It’s hard to stand out from the pack when you’re one of countless caravan builders in the RV manufacturing heartland of Campbellfield, Victoria, but that’s exactly what fledgling business Everest Caravans has done with its latest, fully-equipped 22ft 8in family rough-road caravan.
Rolling off the production line last week at Everest’s small factory located not far from the production facilities of big-selling brands including JB, Concept and Supreme, the eye-catching new Everest Ice Glider features a number of distinguishing features that help set it apart from the Campbellfield pack.
These include a unique slide-out and flip-over ironing board located in one of the drawers in the Ice Glider’s 2.4m long designer kitchen, not far from a 240V-powered six bottle glass-fronted wine chiller – both believed to be ‘firsts’ for the Australian caravan industry.
The first example of Everest’s 22ft 8in/6970mm (body length) family caravan also features stand-out ‘on trend’ interior décor, including matte black fascias for the cupboards and matching black tapware, textured timber-look laminate benchtops and splashbacks and a two-tone L-shape leatherette dinette/lounge with stitched Everest insignia, along with another distinctive coat hanging cut-out near the entrance door.
While built using the traditional ‘stick and tin’ method, the Ice Glider features an equally eye-catching exterior including carbon fibre-look aluminium cladding and X-plate protection – a lighter weight alternative to the ubiquitous aluminium checker plate used by most of its rivals.
Priced at $85,990, the Ice Glider is fully set up for a family of five with triple bunks, north-south queen bed and separate shower and toilet, along with a long list of appliances including a washing machine, 182L fridge’freezer, cooktop with full oven, roof-top air-con and a twin 100Ah battery system with twin 170W solar panels, plus 190L fresh and 95L grey water capacity.
Other thoughtful touches include a state-of-the-art lighting system, dust-proof entry door, premium Euro windows and a BMPro touchscreen control panel.
Tare weight for the Everest Ice Glider is 2940kg with an ATM of 3500kg, and the big family van is set up for rough road touring with a sturdy 6in chassis, 3500kg-rated Oztrekker coil suspension, all-terrain tyres, mesh stone shield and Cruisemaster D035 coupling.
Established in early-2019, Everest Caravans’s small team is led by director Ljupcho Dimitrovski, who accumulated 15 years experience building a range of caravans for established brands before setting up his own factory.
“I could see the need for the Australia RV industry to innovate further and as a result Everest Caravans was established,” he told caravancampingsales. “Everest offers a unique concept where clients can custom build a caravan around their specific needs.”
Look out for our full review of the new Everest Ice Glider shortly…