Taipan Campers goes retro with teardrop Tucana

The Tucana, like the rest of the Taipan camper trailer fleet, is fully built in China. It has a moulded fibreglass body with a composite floor.

Underpinning it all is a 50x50mm drawba, a chassis that’s hot-dipped galvanised and independent suspension with coil springs, trailing arms and two shock absorbers per wheel. Also underneath is an 80L water tank and a spare wheel fitted between the chassis rails at the rear.

The Tucana's unladen ball weight of 45kg is something other manufacturers can only dream of and gives plenty of reserve for carrying weighty items in the front storage bin.

At the rear of camper is a door which reveals a full-width stainless steel benchtop and a sink, complete with 12V pumped water supply. Below the benchtop is a slide-out for the Waeco 35L fridge to the left, two good sized drawers in the middle and a cupboard to the right. The kitchen doesn't come with a cooktop but a portable gas cooker and gas cylinder should fit on the benchtop, if required.

The electrical essentials fitted here include the 100Ah deep cycle battery, 1000W sine wave inverter and a 12V water pump. There is also a single solar panel fitted.

Inside the Tucana is a surprising amount of space for a flexible layout and interior height (at least in the middle) of 1300mm. There is room for two people to sit easily at the dinette which folds down into the bed.

If you need more internal living space, you can attach a tent to the side of the Tucana. It covers the door area but not the kitchen at the rear. It’s fairly quick to erect, and can be used as a bedroom or an insect-free seating area.

See the full review of the Taipan Tucana in CTA108, on sale 17/11/2016.