Ezytrail Stirling LX: Review

We put the camper through its paces on the Buxton-Marysville Road, which skirts the Marysville State Forest, before taking the Black Spur Drive (Yarra Ranges National Park) passing between Narbethong and Healesville en-route to Ezytrail’s Kilsyth HQ.

And complemented by its independent trailing arm suspension and 16in offroad tyres, the Stirling LX is more than capable of taking on much rougher stuff.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

The Stirling LX looked the part as it spliced through a cavalcade of vibrant autumn-coloured poplar trees before entering the Black Spur and its tall forest of mountain ash trees and lush green ferns.

With a robust welded steel body, the Stirling LX also looked sleek with a low profile black baked enamel finish. There is a choice of five external colours: charcoal grey, blue, white, black, and tiger mica gold. Meanwhile, the main body is constructed from 1.2mm zinc galvanised panels and 100x50x4mm Q345 RHS hot-dipped galvanised drawbar and chassis.

What impressed me initially was its striking drawbar-mounted utility box containing ample room for a family-size fridge.

The A-frame, which returns to the spring hangers, also comprises a stone deflector swathed in a weatherable wrinkle powder-coating paint, as does the utility box.There is also the effective utilisation of silver checkerplate – fridge box (doorside), storage compartment (offside) and behind the utility box.

And the rear bumper bar has a spare wheel, with a silver checkerplate panel that drops down so you can pull the rear slide to extend the main tent.

INTERIOR

CTA tested its bigger sibling – the Lincoln LX – a couple of months ago and one distinct advantage that the Stirling LX holds over its relative is you don’t have to step over the lounge to access the rear bed. In fact, the rear bed converts to a dinette during the day with room to store bags behind a lounge.

The Stirling LX has two separate camper-queen-size beds (1950x1600mm), with 80mm high density foam mattresses. It can sleep two adults and two children, or even a couple that wish to sleep separately – a common occurrence among grey nomads, according to Ezytrail.

And plenty of drawer space in the front utility box gives you the freedom and storage of a fully equipped pantry. The fridge slide measures a whopping 600x950x515mm, providing enough room to fit most fridges up to 80L.

I appreciated the opulent aura of the main lounge complete with all internal drawer slides and fascia panels finished in a high quality timber laminate. And the interior of the main body is finished with bamboo flooring.

The Stirling LX has a modern multi-functional entertainment system with four speakers, USB playback, built-in CD/DVD player and 17in LCD flat panel screen that folds underneath the lounge.

There is also abundant LED lighting – kitchen, annexe, main tent and utility box – all controlled from the master power panel and battery monitoring system located in an external compartment for easy access.

EXTERIOR

The innovative Stirling LX receives an additional tick of approval for its copious ventilation courtesy of eight windows and a door. And that’s certainly helped along by an alfresco-style main tent opening that brings the outdoors in and creates the feeling of space, not to mention its practicality on warm summer nights.

The main tent and awning are made from high quality 450gsm polycotton fine weave canvas and all stress points are double stitched throughout for durability. There’s also an attachable nylon ensuite tent for additional comfort and convenience.

THE WRAP UP

The Stirling LX is a dinky-di four-berth hardfloor camper that scores extra points for ease of use. And it serves up a fair dollop of interior panache combined with design practicality.

HITS AND MISSES

Pros…

• Lighter than the Lincoln LX
• Reduced width increases offroad ability
• Accessibility to rear bed
• Generous storage capacity behind lounge

Cons…

• Sliding out rear bed is a tad fiddly
• Eight spreader bars needed to tension up
• Solar power not standard

Check out the full feature in issue #103 August 2016 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.