Evernew Caravans E1000

WE LIKED
Large awning and exterior features
Extra offside bench
Separate shower and toilet cubicles

NOT SO MUCH
No internal TV arm as standard
Limited external storage

It might come as no surprise that we here at caravancampingsales.com.au think the RV lifestyle is pretty great. There are few things better than hitching up a van and hitting the road.

Making that lifestyle your full-time life, on the other hand – that’s a big commitment.

But according to Evernew Caravans’ Darren French, more and more customers are doing just that.

“We are finding that a lot of people actually live in their van,” he said. “They are usually people who take something like a 12-month trip and decide they just want to keep going. They never go home.”

This increase in full-time customers saw the Evernew team hit upon the idea of designing a larger van.

“Traditionally, we would design more standard vans; around 20-21ft,” French said. “But when more people started looking at the larger vans, we decided to do something a bit bigger.”

With the increased size, however, comes increased weight, and French admits that a larger tow vehicle is needed. “We were wary of that, but people don’t seem to have been put off by the weight,” he said.

The move to the bigger van has ultimately proven successful, with Evernew’s 7.16m (23ft 6in) E1000 selling especially well since hitting the market earlier this year.

ON THE OUTSIDE

First and foremost, this is a great outdoor living van. The huge Dometic awning extends to cover the slide-out barbecue, fold-down picnic table and extendable TV arm. Everything you could need under one roof – or awning.
A pair of large speakers pipe music from the interior radio/CD player and two LED lights keep everything well-lit on those summer nights.

But this van is not only about the creature comforts. Checkerplate on the sides and halfway up the front gives a rugged look, and combined with a higher-than-usual clearance and 16in alloys with chunky rubber, this is a tough-looking unit.

But for those who really want to get off the bitumen, the E1000 is also available with coil spring trailing arm suspension (tandem beam is standard) which will see it handle rough and unsealed roads.

According to French, the higher (6in) clearance is achieved by using straight instead of drop axles.

On top of those axles, the van’s frame consists of meranti timber for the wall, front and back, while the roof is single-piece Oregon. The tougher Oregon allows for household fibreglass insulation, rather than polystyrene, which is a bonus because it deadens sounds such as the air-conditioner and heavy rain.

The whole lot rolls on a 6in galvanised chassis.

The hefty 6in drawbar is home to a pair of 9kg gas cylinders and two jerry can holders, which are protected underneath by a tough stoneguard. There’s also an offside water tap.

One negative on the outside, especially for anyone who wants to stay on the road for a while, is the lack of storage. Other than a large front tunnel, there’s really nothing else.

More storage can be specified at the design stage, but the lack of room is a concern for a large van designed for longer stretches away from home.  

FEELING OF SPACE

Not content to let the van’s larger size speak for itself, French and the Evernew team wanted to increase space perception with the interior colour scheme, which is almost exclusively light and bright.

This may not be the norm for such a large rig (and probably not something I’d have chosen), but it certainly makes for a nice and airy space which makes you feel you have lots of room.

Once inside this light interior, the layout is also not what you’d expect. The rear dinette is a huge club lounge with (very) comfortable leather seats and a swivel table. Three adults could comfortably sit at the table, with a fourth if necessary.

This is a pleasant area with windows all-round and the darker grey of the leather contrasts well with the rest of the rig.

There’s a footrest next to the entry, plus standard under-seat storage and several overhead lockers. And as an added bonus, the table lowers to create an over-sized single sleeping space.

In the middle of the van, the nearside kitchen is a winner. It’s home to an overhead microwave, four-burner cooktop with grill and oven, plus a stainless steel sink and drainer.

The angled design of the benchtop makes for plenty of space once the cooktop’s flush cover is lowered. A 186 litre three-way Dometic fridge sits on the offside next to another large benchtop, which is actually the cover for the van’s well-hidden top loading washing machine.  

Like the kitchen and its fridge, the bathroom also covers both sides of the van. The large shower cubicle sits in the nearside and is serviced by a flexible hose showerhead, hatch and light – but no window.

Sitting opposite, the toilet is also a large enough area with a vanity, but there’s limited storage and almost no bench space.

SLEEP EASY

Up front, the bedroom continues with Evernew’s objective of making the interior of the van feel bigger, with a front window, huge windows on both sides and a very large Four Seasons hatch above.

The queen bed has small tables either side, as well as mirrored wardrobes and corner foot-of-bed cupboards. There are also several overhead lockers and under-bed storage.

And in a very welcome move, the front tunnel boot van also be accessed from under the bed. This may be a little awkward – you have to pull the mattress forward – but is very handy when it’s raining.

The bedroom and bathroom are covered with a concertina-style door, which means one traveller can sleep while the other sits up, or you can shower when you have guests at happy hour.

Rather surprisingly, a TV arm does not come standard anywhere inside the van. There are provisions for one in the bedroom and above the extra offside bench, but you have to specify that you want one.

Also, I did notice a few imperfections in the joins around the interior – not a huge deal, but it’s always preferable to have everything flush and sanded away.

A real, and easily overlooked, positive for the interior was the number of double powerpoints: four in the bedroom, two in the kitchen, two above the offside bench and one in the toilet. It means travellers should never be wanting for a place to plug in their phone charger.

VERDICT

Bigger vans may not be for everyone, but for those who plan on spending the majority of their time on the road – and who have a larger 4WD tow vehicle – they are a perfect place to set-up their rolling home.

The Evernew E1000 has loads of space and pretty much all of the features you will need for longer-term travelling (it could definitely use some more external storage options), but anything it doesn’t have could be added at the design stage.

I would have liked to have seen an internal TV arm as standard, but the rest of the interior is a large and comfortable space that would suit a travelling couple down to the ground (or chassis).

EVERNEW CARAVANS E1000   

Overall length: 9m (29ft 6in) 
External length: 7.16m (23ft 6in) 
External width: 2.36m (7ft 9in)
Interior height: 1.98m (6ft 5in) 
Travel height: 3.0m (9ft 11in)
Tare: 2400kg
ATM: 3140kg
Ball weight: 240kg
Frame: Meranti timber front and wall, one-piece Oregon roof
Chassis: Hot-dipped galvanised
Suspension: Tandem axle beam
Cooktop: Four-burner (3 gas, 1 electric), grill and oven
Fridge: Dometic three-way 186 litre
Microwave: Samsung
Shower: Separate cubicle
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Lighting: LED
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Fresh water: 2 x 95 litre
Price: $78,500 (on road, Vic)
Supplied by: Evernew Caravans, Heidelberg, Victoria.