Regal RSV

Life of the Party

If entertaining is high on your priority list, then this two-berth shower/toilet combo from Regal is sure to get your foot tapping. Apart from its internal speakers, hooked up to a radio/MP3/DVD/CD entertainment system, it has an external speaker, which makes it perfect for when the party at your place overflows outside to beneath the Dometic A&E awning.

Helping things along are two external lights and a number of external powerpoints, while setting off the festive mood are three small chromed strips of LEDs, each of which projects a luminous blue hue in a fan shape down the nearside of the van.

"We call this one the party van," says Ken Clarke of Melbourne's Regency Caravans, a Regal dealer. Each and every Regal caravan is a one-off, so any van you may like to dream up is only limited by your imagination - well, your imagination, your budget and perhaps some basic limitations of engineering!

"When I sit down with someone to design their perfect caravan, I ask them to draw up three lists - their 'must haves', what they'd like in an ideal world, and what they'd like in a perfect world," says Ken. "Then we nut out a plan, crunch some figures and adjust things until we come up with solution."

Regal is obviously pushing all the right buttons, too, because at the time of writing any prospective Regal buyer faced a wait of around nine months before they could take delivery of their dream van - and that's once the design is already approved and ready to go to the factory.

STAINLESS STUNNER
Stepping inside the rear door immediately leaves you in no doubt that an extremely high level of care and attention to detail has gone into the Regal RSV. So where does the model name come from? "It's a bit of a play on Holden's HSV - the RSV stands for Regal Special Vehicles," says Ken with a laugh.

The interior finish befits a top end product, too. High quality appliances are fitted throughout, along with top notch cabinetry and some particularly striking upholstery on the dinette and couch, which, incidentally, matches the doona cover and cushions in the bedroom.

The mid nearside L-shaped dinette and rear couch are positioned in a way that really lends itself to entertaining, or in a quieter, more reflective moment it's just as easy to imagine yourself whiling away the hours with a good book by the open door. The dinette will seat three people in perfect comfort, while the couch will take one to two.

When cooking is on the agenda, you'll love the mid offside kitchen. There's a Smev four-burner cooktop with grill and oven, a Swift rangehood, a deep sink and drainer with flick-mix tap and water filter, and plenty of bench space.

I particularly liked the board that pulls out to give yet more bench space to the left of the sink drainer, likewise the full stainless splashback.

The Smev cooktop is hidden underneath a hinged section of benchtop, giving you more area to prepare food before you actually start cooking - another good feature.

The interior in general is smart and modern. Extensive use of stainless steel is a nice complement to the light poly-finish walls, cupboards and overhead lockers, with timber trim used throughout.

There's plenty of natural light courtesy of large Galaxy windows, each with venetian blinds and timber pelmets and a large Dometic Seitz Heki hatch over the kitchen/dinette.

The halogen reading lights in particular are of a striking, up-to-the-minute design, and several white LED downlights are set into a sweeping border of stainless steel on the ceiling around the overhead lockers. In another nice touch, all the light switches and powerpoints (of which there are plenty) also feature a stainless steel facade. There are still a couple of lockers with a leadlight front, but even the leadlight itself is of a contemporary design.

EASY LIVING
There's plenty of storage thanks to multiple cupboards, pull-out drawers and a pantry, including a tall cupboard next to the door that's ideal for a small broom or mop, but I found the push-button system employed was a little prone to sticking.

Beyond the dinette you'll find a 150L Dometic three-way fridge/freezer, and on top of that a Sanyo microwave.

The entertainment system is located on the offside wall opposite, just under a battery level monitor.

Separated by a concertina-style door is the bedroom, and a classy, comfortable room it is. The matching fabrics on the queen-size island bed look superb, and they really reinforce the fact you're in a quality van.

All the usual storage options are there, with cupboards, overhead lockers and hanging wardrobes. Off the foot of the bed on the nearside, however, you'll also find a small basin with flick-mix tap, and a couple of mirrors - there are another two mirrors in different spots in the bedroom, plus additional mirrors on the exterior of the hanging wardrobes.

On the wall opposite is a 19in Palsonic widescreen LCD television with built-in DVD player, mounted on an articulated arm to allow viewing from the dinette.

Two speakers are located overhead, along with a 12V Fan-Tastic fan/hatch, which is thermostat controlled, has a rain sensor and can either extract hot air from within the van or suck in fresh air from outside. A centrally located Dometic air-conditioner has also been employed.

FEATURE-PACKED
That leaves the shower/toilet combo, which is found behind a poly-finish door in the rear offside corner. It's a fully moulded cubicle, with a practical accessories rack for the shower and a Thetford swivel loo. There's a window and a 12V fan/hatch, plus a curtain to ensure the toilet doesn't get wet.

At 6ft 4in (1.9m), I found the ceiling in this van too low - I'm 6ft 2in (1.85m) and my head didn't quite clear the air-conditioning unit but, like most other 'problems' in a custom-made van, it's pointless here to find fault. If I'd had this RSV made for me, I'd have specified higher ceilings and that wouldn't have posed Regal any problem.

Outside, the RSV has been finished in traditional aluminium cladding, but LED lighting, smart graphics, 15in alloy wheels and low profile tyres mean it well and truly looks the business. Checkerplate has been used down the sides and at the rear, where you'll find a loop bumper, a spare wheel, while the front features a padded pebble guard.

There's a drop-down picnic table - perfect for happy hour - and the drawbar features twin 9kg gas cylinders, a tap and a Breaksafe Breakaway switch. The gal-lined boot just aft is good and spacious, and also houses the twin deep-cycle batteries and Projecta battery management system.

The RSV rides on a 6in DuraGal chassis, its 15in alloys fitted with 10in electric brakes and a roller rocker suspension system with four shock absorbers.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Regal says its custom vans cater for the premium end of the caravan market, and as soon as you step inside this RSV you'll know its makers are telling no lies. At $67,000, this particular van is no cheapie, but any purchase would be money well spent, as the long list of high-spec features and all-round level of comfort testifies.

If the time has come for you to take the plunge and head down the road of buying a full custom van, you'll love the way Regal can turn your dreams into a road-going reality.

WOULD HAVE LIKED:

Regency Caravans
120 Canterbury Rd
Bayswater, Vic 3153
(03) 9761 5388.

For more information, including your nearest dealer, contact Regal Caravans, www.regalcaravans.com.au, (03) 9308 6688.