Hardkorr Campers has developed one of Australia's more innovative camper trailer series with its Xplorer lineup, introducing small but smart evolutions such as a tongue-integrated staircase and shortened garageable dimensions. Now it's expanding the series from two-person escapes to full-fledged family adventure retreats. The all-new Xplorer 2.3 Family doubles up on rooftop tent space, inflating to house a pair of queen beds and sleep a full family ... or just four adventuresome adults.
To expand the sleeping capacity of the Xplorer, Hardkorr maintains the original Aussie-style truck-canopy-without-the-truck body but switches out the rooftop tent (RTT). The innovative beefed-up hardshell RTT features the same style of split-folding case as the RoofSpace that's currently finding its footing on the US market but in a larger two-in-one package that houses two queen-size double beds side by side, split neatly by a central divider.
The large rooftop tent unfurls via an electric actuation system, and the onboard air compressor then inflates the robust air beams into full form. There's still a bit of manual work – unhooking latches, adding in ground supports and awning poles, etc., but the heavy lifting is taken care of by pushing a couple buttons.
Hardkorr reckons that a single person can set the Xplorer 2.3 up in less than 10 minutes, a process that includes unhitching it from the tow vehicle and setting the jacks; deploying the tent, 270-degree awning and shower tent; and sliding out the kitchen components.
Like previous Xplorer models, the Xplorer 2.3's tent is accessed via a staircase instead of a traditional ladder (though there's a ladder too). The patent-pending feature includes steps built atop the front frame, along with a small removable staircase that attaches to the frame and extends to the ground. This feature certainly strikes us as stabler and easier to navigate than a steep ladder for small children, pets and inebriated adults.
The Xplorer 2.3 has a tall body, like the original Xplorer (now the 2.2), which eliminates the garage-friendly standing height of the Xplorer 2.0 Shorty but adds taller side cabinets for extra storage capacity. We can't imagine the 2.3 would squeeze into the average garage even with the Shorty body, taking that extra-large RTT into account, so the added storage capacity seems the natural choice. The trailer stands a namesake 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) tall to the top of the packed tent case.
The left side of the trailer is dedicated to a dual-gullwing kitchen area that comes with a large, full-height pantry with modular shelving, a slide-out dual-burner induction cooktop and sink, and a fridge slide. The fridge slide is designed to house fridge/freezers up to 115 liters. Both the fridge and stove/sink slides include worktops, ensuring plenty of space for meal prep. The control panel is located under the rear gullwing, along with additional storage space.
Around the other side of the trailer, the dual gullwing compartments house a few electrical components but are largely empty, designed for storing luggage and cargo. The available shower tent mounts above those cabinets and swings out from under the base of the rooftop tent for use as an outdoor shower/toilet/privacy room. Hardkorr has plumbed the trailer for fast hot water connection and offers an optional Country Comfort LPG water heater and shower system.
One small shortcoming of the Xplorer 2.3 design is that the extended floor of the rooftop tent appears to impede the full opening of the left side gullwing hatches, making that side a little cramped. Campers might consider unloading essentials from those cabinets before deploying the tent – or just deal with the slight inconvenience of having to crouch in through half-open hatches.
Hardkorr loads the Xplorer 2.3 Family with 170 liters of water capacity and an upgraded onboard electrical system with two 135-Ah lithium batteries and a 3,000-W inverter. The 4.5-m-long (14.7-ft) trailer's electrocoated aluminum body is affixed to a hot-dipped galvanized steel chassis. A heavy-duty independent suspension with dual big bore gas shocks cushions the 16-in alloy wheels centered within mud-terrain tires and maintains 50 cm (20 in) of ground clearance to the water tank. Hardkorr slaps a pair of full-size spares on the back.
The Xplorer 2.3 has a dry weight of 1,500 kg (3,310 lb) and a gross vehicle weight rating of 2,200 kg (4,850 lb), leaving 700 kg (1,540 lb) worth of payload.
Hardkorr is currently advertising the all-new Xplorer 2.3 at a special preorder base price of AU$39,990. Standard retail price lists at $44,990. Deliveries will begin in March.
Source: Hardkorr Campers
