Regal RSV 2006 Review

By Malcolm Street

Sydney Caravan and Camping Centre’s Wayne Tinker told CW he wanted a caravan with plenty of room where he could stretch his legs out, “so I put the extra length lounge/dinette in first and designed the van around it”.

Well that is one way of doing it, in terms of van design that is – making a list of priorities and working through it.

That’s probably that’s why CW’s review van, a 23ft (7.1m) Regal Special Vehicle (RSV) is called the ‘manager’s own van’. We have to say though that whatever the design priorities were, the end result is not a bad look.

Starting from the outside the RSV is built on a DuraGal steel chassis, the main component being two 6in rails. Up front there is a 6in x 2in drawbar but that is not really a direct extension of the drawbar: it is welded underneath with a 4in x 2in extension that goes back to the front suspension mounts.

The latter is standard tandem axle load sharing leaf spring and fitted with white sports wheels. All four wheels have electric brakes.

Up front on the drawbar are two 9kg gas cylinders and a jockey wheel mounted between the A-frame. At the rear is a looped end bumper bar complete with spare wheel.

Like all Regals the RSV is timber framed and aluminium clad. Standard fittings include the Camec triple lock door with tinted acrylic hopper windows.

In addition to the front boot there are two other external lockers, one under the bed at the front nearside and the other under the lounge long the rear offside. Hiding in the front boot are battery, battery charger and 12V fuse panel.

Other external fittings include the awning, mid-wall fold-out picnic table, two external lights and roof-mounted air-conditioner.

On the road, our RSV behaved quite well behind our tow vehicle, a Hyundai Terracan, which has a maximum towing weight of 2500kg.

The Regal, with a Tare of 2080kg and ATM of 2480kg, is quite a heavy van so a larger capacity tow vehicle is definitely the order of the day and a weight distribution hitch should be used.

Modern Comfort

Inside, as mentioned earlier, the centre piece (that’s not really in the centre) of this rear door van layout, is the extended U-shaped rear lounge that sits in the rear offside corner.

The kitchen occupies most of the mid nearside wall and the bedroom and bathroom area at the front.

It’s a layout that does keep the bedroom and living areas neatly separated with a bulkhead between both.

The lightly stained timber look dominates the interior with a metallic grey/green laminate for the bench and table tops and upholstery that has a mixture of stripes and plain patterns.

All windows, including the kitchen, have net and full curtains and let in plenty of natural light aided by two Four Seasons hatches and generous mirror area the bedroom.

Starting with the feature lounge, it is large enough for two people to relax with their legs on the lounge and watch the corner flatscreen TV at the same time.

Contoured seats and backs are designed to provide lounge-type comfort without having a separate lounge.

Under the seats are two drawers plus the usual storage area accessed by lifting the hinged ply lids. Overhead lockers run above the dinette and there are two halogen reading lights plus a ceiling-mounted fluorescent as well.

In the corner by the door is a small drawer plus cupboard cabinet and in the locker above is an AM/FM radio plus DVD player.

On the kitchen bench is a Spinflo four-burner cooktop/grill plus a stainless steel sink avec drainer. There is benchtop work space on either side of the cooktop and sink but the former also has a flush hinged lid for when not in use.

Kitchen storage space is relatively generous with six drawers of various sizes, four cupboards, four overhead lockers and one small slide-out pantry. For easy cleaning the laminate on the benchtop is used on the walls as well.

The kitchen is lit by two ceiling fluorescents and one mounted under the lockers. Also under the lockers is a tea towel rail and the usual fume extractor above the cooktop.

The other important component of any kitchen, the fridge, is in this case a three-way Dometic 150L, and a Sanyo microwave sits on the opposite side of the van thus completing the kitchen ‘triangle’.

Up front the east-west double bed takes up most of the bedroom area but there’s still plenty of walk-around room. This is important in this van because the bathroom area is on the other side of the bed. The latter, on a slatted timber base, lifts up to give access to the storage area underneath.

Two halogen reading lights provide bedtime reading illumination but there are no bedside shelves. Perhaps a small shelf underneath the window might be useful.

There are also three overhead lockers plus a small diagonal cupboard in the rear offside corner. There is also a TV antenna connection and 12V powerpoint should the TV be wanted in the bedroom. A 240V powerpoint is located in the locker above the microwave.

In the front corner there is also a large two-door wardrobe with four drawers and two floor lockers underneath – plenty of room for clothing to cover all seasons.

This particular bathroom setup seems to be a hallmark of the SCCC design team. It features a front nearside shower cubicle with vanity cabinet alongside, and the vanity unit is a very neat looking piece of work with wash basin, mirrored cabinet above and two drawers below.

Flick mixer taps are used for the both the wash basin and the flex hose rose in the shower.

Also in the shower cubicle is the all-essential Thetford cassette toilet, with ventilation provided by both a fan hatch and a small hopper window.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a van designed for relaxation both inside and out, then this particular Regal is going to fit the bill.

There is plenty of room inside for just sitting around. Also, it’s not only the manager that can get his own van designed and built by Regal, because customers can do that too if they wish.

Contact Sydney Caravan and Camping Centre, 64-76 David Road, Emu Plains NSW, (02) 4735 2044, www.sydneycaravan.com.au or Regal Caravans, (03) 9308 6688,

We liked

• That big lounge/dinette – it was very pleasant just sitting there contemplating the van’s interior

• The general kitchen design allows good storage space and reasonable benchtop area

• Metallic green laminate really set things off!

• Having the living area and bedroom area partitioned off from each other

• Good lighting in all the appropriate areas

We would have liked

• Having 12V fuses inside the caravan – in the boot is probably convenient for   manufacturers but not so much on cold, wet nights

• Neater cabling behind the radio/DVD player

• At least one of the light switches lower down by the door for entry at night time