Winner - Alu-Tech

DESIGN AWARDS
2010Special
April 2010
74
caravans &
lightweight
leisure trailers
assessed
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EDITORIAL
Welcome...
...TO THE prestigious Caravan Design and Lightweight
Leisure Trailer Awards 2010, the industry’s only
competition of its kind, held again this year at the Boat and
Caravan Show in the halls of the NEC in Birmingham.
Some 74 caravans, fifth wheelers, folding caravans,
folding campers and trailer tents of all shapes and sizes
were entered into the awards, and each one was rigorously
examined and assessed by a panel of independent expert
design judges and technical researchers. No stone was left
unturned as the six caravan (four design and two
technical) and three lightweight leisure trailer judges
looked at all aspects of each vehicle, inside and out.
For the caravan awards (now in their 15th year),
the four design judges were asked to ‘care’ for one
particular aspect of every one of the 45 models entered –
‘Beds, Seats and Personal Effects Storage’; ‘Shower,
Toilet and Fittings’; ‘Kitchen Appliances and Services’;
or ‘Exterior’. On top of that, each judge allocated
marks for comfort and liveability as well as innovation,
workmanship, overall appeal and value for money. So, as
you can see, the winners in each of the Caravan Design
Awards’ seven categories had to be real all-rounders to
walk off with the top prize.
To give you an idea of how detailed the judging criteria
are, everything from the jockey wheel and grab handles,
exterior gas and electric points, to storage for food
utensils, storage access and capacity for bedding and
heater ducting is assessed. It’s a gruelling task for the
judges, but helps to provide Club members and
caravanners in general with a fair and objective assessment
of those models submitted for competition scrutiny –
allowing them to be better informed when making their
difficult buying decision.
Additionally, the unbiased feedback from the judges
allows the manufacturers to make improvements to their
products if and where required.
Now in their eighth year, the Lightweight Leisure
Trailer Awards had six classes for 2010 and the three
judges marked each of the 29 entries in all aspects of
interior and exterior design, including suitability of
mattress, helpfulness of handbook, internal storage
and setting up on site.
I hope this gives you a useful insight into the whys and
wherefores of these awards, and I trust you’ll enjoy
reading this dedicated supplement.
Contents
p3-10
p11-15
Caravan Design
Awards 2010
Lightweight
Leisure Trailer
Awards 2010
From tiny two-berths to huge fifth wheelers,
caravans did battle for the top prizes in the awards’
seven classes. Find out what won and why...
2 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
Six classes, 29 entrants, three
judges... the results are now in
Art Director: Christian Gilliham
Printed by Dialogue Solutions,
Enterprise Way, Edenbridge,
Kent TN8 6HF
© The Caravan Club 2010
CARAVANS
Super models
There were 45 entries in this year’s prestigious Caravan Design Awards.
Judge Michael Le Caplain unveils the top three in each class
WITH A very healthy entry list, the 2010 Caravan Design
competition was a tough ask for the six willing judges.
There are many things to bear in mind about the
mechanics of Caravan Design, but I think there are two
in particular that warrant special mention. One, none
of the judges involved has a personal axe to grind – the
playing field is as level as it is possible for it to be right
from the outset, and each contender has, on day one,
Class 1
ANY CARAVAN
Under £12,000
Winner:
Elddis Xplore 302
Price: £9999
The tiniest caravan from Elddis
was my personal star of the show:
it’s been a very long time since a
major UK manufacturer built a
caravan that costs less than
Runner-up:
Bailey Ranger 460/4
Price: £11,250
Given the enormous upheavals
that have occurred elsewhere
within Bailey’s ranks during the
past year, you could perhaps be
forgiven for thinking that the
Ranger is long overdue a styling
makeover. Whatever, the fact
remains that the 460/4 still has
what it takes inside.
As this year’s chosen kitchen
scrutineer, I can certainly vouch
£10,000 OTR and whose MTPLM
is less than 1000kg.
It’s not just facts and figures
that pushed the 302 into a richlydeserved first place in this
category, though: simply, this is
an extremely well thought-out
caravan. Granted, its end kitchen
layout is hardly envelopepushing, but would you just look
at the size of that L-shaped
lounge! It must account for nearly
two-thirds of the 302’s entire
length, and doubles as a large bed.
Elsewhere, the good news just
keeps on coming. Those eagle of
eye may have noticed a distinct
lack of a space heater anywhere
inside the 302, and there’s a very
good reason for that: the brand
new Whale heater (which sports
a novel quiet ‘night’ mode)
actually lives under the floor.
Then there’s the storage space –
at least as much of a chance of stealing ultimate glory
as its neighbouring contender.
Two, this is without question the most incisive,
the most detailed, the most in-depth and the least
forgiving competition: in short, if a given caravan
emerged at the head of its class, this year, it would be
a gross understatement to say that it jolly well
deserved it. Let battle commence...
a massive double-fronted
wardrobe, plus more high and
low kitchen space than you
could possibly ever need in a
caravan this size – and the
surprisingly accommodating
washroom (which allows access
to the shower riser from outside,
via an opening locker door)...
This is one small wonder.
for the amount of worktop and
locker storage space on offer,
while little touches like the
simple, but crystal-clear
analogue voltmeter (which it
shares with not a few other
manufacturers, in fact) and
easily-accessed RCD unit all
boost its design credentials.
This year’s washroom specialist
emerged pretty impressed too,
while most of us remain
convinced that a single front
window is better in just about
every respect than the more
traditional triple front panes.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 3
CARAVANS
Third place:
Sprite Musketeer TD
Price: £11,939
Class 2
FAMILY CARAVAN
£12,000-£16,000
Winner:
Bailey Olympus 504
Price: £14,750
Where do you start with this
formidable newcomer? The
figures alone boggle the mind:
more than 100 bespoke tools
were commissioned and five
patents taken out in order for the
Alu-Tech body construction
(which carries a 10-year integrity
Class
1
Contin
ued
Brand new for 2010 it may be, but
the Musketeer TD’s layout will
appear familiar to anyone who has
been caravanning for some years.
The short front lounge, nearside
rear corner quasi-pullman dinette
and offside corner washroom
arrangement is the floorplan that
served a certain ABI Sprinter 400D
well for many years.
It still works really well, feeling
considerably bigger inside than
its exterior dimensions would
have you believe. It’s extremely
well-made, too.
At just 4ft 5in long, the front
settees are quite truncated and
cannot serve as single beds, but
the kitchen is surprisingly wellendowed in the worktops and
storage departments, and
extends to such luxury as a
separate grill/oven and the same
warranty) employed by both the
Pegasus and, latterly, Olympus
ranges to come to fruition, and
it’s hard to argue a case against
the results.
Our technical researchers
were in no doubt that it was the
best in class, but the opinion of
the design judges was more
polarised, with two giving a
narrow points victory to the
second-placed Coachman.
It’s an absolutely brilliant
layout, but I was less impressed
to find, variously, no obvious
cereal box kitchen storage, a
smaller than expected fridge
and a microwave oven that, like
most of its ilk, is set too high.
Overall, though, this is a
genuine winner: its feel-good
factor alone would probably have
done the job, but the rest of it is
just so darned intuitive, from the
switched power sockets and
enormous sinks to the mouldbreaking front storage locker.
Runner-up:
new faux marble sink unit fitted
to considerably dearer Swift
Group caravans. If only the rear
dinette seats weren’t so low-set
relative to the table.
The best of the rest
I was rather taken with both the Adria 390 DS’s kitchen
and lounge and the strength of its construction, although
even I had to admit that you’d need to have fullyretractable legs in order to take a shower!
As for the Rimor New Polaris 420, there was good news
and bad: the U-shaped lounge got an emphatic nod of
approval from me, as did the sizeable washroom, but the
bedroom was spoiled by a pointless head-end window, and I
couldn’t help wondering if it had been sufficiently
Anglicised for the UK market.
Coachman Amara 520/4
Price: £15,465
Coachman’s classical four-berth end
washroom contender is one heck of
a caravan: all Coachmans look and feel like they’ve been hewn from a
solid block of titanium and I defy anyone to name any other UK caravan
manufacturer that makes end washrooms quite like Coachman does.
The plain doors bereft of handles and positive catches simply didn’t
look right to some of the judges, while the kitchen judge (me) was
disappointed to find no obvious place in the galley in which to stow
boxes of cereal. There’s no power point in the side dinette either.
For sheer build quality and common-sense design, however, the
Amara 520/4 makes an extremely strong case for itself.
Third place:
Swift Charisma 545
Price: £14,606
This surprisingly compact fourberther sports pretty much the
same layout as the Bailey Olympus 504, which means a truncated
forward lounge and a spacious U-shaped rear lounge behind which
lurks a full-width end washroom, complete with separate shower.
The rear wardrobe is surprisingly accommodating and the end
washroom feels positively enormous. Drawbacks? The lack of
switched power sockets comes as a bit of a disappointment, while
kitchen and bedding storage space are equally lacking. Other than
that, it’s mighty difficult to pick holes in.
The best of the rest
Elddis’s Avanté 505 just missed out on a podium finish,
its family-friendly layout impressing particularly.
Deeper roof lockers, a bigger fridge and a separate
shower would have made it a stronger contender.
Sterling’s Europa 530 majored on its terrific kitchen,
big settees, high build quality and separate shower, while
the remaining pair – the Lunar Quasar 556 and Sprite
Major 6 – were closely matched, but the former won
through thanks in the main to its king-sized rear lounge.
4 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
CARAVANS
Class 3
2-BERTH CARAVAN
£12,000-£16,000
Winner:
Bailey Pegasus 462
Price: £15,600
It’s been a busy old year for the
artist formerly known as Senator.
The Pegasus was the first model
range to showcase Bailey’s
headline-grabbing Alu-Tech
construction process, and
Runner-up:
Coachman Amara 450/2
Price: £14,465
What you really want from a
bespoke two-berther is a large,
comfy lounge, a kitchen that’s big
enough to serve up meals for two,
decent-sized beds and a nice,
spacious washroom.
The Amara scores well on all
these fronts. We’ve already
established that Coachman end
washrooms are the best in the
business, but I also found it
managed to secure so many
forward orders at the expense of
Senator that the older brand was
swiftly – and rather unexpectedly
– discontinued late last year.
At £15,600, the Pegasus 462
is quite pricey, especially
compared with the third-placed
Challenger. Also, it could use a
socket in the lounge, its fridge
looks a bit dated and its
microwave is placed too high.
Oh, and the shelf in the left-hand
kitchen roof locker needs to be
rendered removable if you’re ever
going to get a couple of boxes
of cereal therein.
Unfortunately for its rivals,
that pretty much sums up what’s
fundamentally wrong with the
smallest Pegasus.
The blacked-out front locker
door still polarises popular
opinion, that’s true, but there’s
no arguing with its practicality,
difficult to pick holes in the
kitchen, while the lounge settees
are just about long enough
to serve as single beds and make
up into a double that’s a healthy
6ft 8in long.
Factor in a payload that allows
80kg per person (which is
arguably more than enough,
although noticeably inferior to the
payloads stipulated by both the
winner and the third-placed Swift)
plus a standard of build quality
that isn’t so much obvious as
smacks you clean between the
eyes, and we have ourselves a
worthy runner-up.
and while only time will tell,
all indications are suggesting
that this will be the strongest
caravan ever made this side of
a Kabe or Polar.
With its proven interior layout
enhanced by a washroom and
shower that are both of the
Third place:
Swift Challenger 480
Price: £14,882
Given the 480’s many talents, it
seems hardly surprising it scored
well enough, overall, to secure
third place in this class.
Sure, at £15,000, it seems a little
expensive, and the microwave is
positioned too high for it to be
entirely safe, but on pretty much
every other level I found myself
rather floundering in the
complaints department.
walk-in variety, it’s perhaps
not entirely surprising that
the Pegasus 462 stole this
category’s laurels.
The kitchen ticks pretty much
every box, including generous
worktop space and good storage,
while the washroom similarly
impresses with its ample dressing
space and large, separate shower.
Up front, the lounge settees are
supremely comfortable and long
enough to serve as both a pair of
single beds (at 6ft 3in long apiece)
and a double that’s a full 7ft long.
It may be less overtly
avant-garde than some Sterling
products I could mention, but I’d
bet my bottom dollar that it
appeals to a broader swathe of
potential customers.
The best of the rest
Had marks been awarded on technical merit alone, the
last-placed Lunar Quasar 462 and next-to-last Elddis
Odyssey 462 would have swapped places in the final
analysis. However, with all marks combined, the Elddis
nudged ahead of the Lunar by just six points, with a tinierstill four-point gap marking the difference between the
fifth-placed Elddis and fourth-placed Sterling Europa 390.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 5
CARAVANS
Class 4
CARAVAN WITH
DEDICATED BED(S)
£12,000-£16,000
Winner:
Bailey Olympus 534
Price: £14,495
Appealing as it is, the Olympus
534’s French bed/end washroom
layout is neither new nor unique
to Bailey. It is, however, quite the
showroom star, managing as it
Runner-up:
Elddis Avanté 646
Price: £15,999
I got a bit excited when I
encountered this latest addition
to the burgeoning Avanté range.
I’d seen the similarly laid-out
Crusader Tempest before, but
somehow the unique six-berth
layout didn’t quite seem to suit a
range-topping brand. Now that it’s
swapped over into the entry-level
Avanté, however, it’s like a
celestial light-bulb has suddenly
flared into life. Why hasn’t anyone
thought of this before?
At first glance, it’s difficult to
understand what all the fuss is
about: side dinettes have been
around since time immemorial
and triple bunks have skyrocketed from zero to hero in
just a few short months.
does to squeeze a lounge, a
kitchen, a double bed and a
full-width end washroom into
a single-axle caravan that’s just
23ft 9in long and weighs a
comparatively welterweight
1458kg, fully laden. To put that
into perspective, however,
anyone of a rigidly 85% outfit
ratio bent would need a towcar
weighing north of 1700kg with
which to pull it.
Still, this remains an intriguing
achievement on the part of the
caravan industry, not least as this
layout was previously only
thought to be possible on a
twin-axle chassis.
It works, too. The Olympus
recorded consistently high scores
across the board, with the
washroom and kitchen coming in
for particular praise: the former
feeling spacious and welcoming;
the latter proving to be well
But hang on: since when has
anyone put these two familyfriendly elements together in one
caravan? Factor in the good-sized
(6ft long) front settees and huge
offside washroom, and what
you’re left with is a layout that is
(a) unique to Elddis, and (b)
positively unfathomable, in that
other manufacturers have
managed to overlook it.
It’s hardly surprising, given
the caravan’s sheer size, to find
that the kitchen sports an
abundance of worktop and locker
space, but we were pleasantly
surprised to find a full-size true
fridge-freezer out back.
What really works in the 646’s
favour, though, is its simply
staggering value for money: at
£16,000, it’s some £4450 cheaper
than the equivalent Crusader,
and makes the little two-berth
Odyssey 462 (£15,349) look
positively expensive.
endowed in terms of storage
and worktop space.
It was the little things too
that swung the decision in the
Bailey’s favour: the space heater
located close to the lounge; the
kitchen roof lockers capable of
swallowing a couple of cereal
boxes; the U-shaped lounge,
which does away with the
central chest of drawers and
as such makes the most of the
(limited) available space...
It all adds up to what was
perhaps a predictable class
win for the Olympus.
Third place:
Coachman Amara 535/4
Price: £15,885
When you consider how long the
fixed bed layout has been around,
and indeed how phenomenally
successful it’s been over the years
– it’s difficult to believe that there
was a time when most
caravanners wouldn’t have
touched it with a bargepole,
believing its use of floor space
to be chronically wasteful.
It’s doubly difficult to believe
when you consider a so-designed
caravan as accomplished as
Coachman’s Amara 535/4. Yes, it
can sleep four, but let’s be honest:
this caravan will be sold almost
entirely as a luxurious twoberther and, in that role, it
genuinely shines.
Perhaps its biggest
accomplishment is what can
so often be the breed’s Achilles
Heel: the washroom. Yes, it’s
an all-in-one affair, but it feels
uncommonly spacious, and
while the toilet and shower
are arguably the wrong way
round, the available space is
remarkably generous.
The best of the rest
It’s perhaps a measure of the calibre of entries in this
category that the four-figure points score which would
have guaranteed a podium finish in the Family Caravan
category left the talented Sterling Europa 470
languishing in fifth place here, just behind its Swift
stablemate (and a caravan which shares the Olympus
534’s basic layout), the Charisma 550.
Another Swift Group product – the Sprite Quattro FB –
managed to pip the Lunar Quasar 534 to sixth place,
leaving the top-value Adria Altea 542 DT to see off the
brand new (but arguably still a work in progress) Rimor
New Polaris 530 CDM into ninth out of nine.
6 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
CARAVANS
Class 5
ANY CARAVAN
£16,000-£19,000
Winner:
Bailey Pegasus 624
Price: £17,925
Take one Bailey Pegasus 534, sort
out its one real failing – a short
lounge – and what have you got?
Why, yet another class-winning
caravan. It’s called the Pegasus
624, and it marks Bailey’s fourth
Runner-up:
Swift Challenger 570
Price: £16,174
There’s little difference between
the DNA of this model and the
cheaper Charisma 550 featured
elsewhere on the pages of this
supplement. As such, much of
what both makes and breaks that
model applies here, including the
fundamental issue of the caravan
feeling just a little too biased
towards the end washroom/fixed
class win out of five. The smaller
Pegasus 534 may have managed
to win its class outright, but the
5ft 4in/5ft 7in front settees are
noticeably short relative to the
rest of the caravan. The
considerably longer (25ft 8in to
the 534’s 23ft 6in) twin-axle 624
solves this problem at a stroke,
maintaining the same layout,
but installing a pair of settees
that are as close as makes no
difference to 6ft long each.
The rest of the 624 is every bit
as impressive as the 534, with
the kitchen, washroom and
general decor all scoring
consistently – but not exclusively
– high marks across all the
judges’ score sheets.
It’s worth mentioning, however,
that it was a strong technical score
that eventually tipped the balance
firmly in the 624’s favour – the
design judges scored it very
bedroom area and not quite
enough towards the lounge.
Overall, though, the 570 is
at least as impressive as the
third-placed Coachman, and
manages to earn valuable
brownie points by being both
lighter and considerably cheaper
than its Pastiche rival, despite
feeling just as well made and
welcoming. When you further
bear in mind the usual excellent
Swift Group end washroom and
a kitchen that manages to make
the very best of the available
space, it’s a worthy runner-up.
highly, that’s true, but not
everyone awarded it their highest
tally of marks. It just goes to show
that it takes a strong performance
across the board for one caravan
to defeat its rivals!
Third place:
Coachman Pastiche 560/4
Price: £17,565
Given that the Pastiche 560/4 –
another end washroom/fixed
bed model – represents a step
up from the already oft-lauded
Amara range, you’d expect it to
be pretty darn good.
While the lack of positive catches
to the roof lockers disappoints,
the lockers themselves are a big
improvement, sporting a classier
unitary design and a simple
but highly-effective trim strip, to
break up what would otherwise
have been acre upon acre of
featureless cabinetry.
As you’d expect, too, the
Pastiche looks and feels like a
premium product, with ultracomfy seats, refined, subdued
lighting and a specification list
that extends to such luxuries as
a new remote-control alarm and
in-built DVD/CD player.
Yet, from my viewpoint, the 560
felt like an excellent caravan that
could have been so much better
had a few design opportunities
not been missed. Things like a
brand-new cooker that doesn’t
feature an electric hotplate, a
space heater that could have been
angled more towards the lounge
and a pair of lounge settees that
would have been perfect had they
been a couple of inches longer, are
a little disappointing. This is a
welcome new addition to the
Pastiche ranks that’s certainly
one to watch in the future, but
arguably isn’t quite there yet.
The best of the rest
The bottom section of this category was rounded off by
those caravans that didn’t quite manage to attain a fourfigure score, meaning that the Adria 642 UP got the better
of Lunar’s Lexon 570 and the Caravelair Venicia 492. Of
those that did return four-figure scores, the Sterling Eccles
Coral did well to put so much distance – 40 points in total –
between itself and the fifth-placed Elddis Odyssey 634.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 7
CARAVANS
Class 6
ANY CARAVAN
£19,000 and over
Winner:
Airstream Int’l 684
Price: £59,195
Much as it was probably always
going to take an upset of earthshattering proportions for the
iconic Airstream to come
anywhere other than top of this
Runner-up:
Swift Conqueror 630
Price: £20,164
Swift Group should be extremely
pleased with this result, as it
marks the Conqueror 630’s
retention of the runner-up spot it
managed in this class last year.
It’s quite an achievement for
a mass-produced model to not
only end up snapping at the
coat-tails of what is, let’s face it,
more an icon than a caravan,
but also to power smoothly
past something as remarkable
as the Vanmaster in the process.
Moreover, you could even call
class, it’s worth noting one or
two things before we get too
carried away.
Yes, the 684 polled the highest
score of any caravan in the
competition, and yes, pretty
much every judge marked it as
their top-scorer in this category;
but therein lies the rub: ‘pretty
much’. Two of the design judges
actually ended up with other
outright class winners: one
awarded the Vanmaster more
marks and another pinned his
colours to the Conqueror’s mast.
Also, the technical blue
riband went not to the Airstream,
and not to the Conqueror.
At the finish, even the mighty
Vanmaster had to concede
defeat to the Lunar Delta TI on
technical merit alone.
You may need a serious win on
the lottery to fund the biggest of
the European Airstreams, but
this £20,000-plus monster good
value in this company!
There are issues, though: being
yet another model to sport the
French bed/end washroom layout,
the lounge does, as a result, feel a
bit small, and the framed locker
doors do jar somewhat in the
face of the asking price.
That said, bedroom and
washroom are among the very
best, and you really can’t argue
with the standard kit list, which
extends – like the considerably
more expensive Vanmaster – to
Alde’s fabulous Hydronic ‘wet’
central heating, together with
a HAL tracking system and a
175-litre automatic energy
selection fridge-freezer.
what you get in return is not just
a caravan – excuse me, ‘trailer’ –
but a way of life.
Quite apart from anything else,
we should be extremely pleased
that a machine as unorthodox as
this actually exists – and fully
within the letter of the law – in
these financially straitened
times we live in.
Third place:
Vanmaster Occasion
640 TBEW
Price: £31,950
Such is the rarefied air in which
the relaunched Vanmaster brand
exists, that there’s no such thing
as a standard model. Much as you
need seriously deep pockets to
buy one of these fabulous tourers,
it’s good to see this brand making
a welcome comeback.
What a caravan this is. Aside
from the framed locker doors
bereft of any positive catches,
the Occasion feels like a luxury
caravan that’s been genuinely
crafted by hand in pretty much
every other respect.
There are many reasons why
the 640 TBEW feels so special –
the upholstery is a delight to
behold, much of the cabinetry is
clearly top-end and it all feels
beautifully made – but I suspect
that chief among its formidable
arsenal is its amazing layout.
Up front, it’s the familiar tale
of twin settees with a kitchen
further back that works better
than most by virtue of its rare
‘ergonomic kink’. Open the
inward-hinged double doors
midships and you’re presented
with a transverse island bed with
a veritable constellation of
twinkling pin lights sunk into the
ceiling and a full-width end
washroom beyond. What price
genuine, palpable luxury?
The best of the rest
The technical know-how demonstrated by Lunar’s Delta TI
we’ve already mentioned, but honourable mentions are
also due to the Sterling Elite Explorer (which actually
gave the Vanmaster a bit of a scare in the final points
standings), the fabulously opulent Coachman Laser 655/6
and the Elddis Crusader Tempest, whose only real
drawback is having the Avanté 646 as an almost equallytalented, but considerably cheaper sibling.
8 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
CARAVANS
Class 7
ANY FIFTH WHEEL
CARAVAN
Winner:
Fifth Wheel
Company
Dream Seeker
Price: £36,000
Costing a whopping £10,000 less
than the well-established Celtic
Rambler, the Fifth Wheel Company’s
brand new contender is now
priced more broadly in line with its
rivals, which makes its build
quality and pleasing layout all the
more impressive.
Inside, you’ll find a motorhomestandard Smev domestic cooker,
a Thetford SES digital fridgefreezer and a large wraparound
end lounge that comprises a pair
of gigantic settees and a
good-sized central table. The
kitchen is enormous with storage
and worktops galore, and the
bedroom occupies its usual
position over the fifth wheel, with
the huge shower close by. The bed
base lifts, too, to reveal a job lot of
storage space.
It’s the engineering detail that
really impresses with the Dream
Seeker, though: the batteries –
two 110Ah affairs – live beneath
the floor for easy access, for
instance, while the shower floor
comprises an ultra-tough nonslip material. Consider the
inboard chassis, optional selflevelling jacks, beautifully
finished GRP body and
exceptionally build quality, and
there really can only be one
winner in this category.
Runner-up:
Triple Slide, is its more modern
and rounded styling. It’s arguably
less contemporary inside, but
would you just look at the size of
that big, squishy settee and the
enormous dresser opposite?
The flame-effect fire is perhaps
a matter of personal taste, but
really and truly, it’s difficult to
imagine that when pitched up
on site, this vehicle would feel
like anything less than a small
studio apartment.
It’s much the same story in the
forward bedroom: the queensized bed is pretty much of a
domestic size, and while its raised
dais and tight walk-around space
count against it, all things are
relative: you’ll never get this
amount of bedroom space in a
‘standard’ caravan. The huge
Calder Leisure
Eco-Lite 27 RK
Price: £35,750
The Eco-Lite 27 RK offers mighty
good value for money and one of
the big benefits over stablemate
and fellow competition entrant,
shower and nifty little washbasin
are fully en-suite. There’s more
good news in the kitchen: high
and low storage space borders on
the comical, there’s more worktop
space than you’ll ever need, and
the beers and wine will keep
nicely chilled in the usual
enormous fridge-freezer.
In terms of bang for your buck,
this is a hard act to beat.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 9
CARAVANS
Third place:
Calder Leisure
Kountrylite Triple Slide
Price: £37,725
“It’s basically a small flat.”
These were the words with
which I concluded my slightly
goggle-eyed report on the big
US fifth-wheeler, and while
they may have been in part
tongue-in-cheek, it’s not actually
that much of an exaggeration.
Most of the usual Uncle Sam
rules apply here: massive Norcold
fridge-freezer, check. More
storage space than you’ll ever
need, check. More living room
than you’ll ever need, check. Three
slide-outs, check. It also feels
surprisingly well made, if a little
dated in places.
Class
7
Contin
ued
However, there are one or
two surprises: where you’d
expect to find the usual US RV
fare of a Wedgewood threeburner hob/broiler there is, in
fact, a thoroughly familiar
Caprice Country Leisure Mk III
domestic-style cooker. And while
general worktop space in the
kitchen is pretty good, it’s by
no means jaw-dropping.
Still, there’s no faulting the
enormous lounge, generous
central washroom and the end
bedroom that’s island in design
and sports ample space around it
in which to move.
You’ll need to factor in the cost
of a suitable pick-up truck of
course (many seem to favour the
super-torquey Nissan Navara), but
by any stretch of the imagination,
just shy of £36,000 sounds like a
lot of metal for the money.
CARAVAN DESIGN AWARDS 2010 ENTRANTS
Class 1:
ANY CARAVAN UNDER
£12,000
• Adria Altea 390DS
• Bailey Ranger 460/4
• Elddis Xplore 302
• Rimor New Polaris 420 Veloce
• Sprite Musketeer TD
Class 2:
FAMILY CARAVAN
£12,000-£16,000
• Bailey Olympus 504
• Coachman Amara 520/4
• Elddis Avanté 505
• Lunar Quasar 556
• Sprite Major 6
• Sterling Europa 530
• Swift Charisma 545
Class 3:
2-BERTH CARAVAN
£12,000-£16,000
• Bailey Pegasus 462
• Coachman Amara 450/2
10 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
•
•
•
•
Elddis Odyssey 462
Lunar Quasar 462
Sterling Europa 390
Swift Challenger 480
Class 4:
CARAVAN WITH
DEDICATED BED(S)
£12,000-£16,000
• Adria Altea 542 DT
• Bailey Olympus 534
• Coachman Amara 535/4
• Elddis Avanté 646
• Lunar Quasar 534
• Rimor New Polaris 530 CDM
• Sprite Quattro FB
• Sterling Europa 470
• Swift Charisma 550
Class 5:
ANY CARAVAN
£16,000-£19,000
• Adria 642 UP
• Bailey Pegasus 624
• Caravelair Venicia 492
•
•
•
•
•
Coachman Pastiche 560/4
Elddis Odyssey 634
Lunar Lexon 570
Sterling Eccles Coral
Swift Challenger 570
Class 6:
ANY CARAVAN
£19,000 and over
• Airstream International 684
• Coachman Laser 655/6
• Elddis Crusader Tempest
• Lunar Delta TI
• Sterling Elite Explorer
• Swift Conqueror 630
• Vanmaster Occasion 640 TBEW
Class 7:
ANY FIFTH WHEEL CARAVAN
• Calder Leisure Eco-Lite 27 RK
• Calder Leisure
Kountrylite Triple Slide
• Fifth Wheel Company
Dream Seeker
TRAILERS
Light fantastic
Judge Mark Sutcliffe reveals the podium finishers in the six classes in
the Club’s expanded Lightweight Leisure Trailer Awards 2010
TRAILER TENTS and folding campers/caravans
traditionally bridge the gap between the tent and
touring caravan. The lightest trailer tents are quicker to
put up and cleverer than ever, with high-tech fabrics
maximising wet-weather performance while minimising
maintenance. At the other end of the scale, folding
campers rival basic tourers on luxury and price.
Extensively re-organised to reflect the incredible diversity
in this important sector of the market, this year’s
Lightweight Leisure Trailer Awards attracted 29 entries.
The six categories now extend from basic trailer tents
costing just a couple of thousand pounds right up to highlydesirable pop-top caravans and ultra light tourers. They all
do something well, but the judging panel was looking for
winners that perform several functions very well or a single
function outstandingly well.
Runner-up:
SunnCamp Holiday
400S Acrylic
Price: £2445
Class 1
TRAILER TENTS
Under £3750
Winner:
Raclet Solena
Price: £3145
Raclet’s Solena is a no-frills
budget trailer tent that uses
almost identical trailer and frame
technology to its more expensive
stablemates, albeit in a much
smaller package. Consequently,
it’s lightning quick to erect:
simply unclip the trailer
fasteners, open up the trailer and
pull the tent section up and over
to form a simple bedroom and
compact living area.
There are no mod cons such
as a kitchen or toilet area but an
awning can be attached to the
living space which would
accommodate a family of four at a
pinch, although this significantly
increases the set-up time from
under five minutes to something
like half-an-hour. The awning
costs an extra £575 while a
bedroom extension adds a
further £356 to the price.
Like most of the Raclet range,
the Solena can be stored on its
side in your garage on a special
wheeled bracket (a £152 option).
The Solena’s greatest strength
is its simplicity, making it ideal for
couples who just want a bed for
the night before moving onto
explore pastures new in the
morning. At under £3500, it’s
also one of the most affordable
products on the market.
This new trailer tent from
SunnCamp is an updated version
of last year’s class winner,
featuring low-maintenance
acrylic fabric instead of the more
conventional cotton. Acrylic dries
more quickly than cotton and is
significantly less susceptible to
mould. It can be packed away
wet and dried out later – unlike
cotton, which will start to
mould almost immediately if
packed away damp.
The Holiday 400S is a colossal,
family-friendly tent, with four
elevated sleeping berths plus
provision for more, making it
ideal for large families. There’s
a well-ventilated, dedicated
kitchen area and the porch
configuration is also flexible,
converting into a sun canopy if
desired. It’s all very airy, which
is important in acrylic tents as
they tend to retain heat, with
mesh screens at the windows to
keep bugs at bay.
While there’s no shortage of
space, standard equipment is
basic, although a portable kitchen
can be added for an extra £500.
It takes two people around 45
minutes to erect, but once it’s up
there’s ample room to stretch out.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 11
TRAILERS
Class 2
Class 3
TRAILER TENTS
Over £3750
FOLDING
CAMPERS
Winner:
Winner:
Conway Crusader
Deluxe
Price: £10,995
Camp-Let
Royal Acrylic
Price: £6999
New for 2010, this model
offers the high-performance,
low-maintenance appeal of
acrylic tent fabric with the
comprehensive specification
of the tried and tested Royal.
You can pack it away wet, drive
home, then dry it out in the
garden without worrying about
the fabric going mouldy.
In every other respect, it’s
identical to the Royal, which is
an impressive bit of kit. With
practice, it takes around 15
minutes to set up from scratch
Runner-up:
Camp-Let Royal
Price: £6599
A cotton version of its classwinning stablemate, the standard
Royal is a slightly cheaper option
Third place:
Camp-Let Concorde
Price: £5799
The Concorde is smaller and
slightly less luxurious than the
Royal, but it goes up a little quicker
and can still sleep four without the
need for an additional awning.
Constructed to the same high
standards as the winner and
runner-up, the Concorde is also
extendable and comes with a 12month guarantee. It is significantly
cheaper than the Royal.
12 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
and comes complete with a
DVD to show you how to do it.
The kitchen swings out from
the rear of the trailer and is fixed
in place at a right angle to the
trailer before the GRP base
and lid open out, shell-like,
to form twin, elevated double
sleeping compartments,
complete with beech slat beds
and memory foam-topped
mattresses. The spacious living
section is then pulled up and over
the kitchen. There is then a
couple of frame extensions to
slot in and some pegging out to
do, but that’s about it.
Mains hook-up, a batteryoperated water pump and a gas
regulator are included and the
Royal is fully extendable with
the potential for adding three
extra sections. It can also be
stored on its side using a
specially-designed bracket.
From the balance and build
quality of the trailer to the
effortlessness of putting it up,
Camp-Let distinguishes itself by
almost obsessive attention to
detail. At a shade under £7000,
this isn’t cheap, but its
combination of quality, cleverness
and convenience is hard to beat.
for purists who prefer the
aesthetics and superior
breathability of a cotton tent.
Increased headroom,
integrated storage pockets and
better beds distinguish it from the
more compact Concorde and it’s
certainly a better family camping
proposition than the smaller model.
Camp-Let has a system of
crates, which slot neatly into
the trailer and provide additional
covered storage to the sizeable
roof-rack on top of the lid,
which, with a payload of some
200kg, will comfortably
accommodate a couple of bikes,
canoes or even a small boat.
Fully laden, the Crusader Deluxe
tips the scales at 1000kg,
meaning it can comfortably be
towed by all but the smallest of
towcars, yet it takes just 15
minutes and only a modicum of
muscle to set up.
With the acrylic roof in place, it
offers beds for six, a kitchen that
rivals that of a touring caravan, a
washroom and toilet, electrics,
lighting and a heater.
The living space on offer rivals
that of a large twin-axle tourer,
but with the optional awning
Class 4
FOLDING
CARAVANS
Winner:
Gobur Carousel
12/2TD
Price: £17,495
Gobur has made folding caravans in
small volumes for years and its vast
experience is evident in the quality
and finish of its innovative trailers.
The 12/2 TD is built on Gobur’slonger
(11ft 8in), wider (6ft 10in) platform,
which feels noticeably roomier than
the Slimline models.
TRAILERS
Runner-up:
Conway Crusader
Price: £10,995
Identical to the Deluxe model
except for the lounge layout,
the standard Crusader offers
an interesting alternative to a
full-blown tourer. You probably
wouldn’t want to use it outside
the spring and summer months,
but it will sleep six, can be
comfortably towed by a Ford
Focus and is easily stored in a
standard garage over winter.
The longitudinal layout sees
the main double beds located in
distinct compartments at either
end of the lounge. This lounge
set-up isn’t quite as comfortable
as the U-shaped layout in the
Deluxe, but it’s more practical for
dining at the free-standing table
when the awning isn’t in place.
Third place:
Pennine Pathfinder
Price: £9695
The Pathfinder has been around
for more than a decade. The
longitudinal layout is identical to
the Crusader, complete with double
sleeping compartments at either
end, twin settees that convert into
a third double and a washroom.
The only differences are the cotton
tent, more traditional décor and a
slightly more attractive price.
attached, this virtually doubles,
although the set-up time also
increases to around 45 minutes.
The Crusader Deluxe is
distinguished from the standard
Crusader by a U-shaped seating
arrangement rather than
opposing settees, which the
judges felt offered a comfier
solution for four or more.
Runner-up:
Gobur Carousel 12/2T
Slimline
Price: £15,595
It’s effectively a compact tourer
with all the features you’d expect
to find in a modern caravan –
including kitchen, washroom,
electrics, gas and wraparound
seating in the front lounge. The
big difference is that the walls
and interior cabinetry collapse
down to a folded height of 4ft 7in,
which makes it easier to tow and
eminently garageable.
Gas-assisted struts make
raising the sides once on pitch an
absolute breeze, and one person
can set up the unit in around five
minutes. All the interior services
(wiring, lights and plumbing)
remain in place inside the caravan,
while the wardrobe and washroom
are re-assembled in seconds.
The gaps where the walls meet
the roof are plugged by snugfitting seals, while 25mm of
insulation in the walls, roof and
floor make this Carousel suitable
for year-round use. With an all-up
weight of just 1050kg, the 12/2TD
can be towed by a modest hatchback.
If the 12/2TD has an Achilles
Heel, it’s the price: £17,495 buys
an awful lot of conventional
caravan these days.
At just 5ft 8in wide, Slimline
versions of Gobur products like
the 12/2T will slot into even the
narrowest driveway or garage.
It’s also 115kg lighter than the
equivalent standard-width model,
and unladen can be pulled by the
smallest of towcars. Inside, the
12/2T Slimline feels pretty tight
and storage space is at a premium,
but Gobur does manage to cram
in a kitchen, washroom, lounge
seating for four and a 6ft by 4ft 7in
double bed.
Third place:
Gobur Carousel 12/2
Slimline
Price: £13,995
Essentially identical to the 12/2T
Slimline, the 12/2 dispenses with
the washroom. This frees up a little more storage space
and saves 25kg in weight, giving the 12/2 an unladen mass of
just 675kg and a price tag of £13,995.
THE CARAVAN CLUB 13
TRAILERS
Class 5
CARAVANS
750kg and under
Winner:
Tab 320 RS
Price: £7800
This tiny little teardrop tourer is
sturdily built and beautifully
finished both inside and out. The
Tab amounts to little more than a
trailer with a bed – it’s the flair
with which it fulfils this role that
Runner-up:
Freedom Jetstream
1st Class
Price: £9190
Freedom models boast a
combination of sturdy, utterly
watertight, GRP construction and
low towing weights, backed by an
14 DESIGN AWARDS SPECIAL 2010
separates it from the other
competitors in this category.
Step inside and there’s a basic
kitchen with sink along the back
wall and just about enough
headroom for a six-footer to
stand up, but no toilet. Move
forward and, as the headroom
diminishes, you naturally settle
into one of the settees on either
side of the stand-alone central
table. There’s just about
sufficient room for five adults to
sit in the U-shaped lounge. The
bed is enormous and has a firm,
supportive mattress, but once
set up, it consumes just about
the entire living space, although
there is room to stand next to the
kitchen and make a cup of tea.
– until recently – industry-leading
five-year warranty.
Essentially, the 1st Class is a
scaled-down version of a full-size
tourer. It sports all the mod cons in
a space that’s just over 8ft high,
14ft long and 6ft 8in wide.
Consequently, it’s strictly for
couples and headroom might be
an issue for anyone over 6ft 1in
tall, especially under the rather
steeply-raked front window.
Everything you are likely to
need comes as standard and, like
all Freedom caravans, the 1st
Class gets the full complement of
water, gas and electrical services.
Third place:
Freedom Jetstream
Twin Sport
Price: £9190
The Twin Sport is virtually
identical to the 1st Class when it
comes to weights and measures,
but the internal layout offers a
bigger bed and the flexibility of
twin singles. It also has blown-air
heating as opposed to the 1st
At 7ft 8in high, it will fit into
some garages, while a payload
of 250kg means there’s ample
carrying capacity. If you want one
of the many super-cool colour kits,
a fridge and battery electrics, the
cost increases by around £2000,
but it’s a price that a fashionconsciouscustomer will probably
be prepared to pay.
Class’s simple gas-fired space
heater, a smaller fridge and less
worktop space in the kitchen.
The judges found it virtually
impossible to separate this pair
of small, but perfectly-formed
caravans; personal preferences
will inform most customers’
buying decisions.
TRAILERS
Class 6
CARAVANS
Between 750-1100kg
Winner:
Elddis Xplore 302
Price: £9999
From the outside, the 302 looks
unfeasibly small when
compared with the number of
Runner-up:
Trigano Silver 310 TDC
Price: £13,495
Trigano’s petite Silver 310 is a
practical little caravan. It will fit in
most garages, can be towed by
very modest cars and is beautifully
finished inside and out.
Of the two Trigano layouts
entered in this year’s competition,
as well as being marginally
large twin-axle tourers around
today. Despite its modest
size, however, the interior
feels huge thanks to a clever
L-shaped lounge layout
‘borrowed’ from the company’s
flagship Sirocco range. The
end kitchen is well suited to
cooking on site, but instead of
the fridge being located on the
other side of the caravan door –
as is usual with this layout – it
sits under the wardrobe. This
is made possible by the
employment of Whale’s new
underslung gas heater.
Relocating the fridge also
means the nearside settee can
be lengthened, leaving sufficient
space for someone to sit and
have a morning cuppa without
breaking down the huge
transverse bed.
cheaper, the TDC is probably the
more practical, opting for
opposing settees rather than the
aesthetically pleasing L-shaped
lounge of the TDL.
The TDC is a couples-only
affair, with sufficient space to
entertain friends on site. So
although it ticks a lot of boxes,
it does look rather pricey and
when items like a heater, hot
water system, oven and grill are
all optional extras, the costs
increase still further.
The judges particularly liked
the external wet locker with
direct access into the washroom,
where wet and muddy boots can
be plonked straight into the
shower tray. The 302 weighs just
950kg fully laden and costs
under £10,000. It has been
designed to meet the needs
of caravanners who want to
down-size from a big outfit to
something easier to manoeuvre
and more economical to tow.
It does it brilliantly.
Third place:
finished inside and has the
poshest washroom of all the
contenders in this year’s
lightweight leisure trailer
competition – it comes complete
with shower and swivel toilet.
Popping the top takes less than a
minute and with the roof raised
there is reasonable headroom
for those over 6ft tall.
This is an unashamedly
upmarket little tourer, but
compared with the class winner,
it does look a little pricey.
Trigano Silver 310 TDL
Price: £13,595
Identical in every way to its
stablemate, the TDL is
distinguished only by the visually
appealing L-shaped lounge in
which headroom is at a premium
under the steeply-raked front
window. With characteristic
French flair, it’s beautifully
LIGHTWEIGHT LEISURE TRAILER AWARDS 2010 ENTRANTS
Class 1:
Class 3:
Class 5:
TRAILER TENTS under £3750
• Raclet Solena
• SunnCamp Holiday
400S Acrylic
FOLDING CAMPERS
• Conway Countryman
• Conway Cruiser
• Conway Crusader
• Conway Crusader Deluxe
• Pennine Fiesta
• Pennine Pathfinder
CARAVANS 750kg and under
• Freedom Jetstream 1st Class
• Freedom Jetstream Twin Sport
• Freedom Microlite LE
• Tab 320 RS
Class 2:
TRAILER TENTS 0ver £3750
• Camp-Let Apollo
• Camp-Let Apollo Lux
• Camp-Let Concorde
• Camp-Let Royal
• Camp-Let Royal Acrylic
• Raclet Quickstop
• Raclet Safari
Class 4:
FOLDING CARAVANS
• Gobur Carousel 10/2 Slimline
• Gobur Carousel 12/2 Slimline
• Gobur Carousel 12/2T Slimline
• Gobur Carousel 12/2TD
• Gobur Carousel 12/4
Class 6:
CARAVANS between 750-1100kg
• Adria Altea 390DS
• Elddis Xplore 302
• Lunar Ariva
• Trigano Silver 310 TDC
• Trigano Silver 310 TDL
THE CARAVAN CLUB 15
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www.caravanclub.co.uk/caravanins
or phone us on 01342 336610 quoting
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