Stockman Rover 02 Ultra reviewed at Camper Trailer of the Year 2024

KATH HEIMAN— Heiman Habitat

Standing in front of the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra, I must admit to being a little lost for words as to how to describe it. Certainly, it turned heads as we travelled from Narrabri, NSW, to Warwick, Qld, during CTOTY 2024. “Nice space-capsule looking thing” was just one comment we overheard as our convoy stopped for fuel along the way.

Intended purpose

At its most fundamental, the Stockman Rover owes its origins to the teardrop camper which has been around since the 1930s. But far from being something that a Depression-era home handyman could rustle up with a set of diagrams and decent toolbox, the Rover takes a tried and tested layout and catapults it into the 21st century with a level of finish quality that belies its dual Australian-overseas parentage. This premium teardrop camper has the looks of city slicker, the finish of a fine cabinet, and enough poise to comfortably travel the highways, byways and backroads.

Stockman Products has been successfully servicing the outdoor traveller with its iconic range of pod campers for more than 18 years. So, I was interested to talk to industrial designer and owner, Phil Savory, about the customers that he wanted to reach when he devised the concept for the Rover 02 Ultra. He said that his buyers are looking for comfort and convenience. And he’s certainly achieved that brief with this airy, ergonomic and insulated camper. This compact unit oozes luxury from towball to tail with everything close at hand and nothing left to chance.

Quality and build

The standout feature of the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra is its quality finish. Based on an Australian-made hot dipped steel chassis, with Alpha independent suspension and Pedders shocks, the 02 Ultra features Australian-designed and made REDARC Electronics componentry including the REDARC RS3 2000W inverter managed by a REDARC TVMS Rogue and RedVision System. The 130L Bushman fridge is Australian, and all the wiring is done here too. Beyond this, however, the camper’s body, along with its fixtures and fittings are made overseas — and they’re finished remarkably well.

Glued to the chassis and held by high tensile bolts, the aluminium, foam and fibreglass composite body boasts a generous internal living space, a comfortable queen bed and well-appointed cabinetry. The kitchen galley is fitted with two swing-out arms to accommodate the sink and a Swift two-burner stove with cast-iron barbecue skillet. There’s also a polished steel preparation surface, more excellent cabinets and even a wine bottle holder. Doors are double sealed with extra locking devices to ensure a tight fit; the gas struts on the double-fibreglass rear door feature soft open and closure mechanisms; the aluminium doors on the storage box gleam like glass; and the hinges throughout the camper are millimetre perfect. The list goes on. Given all this obvious goodness, however, I am left puzzling as to why the payload is so comparatively low. At a mere 271kg, that’s not enough to fill the fridge, the water tank (150L) and the wine bottle holder. So, refinement must be required somewhere in design or manufacture.

In summary, the Rover 02 Ultra combines an Australian-made under-carriage with imported products to deliver a brilliantly finished camper thanks to the rigorous quality control that Phil imposes on his overseas supplier. While we’ve seen the standard of many imported campers come along in leaps and bounds in recent years, a product like the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra demonstrates that there’s now no reason to demand an all-Australian pedigree when you’re looking for a top-notch camper. We look forward to seeing how Phil can challenge his evident design skills to increase the Rover’s carrying capacity so this amazing-looking camper can reach its full potential. (More on this later).

TIM VAN DUYL — Camper Australia Creative Director

Pods and teardrops are two of the most in-demand camper styles right now and for good reason. Most of us are short on time and want the good life when not at work or chasing the kids to school and there is nothing easier to use.

Ease of use

Pack your bags, fill the water tank and hit the road; stop for supplies, stock the fridge and that’s it until you pull up at camp. Then its power up the camper, get some lights on and start the set-up. Running through a full set-up of the 02 Ultra is as easy as popping open the rear hatch and swinging out the awning — that’s it. It is a three-minute job for a familiar user and better yet, a roadside overnighter is nothing more than opening up the door and getting to bed.

The next consideration that makes a camper like the 02 Ultra so popular is that you have a dry space with a comfortable mattress to hide in if the weather turns. And to keep you and your boots dry there is either a fully sealed change room or awning walls. To get the whole design right takes some consideration and knowledge of ergonomics, which the team at Stockman clearly has.

Heading inside, the 02 Ultra is as comfortable as it gets. The inner sprung mattress is sumptuous, and the bed’s backrest is angled just right to lean on and relax. There are a pair of suspended cabinets at the foot of the bed with an optional TV mounted between them. Sitting inside the 02 Ultra and taking it all in, I could feel how easily you could wait out a storm and unwind with a movie or a good book.

Comfort

The 02 Ultra’s interior is a warm and cool place to be too, with 29mm thick foam-filled composite panels that worked exceptionally at holding the variable Queensland temperatures at bay during our tour.

If you had to brave the conditions to fire up the kettle or just wanted to take in a great view at camp, the Darche 180-degree awning did a fantastic job of sheltering us in heavy rain and again there are signs of good design with the back of the awning sealed to the body to prevent any water running down the wall and over the massive entrance doors.

Down the back, under the big rear hatch is a smartly conceived kitchen. The magic triangle of fridge, sink and cooktop are well positioned and thanks to the swing-away arms, there is a lot of usable bench space under the excellent Bushman’s upright fridge.

Value for money

Thanks to being semi-imported (the body is made offshore) the price is actually pretty impressive. Consider the gear fitted to the camper (the excellent REDARC suite, the Bushman’s fridge, Webasto AC and diesel hot water service) and how it’s built and the 02 Ultra’s asking price of $77,260 as seen is, I think, pretty good.

SCOTT HEIMAN — Heiman Habitat

When I first saw the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra at this year’s CTOTY event, I was instantly drawn in by it. You see, it immediately brought to mind a Star Trek: Voyager shuttlecraft — the ‘Delta Flyer’ — and I couldn’t help wondering if owner, manager and designer Phil Savory might be a secret ‘Trekkie’ (then again, maybe I’m the ‘Trekkie’). There’s simply so much evidence of design, form and function in this sleek-looking camper. Supporting its polished appearance, there’s the camper’s claimed credentials as being an ‘Ultimate Escape Pod’. I was simply intrigued by a camper that promises the same sort of freedom that we enjoy in our own family camper (we’ve fondly referred to our ‘home away from home’ as the Escape Pod since the day we bought it over a decade ago). So, how does the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra stack up as a portal for escaping the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, routines and demands?

Self-Sufficiency

“To boldly go” where you haven’t been lately you need a camping set-up that will get you there safely, keep you dry, warm, fed and well-watered. And the 02 Ultra sounds like it’s got these requirements wrapped up with 150L of lifesaving H2O, and a 130L Bushman upright fridge to store all your fresh fodder. It’s powered by REDARC TVMS Rogue with RedVision and RS3 2000W pure sine wave inverter through a 30A DC plus a 240V charger. There’s 100W of solar fixed on the roof as well as a 200W portable input. Indeed, it’s fair to say that the 02 Ultra is brimming with all “the right stuff” to keep an adventurous couple on (and off) the road, with off-grid capability to get you by for a week comfortably. This assessment includes the capacity for a couple of showers utilising the Webasto diesel H2O heater combo unit. Indeed, depending on your style of camping, water usage and where you’re going, you should be able to extend that week away indefinitely.

Supporting this impressive potential is a nose cone with an 800L storage capacity. Further, there’s dedicated bedroom storage of 250L and an additional 400L of storage in the kitchen (including a five-bottle wine rack!). Not to mention, you can of course simply throw a few luggage items onto the inner sprung queen sized mattress. With these credentials, the 02 Ultra starts to enter the realm of an adventure camper, while still being suited for a quick weekender with your partner, or with a couple mates and their swags for a short hunting or fishing trip.

Offroad and towing

Fitted with Pedders dual shocks, Alpha Suspension Arms, 17in alloy rims, 10in electric brakes, the 02 Ultra towed well — empty — although it came very close to the ground while traversing the moguls at the Janowen Hills 4WD Park in Queensland. For my part, I’d have liked to have seen it cover the same ground (as the Americans say) ‘loaded for bear’ — that is, fully loaded. Because it’s the 02 Ultra’s load bearing capacity that is its Achillies heel. You see, the tare is 1329kg and the ATM is 1600kg, which leaves just 271kg for payload. Minus the 150L of water and you’re left with just 121kg to fill the fridge and pack clothes, plates, knives, cutlery, camp chairs, dry goods and wine bottles. And there’s no scope for the additional optional extras you might like — such as the second lithium battery. Dr Spock is quoted as saying “Men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see” and I see a fantastic camper here in the Stockman Rover 02 Ultra. It’s not until you crunch the numbers that something doesn’t add up.

X-Factor

Ultimately, this camper bleeds innovative design and function, quality assurance and control and it bristles with premium componentry. It’s a 1930s teardrop that’s been given an injection of (what the French call) ‘je ne sais quoi’. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard once said, “Things are only impossible until they’re not.” And I’ve no doubt that Phil can put his design background to task to rectify the payload issue.

The wrap

The build is impressive and the fitout top-notch and with the bulk of the campers’ labour bill coming from offshore, it’s reasonably priced for what is an excellent camper.

It is stylish and well thought out with the kitchen layout and interior comfort as good as it gets with a teardrop-style camper.

The Stockman Rover 02 Ultra we saw is let down by its payload though. It should be as simple as moving to a heavier-duty chassis and suspension setup which we know is possible from the likes of Cruisemaster and Alpha (the current supplier) but for the minute, you would need to pack carefully to stay legal when towing with the 02 Ultra. Thankfully, Stockman has advised us that they have recently passed engineering certification for all future Rover 02 orders to increase the ATM by 200kg to a total of 1800kg.

STOCKMAN ROVER 02 ULTRA SPECS

Weights and dimensions

Construction

Power, water and cooking

Stockman Rover 02 Ultra price from $55,990

Options fitted

• Webasto 16L diesel HWS
• Bullfrog shower mixer with Darche drop-down shower tent
• 200A lithium battery
• REDARC PMS with 30A DC and 240V smart charger
• Webasto 240V reverse cycle aircon/heater — can be used off-grid with included REDARC inverter
• Darche 180-degree awning — including slide-on polyester weather protection walls for back door and either a fully sealed change room or all awning walls
• Perception lighting 100W fixed solar and 200W portable solar

Stockman Rover 02 Ultra price as shown $77,260

More information

Stockman Products

13 Sahra Grove

Carrum Downs Vic 3201

P: 1300 725 712

E: sales@stockmanproducts.com

Related articles

Stockman Products releases new teardrop camper: The Rover 02

Camper review: Stockman Rooftop Camper

Review: Stockman Products Kwik Kampa 2 Xpedition