By Malcolm Street
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There was a time when just about every caravan built in Australia was designed to suit a family.
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That, of course, has changed greatly over the last 10 years, with most vans being designed for just two people who are doing some long-term touring around Australia. 
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It is therefore interesting when a caravan that is specifically designed for family use comes to CW’s attention, in this case the Traveller Penthouse.
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Traveller Caravans is a well-known name in the caravan industry and has been building caravans for quite a few years. CW’s review van came from Nomad Caravans which is based in Burpengary, north of Brisbane, just off the freeway. 
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The Penthouse, as it suggests, is Traveller’s topline range and has been built with some serious family touring in mind. In fact, the van CW looked at had been purchased by a family having a year out from the working world to take to the road. 
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With a length of 23ft (7m) and a Tare weight of 2320kg the Traveller Penthouse is built on a galvanised steel box section chassis. 
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Up front is a very beefy looking 6in x 2in (150mm x 50mm) drawbar but the main chassis is built using a laminated construction for the two main rails. 
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The tandem axles ride on leaf spring suspension and drop-down corner stabilisers are a standard item. Traveller uses Meranti timber for frame construction and aluminium cladding for the outside.
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Across the front and down the two sides of the van, a strip of aluminium checkerplate adds stone protection. At the rear, the tail lights are fitted into a moulded fairing, there is a high level stop light and a bumper bar with U-shaped ends sports the spare wheel. 
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Sitting on the drawbar are two 9kg gas cylinders and a centre-mounted jockey wheel. 
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There isn’t a conventional front boot but instead there’s a tunnel boot at the front of the van. It doesn’t go quite right through because two 200ah house batteries are fitted in the offside end.
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Tinted hopper windows, Camec triple lock door, a small hinged table, Thetford cassette door and A&amp;E awning make up the rest of the opening and shutting items around the Penthouse. There are also three external lights on the nearside: two on the wall and one on the grab handle. 
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With a loaded weight of nearly 3000kg, this van is no lightweight but on the road it tracked along well enough behind our LandCruiser. It’s that calibre of tow vehicle that would be needed with a fully loaded van.
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CW didn’t have a weight distribution hitch fitted because of our short trip but it comes recommended. When we were manoeuvring around for repositioning purposes, the 23-footer proved to be no problem at all. 
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Family glitz
Stepping into the Penthouse reveals a master bedroom toward the left, a nearside dinette and offside kitchen to the right and then further back is second bedroom and bathroom area.
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Mid-stain timber is very much the decor look, along with white walls and ceiling. All the windows have wooden pelmets, flyscreens, net curtains and full curtains, and there are three roof hatches – a Four Seasons above the main bed, a Seitz above the kitchen and a second Seitz in the second bedroom.
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There is also a roof-mounted air-conditioner for when the going gets hot.
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Just a construction note here: marine types will know the value of bulkheads in boats that give extra strength to the boat’s structure.
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Well the Penthouse comes with those too – the dividers between the two bedroom areas and the kitchen/dinette are not just there for decoration. 
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Electric lighting throughout the Traveller Penthouse is 12V – fluorescent and halogen, mostly in adequate places.
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Light switches in some vans often give the appearance of a lottery in terms of location but Traveller has thought about its light switch positions, in particular the main isolating switches near the door – they turn all the lights off or on as required (except the external ones) – which are useful when coming or going and not having to grope around everywhere for switches. 
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Up front the north-south queen sized bed is set into a bedhead of mirrored wardrobes, bedside cabinets and overhead lockers.
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The innerspring mattress sits on a steel/slatted timber bases that lifts easily, assisted by two gas struts to get access to the storage area underneath.
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Part of that space is already taken up by two drawers (which is a more practical storage method) and, presumably, the bass speaker for the surround sound system – not something you see under every bed.
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At the foot of the bed in each corner are small floor-to-ceiling angled cupboards. They don’t offer a great deal of space but do have mirrored doors.
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Lighting in the bedroom consists of two halogen reading lights and an overhead fluorescent lamp.
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Instead of a kitchen bench alongside the side of the van, Traveller has fitted an angled sink setup. This not only gives a modest increase in storage space but also gives the kitchen area more character.
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If standing in front of the kitchen bench, the angled sink and drainer is to the left with general and drinking water taps, Smev stove in front and Dometic 150L fridge to the right.
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The microwave sits in the overhead locker area above the sink and has another item of interest to CW: a Waeco wine cooler which sits under the bench area beside the fridge. 
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The Waeco cooler can hold six bottles of wine and has a variable temperature setting. Ideal if you are a keen wine (or any other sort of alcohol) drinker and need the fridge space for food. 
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There isn’t an abundance of benchtop area but the sink has a cover and the stove does have a laminated flush top lid. Storage space consists of three overhead lockers, three cupboards and one drawer.
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CW suspects that one less cupboard and more drawers might be more useful. Kitchen lighting consists of fluorescent light above the sink, halogens in the fume extractor and a ceiling-mounted fluorescent.
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Above the fridge is both a flatscreen TV and DVD/CD sound system. The TV is mounted on a bracket and can be seen from most places in the van.
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Opposite the kitchen, the contoured foam seating dinette can fit three people quite easily. Four might be a squeeze, so an extra chair would not go astray.
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Like the benchtops, the table has a laminated top and moulded timber edges. Above the dinette seat, the four overhead lockers have lead-lined glass doors and there are a couple of shelves at either end. 
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The rear area of the Traveller Penthouse has a quite a few features: two bunks, wardrobe, bathroom and – wait for it – a laundry. Yes, the Penthouse has its own washing machine, a Lemair top loader hidden under some neat cabinetwork.
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Storage in this area is quite generous with a two-door wardrobe that has two drawers and a floor locker, plus the lower bunk has a large drawer underneath.
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Two foam mattress bunks that are 6ft (1.8m) will suit most people, so there is plenty of room for children. The top bunk has been designed so that it can be folded up if not needed.
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Both bunks have reading lights but only the lower bunk has a window. It may have something to do with the awning location but if CW were to sleep on the top bunk then we would like an opening window.
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In the ablutions department, the bathroom has all the necessary features – flexible hose shower, Thetford bench-style cassette toilet and small wash basin. There’s no shaving cabinet but there is a mirror behind the wash basin. 
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The small opening window gives both ventilation and a feeling of space.
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The bottom line
CW understands that the family who purchased this van bought it almost as soon as they saw it, and it’s not hard to figure out why.
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It can be used easily by a family of four without having to make up any beds each night.
An awning or annexe would add greatly to the living area but the van can be used in its own right without too much difficulty.
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It’s quite a heavy van but given the length and accessories fitted, that is not really surprising – care should be taken when considering a tow vehicle. With that said the Traveller Penthouse should be on anyone’s shortlist if looking for a family van.
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For more information contact Traveller Caravans Qld/Nomad Caravans 2/252 Bruce Highway (Eastern Service Road), Burpengary, Qld 4505, (07) 3888 4455, fax: (07) 3888 4400, email: sales@nomadcaravans.com.au, web: www.nomadcaravans.com.au
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We liked
• General layout of van – three separate living areas but still quite spacious
• That a young family could quite comfortably use this van without modifications 
• The angled bench of the kitchen – it looks good and is a mostly practical setup
• Mostly good storage – if travelling with a family, you are going to need it• The Waeco wine bottle cooler
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We would have liked:
• A window for the top bunk – gives both light and air circulation
• Electric fuses inside the van – they are outside by the battery so would prefer to see them inside out of potential bad weather
• More drawers in the kitchen area
• Concertina dividers for both bedroom areas – dividers or curtains would be nice for family use
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Traveller Penthouse

External length: 23ft (7m)

External width: 7ft 10in (2.4m)

Nameplate ATM: 2990kg

Nameplate Tare weight: 2320kg

Frame: Meranti timber

Chassis: DuraGal

Suspension: Tandem axle leaf spring

Cooktop: Smev four-burner and grill

Fridge: Dometic RM2553 150L

Microwave: Sanyo

Shower: Yes

Toilet: Thetford

Lighting: 12V

Gas supply: 2 x 9kg

Fresh water tank: 2 x 90L

Price: $63,000 

Traveller Penthouse

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