GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #66 | Page 11

RV REVIEW
COMPACT FIBREGLASS RIG !

When Pacific Caravans offered me some time with its brand new 17-footer , the Pathfinder , I was hitching it up in a heartbeat to find out what it offered .
Pacific Caravans is the sister company of Atlantic Caravans , and has been in business since 2012 , starting out with traditional ‘ stick and tin ’ construction methods before maturing into fibreglass sandwich panel construction .
UNDER TOW
The first thing to know about this 17ft Pathfinder is that it is relatively light . With a Tare of 2040kg and an ATM of 2800kg , it ’ s a good match for a vehicle like the MU-X . Its unladen ball weight of 200kg is about what you ’ d expect , too .
I towed the van in reasonable weather conditions at speeds up to 100km / h and it didn ’ t sway or porpoise on the towbar .
The fibreglass sandwich panel construction was an immediate tick in this van ’ s favour . The walls are about 40mm thick , with a thin skin of fibreglass either side of a high density structural foam core . The roof is also a one-piece construction , running from the front to the rear , with checkerplate added at either end .
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