RV REVIEW
TORTURE-TESTING THE OPTIMUM
As I mentioned , the Masterpiece guys hammered this van at the AARC . The company ’ s owner , Remon Raffaello , took the wheel and I rode in the backseat , watching as he gleefully took on any obstacle he thought would pose a challenge .
If anything could break on this van , he was going to find it . And … he did . Well , sort of . You see , the rear-bumper-mounted spare wheel caught the ground when exiting a steep water crossing . But it ’ s worth mentioning the departure angle was such that most caravanners wouldn ’ t even attempt it and the van ’ s ground clearance and rear overhang is on par with most other dedicated offroad caravans .
For Remon , though , that wasn ’ t good enough , and within minutes he was formulating a solution to take back to the factory . As he said , finding these physical limitations was the entire point of the AARC testing which , I ’ ll also point out , requires a very substantial financial investment . The use of these facilities does not come cheap . In my mind , therefore , this exercise was yet another credit to Masterpiece Caravans .
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