Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Hymer Ayers Rock

Continental campervans generally come in three flavours, all with fixed beds and all linked to the length of the base vehicle. Often you can tell the size by the model numbering system, with anything that has a ‘540’ after its name being the shortest, medium-wheelbase van now available in the Fiat Ducato line-up. 

Hymer doesn’t make things quite as easy to comprehend, preferring names to numbers, but marque devotees will know the Yellowstone (which we featured in April 2023) as the biggest and this Ayers Rock as the smallest. In fact, if you really and truly believe that smaller is better in the world of leisure vehicles, you’ll not find anything more petite that offers full washroom facilities on board.

Indeed, this is currently the most compact vehicle in the whole Hymer range, so we couldn’t resist taking a closer look at the example we spotted in the glassy, classy showroom of Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld at Stafford. 

The spec

It might have been dwarfed by the A-classes all around it but, loaded with options, the price of just under £104,000 was not for the faint-hearted. 

As you’d expect, though, this is very much a premium campervan, with Hymer referring to the top-notch materials used inside – cork, leather, ceramics and solid worktops borrowed from the award-winning Venture S. 

Its maker also claims that these are fully winterised vehicles designed for off-grid living. The Hymer Smart Battery System 2.0 offers up to 240Ah and the fresh water tank is said to be the biggest in its class, at 110 litres. And details such as the electric waste water drain  valve are usually only found on bigger motorhomes.

The exterior

Externally, the graphics are simple, the wheels are 16in alloys and the habitation windows sit flush with the body. The most notable feature here is the optional pop-top with a three-sided mesh front section for those balmy Mediterranean nights. Of course, thus equipped, the Ayers Rock becomes a four-berth, too.

The interior

Down below, it’s the expected half-dinette lounge but there are features you might not anticipate. Despite the  pop-top, there’s still an overcab sunroof to flood the area with light. 

The dining table not only folds in half to form an ideally sized surface for a couple of lattes or a laptop, but it can fold flat against the wall to free up even more space (so important in such a small campervan). 

The rear travel seat isn’t just an upright bench, either, as it can slide forward and recline for extra comfort  (with the table extended).

Then, there are the aesthetics – the neat way the top lockers extend right into the cab and, of course, those  tactile leather straps to open them. 

The bedroom

At the rear, it’s a transverse double bed that’s 1.83m by 1.22m (the length is 1.94m if you stretch the tape measure wall to wall). 

There’s plenty of storage in the void underneath but, by moving the water tanks into an insulated underfloor compartment, Hymer has been able to provide a bespoke space for a set of outdoor chairs and table. 

Even more noteworthy is the way the bed folds (in fact, the mattress sections roll up) to create full-height storage. There’s a slide-out step for access or you can even fold half the bed away for a single berth and more floor space. 

The kitchen

The galley is necessarily compact and one thing you won’t find here is an oven but drawers provide practical storage (with more drawers beneath the bed) and the fridge can be reached from outside (its door opens from either side). 

The washroom

The washroom, with its tiny tip-up, backless basin is perhaps the biggest compromise in this expensive but cleverly designed and superbly finished little campervan.

Where to buy

Hymer has 14 dealers for its campervan range. These include 3 A’s in Wales and Thompson Leisure in Northern Ireland. Knowepark is the Scottish retailer. 

Then, in England, you’ll find Hymers at Adventure Leisure Vehicles (Cumbria), Campersales (Sussex),  Cranham (two branches in Essex), Emm-Bee (Lancashire), Travelworld (Stafford), Highbridge (Somerset and Devon branches), Leisure First (Dorset), Lowdhams (Nottingham) and Southdowns (Hampshire).