Plasterer by trade, Troy Cooper founded Beast Tourers after an injury forced him to consider other options.
Owner of a brand-new Prado 4WD, Troy devised a drawer system to accommodate fridges, cook tops, storage space and everything he and his family would require on their adventures.
The hiatus from his day job coincided with the pandemic and the enforced travel restrictions which inspired many people to hit the road and explore Australia.
“It really occurred at exactly the right time,” Troy acknowledged. “After working on my own 4WD, I posted the mods on a Prado owners’ Facebook site, and about 400 people commented. Then the requests flowed in, and that’s how my new business started.”
To construct the drawers, Troy uses the Coosa panel system, supplied by ATL Composites, chosen for its lightweight, water-resistant properties.
Coosa panels consist of high-density polyurethane foam, reinforced with layers of fibreglass. Offering superior resiliency and endurance, lightweight and not subject to water, rot or insect infestation, Coosa panels are an excellent replacement for plywood or wood fibre materials.
Manufactured in the USA, Coosa Panels are used internationally throughout the marine, industrial and transportation industries in structural and non-structural applications. Dimensionally stable, they are available in a variety of densities and thicknesses, boast low water absorption and do not attract mould and fungus that destroy wood.
“What makes our designs different is that we use Coosa, which is a really light, flexible, composite board that can make your whole system around 30 percent lighter than other designs,” he explained.
“This really helps if you want to install a cool system with a few must-have mods, but don’t want to go too close to your GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass).”
Based just south of Brisbane, Troy has also teamed up with the electrical experts at SAFIERY to install switches, lithium power, dual induction cooktops, upright and drawer fridges – anything owners could need for life on the road.
With demand from all over Australia – from Melbourne to Cape York, and internationally as far afield as Dubai – Troy is planning to transition from his plastering business into focusing on Beast Tourers full-time.
“Coosa is so easy to work with and cost-effective,” he said. “We also use Techniglue R60 a structural adhesive, manufactured by ATL, which we have found to be reliable and consistent for all applications.”
One of ATL’s most popular products, the TECHNIGLUE R60 cartridge pack eliminates the guess work of achieving the correct mix ratio of 2:1 by volume, saving time and labour. The cartridge pack is lightweight and comfortable to hold, and includes a mixing head. The coloured resin and hardener also give a visual indicator of correct mix.
Coosa Bluewater Panels are approximately 40 to 60 percent lighter than plywood, depending upon density ordered, and offer a very low water absorption, 1.5 percent or less, therefore there is no significant weight gain when exposed to water. The panels are more mould and mildew resistant than plywood, along with being resistant to insect infestations.
The woven roving fiberglass in addition to continuous strand fiberglass in Bluewater Panels adds additional flexural strength (stiffness) for demanding applications where structural integrity and/or greater span lengths are appropriate.
Coosa can be utilised for multiple applications, including in Marine – transoms, stringers, hatch lids and decking; Industrial – wall panels, amusement park structures, museum exhibits and instrument/transport cases; and Transportation – floors for emergency vehicles, buses.
.Julian Griffiths, Director at Noosa Marine, has also used Coosa for the past six years on new builds, refits and repairs on vessels as diverse as performance racing cats and small runabouts.
“We use Coosa Panels for pieces that need to be bolted or screwed, such as decks and transoms,” he says. “It’s a high-density core that doesn’t rot or compress. You can bolt right through it, and because condensation or water can get under floors, Coosa is great to use in floors.”
For repairing smaller vessels, Julian and his team use Coosa in place of plywood. 
“The advantage is Coosa has a superior rigidity at a fraction of the weight of plywood and we don’t have to fibreglass seal the underneath or top. We can tape it in, so we’re also saving on time as well as making the job easier.”
ATL Composites Australia and vdL Composites in Germany have also incorporated DuFLEX Coosa-cored panels into the DuFLEX Composite Panel range to offer customers a choice of pre-laminated panels, through to CNC-routed kits, for specific applications like stringers in marine applications and flooring in transportation projects. The CNC Kits reduce waste and labour in these projects.