Ultimate X20: Review

Written by: Emma Ryan

Published on February 27, 2015

Time to read 2 min

I’ve never made a secret of my admiration for Ultimate camper trailers, and the limited edition X20 has proven no different. Released to celebrate the brand’s 20th anniversary, the X20 is essentially a pimped-up Xplor with a lot of the options boxes pre-ticked.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

The strong, Y-shaped chassis is constructed from high-tensile DuraGal steel, and sits atop independent trailing arm suspension with Lovells long-travel coil springs and Koni adjustable shock absorbers. Add to that the X20’s impressive 570mm of ground clearance, and you’ve got a camper trailer truly built for the rugged offroad destinations you’ve been dreaming of.

The 17in black chrome alloy wheels that come standard with the X20 splashed through the icy mountain streams like they were born for it, and the Treg 360° coupling offered plenty of flexibility across the rocky creek beds and washed-out tracks.

EXTERIOR

Setting up the X20 is a breeze, even for one person. From the top of the stairs, you push the gas-strut-assisted fold-over roof to its upright position and then guide it over by holding onto the internal tent supports under the canvas.

Next, climb inside and clip on the four internal support poles to raise the roof and insert the three sections of the high-density foam mattress to construct the whopping king-size bed — truly one of the most lavish of the X20’s features with bedding included in the package. Then it’s simply a matter of clipping on the external bungee loops to position the canvas skirt and erecting the twin rope-free awnings via flexible poles that clip into place on the body of the camper.

KITCHEN

The X20 offers a 110L upright Waeco fridge in the kitchen plus a comprehensive storage setup, with the X20 offering more functional drawer space than previous models. The black carbon fibre benches and dinette table looked glamorous, and the plush, horseshoe-shaped lounge offers further storage underneath.

If alfresco cooking is more your thing, you’ll have to improvise somewhat — the X20 comes with a clip-on external kitchen bench, but you’ll need to supply your own butane cooker (or similar) as well as a tub to use as a sink. Both are easy to achieve. The position of the external shower to the right of the kitchen means you’ll have hot and cold running water here, which is a big plus.

To the left of the kitchen is the gas cabinet, which houses two 3.8kg gas bottles (one comes standard). Moving forward, there’s a huge, 1340L front storage compartment that is big enough to qualify as a granny flat — more or less. Two 20L jerry can holders, the hot water system and pole storage live in here, but there’s an enormous amount of room for whatever else you need to carry.

THE WRAP UP

I can’t say I was surprised to discover how much I liked the X20. With hot water, enviable battery capacity, huge amounts of storage, great offroadability and a seriously plush interior, your camping trips will be smooth sailing with the Ultimate X20 as your vessel of choice.