New Jurgens Solaris breaks cover

Pakenham, Victorian caravan manufacturer Jurgens has pulled the wraps of its latest large caravan, which it claims is the most stylish it has ever built.

Essentially a replacement for the slow-selling Travado off-roader, the new dirt road-capable Solaris is only available in a 22ft body length, with a choice of either two couple’s layouts or a more family-friendly floorplan with twin or optional triple bunk beds.

Both couple layouts come with a 1900m x 1500mm walk-around queen bed, central kitchen and lounge/dinette (either cafe dinette, club lounge, or L-shape design), along with a full width rear ensuite with separate shower and toilet.

The family version has a similar layout, except the bunk beds share space in the rear with the separate shower and toilet.

Like other Jurgens’ caravans, the Solaris is built on a bolted-together Optima chassis with full composite construction including 38mm thick Integra floor, 25mm thick Duratherm walls and a 29mm thick Uniskin roof.

However, to set it apart stylewise it features white sides with grey glossy ABS Tuffshell front and rear panels, with matching side trim and pebbleguard front stone protection. Inside, there’s a large choice of laminate and upholstery colours, to deliver a personalized look if desired.

As well as 10in brakes and Cruisemaster GT trailing arm independent coil suspension with single shocks, the Solaris is further geared for remote area travel with a larger-than-average payload of 500kg and extra ground clearance.

Jurgens says the Solaris can be dragged through water up to 650mm deep, and the spare wheel is underslung to maintain the clean design and allow room for an optional bike rack. There’s also the option of adding an 80 litre fresh or grey water tank, to go with the two standard 80 litre fresh water tanks.

Standard internal features on the Solaris include roof-mounted air-conditioning, four burner cooktop and grille, rangehood, microwave, 185 litre fridge, leather upholstery, hot water service, stereo, 18.5in TV/DVD and aerial, and a wall-mounted washing machine.

Standard external features include Al-Ko ESC, 4.5kg gas bottle, roll-out awning, picnic table, and a 12V battery system with 125W solar panels, with a long option list extending to items like a kitchen and BBQ slide-out, reversing camera and external shower.

With a tare weight of 2250kg, 2750kg ATM and 205kg ball weight (tare), the Solaris can be towed by a number of bigger SUVs and dual-cab utes including the latest 3000kg-tow rated Toyota Prado.

Pricing starts around the $70,000 mark, and the van is currently being rolled out to Jurgens’ dealers around the country. However, it won’t be on display at this month’s Victorian Caravan Supershow as Jurgens is not listed as an exhibitor.