Royal Flair Signature Series

WHAT WE LIKED

• Angled kitchen bench setup 
• Generously appointed light fittings, mostly of the more energy-efficient variety
• Good window area which allows spacious feel despite dark interior hues
• Decent-sized front boot
• Enough small refinements to make a standard layout look a bit different

NOT SO MUCH

• Unfinished around inside of cupboard frames
• Some door catches on the fiddly side
• No window in the bathroom

Royal Flair is a caravan manufacturer that has been around for quite a few years. So too has Gosford dealer Alan Grahams, and the two have teamed up to produce the Signature Series van.

Very much a contemporary design, the Signature Series has a full-width rear bathroom, offside kitchen bench, nearside, L-shaped dinette and front bedroom. The bathroom has a sliding door while the bedroom is partly partitioned off.

Giving the interior a touch of class, all the windows have slimline venetian blinds and timber pelmets. Two living area mini hatches and a Cormorant roof-mounted air-conditioner provide additional ventilation and cooling.

COOKING AND DINING

An angled end makes a kitchen bench look different and can add a little bit of benchtop space. Often it’s the sink end but in this case it’s the Spinflo cooktop and grill. To the left and taking up most of the rest of the benchtop area is the stainless steel sink and drainer. High gloss laminate is used for the benchtop and right up the walls as well, making an all-round splashback.

The fridge is set off the floor right at the end of the bench. A little differently, it’s a 156L three-way Thetford unit. The LG microwave is set back above the fridge, giving a space to ‘park’ hot dishes.

For storage there are three cupboards, three drawers of various sizes and three overhead lockers. Like quite a few similarly designed vans, the kitchen has been squeezed a bit to fit the full-width rear bathroom.

The overhead locker above the microwave contains the 240V and 12V switching as well as the hot water switch and water tank gauges. An AM/FM radio/DVD player is mounted on the panel outside. The flatscreen TV is attached on the adjoining bedroom wall with a swivel arm and can be seen from either the bedroom or the dinette opposite.

The contoured foam dinette seat is set in an L shape and has a table mounted on a single pole. Like the kitchen benchtop, the table has a glossy laminate surface and moulded timber edges.

The storage area under the seat cushions has a floor locker at the entry door end and a drawer at the other. Part of that area is taken by the wheel arch. Above the dinette, the overhead lockers have pseudo lead-lined glass doors and a small ‘ready-use’ shelf by the door.

SLEEPING AND WASHING

Some of the little items that make a difference in the bedroom are good reading lights, decent-sized bedside shelves and/or a shelf behind the bed, and good window area for both natural light and ventilation. The Signature bedroom has all of those surrounding the 1.88x1.52m (6ft 2in x 1.52m) innerspring mattress bed on a posture slat bed base.

It also has mirrored-door side wardrobes and overhead lockers. Two diagonal cupboards fit into the corners at the front of the bedroom, the offside one only being half height to accommodate the flatscreen TV.

The rear bathroom has plenty of space with a depth of 1.1m (3ft 7in). That gives room for an offside shower cubicle, nearside Thetford cassette toilet and the vanity cabinet along the rear wall. It’s offset slightly to accommodate both the top-loading Lemair washing machine (hiding in the centre cabinet) and the toilet.

Under-bench and wall cupboards are fitted, along with a wall mirror. There is no bathroom window but ventilation fans are fitted above both the toilet and shower.

CONSTRUCTION

The Signature Series is conventionally constructed with a timber frame, aluminium cladding and a Camec-style security door. Jupiter-style tinted hopper windows are used all round but the mid-nearside one cannot be opened much with the door fully open. There’s no other external storage apart from the spacious front boot which has the house battery and a centrally mounted light.

There are two external wall lights, an external speaker and a Dometic awning. What looks like a storage bin at the front nearside actually contains a slide-out barbecue, and a little further along the van is a fold-down picnic table. It’s funny what you don’t miss, but most vans of yesteryear had a towel rail, sometimes back and front. These days most, including this one, don’t.

Underneath the Signature Series’ body, the 100x50mm chassis is SupaGal steel and has a looped bumper bar fitted to the rear end. That has both a spare wheel fitted and a mounting to accept a bicycle carrier.

Up front, the drawbar has the usual items – ball coupling, handbrake, centrally mounted jockey wheel and two 4.5kg gas cylinders. The tandem axles are fitted with leaf spring, load sharing suspension and 15in alloy wheels. Two 95L water tanks are fitted fore and aft of the axles.

The Signature Series weighs in with a Tare of 2011kg and an ATM of 2411kg, putting it in mid-sized tow vehicle territory.

During my little run around the Central Coast area, the van seemed to be reasonably well balanced and my 70 Series LandCruiser handled it without much difficulty.

THE BOTTOM LINE

With its body length of 6.4m (21ft), this van has just about everything the average traveller might desire, yet it’s not overly heavy (relatively speaking) nor does it feel overcrowded inside. Whether time is planned at the beach or inland Australia, the Signature Series should fit into both scenarios.

ROYAL FLAIR SIGNATURE SERIES

Overall length: 7.92m (26ft)
External body length: 6.4m (21ft)
External width: 2.38m (7ft 11in)
Interior height: 2.02m (6ft 7½in)
Nameplate Tare: 2011kg
Nameplate ATM: 2411kg
Frame: Timber
Chassis: SupaGal
Suspension: Leaf spring
Cooktop: Spinflo Minigrill
Fridge: Thetford N501.3 (three-way) 156L
Microwave: LG
Shower: Separate cubicle
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Lighting: 12V halogen/fluorescent
Gas supply: 2 x 4.5kg
Water tanks: 2 x 95L
Price as shown: $58,990 (tow away, NSW)


SUPPLIED BY:

Alan Graham’s, 514 Pacific Highway, North Gosford, NSW 2250, (02) 4328 4800. Website: alangrahams.com.au.

For more information about Royal Flair, and to find your nearest dealer, visit royalflair.com.au