Poking around the interior , I discovered a Projecta control panel within a nearside overhead locker containing switches for the van ’ s various 12V functions , from the fridge to the hot water service . It also contains a Projecta voltmeter for at-a-glance information concerning the state of charge of the van ’ s 200Ah lithium battery . It has two 175W solar panels , too , along with a 1600W Projecta pure sine-wave inverter .
No , it ’ s not the most extensive 12V system in the world , but nor does it need to be . Remember : this is an on-road caravan that will likely spend a decent amount of time in holiday parks . Having said that , it is more than capable of spending a couple nights off-grid .
EXTERNAL FEATURES
Built on top of a 4in hot-dippedgalvanised chassis , the MDC Forte SR14 rides on an independent trailing arm coil suspension with Tough Trax shock absorbers on each arm . Looking underneath , I was impressed by how ‘ clean ’ it all looked , with all components protected or otherwise out of harm ’ s way . This includes the two 80L water tanks , which are mounted immediately fore and aft of the axle group where they ’ ll have minimal impact on ball weight . An 80L grey water tank is mounted further back .
36 \