Diamond 169

WE LIKED: 
>> Lighter weight van
>> General interior finish
>> Energy-efficient LED lighting

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Large bathroom, small kitchen
>> Dinette table doesn’t swivel

A challenge for the caravan industry given the tough economic climate is to build a caravan with all the trappings expected in a contemporary caravan, while keeping a practical loaded weight for towing.

One way of reducing weight is to cut the van’s length but that, of course, reduces interior space, which presents problems for designers. So what happens when your aim is to get a Holden Commodore towable caravan?

Well, Colin Bridge, from Brisbane-based Adventure Caravan Centre, has one answer: the Diamond Caravans 169 – the 169 referring to a length of 16ft 9in or 5.1m.

It weighs in with an ATM of 1980kg but has retained the popular layout of a front bedroom and full-width rear bathroom.

Still on weights and measures, the Diamond 169 has a load capacity of 400kg and a tare ball weight of 140kg, so even when loaded up, it will still come within the maximum tow ball weight on the back of the Commodore.

Driving power is really not a problem, with either the 3.0-litre 190kW or 3.6-litre 210kW Holden motors capable of cutting the mustard. Both are petrol engines, meaning admirers of torquey diesels will have to look elsewhere.

COLOUR CODE

Getting back to the van, it has a rear entry door and stepping inside reveals the bathroom to the right, kitchen bench opposite, dinette to the immediate left and an island bed up front.

Apart from the white walls and ceilings, the other dominant colour in our review van is orange, which might sound a bit odd but it isn’t – burnt orange for the stain hue of the cabinetry and a lighter shade for the dinette upholstery.

All the windows come with integrated blinds and insect screens.

The advances in LED energy-efficient technology have been well adapted by the RV industry and this van is no exception, with nicely-spaced downlights and reading lights for the bed and dinette.

If anything, the 169 reflects the significant change in caravan layout during the last decade and how priorities have altered.

For a start, there’s the island bed at the front and the full bathroom in the rear. Both are very much fixtures and difficult to downsize without practicality problems, so in a 5.1m van what gets slightly downscaled are the kitchen bench and dinette. Not that they are unusable, I should point out, just more compact.

There are several items that no kitchen bench should be seen without, so a four-burner cooktop/grill sits alongside a stainless steel sink/drainer.

In order to maximise space, an under-bench 128 litre three-way fridge has been used. It doesn’t have quite as much food capacity as a 150 litre unit but is more practical from a layout perspective.

The microwave oven is fitted into the overhead lockers.

Being a slightly smaller kitchen, there’s also less storage area than might be regarded as normal, with two drawers, two overhead lockers, one cupboard and a floor locker.

However, the diagonal cupboards (top and bottom) in the bedroom alleviate the situation.

TECH SUPPORT

At the front end of the kitchen, the overhead locker area is used as a type of technology junction with one door hiding the hot water and 12V switches and the other hiding the TV connections.

Not hidden are the radio/DVD player and the flat screen TV mounting. In a van of this size, locating a suitable mounting point for a flat screen TV might be a bit tricky but the front end of the kitchen bench is a reasonable compromise for both dinette and bed – albeit for a couple sitting at the dinette, at least one person will be sitting sideways.

Opposite the kitchen, the L-shaped dinette seat will just about fit two people and is orientated towards the entry door, making ingress/regress reasonably easy.

The single-poled mounted table measures 0.7x0.5m (2ft 4in x 1ft 8in) while above the dinette are two overhead lockers. 

Up front, the innerspring mattress measures 1.83 x 1.52m (6ft x 5ft). It sits on a gas strut fitted posture slat bed base which is mounted above a compartmented storage area.

Windows on all three sides and mirrors on both the side wardrobe doors and overhead lockers provide an initial impression of windows all-round, but that’s not quite the case. Still, there’s certainly no issue with cross-flow ventilation and natural light.

Given the shape of the space available, quite a few rear bathroom layouts like this one look similar. Filling the nearside corner is the shower cubicle complete with flexible hose and variable-height fitting.

That leaves the opposite side being taken up by a Thetford cassette toilet, which still leaves room for the expected vanity cabinet complete with contemporary square wash basin, drawers and cupboards.

Additional features are the overhead lockers above the loo and towel rails mounted on the bathroom sliding door.

Ventilation is handled by a fan hatch above the shower and a small window above the toilet. I’d reckon, though, that a second fan hatch above the latter wouldn’t go amiss.

All this is built into an aluminium-framed and aluminium-clad body that comes with Camec security door and Mobicool acrylic windows.

There’s no front boot, instead a good-size tunnel boot is fitted with access only from the nearside – the hot water heater takes up the door space on the other side.

Alfresco accessories include an Aussie Traveller awning, picnic table, LED wall light, and grab handle light.

Underpinning everything is a 100mm (4in) railed DuraGal chassis, the drawbar rails of which run right back to the leaf spring suspension mounts. Both 90 litre water tanks are mounted forward of the axles and protected by galvanised sheeting.

VERDICT

So, how do you build a Holden Commodore towable caravan, using the contemporary layout of favour – front bedroom/full-width rear bathroom?

It’s quite simple – you compromise with a smaller dinette and kitchen bench area to reduce the van length.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, especially if the end result is a lighter caravan for towing.

Generally speaking, the majority of tow vehicles for caravans over 5.0m (17ft) are mid-to-large size 4WDs and one of the reasons is that vehicles like a Holden Commodore 2WD sedan only have a towing limit of 2100kg.

While European manufacturers and a small number of Australian manufacturers do build a number of vans suitable for grey nomad self-contained travel under that weight, the majority of Australian-built caravans are not.

And that’s why this Diamond 169 caravan is an interesting move with its mostly contemporary layout. Sure there are compromises, not necessarily bad ones, and they are to be expected.

They don’t make the caravan unlivable and it’s either that or a radical rethink in the way Australian caravans are built if weight reduction is seriously on the agenda.

DIAMOND 169

Overall length: 6.8m (22ft 4in)
External body length: 5.1m (16ft 9in)
External body width (incl awn): 2.49m (8ft 2in)  
Travel height: 2.57m (8ft 5in)
Internal height: 1.98m (6ft 6in)
Tare: 1680kg
ATM: 1980kg
Ball weight: 140kg
Frame: Aluminium
Cladding: Aluminium
Chassis: DuraGal 100mm/4in rails
Suspension: Leaf springs
Brakes: 10in electric
Electronic Stability Control: No
Wheels: 15in alloy
Fresh water: 2 x 90L
Battery: 1 x 100Ah
Solar: Optional
Air-conditioner: Air Command Ibis
Gas: 2 x 4.5kg
Cooking: Swift four-burner & grill
Fridge: Thetford N404.3R 128L
Microwave: Sharp Carousel
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12V lights
Hot water: Suburban 22L
Options fitted: None
Price (on road, Qld): $49,990
Supplied by: Adventure Caravan Centre, Loganholme, Qld