Alliance Campers Warrior Review

There’s a lot said about the quality of internationally-sourced camper trailers and how they compare to those made here. And, after 12 months of manufacturing offshore, Alliance Campers reckons it has made the right strides in terms of design, style and build quality. So I took a look at the top-of-the-range softfloor camper, the Warrior, to see if it was a bantamweight or a true contender.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

Alliance Campers touts its Warrior step-through softfloor camper as an offroad camper. That suggests it should have adequate suspension and a chassis and body construction ready to handle the tough stuff that the Australian bush can dish up.

Crawling underneath, my first impression was that this camper was sturdy enough, but I did wonder if one of the drawbar members was cut as precisely as it should be. However, Alliance offers a five-year structural warranty on the trailer, which put my mind at ease.

There was an enormous amount of storage space with every available nook and cranny utilised in powder-coated aluminium drawers. On the downside, the finish of some drawers was uneven, with the paint skin having bubbled slightly in areas. At the time of this review, Alliance was outsourcing its hot-dip galvanising and power-coating processes but, the good news is that, since this review, Alliance has brought its powder-coating inhouse to its own factory in order to have greater quality control.

INTERIOR

As for the question of design, Alliance Campers’ Warrior had the right stuff with storage in the bedroom, under the steps in the main tent and around the trailer including a large front end storage box. The main tent storage is quite remarkable with a large slide-out drawer ample enough to keep most of your camping bric-a-brac.

KITCHEN

The cooking area includes a useful stainless steel kitchen slide-out with a sink and drainer, hose and electric pump and a four-burner stove. Then there is a fridge slide-out with a food fridge and enough space for a second fridge to keep your bait or beer cold, plus a large slide-out pantry that has heaps of storage space.

The position of the generous pantry over the kitchen slide-out would force me to be more organised than I’m normally am before starting to cook but, just the same, the kitchen area and the overall storage space were among the best aspects of this thoughtful design.

EXTERIOR

The Warrior offers owners two key ingredients: easy, quick set up and plenty of space. Easy set up means you’re getting down to camping quicker and that’s better for everyone. More space in this instance, among other things, comes with better access to the bed thanks to side steps. The internal staircase is a popular feature in softfloor campers but poor access is the sort of thing that can turn a camping weekend sour very quickly, so this is important. Although it arguably means a larger trailer, as I have more generous proportions, I’d rather the space than something with a compact design. The downside is that in this case, extra space means more weight to tow. And a Tare weight of a smidge under 1400kg is getting a bit on the high side for a softfloor camper trailer.

THE VERDICT

The Alliance Campers has all the hallmarks of a brand on the move. While there was some room for improvement in terms of fit and finish of the Warrior, it was easy to set up and provided plenty of living space.

A commitment to development, an impressive determination to listen to customers and a substantial structural warranty all show Alliance Campers’ willingness to join the game for the long-term.

HITS & MISSES

Pros…

• A sizeable tent with ample storage around trailer
• A quality kitchen with large pantry
• Sturdy 14oz canvas, double stitching throughout
• Easy set up

Cons…

• Powder-coating finish could be better around some drawers
• Inconsistency in the quality of the welded joins
• Placement of pantry above the slide-out kitchen
• Heavy Tare weight

Check out the full feature in issue #99 April 2016 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.