Wonderland RV Amaroo 2100 Off Road Caravan Review

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I hauled this Amaroo 2100 near 3000km over 12 days. It was a rush, it always is, but it was a real test with me living out of the van day and night and using it as a base station for feeding a hoard and charging camera gear.
Originally the plan was to pick up the Amaroo 2100 from Melbourne retailer Outbound RVs but with our dates lining up nicely with the Let’s Go SA Caravan, Camping & Off Road Sale, we drove over from Melbourne and picked her up from Off Grid 4X4 near Mount Gambier. After a couple of nights familiarising myself in a local BIG4, we were off.
By the specs
This Amaroo 2100 was plated to 3500kg ATM, modest by comparison to a lot of Wonderland vans I have seen but still a decent consideration. Tare was stamped at 2920kg so we had a calculated 580kg of payload which I reckon we would have been close to if we had the two general purpose water tanks full to their maximum 100L each and the 70L dedicated drinking tank full. As this van was on 3700kg rated Cruisemaster XT suspension, you could have the ATM rated as such, it would be no real concern to the tow vehicle we had.
Self-sufficiency
Living off the grid is a hallmark of what Wonderland does. There is a 3kg NCE washing machine on the wall above the toilet in this van so stopping at a holiday park for a round of washing isn’t even needed. This is a van for weeks away from a power point with one exception, the cassette toilet which with a family on board will likely need to be swapped out for a spare cassette every few days.
With 200L of water for cleaning and washing up, careless use could see the family run dry in three to five days; with care and some river or sea bathing, you should see over a week.
You might fill up the cassettes, but you will not run out of power. I never consumed more than 20 per cent of its 450Ah battery in a day and with 1000W on the roof the battery was full again by around midday. I didn’t even plug in an Anderson plug while driving, there was no need.
The power system is tucked behind the fridge in a dedicated compartment that is internally and externally vented. It is impeccably sealed as we saw no dust on the REDARC Alpha75 BMS, RS3-3000W inverter or accompanying residual current device (RCD) and wiring. I have to say, the latest charger/battery management system (BMS) from REDARC, the Manager Alpha has made installations of big-power systems so much cleaner and simpler. Gone are separate DC and AC chargers, MPPT regulators and shunts. With REDARC it is practically plug-and-play with two major components (the charger/BMS and inverter).
Living in the Wonderland
If you are wondering about the diesel heater option, grab it. I am pleased we had one with some mornings featuring strong frosts. I felt for the team camping in swags, only a little, as I drank hot coffee in comfort.
The pillowtop innerspring mattress was near perfect, you can choose a memory foam mattress. The power systems and ability to make use of the many 240V general power outlets (GPOs) without concern is another mark of luxury. I ran a simple pod coffee machine every morning, fuelling up the team of 12 as much as they needed and ran a powerful 8L air fryer at its maximum when the team needed a quick feed.
For cooking inside there is a great NCE 23L microwave and loose induction hotplate that can be plugged in in the kitchen or outside. Inside there is a Swift rangehood right where it would be logical to use the induction. It should be noted that with only the rangehood ventilated to the outside (all other openings were hatches), this van was the most dust-free I’ve travelled in over dirt roads and that’s without a dust reduction system (DRS). I could hardly believe how well-sealed this van was.
I tried the air-conditioner unit off the inverter to see its draw. Being a new Dometic FreshJet 7 Series, I had hoped to test its draw at idle but never had a hot enough day to really put it through its paces. I did find it worked well as a heater, but it was nowhere as powerful or fast as the Dieselheat Hydronic unit heating the water and air.
Storage for all
Unless you need the ability to get around the main bed, and I’d expect most family caravanners probably do not, then get the Storage King layout. It fills in the wings beside the main bed with deep pockets perfect for clothes and adds a second tunnel boot that is accessible from under the bed too.
I am a fan of north-south beds with the space to move around the sides but now that I’ve fully filled the storage capacity of a van with the Storage King layout, I would option it if I was buying.
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