RV FEATURE
The Silver + package incorporates 25mm aluminium studs clad with composite aluminium cladding and black checkerplate . XPS foam – the structural material in fibreglass sandwich panel applications – is used as insulation . The roof , however , is a one-piece composite fibreglass sandwich panel , while the floor is a 17mm ‘ honeycomb ’ structure that will never rot . The result : strong , thermally-efficient construction that involves minimal timber .
Our review van was built atop a 6in hot-dipped-galvanised chassis running on 16in alloy wheels with 12in disc brakes and Cruisemaster ATX air-bag suspension rated to 3500kg . If ever you ’ ve towed a van with disc brakes , rather than electric drums , you would know how much smoother the braking experience is .
The van was equipped with two 200Ah lithium batteries along with three 210W solar panels mounted to the roof . When under tow , the BMPRO Mini Boost Pro DC-DC charger should ensure the batteries were full before you arrived at the day ’ s destination . A BMPRO battery management system with Odyssey Link was provided , too – it was quite a comprehensive 12V installation . Did I mention that a 3000W inverter was also included ?
Despite the decent lithium setup , this was not a ‘ gas-less ’ caravan . In fact , two 9kg cylinders were mounted on the A-frame between the mesh stoneguard and checkerplate storage box , which included dual slide-out trays .
Along with the batteries , the offside chassis rail was home to the 15L tank for the van ’ s onboard diesel heater , and it was fully protected by checkerplate .
The layout was traditional but well executed . The kitchen came with an electric induction cooktop but a griller and oven weren ’ t fitted to this particular van . While that freed up storage space , it might not be for everyone .
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