Five things all caravans should have

COMMENT

Many caravans sold these days are more like mini-apartments, loaded with creature comforts from  flushing toilets, hot/cold showers and cooktops with ovens and grilles, to front-load washing machines, air-conditioners and fridges bigger than the one at home!

However, even as we enter the third decade of the 21st Century, it’s surprising that many Aussie-built vans are missing some basic things, like a single key that opens all locks, a toilet that doesn't get stinky, or a heating and cooling solution that doesn't rely on mains power.

Here are the features I think should be mandatory on any fair-dinkum caravan...

Single key caravan locking

It’s always amazed me that you can pay big dollars for a caravan, yet you’re still left juggling a confusing bunch of keys, with different keys required to open external lockers, toolboxes, entry doors, even picnic tables (see below). You don't have a key for every lock on your house, or car, so why a caravan?

While most caravanners would quickly work out a labelling system to avoid wasting minutes every time they want to fill up the water tank, it shouldn't be like this when ‘one key’ systems (and even keyless systems) are readily available and not overly expensive.

Camec introduced a few years back an aftermarket 'one-key' kit, where keyed-alike barrels are retro-fitted on all locks on your caravan.

Many British and European caravans come with simple locking systems from the factory floor, so why not Australian caravans, notwithstanding the multitude of parts from different suppliers that are used to construct most locally-built vans.

We’ve heard of some keen Aussie caravanners taking the various barrels to a locksmith to deliver a ‘one key’ solution. Worth every cent, I reckon, but shouldn’t it be done in the first place?

Keyless picnic table

Still on the topic of unnecessary keys… No-one in their right mind is going to steal the drop-down picnic table fitted to the side of your caravan. Yet many of these picnic tables require a separate key to unlock the latch before it can be used.

Not only annoying, these locks and latches often become even trickier to use after being exposed to some dust and grime on an Outback trip.

There are some exceptions, like the Ranger RV Picnic Table which features a key-less double slide opening. The Ranger probably isn’t the cheapest picnic table on the market but if I had the choice on my new van, I’d be forking out for the more user-friendly, keyless version.

Space heater

Australia’s a hot country, so it’s no surprise most Aussie caravans these days are fitted as standard with a reverse-cycle air-conditioner (usually roof-mounted) that provides both heating and cooling.

But they’re next to useless if you can’t get access to 240V power, either from a caravan park powered site or petrol generator, which is often the case when travelling in remote areas and national parks where you can’t run a gennie. And not everyone can afford a big-ticket lithium battery system with enough grunt to run air-con.

That’s why it makes sense to have an in-built space heater (diesel or gas powered), to not only keep warm on those cold Outback nights but provide comfort for year-round travel, and encourage winter trips without having to head north.

We once camped at Kings Canyon, where we enjoyed the overnight warmth from the caravan's gas heater on an unpowered site, while the bloke next door in his big Aussie air-conditioner-only van looked on enviously. Back it up with a couple of 12V Sirocco fans, and you’ve got all-seasons camping covered.

Memory foam mattress

Another item found in most Aussie caravans these days is a coil spring mattress, designed to deliver that luxo-domestic experience. But while contributing to a good night's sleep (although the cheaper versions can jab in the back), they also add a lot of unnecessary weight to an often already over-loaded or overweight caravan.

I've slept in a few (mostly European) RVs over the year with memory foam mattresses that are not only light but really comfortable. They're also easier to move around if required, and take the strain out of lifting the strut-assisted bed base to get to the storage area underneath.

Some bigger Aussie manufacturers like New Age use comfy, foam mattresses in some of their models, so why can’t all the manufacturers come up with a lighter bed solution?

Composting toilet

Anyone who’s ever had to drag a full cassette toilet to the caravan park dump site, hold their breath and dispose of the contents, would have pondered about a better way to do things...

Well, there is, and it would solve the unpleasant RV toilet issue overnight.

Instead of environmentally-unfriendly chemicals, composting or water-less toilets deal with the solids and liquids by keeping them separate, thus avoiding the stinky reaction. The resultant ‘waste’ is then discarded without harming the environment, and you’ll spend less time doing it.

Apart from being seen as a 'hippy' alternative, the other thing holding back sales of composting toilets is they generally cost a bit more to start with. However, what price for a more pleasant caravan toilet experience, I say!

What do you think? What should be fitted (but probably isn't) on every caravan sold?