The SLR Adventurer provides the comfort of a motorhome and the ability to really rough it

Freedom is what touring is all about - just getting out there and doing our own thing. The degree of freedom may vary according to the motorhome we choose, whether we prefer to sit in a van park in a blacktop tourer away from the hassles of home and kids, or get out among the gum trees on a river somewhere away from everything else. It can all be done in the SLR Adventurer 4x4 Motorhome.

The Adventurer is a getaway rig designed for long-term independent camping in locations far removed from the tar. The model we looked at is loaded with accessories selected by the owners and is a genuine freedom machine, combining practicality and comfort to a degree rarely seen in motorhomes.

The SLR Adventurer is built on an Isuzu NPS 300 4x4 cab/chassis. Power is provided by a SITEC Series II 5193cc diesel producing 114kW at 2600rpm and 419Nm of torque between 1600 and 2600rpm. As with most new trucks, it's comfortable and easy to drive, with good visibility, a manual five-speed gearbox, airbags and electric mirrors.

The chassis is galvanised steel, as is the frame. External cladding is fibreglass with 2mm chequerplate skirts around the flanks and rear. The Adventurer is quite a high rig with good clearance underneath. On the road it looks very stable, with little body roll. This model is fitted with dual rear wheels but there are a range of wheel options to choose from.

At the rear is a solid bumper on which is fitted two spare wheels, with provision for a pushbike and motorbike carrier. That's the owner's choice, but to my way of thinking that's just going to clutter things up. I'd rather stick that stuff in a trailer. Above these is a reversing camera.

Up forward is a big through boot with a load of space and automatic lighting, and the flanks are lined with a stack of accessories in lockers. Behind the boot along the driver's side is a huge generator box with provision for jerry cans in behind. Alongside is the gas locker, with two 9kg bottles on a slide-out tray. Water fillers and a neat little external shower are fitted to the rear of the gas unit.

A Fiamma awning is fitted on the kerb side and behind the front boot is a sneaky little compressor fridge, accessible only from outside - beers under the awning anyone? Beneath the beer fridge is a slide-out battery array with four 6-volt deep-cycle batteries. An electric double step is fitted beneath the main cabin door, and to the rear of that are power and TV jacks. Further to the rear is an externally mounted, fold-out clothesline, which to me looked a bit prone to damage, and an external gas fitting to which is connected a slide-out stainless steel barbecue.

On the roof is an airconditioner, Winegard TV antenna and three 125-watt solar panels, with two skylight hatches also fitted. It's a busy roof. A big chequerplate wind deflector is positioned at the front of the main body behind the cab. Ladders form a frame either side of the driver's cab, joining to a flat chequerplate deck situated above the driver's cab. On the forward facing frame above the windscreen are three Hella Rally 4000 spotlights.

Onboard water is 220 litres, with a 100- litre grey water tank, so you won't go thirsty for a while.

The SLR Adventurer really is fitted up for a long-term journey out in the Aussie wilderness

Access to the Adventurer is via the main cabin door positioned forward of amidships. The bedroom section occupies the forward space, with dinette on the driver's side, kitchen along the kerb side and rear, and the bathroom in the rear driver's side corner.

The bedroom features a bed raised quite high and positioned east-west right behind the driving cab. There are storage lockers above the foot of the bed and the telly is positioned here, on an arm that allows it to be watched from the bed, the dinette or outside. There are a couple of large robes behind the bedhead with reasonable hanging space. Stereo speakers are in the overhead along with a large bedroom light, while above the forward end of the cabin are more overhead lockers. Access to the bed is via a corner step that features a convenient grab handle.

In the bulkhead between the bed and the driver's cabin is a curtained hatch for access into the cab. This is a diversion from the usual motorhome conversion where driver and passenger captains chairs swivel to allow access to the main cabin. Here, the access is an emergency 'priest's hole', a fairly narrow gap you slide through into the cab. This will not suit everyone, but it is designed for a quick drive-away should anything unforseen happen (hoons, killer cane toads, rampaging crocs, etc).

With the bed raised so high there is a load of storage space beneath it. The forward space is occupied by that big through boot and beneath the bed inside are two big drawers. Alongside them, adjacent to the doorway is a 70-litre compressor freezer - a beauty for storing food for a long trip.

To the rear of the bed section on the driver's side is the dinette, comfortable for two, with a decent table, a sneaky flat storage cupboard beneath and lockers above a big window. This is a perfectly serviceable dinette, though it can't be classified as a lounge. Still, comfy chairs outside, with the telly swivelled round and that handy beer fridge near the door, make outdoor living the really good option.

Opposite the dinette is the house fridge/ freezer, a 150-litre Vitrifrigo compressor model. Above that is a microwave and gas oven. This brings us to the kitchen area in the kerbside rear.

A three-burner gas cooktop is fitted beside the fridge/oven cabinet on the kerb side, and a big bench doglegs around the rear to the bathroom wall, where a stainless steel sink is fitted. Above the cooker is a rangehood venting through the roof and around the overhead are plenty of lockers. The benchtop and splashback are very well made and very spacious. There is loads of room here. Beneath the lockers across the rear is a big towel rail. Handy.

Beneath the benchtop are loads of cupboards and drawers, so there is no shortage of storage space. While we're on the subject of storage, the hatch fasteners and drawer slides in the Adventurer are top class.

A big window throws plenty of light into the kitchen, and I think it's one of the best I've seen in a motorhome of this size.

The bathroom is in the driver's side corner and features a swivel cassette toilet, shower and neat vanity basin. A high side window aids ventilation and light. There is nothing exceptional about the bathroom, though if you're out in the bush scratching for gold or gemstones, it's nice to have that shower to come home to.

The interior finish in the Adventurer is very neat and tidy and the layout is top class, even though it does depart from the 'normal' motorhome plan.

There is simply not enough room in this story to include all the extras fitted to this SLR Adventurer. Let's just say that it's got everything you'd need for a fabulous bush trip. It is one of the best independent camping units I've seen. For me, adding a trailer toting a small 4x4, a folding boat trailer and a tinny would just about make the SLR Adventurer a dream.

Caravan+RV magazine, issue 13, October/November 2009.