New MarvelRV vans at Supershow

MarvelRV is the newest addition to the Caloundra-based Sunseeker Caravan line-up, but while hailing from Australia’s caravan heartland – like its Sunshine Coast stablemate – it qualified for ‘new brand’ status by coming from a different Campbellfield, Victoria manufacturer and being built along quite different lines.

Employing traditional Meranti wall framing, the MarvelRV fills the middle-market niche at Sunseeker, whose self-branded, aluminium-framed caravans have now moved closer to rivals like fellow-Queenslander Kedron in features and price.

As Dealership Manager John Cullen explains it, demand for Sunseekers was taxing the production capacity of their Melbourne builder, Titanium Caravans, to the point where wait times for their custom-built models were stretching out to as much as 12 months, despite delivering up to three vans a week.

“We have actually been selling what is now the MarvelRV branded as a Sunseeker for about 12 months, but when demand went from one a fortnight to two a week, we decided to give it its own identity,” he said.

Enter the MarvelRV, which shares many of the features and equipment, but is priced as much as $10,000 below the equivalent Sunseeker models – primarily because of its lower build cost – and is aimed squarely at the likes of JB and Lotus mid-market rivals.

As a result, you can tow away a MarvelRV in as little as 12 weeks from its date of order, with Sunseeker expecting to sell up to 20 from its stand at the Queensland Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow, which opens at the Brisbane Showgrounds on June 6.

To achieve this volume, Sunseeker has appointed another Victorian custom builder to build the MarvelRV vans, working together to develop its specs and features. The manufacturer has agreed to build MarvelRV vans exclusively, so you won’t see a similar caravan branded as something else, as is often the case with many other Campbellfield clones.

Although they come from different builders, MarvelRV and Sunseeker caravans share some economies of scale.

For example, both sit on Victorian-built FP Chassis and off-road models ride on AL-KO Enduro independent trailing arm coil spring suspensions – Enduro Cross Country for the Marvels and Enduro Outback for Sunseekers.

Marvels and Sunseekers get either 10-inch AL-KO drum brakes or 12in ones, with the option of disc brakes, and Cruisemaster DO-35 couplings are standard on the off-road models.

Above the chassis, MarvelRVs employ traditional Meranti timber wall framing with the studs 300mm apart, while Sunseekers have rivetted aluminium wall frames, much beloved by many Northern Australian buyers.

Both use core-filled 3mm core composite aluminium external cladding and one-piece marine ply floors, with Sunseeker eschewing increasingly popular fibreglass cladding because of concerns about delamination and gelcoat cracking in the hot Northern Australian sun. Despite this, both have one-piece fibreglass roofs to reduce the number of joins.

Other than their construction, Sunseekers have a little more ‘bling’ than their lower-priced stablemates, but looking at the spec list, there’s not much missing from the Marvels, which are available in sizes from 18ft single axle to 22ft 6in tandem axle, along with the buyers’ choice from 20 different floor plans.

Standard MarvelRV features that make them ideal for free-camping touring, include twin, 150W roof-mounted solar panels, twin 100AH batteries, twin 95l fresh water tanks, a rear generator compartment, an external picnic table and an external gas BBQ bayonet.

Inside, comfort equipment includes large Ranger double-glazed windows, a full oven, microwave, a Fusion Bluetooth sound system with twin external speakers, a 24-in TV with outside swivel mount and connections, a 3.5kg top-loading washing machine, remote wireless LED lighting, a pillow-top mattress, post-form rolled-edge benchtops and a standard acrylic splashback.

Debut prices offered at the Brisbane Show start at $59,990 for the 18ft, single-axle off-road MarvelRV Sea Breeze Sports and $64,990 for the 20ft 6in model. These represent savings of approximately $8000 and $10,000 respectively over their Sunseeker Mirage Sports caravan equivalents.

Meanwhile, in a move to further distance the two model ranges, the Caloundra company will preview a number of running changes to its premium Sunseeker models at the Show.

On the 2018 model Desert Storm off-roader these include new rotomoulded water polytanks with all brass fittings totalling 255 litres capacity, a standard 85 litre grey water tank, a new 32mm thick one-piece composite roof, 3 x 150W roof-mounted solar panels as standard with a 30AH solar regulator and standard DC-DC charger, that will be Show-priced packaged at around $90,000.