Windsor Rapid Limited Edition 2006 Review

One of the most enduring conundrums of the caravan industry has been how to design vans to be as small as possible while travelling, and as large as possible when camping.

Windsor Caravans approached the problem rather efficiently by combining the best aspects from caravan and pop-top design in its Rapid van. A success story in itself, the Rapid has been revamped, and Windsor is now offering a Limited Edition Rapid with one double bed and a front kitchen.

The fold-out bed technology which originally allowed Windsor to produce a range of compact vans with double beds at either end has now been applied to the Limited Edition Rapid, where a 14ft (4.3m) van has one fold-out double bed, and a 12ft (3.7m) internal space.

“It’s a limited edition – we just did one batch of them,” explains Windsor Caravans general manager Brendan Murphy. “We’re not going to have it as a standard van. People will not be able to go to the dealership and order one at a time.

“We only do batches of them. It might be 20 at a time or 50 at a time; it just depends on interest.” Brendan says the Rapid LE’s design came about because of increased inquiry this year for this type of layout.

“We built one a few years ago and it wasn’t that successful at the time, so we took it off the market at that stage. We gathered information from various requests at the caravan shows, and then we started receiving letters from customers direct to the office whether we would consider building one.

“We put the idea to the dealers, and we decided that we would build a batch of them and see what the response was. It was so successful we decided to do a second batch.”

Brendan says Windsor is confident its decision to make the Rapid LE a limited edition will make it more price-competitive. “For the size of the van it is a fantastic little layout. You haven’t got the bed taking up all your living area, that’s out the back. You still have an L-shaped dinette plus a lounge.”

The van also has the provision for an aftermarket air-conditioner to be fitted and retails at a very budget-conscious $27,990.

The Rapid Limited Edition (LE) is very similar to its siblings in appearance, the main difference being a white frame glass window and boot on the front of the van where a bed would normally be.

The lower half of the front of the van is protected by silver embossed pebble guard. The front, rear and roof of the van are clad in stucco-finished white aluminium, while the rest of the van is smooth.

Sitting on a 4in DuraGal chassis, the Rapid LE has leaf spring suspension on 14in steel wheels. Electric brakes are fitted to both wheels. Four wind-down corner stands ensure good stability when you’re all camped out.

The frame is built from Meranti wood, and all the walls and furniture are pressed overnight for additional strength. There is an automatic awning on the nearside coloured in burgundy stripes which folds out easily and shades the triple lock security door.

There are three windows on the van, not counting the door, which has a security screen inside to prevent unwanted visitors. In addition, the pop-top has four zipped and flyscreened windows all the way around, perfect for catching a cool change after a hot day at the beach.

There are three more zipped and screened windows in the fold-out bedroom, although in a proper rain storm, the three small windows may not provide enough light.

Opening the bedroom is deceptively easy. You just twist the latches and the lift-up end nearly leaps into its open position with the help of gas struts, and the bed flops dutifully into position. The only thing left is to unlatch the elastic belt which holds the mattress in position inside, and your bed is made. When packing up, the converse is equally simple. You just push the bed up into the van and lower the end.

The best thing about these units, though, is that you don’t have to pop the top or unfold the bed for a quick cuppa anywhere on the road. The bed folds up inconspicuously without taking up any of the van’s internal space.

Finally we get to the great part of these vans. The Windsor Rapid range certainly fills the shoes as a step-up van for people leaving camper trailers behind, but it does so almost overzealously. Sure, one might be sleeping behind canvas walls, but everything else about this trailer is pure caravan.

Stepping inside, you’re greeted first by the L-shaped kitchen. The van may only be 7ft 3in (2.2m) wide on the outside, but inside there is plenty of room to cook, including a good sized counter over the 90L Dometic RM 2350 fridge.

Above that is a Tiffany microwave mounted at head height. The stainless steel sink and drying area has a chrome tap connected to mains and a 12V pump. When there is no mains water around, there is a 60L tank fitted down below.

The stove is a Smev four-burner and grill fed by a single 9kg gas bottle mounted on the A-frame. The rangehood is stainless steel to complement the sink and stove. Cupboard space is generous in the kitchen, and tastefully highlighted with timber edging.

There are plenty of nice little touches here as well, like the clock above the sink, fire extinguisher right next to the door and a spice rack mounted over the fridge to keep the jars from rolling all over the van on the road.

Abutting the fridge cupboard is a charcoal and beige lounge, which sits opposite the nearside L-shaped dinette. The dinette wraps around a timber-edged laminate table.

At the rear end of the lounge is a cupboard with a laminate benchtop designed to hold a television, which is good for watching TV from the dinette or the bedroom. A coaxial plug and two powerpoints are located conveniently on the wall behind this bench.

The bedroom is fairly spacious, but not nearly as insulated as the rest of the van. Of course, in the summer, this can be fantastic, letting the night air run freely through with the canvas windows unzipped. Sleeping is east-west, so make sure that if you want to sleep in, you grab the rear half of the bed.

The Rapid LE is set up for 240V or 12V operation, with an onboard transformer. Lighting is provided inside by Hybralec 12V fluorescent lights, satin mini spots in the bedroom and a Bargman light. Air-conditioning is not standard in the Limited Edition, in order to keep the unit price-competitive, however, Windsor has included the provision for an aftermarket air-conditioner.

This trailer has an ATM of 1385kg, which means that despite all of the luxuries it affords the traveller, it weighs in much lighter than many camper trailers on the market. For serious tourers wanting something that can survive the outback, this unit just needs a few things, like onboard batteries and air-conditioning, and it would do the trip just fine.

However the winning point with this van is its short overall length and low towing profile, which means it is easier to tow without giving up any item on its impressive features list.