DUSSELDORF CARAVAN SHOW: Knaus designs modern classic

It’s a common theme in the retail world today: look to the past for inspiration for the new. And it’s becoming fashionable in the RV industry too, with Jayco and its back-to-basics teardrop camper one of the latest culprits.

However, few have given retro design as much thought, or as many clever touches, as German RV powerhouse Knaus, which recently launched in Australia and unveiled a boxy beauty called the Travelino at the 2014 Caravan Salon Dusseldorf.

Aptly labeled the ‘sensational featherweight’, the compact, 650kg (Tare) caravan looks in silhouette a bit like one of those endearing little bondwood caravans from the 1950s. Yet it retains the distinctive Knaus DNA with its ultra-modern, stark white exterior, black highlights and bold LED tail lights.

Not much more than 15ft in body length (Knaus didn’t provide any specs), the Travelino stands out even more thanks to a clean, minimalist design, including nine dark tinted windows mounted flush with the body and contributing to a bold, black stripe around the entire van.

Above the skinny drawbar is an old-school lidded box that contains all the battery and electrical items, while the two-part door lifts up on struts at the top and swings sideways on hinges at the bottom.

The quirks, and minimalism, continue inside, where you’ll find a front dinette with odd-shaped table, to go with the wavy-shaped lower edge of the door on the overhead locker above.

To get to the toilet and vanity, there are two more (oddly positioned) entry doors that swing open, but then have to remain open in order to slide out the toilet and use the rest of the bathroom.

The kitchen opposite, meanwhile, consists of nothing more than a benchtop, couple of drawers and a sink… that’s until you open the ‘locker’ above and the door swings down to reveal a foam insert holding all the colourful plates and cups.

One of the drawers contains a portable, two-burner gas cooker, to be used on the sleek, gloss white, slide-out external kitchen, while the small Dometic fridge (also accessible from outside) is pushed away at night to make room for the front bench conversion to a double bed.

While still a concept the Travelino, which was developed in conjunction with materials specialist Vohringer and Ross Design, is a good chance of making production, judging by the amount of interest at the show.

Continuing the retro/timber theme, Knaus also unveiled a “wood style” version of its funky T@B teardrop-style camper at Dusseldorf. Like us, don’t be fooled by the very convincing ‘woody’ appearance though; it’s just a vinyl wrap.