RV FEATURE
In my line of work, I see a lot of caravans. Many are built in much the same way, using the same appliances from the same manufacturer, featuring the same design elements. Sometimes, the only way to tell them apart is by their decals. I don’ t intend that as a criticism – it’ s just acknowledging reality.
Many such vans also have the same, or similar,‘ flaws’ – things which, in my opinion, could be remedied with a little forethought at little cost. Having spent many years inspecting caravans, the good, the bad and the ugly, I’ ve developed a list of common things that bug me, which I’ d like to share with you here. I’ m not having a whinge. Far from it. My intention is to help you, the prospective caravan buyer, make a more discerning choice. At the very least, this article might encourage you to look slightly below the surface.
Note the agi-pipe wrapped around this PVC. It ' s a good start.
The below‘ gripes’ are mine alone, based on a long career spent writing about the latest and greatest Australian caravans. It isn’ t exhaustive or particularly technical; rather, it’ s a list of items that manufacturers could reasonably easily address, providing a smarter and‘ more finished’ caravan in the process.
1. PROTECTION, PROTECTION, PROTECTION
One of the first things I look at is the caravan’ s underbody. If I see that some effort has been made towards protecting the plumping and / or wiring, I begin to take the van a little more seriously. Speaking frankly, I will never understand why it isn’ t standard practice for these vulnerable components to be protected. After all, they’ re only sitting some 400mm off the bitumen or gravel – to me, that’ s not a lot of clearance. The solution doesn’ t have to be difficult or expensive, either. I’ ve seen pipework protected by black checkerplate, and I’ ve also seen it wrapped in agi pipe. But when I see it dangling off brackets screwed to the chassis, it always surprises me, especially since the solution is so cheap and easy.
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