Aussie carbon fibre caravan costs $225,000
Tech-laden Zone Summit Series joins $200,000-plus caravan clubIn a few short years Queensland’s Zone RV has developed a reputation for clever design and cutting-edge construction, but the five-year-old caravan manufacturer has pulled out all stops for its latest mega-bucks creation.
Zone RV’s new top-spec Summit Series model is, according to Director Matt Johns “the first full off-road caravan available for customer order built with genuine carbon fibre in a monocoque construction”.
New sandwich panels for the van's full composite body, including the roof, side walls and some of the interior cabinetry, benefit from a carbon fibre external ‘skin’, with an uprated PET core boosting insulation for the darker exterior panels under the hot Australian sun.
Zone says replacing the fibreglass external skin with carbon fibre has helped reduce overall weight by around 175kg and deliver a Tare weight for the standard 21ft 6in Summit Series of 2600kg.
The new Summit Series van is also fitted with the latest digital switching and smart technology that, according to Johns, “basically allows us to run the whole caravan from the iPad”.
Much of the equipment fitted to the test van, including self-levelling off-road airbag suspension, powered awning, air-conditioner, diesel air and water heater, 4G signal booster antenna, and solar and water set-ups, can be controlled or monitored via a smart phone or tablet.
Other trick technology fitted to the Summit Series include motion sensors that ‘trip’ the lighting when getting out of bed to go to the toilet at night, while four external cameras allow a birds-eye view from the tow vehicle to assist when reversing. Vision from the rear camera can also be viewed from inside the van for security purposes.
Described as “ultra luxury but very capable off road", the optioned up 21ft 6in display van also features 400 litres fresh and grey water capacity, and a 1100W solar set-up including 10 roof-top panels that feed the 300Ah lithium battery system, with a 3000W inverter to run the air-conditioner and wall-mounted washing machine.
Along with satellite TV, a 218 litre fridge/freezer, full height pantry and composting toilet, the 21ft 6in Summit Series is fitted with other items not often seen on an Australian-built van, including a power-operated lift-up bed and auto-lift roof hatch. There’s also a GPS tracker that acts like a car odometer, logging the amount of kilometres the van has travelled, while another device delivers a precise measurement of water usage.
All up, the specced-up 21ft 6in off-road display van has a Tare weight of 2900kg, with the uprated 4000kg ATM delivering a substantial 1100kg payload.
The new Zone RV Summit Series is also available to order in three other sizes – 18ft 6in, 20ft 6in and 22ft 6in. Pricing for the 21ft 6in version starts at $183,900, but with more than $40,000 worth of options fitted, the Summit Series 21ft 6in display van retails closer to $225,000.
“It’s basically loaded up with everything,” says Johns, who recently returned from a shake-down session on Queensland’s Fraser Island.
The state-of-the-art Summit Series is the latest $200,000-plus Queensland caravan to hit the road this year, following Kedron's $220,000 26ft triple axle van and Sunland's $250,000 25ft twin slider Phoenix Federation.
Related: Top-10 priciest caravans
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