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NEWS
Caravan fit for a Great Dane
Melbourne couple buys apartment-on-wheels spacious enough to accomodate their over-sized dogWhat do you do when you’re looking for your first caravan but are used to the luxury of hotel rooms and want to travel with one of the world’s biggest dogs?
In the case of Melbourne’s Russ and Heather Snook and their Great Dane ‘Kanzee’, they’ve just bought a virtual apartment-on-wheels in the form of a custom-built 24ft caravan with outdoor balcony and slide-out lounge.
Announced as a “world first” on
Royal Flair Caravan’s Facebook page, it's the first Piazza model from the Melbourne manufacturer with both a slide-out and
Sky-Deck front verandah, as well as an aluminium chassis.
The couple were originally looking at motorhomes and fifth-wheel caravans before spotting a Sky-Deck Piazza at this year’s Melbourne Supershow and falling in love with the concept.
“Travelling with a dog, we thought we would have to get some sort of fencing to put around the outside so she doesn’t annoy anybody else. But when I saw the decking I thought, Oh my god, that’s perfect,” Heather said.
She said the unique caravan’s 24ft body extends to 31ft with the front verandah folded out. “Overall, it’s 48 feet long with the car and the caravan,” she said.
As well as plenty of human luxuries, like an east-west walk-around bed and 'full width' wardrobe, there are a few canine-friendly features like the large leather lounge/dinette in the slide-out that converts into a large bed for the dog. The shower also has a hip bath in the base “deep enough to wash the dog in if I need to”.
Fitted with all the “bells and whistles”, the equipment list extends to a built-in generator, three LCD TVs and satellite dish, RV Wi-Fi and electronic stability control system.
According to Heather, some of the features like the lightweight G & S aluminium chassis and lithium battery system were chosen to keep the Tare weight of the tandem axle van down to around 3200kg.
The couple have bought a Mazda BT-50 dual-cab ute specifically to tow the $130,000 van. Kanzee will squeeze into the second row seats when the couple hit the road for the first time later this year.
The unique caravan, which Royal Flair describes as a “hamburger with the lot” will be on display at the Melbourne Leisurefest show at Sandown Racecourse on October 9-12.
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Written byChris Fincham
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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