Sofa bunk first for Paramount

As more and more young families join the caravanning hordes, fixed-roof bunk vans are becoming increasingly popular, with just about every local caravan manufacturer now offering at least one, family-friendly model in their line-up.

But now Melbourne’s Paramount Caravans has gone one step further by adding a new option on its four to five berth Adventurer model that should appeal as much to grey nomads as growing families.

Instead of a layout with queen size bed at the front, kitchen and dinette in the middle and either a single bed (with drop-down top bunk) and combination shower/toilet, or separate shower and toilet and three fixed bunks at the rear, buyers can now opt for a new, lift-up sofa bed that converts from three-person lounge to twin bunk beds in seconds.

Introduced recently to the domestic retail market and believed to be the first time it's available on a caravan, the versatile sofa can be opened by one person and includes a ladder for easy access and a safety rail for the upstairs bed.

Featuring a painted steel frame and thick foam bases, the sofa bunk bed
weighs around 100kg and can support adult weights (although taller
adults may run out of legroom).

Running along the rear, right side wall, the sofa bed directly faces a separate shower and toilet, as well as a 24in flatscreen TV mounted on an arm and stored in a wall cavity between the two doors.

“Space wise and for living it’s ideal,” said Paramount Caravans’ general manager Luke Sheen. “For kids it’s now like a whole lounge room down the back there, rather than a pokey little area like before.”

Sheen said the new set-up should also appeal to grey nomads wanting a TV or living room that can be separated from the main living area, as well as having somewhere to accommodate the grand kids or other guests when the need arises.

Buyers could opt for a privacy curtain or more sound-proof solid, sliding door.

Adding to its off-road abilities the new 23ft Paramount Adventurer on display at the Queensland Caravan Supershow was also fitted with the latest off-road trailing arm coil suspension from Melbourne’s Simplicity Axles, which features unique patented variable rate springs designed to perform under both light and heavy loads.

Sheen said the sofa bunk bed and off-road suspension together add about $5000 to the price of the otherwise well-equipped Adventurer, boosting it to around $80,000.

Paramount could be on to a winner though, with the first production model already sold to a buyer ‘sight unseen’.