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Published Oct 2024
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20 January, 2023 By: Brendan Batty
From their climate-controlled interiors to state-of-the-art appliances, these caravans will take you almost anywhere in comfort and a whole lot of style.
‘Luxury’ is one of those bywords caravan manufacturers have appropriated to make their products sound even more desirable.
For example, Jayco's top-of-the-range Silverline is the 'epitome of luxury', while its entry-level Journey pop-top has a ‘luxurious innerspring mattress’. Boutique Melbourne caravan manufacturer Lyfe's Super Trakker 'exudes luxury' while off-road specialist Lotus uses 'luxury' or 'luxurious' to describe every single one of its caravans.
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Luxury is more often associated with indulgence but building luxury into a caravan isn’t just about having a flash looking interior. Luxury requires a ground-up approach, because what works in a caravan park with a concrete slab to park on won't work when it's a camp beside the beach up at Cape Range.
Self-levelling and other high tech features
Almost exclusively, Australia's high-end caravans have adjustable, independent suspension that can be fine-tuned to deal with the load on board or raised and lowered to suit the terrain and reduce fuel usage on long highway runs.
Most of them are equipped with high-tech anti-sway technology to ensure it's safe and comfortable to tow. Even more importantly, the best caravans are correctly engineered to maximise the benefits of weight distribution so that, among other things, the tow ball download is just right (not too heavy and definitely not too light).
Today’s luxury caravans also rarely contain timber as technically superior composites, carbon fibre, and epoxies are lighter, stronger, better insulating and easier to repair than any of the traditional caravan construction methods. Modern composites can also be moulded into more aerodynamic shapes, making the drive more comfortable. This construction also makes pressurised or dust-proof interiors possible, which negates the need for constant cleaning, especially in dusty conditions.
Self-levelling systems are common in high-end caravans. Once at camp, the push of a button (or, potentially, a touch screen) levels the caravan on the campsite, so nothing rolls off the bench, and you never feel like you'll roll off the bed. At this level, electric, wind-out awnings are common as are custom-made shades designed to increase the usable living space around the mobile home.
All the comforts of home on board
Although most caravans have air conditioners, in many high-end caravans the onboard electrical system should be able to run an air conditioner even when you can't plug into power, so you won't need to carry a smelly, noisy generator or rely on powered sites.
In the kitchen, gas stoves make way for more efficient induction cook tops. Across multiple fridge and freezers, expect over 200-litres of capacity to keep things chilled, both inside and outside the van.
Also keeping things more efficient and eco-friendly, there’s a trend towards composting toilets in high-end caravans, so you don't have to deal with dump points, and composting toilets use much less water.
To run all this luxury, the average 22-foot caravan can fit at least 1000W of solar on the roof, enough to keep up to 400-800Ah of lithium batteries charged. Those batteries can run a 3000W inverter, which has enough power to run your air conditioner or induction stove (though maybe not at the same time). 48-volt systems are slowly replacing 12-volt systems as it is more efficient at running high-load appliances.
Some caravans measure battery capacity in kilowatt-hours - like the all-electric ERV caravans, which have what is essentially an electric vehicle battery pack under the floor and nearly 2000W of solar on the roof. Similarly, the Brüder EXP-8 mentioned below has a 16.7kWh battery pack and a 5000W inverter to run its onboard systems (that's more capacity than a Tesla Powerwall).
For all of this and more, you’ll need to be looking to drop at least $150,000. So, if a luxury caravan is actually on your radar (or if you just like to dream) here are eight luxury caravans available in Australia.
Elross ECX Off-Road 22
From $152,000
Easily Western Australia's most expensive caravan, the ECX off-road or family off-road vans combine solid, modern construction with top-of-the-line suspension and components in a very liveable caravan. Excellent kitchen layouts include touches such as Italian handles and luxury tapware. You can go totally off-grid with the ECX, with solar panels feeding into a lithium-ion battery bank, and 190L of fresh and 95L of grey water.
Retreat ERV 210R
From $157,000
The ERV range of 'gasless' caravans utilise what is essentially the 14.3kW battery pack from a modern electric vehicle paired with a 5000W inverter. Replacing all gas or combustion appliances (stove, fridge, barbeque, heating and cooling) with electric versions and as much as 2400W of solar on the roof, these caravans feature technology that will probably be the norm in the near future.
Zone RV Sojourn Summit
From $203,000
Zone's founders have a yacht-building background and have incorporated the high-tech composites and manufacturing techniques they’ve used to build racing yachts. The Sojourn Summit is its top-of-the-line caravan and has every conceivable piece of modern caravan technology, including its own 4G WiFi hotspot so you can run Netflix on the 28in smart television.
Mountain Trail LXV 6.7
From $209,000
Mountain Trail began life as a camper trailer manufacturer, and even a decade ago, it set out to make camping as comfortable as possible (it had a $40,000 soft top camper back then). Today its bread-and-butter is sophisticated off-road caravans, the highlight being its 22-foot LXV 6.7. Featuring panoramic double-glazed windows and a spacious kitchen with induction electric stove, it'll self-level itself at camp, and you'll never run out of power with 940W of solar on the roof.
Lotus Off Limits
From $210,000
According to his social media accounts, the Lotus Trooper is Chris Hemsworth's choice of caravan, having taken one on at least a couple of family holidays. It's not the Trooper that’s Lotus's most luxurious model, though. That accolade goes to the Crystal River, with its giant slide-out lounge area, ‘gourmet kitchen’, 50in TV and a floorplan so big it actually has a separate bedroom. Lotus has more expensive caravans, but this is the most indulgent of them.
Kimberley Kruiser T-Class
From $220,000
Kimberley Kampers has a storied history, but there's no denying it's always been at the forefront of caravan design. The T-Class is the pinnacle of that. Its distinct shape and high-tech construction facilitate high-end luxury and some of the most sophisticated electrics in the caravan market.
Airstream
From $180,000-$230,000
Over the years, a few companies have tried to make Airstream work in Australia, and all (including Jayco) have failed. In the US, the average Airstream is about three times the price of the average caravan, largely thanks to its legacy and focus on designer interiors. A few late-model American examples are available if you're prepared to look. Although they don't have the technical features of the most modern vans in this list, what they lack is made up for in decadence.
Brüder EXP-8
From $299,000
Brüder's founders, brothers Dan and Toby Boschietter, may not have set out to build Australia's most expensive caravans, but they've certainly succeeded. The EXP-8 is the company's flagship model with a bespoke suspension system that's got three times more travel than any other caravan. It's the sort of trailer you'd tow around the world, not just up the coast. A 1600-watt solar system feeding into up to 30 kWh power banks is enough to run a house and could even be used to charge an electric vehicle.
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