Royal Flair unveils Eco Mate 48V caravan

Melbourne luxury caravan specialist Royal Flair has built the most off-grid capable, technology-packed and priciest off-road caravan in its 46 year history.

Completed this week for a Queensland buyer after an extended 12 month build, the new 22ft 6in Royal Flair Eco Mate off-road family van is purpose-built for off-the-grid living, fitted with an OzXCorp-developed NCE DCX Power Platform that sees 1600 watts of domestic-grade glass solar panels on the roof feeding into a 14.3kWh chassis-mounted lithium battery pack with a 5000watt smart inverter.

As well as providing enough power to run all the appliances including the roof-top air-conditioner, microwave and 175 litre compressor fridge (sunshine permitting!), the Eco Mate caravan is fitted with four fresh water tanks, for 314 litres in total.

The gas-free Eco Mate also boasts a lightweight AL-KO aluminium chassis and adjustable airbag suspension, along with a fully insulated, timber-free composite body including 28mm thick fibreglass sandwich panels for the walls and roof and an 18mm honeycomb floor.

Charcoal checker plate side protection and a matching full vinyl wrap with unique graphics hides the glossy white exterior panels, while a 12V Carafan rooftop pressuriser unit helps keeps the dust out when cruising on dirt roads.

The very stylish and comfortable family layout includes a big club lounge/dinette with drop-down electric queen bed at the rear, while up front are three spacious pentagon-shaped bunk beds, each with a 12V fan, light and storage cupboard, alongside the ensuite with separate shower and toilet.

There are bespoke luxury interior finishes throughout, including a Caesarstone kitchen benchtop, copper tapware and suede-look seat upholstery. The custom fit-out also includes a composting toilet and -- oddly for an Australian-built caravan -- no TV is fitted to encourage the kids to make the most of the great outdoors.

The kitchen also gets an induction cooktop, while other whizzbang technology includes a CZone smart management touchscreen, Cel-Fi mobile phone booster and Wi-Ti security system.

The all-electric Eco Mate also gets 17in alloy wheels with mud terrain tyres, adjustable airbag suspension, disc brakes, stability control and a Cruisemaster DO-45 coupling.

Externally, there's also a locker for the Rockgate sound system and airbag switches, with another hatch with a slide-out for the electric Weber BBQ.

According to Royal Flair director Bill Deralas, the Queensland family had previously owned a Royal Flair caravan but wanted something with more remote area capabilities, with trips planned to Arnhem Land and the Cape York peninsula -- not to mention an interior design with plenty of 'wow factor'.

"I think we'll see more demand for this type of caravan in the future, and unless they build more caravan parks then more people will want to go bush camping and be fully self contained," he explained.

The 3171kg Tare/4000kg ATM Eco Mate van will be towed by an upgraded Toyota LandCruiser, with highlights of the upcoming family adventures to be posted on social media as well as the 'Free to Explore' website.

Deralas said a regular production model of the Eco Mate, available with both couple and family layouts will be available to order next year, with pricing expected to start around $190,000. He's also hoping to introduce a lighter, more compact Eco Mate model, possibly based on the smaller Razor or Raptor models.

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