More decisions. Choosing a caravan.

As previously mentioned, attending the Let’s Go Caravan and Camping Supersale was where we started the process of choosing a caravan. It was probably fortuitous, in that we learned – at least – what would not work for us.

Sadly for our budget, that was essentially all of the smaller, lighter – and therefore (mostly) less expensive – caravans. They simply could not provide enough table (desk) space for two people to work at for the typical 8 hours per day. I’ll add here that both of us work on our PCs. I’m a computer programmer, and Megan is a Social Marketer, which means she spends a lot of time on Facebook and other social media sites. Neither of us finds there is sufficient “real estate” on a typical notebook screen and so while we both use a notebook computer, we also each use a separate large monitor. This is why sufficient table/desk space becomes difficult to find in a caravan. Using a separate monitor also (almost) mandates use of separate keyboard and mouse, as using the notebook keyboard and trackpad means you must twist your neck to view the larger monitor; a less than ideal position when held for hours at a time. Mouse and keyboard mean we require even more desk space. Hmm…

Enter the Club Lounge…

A Club Lounge, for those that don’t know, is a U-shaped seat with a table at its centre. These can be at the end of the van, or centrally placed on one side, usually opposite the kitchen. When placed at the end of the van it becomes quite large, and – importantly for us – so does the table. Problem solved? Mostly, yes. Even these large tables are not large enough to accommodate two notebooks, two large monitors, two mice and two keyboards. But we have resolved that a custom made extension to the table will provide enough space for us both. We may be able to have this made at the factory, or else I can make one up myself. Thankfully, I am fairly handy and have the necessary tools. This is what a club lounge may look like…

The other thing that most Front/Rear Club Lounge caravans offer is a centre bathroom. What this entails is that the toilet is on one side of the van, with the shower opposite and a passage between that leads to the bed. This creates a separate bedroom, as there is usually a sliding door to seal it off from the rest of the caravan. Such a luxury! This adds appeal for Megan who often goes to bed much earlier than I do.

The potential downside of the front/rear club lounge and centre bathroom layout is length. All of these caravans are in the 23′ range (yes, caravans are still measured in feet and inches!) which is at the longer, and therefore heavier, end of the spectrum.

Many caravan manufacturers now build vans with this layout, so we now had to weigh up the pros and cons of each and try and determine where the value for money lay.

The Candidates

Eventually we came down to 3 models from 3 different manufacturers:

1. Silver Edition, Layout #16 by Hitch-Hika.  Biggest pro here is that Hitch-Hika, while built in Melbourne, are owned by a local (Adelaide) company and provide local support and service, even if that service is way out the other side of town.
2. Excalibur Prince by Crusader.  Of the 3, this caravan probably has the most modern construction, but it is also the most expensive.
3. The Admiral by Kokoda.  This is the lowest cost option here, but includes most of our desired features.

There are certainly other options, and for a time we also considered the Rangefinder Nebula by Bailey Caravans due to it’s light weight construction. However, its low ground clearance, long rear overhang and the large number of features that must be added at extra cost swayed us against it. The ground clearance alone would make parking in our driveway, um… difficult.

Except for the Bailey, all of these vans would require a 3500 kg tow capacity vehicle.

Our Choice

We eventually settled on The Admiral from Kokoda Caravans both because it fit well with our budget, but also for an unusual reason… the community.

Reasons

While researching these caravans we came across several extremely active Kokoda Caravan owners groups on Facebook. One is now defunct, but another lives on. They were all too happy to allow prospective owners access to their closed groups and so we joined up. What a revelation! We found not everything was perfect in Kokoda land, but the group helps owners resolve issues with their caravans, and not only via helpful hints and tips, but some of the members are closely aligned with Kokoda itself and can intervene when things are not progressing as they should.

We did not find any such similar groups for the other two brands, nor in fact for multiple other brands that we had dismissed earlier for various reasons.

Serendipity

The timing of finding this group was also serendipitous. They were holding their second annual Kokoda Nationals in The Barossa Valley, about an hour from where we live, and while we were visiting the local Kokoda dealer for another look at their vans, two of the organisers of this meeting were also there to pick up some things. We chatted and they invited us up to the gathering to speak to an Admiral owner and others. There were 80 Kokoda caravans at the gathering!

We took them up on their offer and headed up the following day. We spoke to several owners at length about their vans, about tow vehicles, about Kokoda as a company, about everything and anything caravan related, and they were all honest, friendly and welcoming. With that kind of unofficial support, how could we not be swayed?

Here is the floor plan of the Kokoda Admiral showing the Club Lounge, Centre Bathroom and separate bedroom:

More to follow.