Cub Campers Longreach LE vs Blue Tongue Overland XR

What's the difference?

This isn’t the camper for everyone – my guess is that plenty of people look at this and find it too sparse, too basic. I kinda get it.

But there are very few campers which offer the same amount of open, internal space, or that are as easy to set up.

That the Longreach, albeit with a few different names, has lasted so long on the Cub Campers' product roster is a testament to its versatility and ability to accommodate a small family on off-road camper trips.

It's arguably one of the forerunners of the hybrid camper scene, and it's now starting to evolve with campers' desires for more comfort.

The Overland XR Series 2 isn't quite the perfect camper, there's a few little things in the set-up that preclude it from that. Still, at the price and with the features it gets as standard, it's a really good value trailer. It's comfortable, it'll handle off-road trips with ease, and it the kitchen is really quite good.

For a rear-fold camper-trailer, the space inside couldn't be more practical. The long body and high sides mean that when the camper is open and set up, it has a lot more space than most. Behind the bed, for instance, there is enough space for Cub to have fit a small dinette.

The dinette has cushioned benches for two and a swivel table that can also become a counter over the rear floor area.

The camper's length also means that the rear floor area is massive. It is easily big enough to lie a couple of kids on, or if your nest is empty, to set up some camp chairs and a table to enjoy a covered living area.

It is still a rear-fold camper-trailer, though so, despite the fact it has nearly twice the space of other hybrid-style campers, it's very sparsely furnished. There's no internal kitchenette or anything like that.

As the lid becomes the floor, it's quite open inside the camper, with plenty of room to move around and space to do everyday things standing up, like get dressed, which is often more difficult in a forward fold, as there's not a lot of standing room inside them. There's also no stairs to climb getting in or out, as the hard floor is almost at ground level.

The tent seems quite well made. It's a 450gsm waterproof canvas with a tropical roof, windows all around the bed and three doors, one each side of the hard floor. Almost the whole passenger side can be rolled away, too, creating a giant opening into the camper, which offers a pretty good outlook on hot summer days at campsites by the beach.

There's no shortage of extra canvas, either. There are two awnings (although only one you'll use often, an ensuite tent and an optional kids room. The best of the awnings is the quick version, which is simply a rectangle of canvas that shelters the kitchen and only needs two poles to hold it up. A more complete awning, which also comes with walls and a floor, goes up reasonably easily, but it'd only be used if you were settling in for a week or more, I reckon, and then only if the weather was questionable. Its pitch has been improved over the Series 1, which had a flatter roofline and was more susceptible to pooling water. The ensuite room is gigantic – about the size of an actual small bathroom.

One of the biggest reasons to get a rear-fold over a forward-fold is the internal access to storage. As the rear-fold's is all under the bed, the four steel drawers make it easy to get to. Two of them are even accessible when the camper is shut, which just isn't the case in a forward-folding camper. A large, wide step makes climbing up into the bed easy, too. It has an innerspring mattress which is firm but comfortable and plenty big enough to spread out on if you are sharing it.

The Overland XR Series 1 was very well equipped electrically, maybe too well equipped. It was fitted with three 100ah batteries, which is not only a lot of extra weight, but that much battery takes ages to charge – if they were all flat, a day's driving probably wouldn't do it, especially if the car also had a second it needed to attend to. The Series 2 has dropped back to two batteries, which is far better suited to the camper and should easily be maintained by one of the optional 144W solar panel blankets. It can also be fitted with Redarc's Redvision, offering phone connectivity to the camper's electronics so you can not only monitor everything, but turn things on or off remotely.

The other side of the camper's forward storage is large enough to fit a generator or any other bulky camping appliance. As it can be accessed when the camper's open or closed, it's perfect for all manner of gear. A smaller box facing forwards is great for hoses and recovery gear or even a couple of jerry cans. Beware of loading this area up with too much really heavy gear, though, as the ball-weight's already on the heavy side. Fortunately, the camper has a flip-over luggage rack, which is ideal for heavier or bulkier items. Underneath, it can carry 155-litres of water in two tanks.

Cub Campers are famously good to tow, and even the largest of them lives up to the reputation.

As big as it is, the Longreach LE is quite light thanks to the effort Cub puts into engineering. As a result, it's not a strain, even for older dual-cabs like the D22 Navara.

And because it isn't any higher or wider than a modern SUV, there was very little wind-drag or buffeting as we cruised along the highway.

Cub developed the camper's Australian-made and -designed independent, coil-spring suspension and the set-up yields excellent ride in any conditions.

For the LE, Cub has added an extra shock-absorber each side to improve its performance even on the most corrugated roads.

An AL-KO off-road ball hitch is standard but can be upgraded to the Click-Lock version if you'd prefer that or need a more low-profile hitch. 

In reverse, the long drawbar makes it an easy camper to manoeuvre around a campsite, plus it has enough size that the tow-vehicle driver never really loses sight of it while positioning it.

The Overland XR is very stable under tow, which has a lot to do with its ball-weight. Weight to the front of a trailer improves trailer stability (although reduces braking and steering efficiency), so there needs to be a compromise. At 180kg, that's actually a reduction on Series 1, and although that's quite heavy for a camper trailer, is on par with other modern rear-folds, like the Kimberley Kamper.

Well and truly off-road ready, the XR has independent coil-spring suspension and dual shock absorbers, standard, as well as an AL-KO 360° ball hitch, so obscure angles on a rough track won't cause any trouble.

The camper is quite tall, thanks to the spacing of the suspension arms, so clearance will rarely be an issue – when level, the ride height suits a lifted four-wheel drive.

Alloy wheels and 265/75 R16 all terrain tyres fit the bill nicely, and as they're a six-stud LandCruiser pattern, they, and the two tonne bearings, are easy to replace anywhere you find yourself.