Our new Setup

We’re back on the road and over the moon to be starting our next adventure on the South Australian coastline in our new setup. This time however, instead of travelling with our three larger-than-life children, we have our two youngest plus a new furry addition to the family called ‘Theodore’, our French bulldog who keeps us on our toes.

We travelled on the road full-time in our last setup, and became better versed on how we want to travel, how we consume energy, and a few deal-breakers we wanted to tackle before hitting the road for a second time.

We wanted to reduce the overall weight, improve functionality, and simply have the ability to be off-grid longer without compromising on the bells and whistles we’d ultimately become accustomed to.

Our new baby is an absolute labour of love. The 2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate Family, a part of the Aussie Mate series encapsulates everything we’d learnt from our first time on the road and brings together all the bits we wanted to improve. We also upgraded our vehicle to a 2021 Toyota LandCruiser 200 series GXL – a reliable vehicle that perfectly fit our plans to go off-grid longer in our new gas-less solar powered van.

It was time to push our travels further and take our adventures to new heights… and we’re excited to bring you along for the ride!

2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate

Back on the road and it just got a whole lot better!

It was a no-brainer that when looking to create a new van we’d want to be back partnering with the gurus in both design, quality and innovation. We wanted the ability to go off-grid longer whilst tackling more of this beautiful countryside in style, so naturally we enlisted the help from the legends at Royal Flair.

We came together, thought BIG and left nothing on the table.

We wanted to keep some of the key features from our last van including the drop-down bed, the airbag suspension, aluminium chassis, and the general look and feel. However, we wanted a lighter van, more functionality and more off-road capabilities, so this meant exploring our power, water and waste options. Our new van design ticked all these boxes, allowing us to create the ultimate rig! Let’s take you through some of the big changes that lead us to the development of the 2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate.

What we did

To reduce the overall weight we lowered the ceiling, brought the length to a 21’6” family van, and opted for external fibreglass panelling. It was time to ditch the gas and push the boundaries in running a van entirely from solar. We’ve successfully gone electric only, with the chassis mounted ozXCorp DCX Power Platform caravan battery (four times bigger than our previous battery). Secondly, we combined this battery with commercial grade Sunpower 65 volt solar panels (1600 watts total) and designed the roof around the solar panels to maintain the sleek but functional design.

Not only does this mean we don’t need to worry about our power usage, but it also gives us back more room inside the van, making for a more stable ride. With trips planned to Arnhem Land and back to the Gulf of Carpentaria we know we’ll be well versed for whatever the rugged terrain throws our way.

We’ve got our Eco Mate fitted with a massive 320L H20 storage and a composting toilet which means we can now stay off-grid for as long as out water will last us.

With all of these epic upgrades we certainly didn’t compromise on the inside, managing to maintain the luxe feel whilst still being more space-savvy. Buttery soft leather, waterfall caesar stone kitchen bench tops, and brushed copper fixtures has meant time exploring the country in our new rig is both comfortable and stylish.

More Info

Main Features

Chassis & Underbody

Chassis

Aluminium chassis
Extended A-Frame 18”
Main bearers & A Frame 6”
Chassis raiser 8” Flat Floor
ALKO ESC
Dexter Disc Brakes
Cruisemaster DO-45 Coupling
Trail-A-Mate MkII jack
Honeycomb composite flooring
Checker-plate toolbox with jerry can storage and generator slide out
Mangrove jack trailer at rear

Underbody

Control Rider 4000kg (GTM) tandem airbag suspension
Fresh water tanks (2 x 95L & 2 x 65L) 320L in total
Grey water tank (1 x 65L)
Spare wheel bolted on to rear bumper
Tyres 265/70R17 Cooper STT PRO
Rims 17” DCS Black 5 Stud LC200
Stone stamper under A-frame
Rated recovery points on chassis

Suspension

Electrical

Electrical Power System

The OzXCorp DCX Power Platform

14.3kWh chassis-mounted battery linked to a 5kW smart inverter
Remote colour BMS touch screen
Unique “push-to-power” button feature
Dual redundancy aerosol extinguishers feature in battery
4 x 400Watt 65v Sunpower solar panels

Other Electrical

CZone digital Switching
Thetford 174Lt compressor ventless fridge
Swift – Electric hot water system
Safiery Smart 2 hob induction cooktop
Weber Electric Pulse 1000 BBQ
Houghton Belaire HB3400 A/C roof mounted
Rockford Fosgate stero system with speakers internal and external in entertainment hatch
Airbag man compressor with external output
Internal dimmable LED lighting
External LED lighting with white and amber lighting
NCE Microwave
Rangehood 12V
External speakers x 2
Smoke detector
iLuma Spot lights front and rear
Sirrocco Elite II Fan 12V x 3 (each bunk)
Sirrocco Elite II Fan 12V x 2 (main bed/lounge area)
Out There Internet Caravan Kit (External Directional Antenna and Dual-Sim 4G Router with HD Wi-fi access point)
Broomstick Blackhawk 7/10dbi antenna mounted on rear for Cel-fi Go
Internal Blackhawk antenna for Cel-fi Go unit
1 x 240V powerpoint & 2 x USB for each bunk x 3
2x 240V inside BBQ box
WiTi Anti-Theft & WiTi wireless towing interface
External powerpoint within entertainment hatch
Safety Dave Reversing camera

Internal

King size electric motorised drop down bed
Pillow top innerspring mattress in main bed
Triple bunk beds, pentagon-shaped
Calcutta Stone 6mm bench top with drainer and waterfall end
White granite square sink
ABI interiors brushed copper tap ware throughout
Daewoo 2kg wall mounted washing machine
Sun-Mar composting toilet
Ceramic vanity with powder coating
Table with telescopic adjustable leg
Recessed fire extinguisher

External

Fibreglass composite walls and one piece roof
Full satin wrap and decals
Extended 1500mm checker plate at front
Carefree Altitude electric awning
NCE double glazed tinted Nuovo windows
Milenco 1850mm door with security mesh
Thule manual single entry step
External shower with light
Water mains pressure inlet
Mains pressure tap on A-frame
Lockable water filler caps
External table dropdown recessed with TV entertainment
Galvanised tunnel boot
Carafan Sahara Pressuriser unit
Dometic shower hatch

Furnishings

2021 Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series GXL

GXL VDJ200R Auto 6sp, 4.5-litre turbo-diesel with 750mm chassis extension

When we think of a reliable vehicle, we think of Toyota. So when the time came to to upgrade our 2016 Toyota LandCruiser GXL (affectionately named ‘Lucy the LandCruiser’), upgrading to a new 2021 ToyotaCrusier was the obvious choice.

Our newest vehicle comes with a 4.5-litre turbo-diesel, a 750mm chassis extension and full-time canopy, meaning she has no dramas pulling our caravan across some pretty tumultuous terrain. She’s decked out with 17 inch ROH Assault 4×4 wheels for many reasons, but the biggest being the load rating, which is rated at 1.5 tonnes (1500kg) per wheel – so we didn’t think twice when fitting a GVM+ suspension upgrade.

Ultimately, upgrades made to the car have meant we can potentially leave the caravan in a location and head out without it. The vehicle has its own battery system, can carry sufficient water for the five of us, and has enough area to store the clothes and things we need. Although Lucy the LandCruiser served us well, we found there wasn’t enough storage to comfortably travel with all the family.

We’ve now hit the road in our all-new setup and we’re raring to tackle the corrugated tracks, rocky roads, dirt trails and waterways of the Australian landscape as we continue to explore this great country!

More Info

Main Features

Chassis & Underbody

Chassis

Dual Cab Conversion – 750mm chassis extension by Creative Conversions
4.2T GVM (gross vehicle mass)
4.495T state-based GVM (gross vehicle mass)
4.2T BTC (braked tow capacity)
8.2T GCM (gross combined mass)
Redarc Tow-Pro Elite V3
Redarc SBI12 w/rear tow power (50A Anderson plug)
Toyota genuine trailer harness (12 pin flat)
Modified rear axle for GVM
Federal approval SSM
Rear chassis stiffening plates

Underbody Upgrades

Kings 2.5 remote reservoir shocks
2.5″ suspension lift
Progressive Rate Armoured Coils
RoadSafe rear pan hard rod
RoadSafe Black Hawk UCA’s
RoadSafe diff drop kit
RoadSafe trailing arms
Airbagman airbags

Electrical

Engine Performance Upgrades

Diesel power unlimited
Stocklock torque converter lock up kit
DPU high flow intercooler
Fuel manger pre filter kit
Provent 200 catch can
Dyno run before and after
ECU remap
Century HD crank battery replacement (AGM Dual Force 95AH)
SRW screen for top mount intercooler
Torqit twin 3″ into single 4″ stainless steel (DPF back, 750mm ext, X pipe)
FFM sealed air intake

Canopy Fit-Out Electrical

REDARC TVMS Redvision system
REDARC 1230S3 BMS charger
REDARC 2000W inverter w/RCD
Enerdrive 300Ah lithium gen2
eARCHE 100W slimline solar x1
KORR colour changing LED’s
Electrical gear (misc)
Bushmans DC-130X upright fridge
Narva outlets CIG/USB x2
Airbagman dual kit (twin pumps, 4L air tank, suzi coils, tyre inflator, wireless inflation kit)
Fully carpeted interior (floor, walls, inside of drawers w/roof insulation panel)

Vehicle

External Vehicle Upgrades

Offroad Animal 32″ LED light bar (mounted underside of Platform)
Clearview power-boards
Clearview mirrors (electric, powerfold, black, w/indicators) gen2
Safari Armax snorkel
Rhino Rack pioneer platform (1528×1376)
Diff breathers (front, rear & transfer)
Warn VR evo 12S winch (front)
4x Narva 15W flood lights under Rhino platform (facing outwards and 2 at rear)
Blacked out front grille
Offroad Animal toro bar (22″ LED light bar with twin 9″ LED’s)
Paint – colour code recovery points 6ACAD7
Red Ando ESC for van
Brown Davis 180L long range tank
Factor 55 FlatLink Expert grey
Factor 55 FlatLink rope guard
Gen-Y-Hitch AT1024 w/locking pin
Rhino Rack Stowe-it Shovel Holder kit
4x Maxtrax Xtreme black w/pins
Tinting (4 windows)

Interior Vehicle Upgrades

Black Duck seat covers 4 elements (driver, passenger, mid-row and console cover in black)
Sandgrabbas floor mats (black)
Electrical gear (cable, plugs, switches)
Department of the interior roof console (includes GME XRS370 UHF, Narva touch LED light, Narva dual USB outlets, cargo netting, wiring looms, AE4704B/4705B twin pack antenna)
Safety Dave 7″ Rear Vision kit + rear IP camera on canopy
Cel-Fi mobile booster 4G
Kenwood DMX9720XDS w/HD reverse camera

Canopy

Extras

Our new Setup

2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate

What we did

Main Features

Chassis

Underbody

Electrical Power System

Other Electrical

Internal

External

Internal Furnishings

2021 Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series GXL

Main Features

Chassis

Underbody Upgrades

Engine Performance Upgrades

Canopy Fit-Out Electrical

External Vehicle Upgrades

Interior Vehicle Upgrades

Fulltime Canopy – Norweld Australia

Wheels + Tyres

Almac Boat Loaders

Share this entry

Our new Setup

2021 Royal Flair Eco Mate

What we did

Main Features

Chassis

Underbody

2021 Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series GXL

Main Features

Chassis

Underbody Upgrades