Bush Lapa Hopper 3i camper review

Don’t talk about it, be about it. It’s a saying hung up in gyms and accounting firms all across the world. The concept is simple. Don’t talk the talk, walk the walk. Spend more time and energy on being the thing you want to be, and less on pretending you are.

It’s something that really rings true in 4x4 land the last few years. Drive past any car dealership and you’ll find rows of base model 4x4s, covered in sticker packs, filled with leather, and trotted out like they’re ready for Finke because they have big goofy side-steps. Camping accessory companies are fiends for it too.

Cheap gear flown in, badges sewn on stronger than the product they’re attached to. Don’t even get us started on camper trailer manufacturers filling out spec sheets with gear you don’t need, for places the camper won’t make it. Four bedrooms with an outdoor living space and ducted heating used to be how you’d describe a nice house, not what you’d try and tow up the Old Telegraph Track.

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There are still a few shining beacons of hope, though. Gear that doesn’t claim to be anything, it just is. It walks the walk, and doesn’t just talk the talk.

In a world dominated by cheap, heavy campers with fold-out flatscreen TVs, Bush Lapa’s Hopper 3i is a breath of fresh air. Ruggedly simple. Bombproof construction. The kit you need to spend a month beyond the black stump, and no unnecessary bells and whistles weighing you down off-road or lightening your wallet for no reason.

It’s everything we’ve come to expect from South African camper trailer manufacturers. So how does it actually stack up on and off road? And is it possible to camp without an electronically operated bed? We got up close and personal to find out.

On the towball

Slip behind the captain’s seat of our FX4 Max tow-tug and the first thing you’ll notice about the Bush Lapa Hopper 3i is how unimposing it is to tow. If you didn’t have side mirrors, you’d almost mistake it for a box trailer. It doesn’t knock the Ranger around, and it doesn’t push coming in to corners or wallow around coming out of them.

There’s a few good reasons why, too.

The first is its diminutive weight. At a tare of less than 900kg the Hopper 3i is close to half the weight of some of its competitors. That leads to a towball weight around the 100kg mark as well. The result is that there physically isn’t enough mass in the camper for the tail to wag the dog like heavier units are known to do.

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It settles in for a compliant ride and effortlessly follows the tow vehicle on road. Heading to the ruts and it’s even more noticeable how important low weight is in a camper.

We purposely zigzagged through bad lines and stopped in ruts so everything would be fighting against the tow-tug, but it was consistently compliant. That low mass meant that even when the camper would tilt on to a side angle or slip sideways, there wasn’t enough momentum for it to ever be an issue.

The second major factor that consistently helped was the Bush Lapa’s reasonably compact footprint. With a total length of near enough to four metres, it’s around 15 per cent shorter than similar hybrid campers.

The rear axle is quite far back too, which not only assists with the compliant nature of the camper but also means there’s bugger-all rear overhang and an impressive 44° departure angle. The front checkerplate box is aggressively angled too, allowing for some serious steering wheel action through tight trees without concern for jack knifing.

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Moving underneath and the Bush Lapa Hopper 3i has a unique take on the suspension and chassis. Up front an Al-Ko off-road coupling attaches to a standard towball, but allows a full 360-degree range of movement. Moving back along the A-frame drawbar and the C-channel chassis is tied in to the body for a semi-monocoque construction. There’s a clever combination of boxing and cross members throughout to keep strength up and weight down.

Below that, a simple beam axle joins the two all-terrain tyres together. Riding on leaf springs with a single shock either side, it’s an unbelievably simple and robust set-up. The low weight means there’s no need for fancy multi-shock set-ups, and the beam axle is designed so that a bush-mechanic fix will swing it back in to action should it break in the middle of nowhere.

The only reasonable downside we found off-road is just the nature of a hybrid camper with the high roof height. At around two metres above ground level it doesn’t sit any higher than most tourers on the tracks, but it does mean you’ll need to watch low-hanging branches all the way until the end. Hardly a concern, but something we noticed regardless.

The set-up

It would be hard to say any South African camper trailer has broken the mould, but only because it seems there’s never really been a mould to begin with. As such, setting up the Hopper 3i is just as unique an experience as camping out of it.

For quick overnight camps the combination of a sturdy jockey wheel up front and rear axle so far back means you won’t need to wing the stabiliser legs down every time. It’s a huge time-saver. That said, if you’re on uneven ground, or parked up for a few days and want it solid as a rock, there’s a leg on each corner.

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Underneath up the front are two traditional swing-down legs like you’ll find on most campers. Up the back, unique legs sit high on the back wall, out of the elements when not in use, then clip on to spigots on either side when required. The legs can hold the full weight of the camper, so can be useful if you need to change a tyre or lift wheels to get it stable.

Once the camper is up, there’s a 270° wrap-around awning that’s free-standing and covers both the kitchen and the camper’s door. It comes standard with a full suite of canvas walls, so if you find yourself bunkered down courtesy of wild weather you’ll have plenty of outdoor space.

On the offside, our test model was fitted with the optional shower wing and Smarttek hot-water system. It’s one of the most extensive shower set-ups we’ve come across, with a high roof and floor insert so you’re not showering in mud. Expect to spend around 10 minutes setting up the awning and shower on your own.

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Before making your way inside there’s an extensive kitchen set-up on the nearside, although it takes a surprisingly short time to set it all up. Up front a pull-out drawer houses not only the optional 90L National Luna fridge-freezer, but also the optional Thetford two-burner gas stove top and storage drawers for everything from forks to bowls.

Along the flank, two clasps open, giving access to a drop-down table and huge storage space in behind; while up the back a simple bracket clips in to place below the hard-mounted hot and cold taps, giving both an external sink and a drying rack.

Moving on to the inside and a handful of over-centre clasps pop, allowing the double-fold roof to easily lift up and give way to massive head room, even at six-feet tall we had no issues standing upright inside.

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Up through the fold-down stairs and to your right, a small dinette folds down in to a child’s bed. It’s an easy conversion, but if you put a child any older than 10 in there for a night, you’re in for a long day the next day. The larger Hopper 4 is better suited to families.

Up front an external hatch pops open and folds down in to place on a secure mount. It provides room for the memory-foam double mattress to fold in to place as the master bed.

All up, from start to finish, you could expect a full set-up time of around 20 minutes for a single person, or 10 for a couple working together. If you pull up in the rain and just want to get to bed, that time could be cut down to just a minute or two.

Off the grid

If the overall vibe of the Bush Lapa hasn’t been made abundantly clear so far, the spec sheet should. They’re not loading it up with bush-doof stereos and electronically raising flatscreen TVs. It’s the bare minimum to head off the beaten path without weighing you down more than necessary.

The base camper itself comes incredibly pared down. You’ll pick up a 105L stainless-steel water tank, a jerry can holder, and a single 4kg gas bottle holder. That’s about it. You don’t even get the gas cooker unless you order it. The reasoning is pretty simple: Lots of people already have fridges, cookers, portable power packs, so why ramp the price up by selling people stuff they don’t need.

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That said, you can spec the Hopper 3i up reasonably well, depending on your needs. There’s no expansion on the water tank, but you can spec-up a hot-water system and second pump to make the most of it.

Likewise, the pull-out kitchen is designed to perfectly accept a 90L National Luna fridge. The Thetford two-burner gas cooker can be optioned up if you don’t want to bring your own, and you have two choices of windshields depending on your taste.

On the inside, from stock you’ll get a handful of 12 and 240V outlets if you’re connected to the mains supply or your tow vehicle through the pre-wired Anderson, and that feeds in to a Victron charging set-up.

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From there you have the choice on what battery you’d like to run. AGM batteries are available, or you can spec it right up with dual-lithium like our display model. A 3000W pure sine wave inverter was also optioned up from iTech with a 160W solar panel hard-mounted to the roof. Dual panels could be installed, or even just a simple 140W solar blanket depending on your needs.

The choose-your-own specifications method is a uniquely Bush Lapa approach and will certainly cause a little confusion among potential customers, but it does check out. Checking their options list against retail prices makes it clear there’s no upsell here, just letting you choose how you want your camper spec’d.

How does it stack up against the crowd?

Let’s get one thing clear right away. You’re not buying a camper trailer like the Hopper 3i to take to your local campgrounds once every few months. There are far cheaper and more comfortable options if you’re plugging it in to the campgrounds power, while the kids run off to play in the playground.

The entire Bush Lapa range, especially the Hopper 3i, are designed around serious adventure, and in Australia that means big days in the saddle, and campsites far beyond the amenity block. So, how does it stack up against the crowd?

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The first thing any prospective customer will look at is price. On that front it’s priced pretty comparatively against its competitors at around $50-65K. On the specifications and comfort front, those competitors are certainly in front. Going with another brand you’ll pick up extra goodies, more polished interiors and larger internal living space.

But those extra features and cheaper price come at a cost. Similar competitors will have far heavier offerings, nearly double the weight. They’re also nowhere near as repairable on the fly, capable off-road, or good on fuel to tow.

If your idea of camping is luxurious lounges and electronic gadgets, then the Bush Lapa range won’t excite you much. But if you’re a couple, or have a small child, and want to explore far off the beaten track, then the Hopper 3i should definitely be on your list to go take a look at. It won’t be the prettiest, but it’ll keep on kicking for years to come, no matter how much you ask of it.