category: Reviews
Written: Wed 01 May 2013
Printed: May, 2013
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