Windsor Crown 2005 Review

One of the great things about the current caravan market is that whether you wish to travel simply or in a style to which you have become accustomed, there is a van for everyone. The Windsor Crown has certainly been fitted out for a luxury lifestyle on the road.

Camden Caravans, south-west of Sydney, was the dealer from which we borrowed our review Crown. Scott Bewley from Camden told CW that they have sold the Crown since it was first introduced (not all Windsor dealers stock this model) and have had plenty of positive experience with it.

From the outside the Crown is not unlike the rest of the Windsor fleet, with a certain amount of 'class' that comes not only from the elegant look but also from such items as the coloured window frames and its multitude of standard features. It is, however, a combination of both interior features and what is concealed that make the difference.

Built on a galvanised steel six-inch rail chassis, the jig-built meranti wall frames are bonded and screwed to both the internal and external walls for maximum structural strength. Cabinetwork is also glued and screwed to the main structure members. Full insulation is used for the walls and roof.

Underneath the van, a one-piece galvanised steel sheet is bonded to the underside of the ply floor to minimise both moisture intrusion and road damage. Coil springs and trailing arms are used on the tandem axles for the Windsor Glide independent suspension system.

Although the Crown has a six-inch rail chassis, the drawbar is four inches deep with extra bracing. On the drawbar are mounted two 9kg gas cylinders and a mains pressure tap.

Hidden inside the gal sheet-lined boot are both the deep-cycle battery and battery charger, while behind the boot, accessible from either side, is the very useful pole and fishing rod holder. Apart from the front boot, there is no other external storage, although along the offside rear sits both the Thetford cassette and Suburban hot water heater. Tinted Galaxy hopper windows are fitted all round as well as a Camec triple-lock security door.

Features at the rear worth pointing out are the airfoil wing with high level brake light, classy-looking 'Euro' tail lights, spare wheel and steel bumper bar with aluminium checkerplate covering. We noticed something curious here: the lower part of the tail lights are blocked by the bumper bar!

Mostly out of sight on the roof are the Winegard TV antenna and Wren air-conditioner, which stands quite tall.

Stepping inside the Crown is a little bit like stepping into the bar room of a gentlemen's club: maple timber, leather lounge seats, mirrored doors and lead-lined glass locker windows all add up to a certain ambience. Although the windows (with both Holland blinds and net curtains), aren't particularly large, Seitz hatches above both the dinette and bedroom let in plenty of light. In keeping with the internal décor, all windows have large wooden pelmets.

This Crown layout is a slight departure from earlier setups: dividing neatly in two, it has a rear bedroom with a bathroom in the offside corner. Occupying the front half of the van are the dinette in the nearside corner and the kitchen bench along the offside. It makes for a very comfortable setup for two, with both room to move and plenty of storage.

Fitted into the front offside corner of the Crown, the kitchen bench is an 'L' shape, albeit one with a very short base. Fully fitted out with a Dometic Caprice stove, stainless steel sink, dishwasher, LG microwave oven and a large Dometic two-door fridge/freezer, the kitchen bench is surprisingly compact for a van of this size. It does, however, have plenty of storage space.

Under the sink is a large double cupboard plus a cutlery drawer and soap container. In the corner is a reasonable-sized cupboard accessed via a piano-hinged door, which is a little awkward to get at.

Between the stove and fridge there are four more drawers, a floor locker plus a slide-out cutting board. If you want more storage, there are a couple of overhead lockers above the bench in addition to three across the front. The latter all have lead-lined glass doors.

There is nothing quite like the comfort of a contoured leather lounge and that's exactly what you get. Two people can sit very comfortably without much trouble. If the table is not required, it can be easily lifted out of the way.

In addition to the usual underseat storage and overhead lockers, the front area of the Crown has been fitted with several shelves of various sizes - located above the nearside window, across the front and in both front corners. Lighting is also prolific with three under-shelf downlights plus a fluorescent lamp above the table.

While not strictly in the lounge area, there's an entertainment unit filling the space between the entry door and the rear bedroom. Built in a squat 'L' shape, it has a good benchtop area, plus large cupboard below and TV and video storage unit above. The TV will slide out and swivel and as a result can be seen easily from the dinette and with a little more difficulty from the bed.

Not surprisingly, the 6ft x 4ft 6in (1.8m x 1.4m) innerspring mattress bed dominates the rear bedroom area. With the bedhead against the offside wall, the bed sits east-west across the van.

On either side of the bed is a cabinet with a fixed shelf plus a slide-out drawer and small cupboard, but they are partially occupied by the wheel arch (front) and water pump (rear).

Walkaround space is ample, although the nearside wheel arch protrudes at the foot of the bed. A concertina curtain can be used to close off the bedroom and bathroom area.

There is no shortage of usable storage space in this area. The slatted wooden base lifts to get at the underbed area that includes a couple of wire basket drawers.

There are four cupboards and a shelf above the bedhead, large diagonal cupboard in the front nearside corner and just in case that is not enough, a three-door wardrobe sits in the rear nearside corner. Filling in the space between the window and wardrobe is also a small cabinet.

There's no excuse for not looking neat with mirrors on both the wardrobe and cabinet doors.

Positioned in the rear corner, the bathroom is a one-piece moulded fibreglass unit with flexible hose shower, swivelling Thetford cassette toilet and small vanity sink.

Finished as it is in a slightly rough style rather than the usual smooth gelcoat, the shower looks a little unfinished and may be difficult to keep clean.

Despite this, experience has shown that the 'rough' finish has proven to be more durable in terms of mechanical strength.

What we found to be disappointing was the protruding screw heads in several places - not good for leaks - and also the simple incandescent light fitting, rather than a battery-saving fluorescent lamp.

The power system is rather high-tech: lighting is all 12V and consists of ceiling-mounted halogen downlights and gooseneck-style halogen reading lamps. Kitchen lighting is provided by a downlight above the sink and another in the slimline rangehood.

All interior lights are controlled from a single convenient touchpad control centre above the kitchen bench, as well as being individually switched. Just above the touchpad is a sophisticated AM/FM radio/tape/CD player. There is the usual smoke detector, wired into the van electrics rather than the battery.

The bottom line
Windsor's Crown is aptly named as being the jewel in the company fleet. The internal décor and fit-out certainly have a luxury feel about them - a right royal van, one might say.

Camden Caravans, 66 Camden Valley Way, Camden, NSW, (02) 4658 1929, camcar@isdr.net.au, www.camdencaravans.com.au.

For your nearest Windsor Crown dealer call (03) 9305 1777.

Windsor Crown Specifications
Nameplate Tare weight: 2060kg
Nameplate ATM: 2460kg
Nameplate GTM: 2255kg
Advised ball weight: 205kg
External length: 22ft (6.7m)
External width: 7ft 8in (2.3m)
Chassis: hot dipped galvanised
Frame: meranti timber
Gas: two x 9kg
Water: one x 60 litre, one x 80 litre
Stove: Dometic Caprice four-burner hob, grill and full oven
Fridge: Dometic RM2553 150 litre three-way
Microwave oven: LG
Lighting: 12V
Hot water heater: Suburban gas 22.6 litre
Price as tested: $63,810 plus o/r

We liked:
- Comfortable lounge/dinette area with plenty of shelving around front of van
- Large Heki hatches at front and rear - plenty of light and screened fresh air when needed
- General ambience of van created by maple timberwork
- Generous storage areas, especially in the bedroom

We would have liked:
- Better finish in bathroom - not on par with overall finish in the rest of the van
- Larger windows around the lounge/dinette - I prefer a panoramic view when I have time to sit and look at it