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I remember casting a keen eye over what must have been one of the first iterations of the Patriot X1 camper trailer. I was drawn to the unique, rather military styling and the impressive amount of ‘everything’ they had managed to squeeze into such a small package. The X1 is the camper that started the Patriot Campers journey; and while it has gone through five years of revisions; the latest models I have along for this test maintain much the same design and layout.
The models under review are X1 Grand Tourer models. This is important to note, as a good deal of the features here are optional or not available at all on the lower spec Tourer unit.
The Patriot green example belongs to my good friend Steve McCarthy, who purchased his in 2017 and drove all the way over to Queensland to fetch it! The Pacific Blue X1 is fresh off the showroom floor, and is towed by Jake Doyle from Caravan & Camper Megastore – the official Patriot dealer of Western Australia as of late March 2018.
With the 2018 model hooked up to Jake’s monster GU Patrol, and Steve hauling his 2017 model behind a brand new 200 series Landcruiser, we departed our meeting point at Hillarys en route to Wilbinga. At 3.3 metres from tow hitch to tailgate; and weighing a measly 940kg dry (ATM is 1600kg), it’s no surprise that it tows like it’s not even there. Electric brakes are fitted, a pretty standard inclusion on most camper trailers and caravans. I dare say that even if it was unbraked – you’d still not know it was there behind a big cruiser.
Soon we hit the alarmingly chopped up Wilbinga Road. It’s a horrific limestone track; rather like the one into Steep Point for those familiar. Like most camper trailers these days, the X1 rides on independent suspension with twin shock absorbers each side. The difference here is while most trailers use coil springs to carry the load, the X1 rides on airbags. These are tuned to suit the weight of your camper via a digital control panel, with a small onboard pump to increase the pressure. Just like those with similar suspension setups; the X1 soared beautifully across the corrugations (see the video if you’re reading the E-mag
right now).
As the tracks thinned out into a network of paint shredding horror, the convenience of the short drawbar became apparent. The trailer follows the cruiser closely around tight corners. Over the rough wombat holes and sharp peaks, the pretty galvanised chassis didn’t scrape a bit. Decent articulation between the vehicle and trailer can be attributed to the use of a Hitchmaster DO35 – one of the best offroad hitches out there.