MDC Forbes 12+ review: Part 2

The third of a three part series review on the MDC Forbes 12+. Here's what Robert thinks of the interior of his caravan.


February 20, 2023


If you want to know why I opted for a hybrid caravan read this, and you might want to look at Part 1 of the 12+ review before you get to this Part 2 which continues with the interior.

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Let’s get in

There’s a step to pull out to aid ingress, and that can be lit too for effect and safety, nice touch, as can the handle next to the door. Once inside you can appreciate the layout, which is highly subjective but I love it. The reason is there’s quite a bit of bench space, a small sofa, a table, and the bed can double up as another sofa. So I can work in my little mobile office or have some friends over. Or watch something on Netflix, Youtube etc. And there’s enough space to live – food, electronic devices, books and what-not. I think it’s great, but interior layout is very personal so you may disagree.

Storage

There’s a fair bit of storage which I don’t completely utilise. But I do appreciate that each latch is corrugation-proof and I’ve been over some shockers. That’s more than I can say for the sofa cushions as there’s no way to keep them in place on the move. Once in place, the sofa is comfy enough and that leads to temperature control.

Interior temperature

My van has aircon which will only work off main or a generator, and so far I wish I’d saved the $3000 or so. With the windows open, the fly screen up and interior far working, the 12+ remains pretty cool. You can also open up vents in the canvas part of the roof too. Heating is taken care of by a diesel heater which is effective. And you can always drop the roof down to reduce interior area and thus improve heating efficiency. I would imagine the heater diesel tank is enough for a week of cold nights.

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Sleeping stations

The 12+ is nominally a three-berth; queen double bed and a small bunk which requires use of a ladder and that’s bulky as well as a pain to carry as there’s nowhere to latch it in place so consider that if you’re parents with a kid. I leave the bunk in place as it’s handy storage.

Let there be light

There’s two main roof lights, and four bright LED wall lights so combined with the white walls illumination isn’t a problem. The only thing I miss is a reading light, but head torches are often better for that anyway. Windows aren’t plentiful. I wouldn’t mind a bit more lookout space, but it’s okay and each window has a blind and a fly screen.

The struts are meant to be able to keep the window open at an angle but they don’t always work. The door has a fly screen too. I do like the blackout ability; with the blinds up the amount of light the 12+ shuts out is impressive, so I’d advise setting an alarm clock should you normally wake by sunrise. The mattress folds in half horizontally, and is as comfortable as that of any you’d find in a hotel.  It is good to be able to lie in bed and look out the back window if there’s a decent view, or block it out if there’s not.

Water

There is a gas hot water service which takes around 20m to warm up, or I should say scald up; it gets nicely hot! The shower is great, has its own lighting and a fan, and drains into the grey water tank. The toilet is a cassette affair and easy to operate, including a this-is-now-full warning light. The latch jiggles noisily with the slightest movement, but that’s easily fixed and has been on updated models.

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Quality

The build quality on the MDC is good. Nothing fell apart, no poor joins or welds, no real cost-cutting I could see. There are cheaper brands but I felt below this price point I could see the lower cost reflected in the product. Conversely, going above this price point did mean improvements all round in equipment, but I felt the cost-effectiveness equation didn’t stack up – the law of diminishing returns.  Aside from the jack, the other two replacements I’ve made have been for an ARK jockey wheel and to swap the cheap Projecta modified-sine inverter for a iTechWorld pure-sine model with remote switch more suited for sensitive electronics. Which was a pretty simple drop-in job. 

Pure-sine inverter complete with remote switch.

Power

The 12+ runs three AGM batteries and 300w of solar, and there is an air gap under the solar panels which is a sign of a good design. On summer-y days there’s plenty of power. But overcast or winter-y days you’ll reach the limit of the batteries. So a generator or converting to a set of lithiums will be the answer. As for using the power; you can never have too many USB or 12v points, and the 12+ has enough around the place but you’d never say no to a couple more.

Problems

The outside door latch stay snapped, something I’ve not bothered fix. The hot water service failed and was duly replaced under warranty. The seals around the storage compartments have been upgraded after I noted they let water in. And the brakes were initially excellent, then reduced in effectiveness. I have another trailer and the brakes worked fine on that so I didn’t think it was the Ranger, but installed a new Redarc TowPro anyway. The problem was rectified by replacing the brakes on the 12+ under warranty. We snapped a key in the water filler cap, an apparently common problem. And the cap to the diesel heater tank pretty much died in sunlight and was replaced with a different version under warranty. Overall, nothing that really concerned me and MDC stepped up every time.

Towing

I tow the 12+ with a 2012 Ranger and can easily cruise at the speed limit unless it’s a very long and steep hill. Fully loaded with gear and water the van weighs 2350kg. Well below the ATM of 2800kg. I run a towball mass of around 7% and find the van stable regardless of water tank fills! An experienced friend followed me through some rough, bendy country roads and commented on how well the 12+ tracked and followed the car. However, I did discover that I cannot go for a full-lock turn on the Ranger without the back of my Trigpoint service body touching the stone guard. As the Trigpoint isn’t a long body, I’d suggest that’s a design error on behalf of MDC.

Where’s it gone off-road?

Off-road use has been in sand, mud, rocks and water. As you’d expect when towing 2300kg or so with a track wider than the car, you’re not going extreme 4WDing. However, the limitation thus far has been my inclination to drag the trailer, not the trailer itself which is a compliment to MDC. It’s always a compromise. I could get a more off-road-capable camper trailer, but that wouldn’t be the office I need.  I will however point out that the 12+ comes with mud tyres which are in my view pointless. Soon as they wear out a nice set of all-terrains will go on which will reduce fuel consumption. I also don’t need two spare tyres, one and my repair kit is plenty. I wouldn’t mind 17s on the van either so I could at least run 265/70/17 tyres, same as the Ranger, even if the wheels are different.

Overall, I’m very happy with my MDC Forbes 12+. It’s a pleasure to tow, is off-road capable, well-built, works well as an office and camping base, and hasn’t caused me any trouble. If it was written off I’d buy another for sure, and have recommended the brand. There are active and helpful owner’s groups on Facebook which is always a good sign, and many owners doing laps of Australia. MDC also lead the industry, in my view, with the quantity and quality of their documentation both written and video.  No travel trailer is perfect, but I think I’ll keep this one for a while.


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Robert Pepper
Robert Pepper

Robert Pepper is an independent automotive journalist specialising in 4x4s, camping, towing, fast cars, and tech. Robert’s mission is to make these high-risk activities safer through education informed by his own experience and a commitment to inclusivity. He has written four books and hundreds of articles for outlets in Australia and around the world, and designed and delivered driver training courses in all aspects of offroading, towing, and car control. In order to maintain independence Robert’s current outlet is his own YouTube channel and website.

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