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Time to read 8 min
Wild Boar made its debut in Camper's pages during last year’s Camper Trailer of the Year Competition, where it showed us all that it ain’t no feral hog. It’s a tough customer with the attitude to match. This Wild Boar feels equally at home in thick scrub as it does tearing up the red dust, climbing a rocky incline or stampeding down a sandy beach. The population of these wild beasties is growing quickly in Australia and its brains trust is formulating stronger bloodlines every day.
While there are a great many forward fold campers on the market, both with and without extendas, the folk at Brisbane’s Wild Boar Campers have raised the bar in their class with a magnificent presentation of quality manufacturing teamed with a range of high quality fittings and accessories, plus touches that put their X-factor rating through the roof. I have said many times that one of the best ways to judge quality manufacturing is to feel it — and the new Wild Boar Tuff Grunt Limited Edition (forward fold with rear slide) is a treat for the senses. Every door, every latch, every hinge, fitting, slide, painted surface, upholstered trim, canvas, zip and component feels and looks like quality.
Wild Boar starts with an imported base and adds some good old Aussie ingenuity and technique, plus it snorts at cheap componentry, only fitting premium electronics, suspension, couplings and seals all wrapped up in a visually appealing but thick hide to weather the test of long hard Aussie seasons. “I like shiny!” said Wild Boar's Paul Burton when I commented on the highly polished stainless steel trim and fittings that adorn the Limited Edition model. It's this sort of detail that separates this beastie from the mob.
The tested unit is the prototype Tough Grunt Limited Edition Rear Slide and while I was most impressed with the unit, Paul still has a couple of tricks up his sleeve for the full production model, with a major update pending being a further 150mm to be added to the main body, making an already spacious main bed up front 100mm longer, to become a size in between queen and double. This will also increase the pantry and pole storage by a handy extra 100mm.
But back to the unit at hand. Wild boars are renowned for their muscle, attitude and being able adapt easily to harsh environments. The Wild Boar Tough Grunt LE is made of the same rugged DNA as their gristly namesake, yet have a friendly and accommodating attitude that will tame extreme conditions and provide high level comfort for your touring pleasure.
This Wild Boar is exceptional strong and sturdy on its feet with a terrific balance that makes long miles easy. Wild Boar manufactures its own independent trailing arm suspension complete with greaseable joints, fully-welded stub axles and premium 2.6 tonne coil springs with locally sourced Dobinson’s shock absorbers. The chassis is fully galvanised box section leading to a 100x50x4mm A-frame drawbar on the demonstration, however, this will be upgraded to 120x50x3mm for the full production model.
I was pleased to see the main chassis rails being full-length and folded to the A-frame, which eliminated added stress on butt welds that can be a downfall in many competitive units. Wild Boar is so confident of its strength and durability that it provides a three year warranty on the suspension and five years on chassis.
It rolls sturdily on 16in 10 ply All-Terrain tyres with attractive alloy mags ( six stud Nissan pattern) rated to 1150kg each plus 12in electric brakes. Out in front is an ARK 50mm offroad ball coupling and the ARK removable jockey wheel that is a sign of commitment to quality and practicality over traditional swinging or removable accessories. Paul calls the ARK jockey wheel “a Godsend”, and I agree. There’s also twin 4kg gas bottles and a pair of 20L jerry cans both in lockable retainers plus a good handbrake, Anderson Plug, a stone shield with replaceable mesh and mud flaps sporting the comical Wild Boar branding.
Underneath the trailer and set well into the chassis is a pair of stainless steel water tanks (110L rear and 50L front) with alloy checker plate shrouds. I’m not sure that I really agree with the hose connector running between the tanks. I have a personal preference for independent tanks in case of contamination or accidental elimination of the flexible hose under the trailer.
The fully galvanised tub (whoa!) is big and deep, providing plenty of volume inside the camper plus room for versatile compartments and accessories. I must comment on the quality of premium finish both inside and out, but particularly the high gloss-baked enamel coatings, showing off Paul’s years of professional spray painting experience. The unit is available in every paint scheme imaginable, and can even be matched to your towing vehicle. The stainless steel edge trimming defines the shape and the shiny hinges, compression locks and assorted fittings give a bright accent to the aesthetics.
On arrival to your campsite it’s only a matter of minutes to set up for an overnighter. The tail gate tilts down easily despite its twin spare wheels, LED tail lights and reversing light. You can order any combination of tool box, spare wheel or jerry can holders you like — all for the same price.
The rear slides back and the lid folds over easily, assisted by gas struts with the internal steel bows taking immediate shape and needing little adjustment. There is a self-erecting tropical roof that pops immediately to attention and it would have to be the tautest version I have witnessed in comparative campers. I was most impressed with the tent quality utilising a generous 14 oz cotton canvas with SSP no 10 zips, midge mesh screens and both internal and external awnings all round. Wild Boar has upgraded its mattresses to higher grade “memory foam” and the primary bed has a privacy screen that is almost bug proof. The canvas is well reinforced on wear points and features plastic internal support/seals for all of the double French stitching.
Step easily into the camper via a slide-out stairwell to a most inviting interior. The door has removable hinges for added ease and there is a footlight for night time safety. The switch panel is immediately to the RHS complete with USB outlets, 12V socket, Bluetooth stereo with twin enclosed speakers in the cabinetry, a new touch pad for lighting and power options and a digital voltage indicator. The front bulkhead is a fine example of the level of quality in this offering. Most competitors have some sort of storage in this area, some with timber doors, some with basic sheet alloy frontage yet Wild Boar has fitted a series of S/S roller bearing sliding drawers with flush fit doors, compression locks, sensor lighting and internal trim.
The internal layout is quite the same as most forward folds with a U-shaped dinette, however the back wall folds down to create a full double bed at the rear and the portable table drops down to form yet another double bed in the middle of the unit. Again the level of finished quality through the folded steel-painted cabinetry, marine grade vinyl upholstery, carpet-lined walls and laminate flooring is inspiring. There’s a pair of 100amp AGM batteries under the seats, as well as compartment storage throughout, and overhead is a series of LED strip lights complete with dimmers. A further electrical panel in the bulkhead has 12V and USB chargers, plus light switches with comical illuminated indicators for the “Wench”, “Boar” and “Neanderthal” alternatives. It seems our man has quite a sense of humour!
Nowadays no camper is ever complete without an LCD television, and the Wild Boar follows convention with a portable unit with flexible mount. The Limited Edition model comes complete with aerial plus the usual USB and DVD ability. It can be viewed internally or reversed for external viewing by opening the big side wall that I affectionately refer to as the Do Nut shop!
Outside we assembled the wide 2.7m full length annexe roof that can stay attached when packing for the road. It comes complete with three side walls as well as a PVC floor and draft skirt plus a further 2m day annexe and completely separate toilet/shower tent. The overhead annexe poles are alloy and Paul has strengthened the hook ends, which are often tedious malfunction impediments on many competitor campers.
Up front of the “living” or kerb side is a large fridge compartment with full stainless steal roller slides capable of housing a 110L fridge/freezer, but supplied as standard with a 75L dual zone Eva-Kool. All compartments feature full lining, sensor lighting, quality Australian automotive seals and the forward section has twin ventilation fans. Beside this is a convenient pull-out pantry with an innovative three-drawer design that will keep even the messiest of us organised, and above is a full width pole/fishing rod locker. Further back is the lockable water filler and then the a very well set up stainless steel kitchen complete with matching Smev sink and three-burner stove complete with flush-fitting covers and wind deflectors. There are three utensils/utility drawers and a full length bench folds out for preparation, plus the new model will feature a dish rack as standard. Underneath is a set of adjustable legs to keep the food and drinks in the pot plus a flexible mount LED light to see what’s cookin'.
The Tough Grunt Limited Edition series comes complete with your choice of either a Smartex 6 or Coleman digital instantaneous gas hot water service that can service both the separate shower or has a quick connect connection to the pressurised sink. Around the back we have the fold-down bumper with the lights and spare wheels as previously described but there’s also a push bike rack, fire extinguisher, cold water outlet, engineered recovery points, two of the four wind down corner stabilisers, more mud flaps and even a reversing spot light.
The road side of the camper features a strong (100kg) boat rack that tilts to the ground for easy loading plus the main electrical control panel. It has a circuit breaker for the Anderson plug that doubles as an input for the 160W Projecta solar panel, (120W on standard model), isolator switch, water tank and charge gauges plus a six gang touch panel switch box. Forward of the wheel arch is a separate compartment for the Projecter Pro Charge 21amp multi stage charger and then completed by two more storage compartments featuring multi-level sliding shelving for all of Paul’s self-confessed “boys toys!”
Did I mention that I love the stainless steel trims? Oh yeah – but it’s worth saying again! I also like the separate shower/toilet tent that comes complete with shower head and porta potti.
All in all there’s absolutely nothing “boaring” about this terrific camper package. The exceptionally low package price of only $24,900 (inc fridge) actually shocked me especially when you consider the long list of premium features, additions and accessories on a beautifully manufactured camper. There’ll be plenty of little piggies with their noses in the Wild Boar trough when word of this gets out!
$24,900.00
Check out the full review in issue #119 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.
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