The all-Australian Eco-Tourer 'folding caravan', which comes into production this

month, offers the best of both worlds: the comfort and security of a caravan with

the towability of a camper trailer.

Caravanning enters

the friendly Eco era

By STEPHEN COOPER

The caravan holiday is back in style, and caravan parks are enjoying a renaissance. Total visitor figures have risen by 15 per cent for the past three years. And as for the caravans, when did you last look inside? Your memory may need updating with new concepts. New choices. New images.

Update 1: Not all caravans are conventional caravans. Not any more.

Update 2: Towing your habitat on holiday need no longer be a chore. It can be a breeze.

Update 3: Some caravans remain the same. Big. But their tow cars are changing! Check your mirrors for turbo 4x4s. They may be closer than you think.

Radical stuff is happening out there. And innovation is not just re-exciting the old established market, but creating a younger one.

The Eco-Tourer in travelling mode, and with roof up.

In the 1960s, caravans were selling at around 40,000 a year. The next two decades saw a plummet to 6000. But since then it's doubled to around 12,000 caravans and variants today, and rising, in part due to innovative and affordable camper trailers, and pop-tops which lowered profiles by 300mm, making them easier to store and tow.

Today, the most radical caravan is the all-new, all-Australian Eco-Tourer "folding caravan" which is coming into production this month after a couple of years of blood sweat and tears.

This creates a new class in the Eco-Tourer's size that brings the best of both worlds; the comfort and security of a caravan with air-conditioning and TV options if you want them (and soon a shower/toilet option) but with the towability of a camper trailer.

At home you will never see it because it parks not on the driveway, as of old, but behind closed doors with its six-cylinder sedan or wagon towcar until it's time to get out there again and get lost somewhere under the stars.

On arrival, stop the rig. Get out. Pop the catches. Slip in a crank handle and wind. (Or use a cordless drill).

The double-insulated roof rises smoothly to full height. Insulated fibreglass walls and door fold out automatically. The overall smoothness is uncanny, and the prototype has brought audible gasps at demonstrations.

Open the door. Walk in. Fold full width front "picture window" into place. Latch it. Put kettle on.

With a pristine white moulded-fiberglass interior you are inside what might seem like a cruising yacht, with some aircraft features. The designers even looked at trains.

Moulded overhead lockers are integrated into the roof, and dimmable downlights point the way to the island bed, where the full height diminishes as you approach the hinged tail. Wardrobes each side of the bedhead indicate sufficient headroom.

Unlike the pop-top's vinyl, and the camper trailer's canvas, the solid, sealed sides of the Eco-Tourer provide a caravan environment. Less impact from sun, rain and wind. Less noise from other campers. More security.

The concept of the folding caravan was launched in Europe.

"We went to Europe and we imported what is considered was the best of what they have," said Caravan Court's Michael Hawkins. "But we didn't like it and we set about designing our own.

"The European vans just don't suit the way Australians caravan. Over there, all four walls fold out to create a square box. But it takes you probably a good half an hour to set it up. You have got to unclip the curtains, fold sinks up and wardrobes down.

"It is at least a half-an-hour set-up, and pretty solid work. We thought: 'We want 30 seconds of no work'."

The Hawkins family has been into caravans since Ken Hawkins purchased Caravan Court, in Springvale Road, Springvale South, in 1982 - right at the bottom of the slump. His sons Michael and Steve joined the business and began to manufacture conventional caravans.

"But we soon decided we wanted to build something special and unique," Michael said. "We wanted solid sides, cupboards, a solid wall feeling, but we didn't want the head height until you actually park.

"We made it particularly low at the front; down to the height of a sedan roof and then a very streamlined profile heading back."

Goodbye wind buffet, and headwind-generated tugs at the towbar. Hello fuel economy.

A Caravan Court customer, and family friend, recently borrowed an Eco-Tourer for a trip to Adelaide.

"I usually tow a 16ft'6in x 7ft'6in standard caravan with an AU1 Ford Falcon," he reported. "The comfortable towing speed of the full-height caravan was between 90 and 95 km/h whereas the Eco-Tourer was easily towed at the speed limit of l00 to 110km/h.

"The Eco-Tourer seemed to have little effect on the towing vehicle. It was certainly not affected by passing vehicles, which had been quite obvious with my full-height caravan.

"I keep records of fuel consumption when towing and I was very happy to find that I used 26 per cent less fuel towing the Eco-Tourer compared to towing the full-height caravan. And that was achieved even though I was travelling at a higher speed with the Eco-Tourer."

A good part of the concept came from Caravan Court's belief that as people get older they sometimes become less confident in their driving. "So we wanted to make a caravan that was a lot easier to tow, more relaxing to tow, without the wind buffeting," Michael Hawkins said. "They could arrive at the end of a day's travelling and still feel fresh and relaxed, not stressed. In Australia you travel vast distances."

The family patented the Eco-Tourer's folding mechanism, which is hidden outside and inside except for two gas struts. Production this year will total about 50, ramping up to around 100 next year. The challenge is to meet demand from a market that now comes to them from two directions: people entering the RV (recreational vehicle) scene, and old hands who are ready to scale down in size and stress.

Eco-Tourer vital statistics

Exterior length: 5.11 metres (about the same as a long-wheelbase luxury sedan.)   Exterior width: 2.18m.  Exterior maximum height (travelling): 1.83m.  Chassis: galvanized.  Body: all fibreglass.  Light/ventilation: seven acrylic wind-out windows; roof hatches.  Suspension: leaf spring.  Weight: tare 1200 kilograms; ball 125kg.  Sleeps: two.  Links: www.ecotourer.com.au

Writer: scoop1@optushome.com.au

This article which appeared in the newspaper "The Age" Saturday, May 10, 2003 edition was written by Stephen Cooper and is reproduced with permission of Stephen Cooper and the publisher, The Age.   The material is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without the prior permission of the author and publisher.