Aerovan refines sleek look

Not content with the current crop of traditional ‘boxy’ caravans, two brothers from Echuca, Victoria have come up with a new streamlined caravan that they hope will “take caravan design to a whole new aerodynamic level”.

With a long history in the aviation business, Alistair and Geoff Morrison formed GT Gyroplanes in 2007 to market a new type of gyrocopter they designed and built themselves.

But with demand for their tiny rotorcraft waning, the brothers have channelled their talents into building a caravan that utilizes many of the light weight and aerodynamic principles of the aviation industry.

The result is the Aerovan – short for Aerodynamic Caravan – a full-sized, twin-axle fibreglass caravan which stands out with its smooth, uncluttered appearance and innovative construction.

“We had been associated with aeroplanes for years and when my wife wanted a caravan for ourselves, I could not bring myself to buy the conventional box-shaped van with all the problems our caravanning friends had told us about,” says Alistair Morrison.

“Understanding aerodynamics, because of building aircraft, there was no way I could buy a brick and tow it around Australia.”

As well as less drag when towing, Morrison says the Aerovan has been designed to overcome many shortcomings of traditional caravans, such as numerous body joins that encourage water leaks, exterior cladding that's easily dented and being too heavy for many tow vehicles. 

A civil engineer, Morrison admits the design was also influenced by one of the first and still best aerodynamic caravans on the market, the American-built Airstream.

To keep costs down and ensure regular doors and windows could be used, the Aerovan, unlike the Airstream has flat-sided walls and roof, but Morrison says he “couldn’t see any disadvantage to that from an aerodynamic view”.

“(For optimum aerodynamics) we needed a rounded front and a tapered back, which we couldn’t do,” he explains. “We understand there’s more drag created from the back of the caravan than the front; most people don’t understand that.”

For less drag and added security, all external fittings including gas bottles, spare wheel, and awning are either recessed or enclosed in external compartments.

This includes the air-conditioning, which is an internally-mounted split-system unit instead of the usual protruding, roof-top unit, while Morrison says “because it’s a fibreglass roof, the TV aerial can be fitted inside the van”.

The product of 12 months development and testing, the AeroVan’s body is 2.4m wide and 6.52m long, with an overall length of 7.55m (24ft 9in).

Inside, the look is more conventional, with apartment-style décor, all the latest equipment expected on a luxury caravan, and a choice of three layouts including double bed, kitchen, dinette and ensuite.

The floor, roofs and wall are constructed from 41mm thick, fibreglass/foam sandwich panels that offer similar insulation to food transport trucks, while
the monocoque-style construction comprises just six body pieces, including front and rear fibreglass moulds. 

The two-tone exterior has a hail resistant, gel-coat finish, with checker plate added mostly for looks.

“It’s virtually impossible for this van to leak,” he says.

Another priority was that the Aerovan could be easily towed by Morrison’s 2.5-litre Nissan Pathfinder. Although the second prototype has an 1800kg Tare, the aim is to reduce that by around 200kg with weight-saving measures such as an aluminium chassis and special furniture plywood from New Zealand that’s around three times lighter than conventional ply. 

Morrison says preliminary testing suggests the Aerovan is more stable at freeway speeds up to 100km/h than a similar-sized boxy caravan. He says it also reduces fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent.

“The other thing that was noticeably different was when you go past a semi-trailer; a square van really sucks and moves, and the round van just doesn’t move,” he says.

With a patent taken out on the unique design, the Aerovan's creators are currently seeking an established RV manufacturer to build production versions under licence.

Admitting it would be “a little more expensive than a conventional caravan”, Morrison says the Aerovan could retail for around $65,000.

“But I think you can afford to pay perhaps $10,000 extra for the van, because you can save that much in petrol over the first 10 years (of ownership),” he says.

“And the main thing is you don’t have to change your vehicle to a big LandCruiser or Patrol to tow the thing around.”

The Aerovan joins a growing number of Australian caravans and hybrid campers designed using aerodynamic principles, including the award-winning Bolwell Edge, luxury off-road Kimberley Kruiser, maritime-influenced Ultimate Nautilus, and egg-shaped Desert Sands Cheetah.

Visit the Aerovan website for further details.