Carlight delivers Turkish caravan delight

A stylish new range of compact and lightweight caravans from Turkish brand Carpento is arriving in Australia early next year thanks to local importer Carlight Caravans and Trailers.

There are three models coming to Australia with customer deliveries from next February: the two-berth 310S, the four-berth 360M and the three-berth 360D. Demonstrator models are already here on display in the Carlight showroom in Toongabbie, NSW.

The compact vans have a unique design with a horseshoe shape in profile and an unusual curved two-piece front window design all making it stand out among the traditional boxy caravans on the Australian market.

The Carpento Caravans founder was previously a furniture manufacturer, with this influence seen in the interior design with its special laminated marine plywood, lots of curves and LED strips.

Priced from $49,990, the Australian range starts with the Carpento 310S which has a front lounge that transforms into a double bed, an ensuite bathroom, a kitchen area at the rear and overhead storage lockers.

The fit-out’s standard inclusions extend to blinds and fly screens, an opening skylight vent, a sliding flyscreen door, 65-litre fridge freezer, 70 litre fresh water tank and 12v pump, and an induction cooker/hotplate.

The shelves have integrated LED lighting, and there are 240v power points plus two USB-C charging points, along with a 100Ah 12volt onboard battery and a 12v 20Amp battery charger. A Truma Therme 5L hot water system is also part of the standard kit.

The bathroom gets a Thetford cassette toilet, a skylight vent, a shower head and holder, and a sink with tap, mirror and shaving cabinet.

Outside, it has a front toolbox and a rear external storage locker. There’s also AL-KO independent suspension with shock absorbers, adjustable stabiliser legs and a spare wheel and holder.

A lightweight fibreglass body is built on an aluminium chassis, and the unit measures a total of 4.43 metres long, 2.05m wide and 2.41m tall. Interior ceiling height is at 1.85m. Meanwhile, Tare weight is just 720kg, ball weight 32kg and payload is 280kg.

The four-berth Carpento 360M is priced at $54,990 and is 4.83m long overall. It has a different internal fit-out to the 310S; the main differences being the centre kitchen and a rear dinette that converts to bunk beds. Tare weight is a tad more at 760kg, ball weight is 51kg (depending on loading) and payload is 240kg.

Finally there’s the Carpento 360D which is the same price and dimensions as the 360M, but with a slightly different interior configuration, with a rear dinette that converts to a single bed only (with its front dinette/double bed thus making for the three-berth configuration). Tare weight is 750kg, towball download is 55kg (depending on loading) and maximum payload is 250kg.

The Turkish vans come with a selection of options available, such as 120watt solar, a 2.6-metre awning, 21.5inch TV, antenna and air-conditioning.

The Carpento compact caravans are the latest lightweight Euro models to be brought into the country by Carlight Caravans and Trailers, which also sells imported Euro and Jolly caravans as well as Cheval Liberte horse floats and Tomplan dog trailers.