@@caravansbythecampfireowned two Mountain Trails before our Zone, still love MT’s but Zone offered more for less at the time . . . at the time . . . Zone is still good but they’re closer in price to MT. I hope we end up having a chat by a campfire at some time. Doing six weeks in Newie from the beginning of feb.
I chose Zone for three prominent reasons, they were boat builders before Vans, there HQ are in QLD, and the reviews of the product were the final clincher. We too had to purchase the draw liners, before I found Zone I was looking at Mountain Trail who also have a great product, they supply the draw and cupboard liners, as they do all the laser cutting in house. I love our Zone, however I personally would have loved the gold tap ware as an option. ( something I can change myself in future) Zone used to manufacture 17 vans prior to 2020, now only three due to errors being made previously, resulting in longer wait times for clients, hence now the business is more streamlined and coping with the demands as they are growing quickly. Your videos are a helpful guide for those wanting to purchase or just window shopping, cheers 🥂
I gave it my best tradesman effort when I replace the LEDs in mine - achieved nothing like it by a long way! It has to be some sort of mechanical device surely.
having looked at a lot of peoples opinions, I realise that a lot of folks just don’t get it, they make a big deal out of minor things and argue against common sense but then, I’m almost willing to bet they don’t travel full time. I’m serious when I say that a King Bed with a channel wide enough to fit a box of tissues a few books etc and perhaps a sleep machine down the side would be good too, sleeping by the wall is not a big deal, being able to open the window easily is actually a good thing (living in a hybrid van taught me that) so yeah there’s that, then there’s a front window, which I’d really want and then as previously mentioned, there’s cooktop placement and maybe using a bit of that extra length for a slightly larger bathroom area and last but not least, getting the bathroom door to slide a bit further out of the way. We’ve had a year in our Sojourn and whilst we love it, more water and weight capacity would be good, as would a diesel oven, more solar and larger storage spaces. We have 800 amps of battery and I don’t see 1200amps as necessary, especially with more of the aforementioned solar. $267k is a bit much, I’d spend $240k but I just don’t see the extra $27k at all. 🤷♂️
Great video, love that grey colour also in the kitchen. My mind noticed the lights above the bed- "can they be turned?" Important choices I know...hahaha. Love the idea of a pull away cook top!
@@boblewis1149 thank you! They have an impressive product range of vans also - good to hear they have made the extra effort to provide something sensible. Cheers
Very nice. I’m pleased they’ve discovered colour. The muted grey is very calming. I still think I prefer the Titanium but I can’t get either lol so my opinion is not important 😂
@@ladysusanjane2682 everyone has an opinion of importance! When you time comes you only have to have an overnight stay in each one to work out your favourite. Thanks for the comment.
For me if l was spending $250K roughly l would be pissed if l had to jump over the missus to get to the toilet at night. Access both sides was a must when we bought our van in dec 2023. We are both in our early 60s and have been on the road 11 months and see a lot of zones. Obviously with the weights a Ram/Ford 250/Silverado are the only options so you are starting at around $500k for full setup.
Tony I have to agree, we were very underwhelmed with the Zone, lack of design, lack of finish quality, and lack of ability to customise in any way. Far better design and customisation along with value for money out there. Solar ,suspension, disc brakes, and the other items most other good custom builders allow you to add or are already standard.
We will get to a Kokoda sooner or later - we have reached out to the company but nothing yet! Can’t find one to rent either at the moment. Thanks for your comment and we’ll keep trying
Very nice looking van yes its got all the bells and whissles to be luxurious and some fantastic features in it that i would love expesily the diesel side off things , but the only problem i see is the bedroom is open plan with the kitchen and living area , the bedroom and onsweets sould be together and a separate private space from the rest not to see , i think Roadstar caravans are all custom built to order none are the same inside , ok there expensive too the upper top end market when going all out with designs is important with fussy customers , might be other brands out there to that design to order 🤔
They are sneaking those prices up to epic levels - people must buy them, there’s probs 10 brands out there with a top of range rig selling for that much.
Just a quick question. The location of the spare wheel, "does it comply with Australian Design Rules "? My understanding is that from about 9 months ago only one spare is permitted and has to be in the centre so that that the van lights are not obstructed at a 45 degree angle, left and right.
@@boblewis1149 I’ll have to look that up, haven’t heard of that previously - getting it registered you’d think anything like that would be highlighted? Will investigate.
The Hybird market is stacked with imported products - pick the biggest brand name with good after sales service if going that way. You will pick something up for between 70-85K with everything you can imagine. Alternately you can look at Cub Campers, they have a couple of great options but will come in towards the 90K mark. Also check out our video where Tracey had a 60K budget to find a hybrid - here's the link - ua-cam.com/video/EJHZxDor1ds/v-deo.html
Mmmm, no one has yet stated the obvious. The bedroom design in this Zone model, is a copy of the format Bushtracker have always used in their caravans. The raised bed, drawers under the bed at the front, raised step to access the bed with built in lockers, and large through boot due to bed height. I appreciate there is more to the caravan than just the bedroom but that area is definitely not an original design.
@@susan929 yes, at least 5 vans I know of are the same as this - overhead cupboards are different however which is good. I do like those Bushtrackers, they do customising which Zone don’t on any reasonable scale. Thanks for your comments.
All you need to add is a Range Rover Defender to the mix and your almost at that cost, the cost of a house and land package 10 years ago. Australia is expensive hey, that’s why we need to support our Aussie businesses to keep the prices downwards, alternatively we pay for Imports that have issues and a parts problem.
@@baumie461 No, it means we are offering promo codes for products we feature in the video (Campera, Novsight and Oz Braai) Unfortunately we don’t get an option by UA-cam as to where that message is displayed.
Yes I'd have to have a little while in it to establish if it was something I could manage - I'd probably go for the centre option although I'd loose that under van storage - not sure why that is, must have something to do with supporting the bed.
Great video, thanks for sharing. Mountain Trail Caravans have pre-cut drawer liners in the drawers.
@@Travellingmcleods yes, I feel Mountain Trail has some special things to offer - thanks for your comment!
@@caravansbythecampfireowned two Mountain Trails before our Zone, still love MT’s but Zone offered more for less at the time . . . at the time . . . Zone is still good but they’re closer in price to MT.
I hope we end up having a chat by a campfire at some time.
Doing six weeks in Newie from the beginning of feb.
I chose Zone for three prominent reasons, they were boat builders before Vans, there HQ are in QLD, and the reviews of the product were the final clincher. We too had to purchase the draw liners, before I found Zone I was looking at Mountain Trail who also have a great product, they supply the draw and cupboard liners, as they do all the laser cutting in house. I love our Zone, however I personally would have loved the gold tap ware as an option. ( something I can change myself in future) Zone used to manufacture 17 vans prior to 2020, now only three due to errors being made previously, resulting in longer wait times for clients, hence now the business is more streamlined and coping with the demands as they are growing quickly. Your videos are a helpful guide for those wanting to purchase or just window shopping, cheers 🥂
@@highvibe4839 thanks for your comments, some great info there. Yes Mountain Trail has something good going on also.
The silicone work in the zone caravans is so good as a plumber I have never seen silicone done that good
I gave it my best tradesman effort when I replace the LEDs in mine - achieved nothing like it by a long way! It has to be some sort of mechanical device surely.
Not a King Bed, an opportunity missed perhaps.
Agree on induction cooktop too, great device but it doesn’t sit flush, so yeah a bit of a pain.
@@TheTripleDubya agreed, they do behave a little different Zone with their thinking…
having looked at a lot of peoples opinions, I realise that a lot of folks just don’t get it, they make a big deal out of minor things and argue against common sense but then, I’m almost willing to bet they don’t travel full time. I’m serious when I say that a King Bed with a channel wide enough to fit a box of tissues a few books etc and perhaps a sleep machine down the side would be good too, sleeping by the wall is not a big deal, being able to open the window easily is actually a good thing (living in a hybrid van taught me that) so yeah there’s that, then there’s a front window, which I’d really want and then as previously mentioned, there’s cooktop placement and maybe using a bit of that extra length for a slightly larger bathroom area and last but not least, getting the bathroom door to slide a bit further out of the way.
We’ve had a year in our Sojourn and whilst we love it, more water and weight capacity would be good, as would a diesel oven, more solar and larger storage spaces.
We have 800 amps of battery and I don’t see 1200amps as necessary, especially with more of the aforementioned solar.
$267k is a bit much, I’d spend $240k but I just don’t see the extra $27k at all. 🤷♂️
@ some good ideas there I could easily fit into the essential category. Thanks for sharing!
Great video, love that grey colour also in the kitchen. My mind noticed the lights above the bed- "can they be turned?" Important choices I know...hahaha. Love the idea of a pull away cook top!
Thanks for your comment - the lights do turn. The grey is cool!
Love our Zone Peregrine
@@cruisin_our_country good choice!
Mountain Trail provides cnc cut non slip material for the drawers.
@@boblewis1149 thank you! They have an impressive product range of vans also - good to hear they have made the extra effort to provide something sensible. Cheers
It is nice that they are adding colour which will be appealing to a lot of people. Certainly a nice van.
A real luxury item - I'd better start saving...!
@@caravansbythecampfire I reckon but there will be plenty that won't even blink at the price.
@ for sure! Too much for us but it is impressive.
Great video - well done on a million views on your channel!
Thankyou!
Very nice. I’m pleased they’ve discovered colour. The muted grey is very calming. I still think I prefer the Titanium but I can’t get either lol so my opinion is not important 😂
@@ladysusanjane2682 everyone has an opinion of importance! When you time comes you only have to have an overnight stay in each one to work out your favourite. Thanks for the comment.
For me if l was spending $250K roughly l would be pissed if l had to jump over the missus to get to the toilet at night. Access both sides was a must when we bought our van in dec 2023. We are both in our early 60s and have been on the road 11 months and see a lot of zones. Obviously with the weights a Ram/Ford 250/Silverado are the only options so you are starting at around $500k for full setup.
@@tonymccosh5875 Thanks for your comments, the bed - love it or hate it eh! Sure requires something up there in price to tow it!
Tony I have to agree, we were very underwhelmed with the Zone, lack of design, lack of finish quality, and lack of ability to customise in any way. Far better design and customisation along with value for money out there. Solar ,suspension, disc brakes, and the other items most other good custom builders allow you to add or are already standard.
Hi guys great to meet you last week at the summit launch loved your review. Can’t wait for our Sojourn
Shane and Di
Yes, it’s was great to meet you too! Tracey has mentioned you around the house many times this week! We’ll see you again.
the dishwasher, LOL
@@clu51 I am the dishwasher! Tracey thinks not. All we hear about is wanting a built in dishwater!!
Great work guys 🇦🇺 👍
@@simonstone3336 thankyou!
Love the van... and channel... but "Go Pack Go" 😂
@@toryg2057 watch out, I might break out my cheese head next!!
Are you guys going to do a review on the Kokoda counterstrike 196 ?
We will get to a Kokoda sooner or later - we have reached out to the company but nothing yet! Can’t find one to rent either at the moment. Thanks for your comment and we’ll keep trying
Very nice looking van yes its got all the bells and whissles to be luxurious and some fantastic features in it that i would love expesily the diesel side off things , but the only problem i see is the bedroom is open plan with the kitchen and living area , the bedroom and onsweets sould be together and a separate private space from the rest not to see , i think Roadstar caravans are all custom built to order none are the same inside , ok there expensive too the upper top end market when going all out with designs is important with fussy customers , might be other brands out there to that design to order 🤔
Yes, it’s certainly interesting the variety of choices out there. Thanks for your comments! Excellent.
Have you did a review on Sunland yet? Sunland has just been bought out by new person.
@@brewey0454 not yet, Sunland appear to be a good all composite van - they have a new range soon I believe.
Since the last buy out ??? Is Tarrot still working there ?
Interesting.
Holy crap! Love it or hate it - when the hell did caravans cost $267,000. Just read those numbers again, $267,000 🤯🤯
They are sneaking those prices up to epic levels - people must buy them, there’s probs 10 brands out there with a top of range rig selling for that much.
Just a quick question. The location of the spare wheel, "does it comply with Australian Design Rules "?
My understanding is that from about 9 months ago only one spare is permitted and has to be in the centre so that that the van lights are not obstructed at a 45 degree angle, left and right.
@@boblewis1149 I’ll have to look that up, haven’t heard of that previously - getting it registered you’d think anything like that would be highlighted? Will investigate.
great content....whats your best pick for hybrid for under $100k nothing too big just loaded with extra's
The Hybird market is stacked with imported products - pick the biggest brand name with good after sales service if going that way. You will pick something up for between 70-85K with everything you can imagine. Alternately you can look at Cub Campers, they have a couple of great options but will come in towards the 90K mark. Also check out our video where Tracey had a 60K budget to find a hybrid - here's the link - ua-cam.com/video/EJHZxDor1ds/v-deo.html
@@caravansbythecampfire great thx I'll check it out.....thx for your prompt reply
Mmmm, no one has yet stated the obvious. The bedroom design in this Zone model, is a copy of the format Bushtracker have always used in their caravans. The raised bed, drawers under the bed at the front, raised step to access the bed with built in lockers, and large through boot due to bed height. I appreciate there is more to the caravan than just the bedroom but that area is definitely not an original design.
@@susan929 yes, at least 5 vans I know of are the same as this - overhead cupboards are different however which is good. I do like those Bushtrackers, they do customising which Zone don’t on any reasonable scale. Thanks for your comments.
Have a look on the Corona bottle...does it say Made in China?
@@tnexm660 I’ll look at my next carton!
$500000 by the time you buy a suitable vehicle to tow it WOW!!!!!
I guess there's a market for everything eh!
All you need to add is a Range Rover Defender to the mix and your almost at that cost, the cost of a house and land package 10 years ago. Australia is expensive hey, that’s why we need to support our Aussie businesses to keep the prices downwards, alternatively we pay for Imports that have issues and a parts problem.
@ thanks for your comments. Agree 100% - no sure about the defender…. Haha. I do like them though!
"Includes Paid Promotion"? Does this mean Zone paid for your review?
@@baumie461 No, it means we are offering promo codes for products we feature in the video (Campera, Novsight and Oz Braai) Unfortunately we don’t get an option by UA-cam as to where that message is displayed.
🙏Great, thank you 👍🍻
Got a peregrine love the van not so much the company ! Poor after sale service in my opinion.
@@JohnMiddleton-sv4hf thanks for your comment. I’ve heard good and below par, particularly if you don’t live near their main factory.
Lovely van although the bed would drive me nuts being close to the wall.
Yes I'd have to have a little while in it to establish if it was something I could manage - I'd probably go for the centre option although I'd loose that under van storage - not sure why that is, must have something to do with supporting the bed.