Franklin X-Factor

Everyone has heard of, or seen, Franklin caravans. They have been part of the Australian holiday landscape for almost 60 years.

Their round body shapes finished in tough baked enamel-coated aluminium with smart anodised trim set the caravan ‘look’ of the 1950s, while their Meranti glued and screwed light timber frames used in the ‘60s gave them a reputation for strength and longevity.

Then in the 1970s, Franklin’s ‘Truline’ Moulded Thermo Panel construction was another trendsetter.

However like a number of the older brands, Franklin slipped off the radar near the turn of the century as newer models from an explosion of small custom builders flooded the market.

While Franklin became an almost forgotten name in Australia’s southern states, it has been kept alive and kicking in Queensland since 2004, when Kratzmann Caravans acquired the brand.

Melbourne-based Concept Caravans has been building Franklin models under contract for Kratzmann since, with the small range designed principally for the Queensland market built alongside Concept and Newlands models in Concept’s Campbellfield, Melbourne factory.

Now Franklin has entered a new and exciting chapter in its long history following Concept’s purchase of the brand from Kratzmann last year and its subsequent decision to market Franklin nationally again.

Rather than make it a sub-brand under Concept, the Franklin Arrow, X-Factor and Limitless ranges will compete against their Concept and Newlands equivalents – often through different dealers – offering buyers a choice in terms of layouts and décor, while taking advantage of similar underpinnings and the cost saving achieved by sharing the same production line.

This is just like the automotive world, where rival brands within the same group compete on the open market.

Today’s Franklin models are smart caravans, but no longer the standout caravans of the brand’s halcyon days. The use of similar profile aluminium cladding, checker plate and proprietary hardware like doors, double-glazed windows and awnings from major industry supplies, has created a standard ‘look’ that few caravan makers are game to stray far from.

Yet even on this seemingly level playing field, Franklin still stands out.

Many manufacturers offer silver cladding as an extra-cost option, but it’s the standard colour on all new Franklins, along with smart new digital blue body striping.

Inside the Franklin differences include massive 6ft 8in (203cm) headroom, while quality fittings line china-bowl toilets are standard.

The X-Factor we reviewed sits nears the top of the refreshed Franklin range and is available in five lengths from 17ft 6in to 23ft 6in.

‘Our’ 21ft van with rear entry door, front island queen bed, central café dinette and opposing kitchen and large rear ensuite is proving to be one of the most popular models to date as it comes in a comfortable towing length and its sub-3000kg laden weight makes it suitable for long-term travel with a range of tow cars up front.

Outside, it conforms to current mainstream caravan styling, but Franklin’s standard silver cladding and black checker plate lower panels and those eye-catching digital blue body flashes help it stand out tastefully from the crowd.

As it’s designed for long-distance touring, the X-Factor comes as standard with 150mm wide main chassis rails and a similar diameter extended A-frame, along with the 15-inch alloy wheels that are the minimum spec on all current Franklin models.

Along with its sturdy roller-rocker leaf spring tandem suspension this not only endows the van with the strength and ground clearance to tackle most sealed and unsealed main roads, but also allows it to carry a decent 500kg payload, which is a necessity for this sort of travel in a caravan of is size.

Another less welcome feature of all current Franklins is the absence of a front storage boot, so the checker-plate rises to just under the front window, while the aluminium cladding above has a tough ‘stucco’ finish to keep stone damage to a minimum.

All good, but we’d also like to see an under A-frame stone screen as standard and some simple shielding for the A-frame mounted tap and its plastic piping, although to Franklin’s credit, the tap is mounted on the door side rather than on the off-side favoured on most caravans.

Some simple shielding for the exposed gas regulator between the twin 9kg gas bottles would also be a worthwhile addition, as would protection of the various plastic pipes and hoses dangling behind the rear axle, as they are also very vulnerable to damage by wayward stones.

Without a front boot, the X-Factor relies on its unencumbered full front tunnel boot to store all the messy stuff like hoses, ground matting, tools and perhaps the jockey wheel. To its credit, it's roomy and steel-lined for practicality, with LED lights at both ends.

Inside the X-Factor is right on the money with its layout, furnishings and fittings.

The first thing you notice as you enter via the rear door (with its recessed and single drop-down step) is the headroom – all 2.0m (6ft 8in) of it! Then you’ll be impressed on how smart and functional it looks.

The test X-Factor was fitted with optional gloss-finished cabinetry, with metallic grey above the island queen bed and framing the two long mirrors on the adjacent wardrobe doors. White was used for the roomy lockers above the dinette and galley and gloss black for the lower kitchen cupboards, large splashback and doors of the 185-litre Thetford AES fridge/freezer.

The grey/white/black theme continued into the X-Factor’s roomy rear ensuite, with gloss grey on the upper cabinet doors and lower drawers, white on the walls and gross black for the central vanity bench, splashback and lift up cover for the standard NCE 2.2kg top-loading washing machine.

While in the ensuite, special mention goes to the large shower cubicle, whose tall base can double as a footbath.

The dinette is upholstered in smooth black leather, as are the thick cushions that drop onto the extension drawers that extend into the cabin to create extra seating.

The latter is a great feature that I’m amazed hasn’t been fitted to other caravans. Many café dinettes have pop-up footstools, but no others I have seen (except on sister Concept caravan models) have a proper cushion plus the design strength to seat a person weighing up to 130kg.

It’s particularly welcome on a café dinette layout that because of its necessity to straddle the tandem wheelarch can otherwise only hold two adults comfortably.

The kitchen with its premium Swift 500 Series cooktop, grill and oven offers plenty of bench space and another feature that got a big tick from us is its home kitchen-sized stainless steel sink.

Another practical thing about the X-Factor that I really liked was the size and depth of most its cupboards, which are broad and really useful rather than simply filling a space.

The exception is under the bed, where the single deep cycle battery, CTEK charger and the caravan’s wheel changing equipment have to share the otherwise good storage space.

As anyone who has changed a wheel on the road will tell you, it can be a messy job and retrieving and re-fitting tools under the bed could mean a degree of unpacking.

VERDICT

The Franklin X-Factor is a quality, traveler-friendly caravan incorporating the sort of detail you’d expect from a long-standing brand now built by a leading Australian manufacturer.

It’s designed for a long life on the road and would be even better equipped for this task if it incorporated a front boot.

Has this Franklin really got the ‘X-Factor’?  I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s a quality van that deserves to be considered in the highly competitive $65,000-$70,000 caravan market.

WE LIKED:
>> Overall size and packaging
>> Great headroom and large ensuite
>> Slide-out additional dinette seats

NOT SO MUCH:
>> More stone shielding needed underneath
>> Wheel changing tools and battery take up space under bed

FRANKLIN X-FACTOR 21ft 

Travel length: 8.58m
External body length: 6.4m
External body width: 2.42m inc awning
Travel height: 2.95m
Interior height: 2.03m
Tare weight: 2414kg
ATM: 2914kg
Ball weight: 122kg
Body: Meranti timber frame/aluminium high-profile cladding/polystyrene foam insulation
Chassis: 150mm x 50mm Preston Supagal chassis
Suspension: Roller-rocker leaf spring tandem
Brakes: Al-Ko 10-inch electric
Stability Control:  Al-Ko ESC optional
Wheels: 15in alloy with LT235/75-15 tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95l
Battery: 1 x 100Ah AGM
Solar: 1 x 135W roof-mounted
Air-conditioner: Air Command Ibis reverse-cycle
Gas: 2 x 9.0kg
Cooking: Four-burner gas/electric Swift cooktop, grill and oven
Fridge: 185-litre Dometic AES three-way
Microwave: LG
Toilet: China bowl Thetford cassette
Washing machine: NCE 2.2kg top-loader
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED
Options fitted: Slide out 130kg-rated foot rests, gloss-finished cabinetry
Price (Ex Melb, driveaway): $69,290 as reviewed
More info: Franklin Caravans
Supplied by:

Caravan Super Centre, Campbellfield, Vic