Crusader Manhattan

WHAT WE LIKED

• Great layout and value for money
• Plenty of internal storage
• Spacious bathroom/laundry

NOT SO MUCH

• No dedicated lounge and flimsy bench seat foot-rests
• Microwave positioned too high
• Hefty weight excludes many tow vehicles

As caravans are increasingly being used as alternative homes by grey nomads who’ve sold the family home and/or decided to blow the kids’ inheritance, so a number of manufacturers have responded with self-contained vans designed for luxurious long distance touring.

One such example is The Manhattan from Crusader Caravans, an extremely well-appointed van that in some ways mimics the style of living found in the high-rise apartments of its New York namesake.

Crusader has been building caravans under the Dreamhaven name in its Epping, Victoria factory since 2001, and while its range includes family, off-road and economy models, it's the flagship Manhattan that epitomises the company’s ability to customise a van to the exact requirements of a couple, while still keeping to a budget.

The 22ft, two-berth Manhattan reviewed here takes the luxury feel up a notch, as it was specially built for the 2011 Victorian Caravan Supershow and features amongst other things a new, extra-large bathroom/laundry section at the rear.

STYLISH PRESENCE

From the outside The Manhattan exudes plenty of panache with a strking white/burgundy themed paintjob, tinted windows and burgundy vinyl protective padding at the front.

Body construction is the typical Meranti timber frame with interlocking aluminium panels, with polystyrene insulation in the roof and walls.

With a Tare of 2450kg and ATM of 2850kg, you’d expect solid underpinnings, and there’s a 6inch drawbar and Supagal chassis complete with leaf spring suspension and 12 inch electric brakes. The 15inch polished alloy wheels come with eight ply light truck tyres, and there are easy drop stabilisers as well as two 95 litre water tanks located close to the tandem axles.

The A-frame holds twin 9kg gas bottles, a Breaksafe breakaway unit, Al-Ko jockey wheel, Anderson plug, and a water tap. There’s also a metal frame for wet gear. The gal-lined front boot contains the house battery and battery charger, plus enough room for various odds and ends. There’s also a handy stainless steel towel rail along the front for drying towels.

Amongst the various external lockers is a large front tunnel boot, with a bigger door on the offside to take a generator. Up back is a galvanised loop bumper with spare wheel and LED taillights.

The area in front of the Camec triple-locker door and under the Dometic 8500 roll-out awning is set up for outdoor entertainment, with two external speakers hooked up to the CD/radio, 240V and 12V outlets, three lights including two LED strips, fold down picnic table, and an outside ‘hutch’ with connection to the Winegard antenna for TV viewing under the stars.

IT TAKES TWO

While well set up for outside lounging, The Manhattan is really all about interior comforts and conveniences. Toffee stained timber ply cabinetry, white laminex benchtops and splashbacks, and pine-look vinyl flooring, give the spacious layout an inviting feel, as does the 6ft 6in interior height.

For this layout, the entry door has been moved towards the centre, providing good access to the front bedroom area, middle kitchen and dining areas, and separate bathroom/laundry at the rear.

Like the rest of the interior, the bedroom area offers plenty of storage options including a bedside table with drawer/cabinet and medium-sized mirrored wardrobe on both sides of the north-south, queen-sized bed (6ft 2in x 5ft wide).

There’s a decent-sized shelf running behind the bed with two reading lights close by, some overhead cupboards with frosted glass, and more storage compartments under the bed.

The 19 inch LCD TV (not fitted for our photography) is mounted on a swingarm bracket attached to the bulkhead near the foot of the bed, allowing viewing from the bed or if swung around from the dinette or kitchen areas.

COOKING UP A STORM

The large kitchen is another area designed to make life easier on the road. Running along the nearside wall, it includes a stainless steel sink with drainer, mixer tap and filtered water tap, Stoves cooktop (three gas, one electric), grill and oven with rangehood, and plenty of bench space for food preparation.

The Samsung microwave is positioned quite high around head height, amongst a series of overhead cabinets, which may be a stretch for some. More cabinets and drawers under the benchtop including a slide-out pantry should be enough to meet most people’s kitchen storage requirements.

The Dometic 184 litre three-way fridge/freezer sits opposite the kitchen, next to the four-person dinette, which features comfy, leather-covered bench seats and a tri-fold table. When folded down, though, we found the table top a bit high for eating.

Also fitted here were fold-out footrests at the end of the two bench seats. Not surprisingly one of these had been mistaken as additional seating by a tired visitor at the Victorian Caravan Supershow, and not designed to take the extra weight had broken away at the bracket.

Other ‘living’ area features worth mentioning are the Dometic roof-mounted air-conditioner, two Camec four season roof hatches (there was a third one in the bathroom), water tank gauges, and Galaxy pop-out windows with timber pelmets and venetian blinds.

CLEAN SUPREME

Any disappointment from the compact size of the dinette/lounge in this van quickly disappeared upon setting foot in the spacious bathroom/laundry, which had a sliding door for privacy. While decent-sized RV bathrooms are becoming more commonplace, it’s rare to walk into one where you feel you could literally swing a cat.

Almost square in dimensions, it includes a Thetford cassette toilet and an enclosed fibreglass shower cubicle with hatch/fan in one half. The other half contains a ceramic basin and vanity, corner cupboards with benchtops, and an LG 4.5kg front-loader washing machine with good-sized wardrobe above.

If you could do without the extra wardrobe space, a dryer could be inserted here above the washing machine for the complete laundry experience, and Gary Maroney from Melbourne Crusader dealership Caravan City admitted that one buyer had done just that with a recent order.

Like in the rest of the van, the cupboards here are nicely finished inside and out, utilising rollers and piano hinges, although we found some of the pushbuttons prone to sticking.

VERDICT

At $70grand it’s hard to call any caravan a bargain, but considering the long list of features and sheer liveability factor here, you’d have to say The Manhattan delivers on the manufacturer’s promise of a "deluxe model" delivered at a "modest price".

As a show display model, it was packed to the hilt including countless 240V sockets to cater for all those laptops, phones, hairdryers, etc, in this gadget-filled age, as well as enough halogen and LED lights to illuminate a small office.

If you’re a couple planning to head off for extended periods, own a heavy-duty tow vehicle, and enjoy the finer things in life, we’d recommend a closer look at The Manhattan.

CRUSADER CARAVANS THE MANHATTAN

Overall length: 8.63m (28ft 4in)
External body length: 6.7m (22ft)
Overall width: 2.36m (7ft 9in)
Internal height: 1.98m (6ft 6in)
Nameplate Tare: 2450kg
Nameplate ATM: 2850kg
Unladen ball weight: 230kg
Frame: Meranti timber
Chassis: SupaGal
Suspension: tandem axle, leaf springs
Cooktop: Stoves four-burner/oven/grill
Fridge: Dometic 184 litre three-way
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Fresh water: 2 x 95 litre
Price as reviewed: $69,999 (driveaway, Victoria)
Supplied by: Caravan City, Melbourne
More info: Crusader Caravans