I'm a sheet metal manufacturer so I really like the Bowlus RV, I also have some friends that had a Airstream caravan that was parked on the property the neighbours ended up complaining because people were driving past to look at it so the council made them move it. My friends have got a bit of money so they're built their house to look like an Airstream caravan 😂
Hi Cameron, I really enjoyed that film …… it was absolutely bonkers which is exactly how a money no object fantasy film should be. I’d have either the Bowlus or the Pebble flow I think. Please tell me though….. Do Witter make a tow bar for my big block ‘69 Dodge Charger to tow either ‘van?? 😳😳
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I think it would be the Bowlus for me. I’m sure you could ask them! 😂 There used to be a company called Watling Engineers who made towbars for anything. Sadly they ceased trading during Covid, but they made a custom towbar for a classic Rolls Royce that I had once.
I'd definitely consider the Pebble. Concept and design looks fantastic though I think the interior could be a bit more homely. The price? Well that's another subject.
I get that they’re really expensive, but I think they’re better value than your average caravan at £35-£55k, when you consider the investment in technology. Obviously it’s out of the reach of most of us, but it would be nice if some of those ideas could find a way of filtering down into other cheaper models.
So far, it appears none of them is actually available on the market 😢. But nice designs and surprisingly reasonable in price ( untill production starts and reality kicks in for the various founders. 😂
The Bowlus claims to be aerodynamic but wouldn’t it be more so with the pointy bit at the front and the blunt bit at the back? Like a Kamm tail on an Aston DB6 amongst other late 60s cars. And nearly all aeroplanes have pointy noses.
I would have completely agreed with you, but research into aerodynamics shows us otherwise. Something that disrupts the airflow can be just as effective at aiding aerodynamics as a rounded smooth shape. As Knaus confirmed with their recent Yaseo range that was a result of a lot of aerodynamics testing, there’s a terminal velocity to how much wind resistance a caravan can overcome, due to the sheer physics that it’s a wider and taller object than the tow vehicle. So it becomes a balance of aerodynamics counterbalanced with interior space. All research points to the corners of the caravan are far more important when it comes to deflecting the wind than the actual front panel. By that logic, the Bowlus is the perfect shape.
With the state of the roads these days (not just the UK, but other countries too), I honestly think that the biggest design flaw of European caravans these days is the chassis. It is time for the 'V' shaped chassis in caravans to change. It allows for too much flex and there are reports of GRP walls cracking (I refer you to the 'Caravan Place' channel). I prefer European caravans, but they are desperately in need of a major design change from the chassis up. I honestly don't think that torsion bar suspension is up to the job these days either. No livestock trailer I know of comes with it and for damn good reason. Yesterday, I watched a Humbaur trailer video (official RU-vid channel)featuring their 'H Drive P' suspension comparing it with torsion bar. Essentially, a leaf-spring suspension system.
Absolutely, 100% this ☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼 I’ve been saying this for years. There’s an interesting article I have in a caravan magazine from the early 1960s that compares rubber torsion (“new fangled”, as it was then) to leaf springs and springs/shock absorbers. They completely dismiss rubber torsion, claiming that the payload on your average caravan isn’t high enough to reap the benefits of the design, unlike on a lorry trailer, for example. Every caravan that they tested with it fitted was noted to be bouncy and agitated on the road, and they noted the tyres having to do a lot of the work to absorb bumps. I think a rethink of the chassis is needed. The La Mancelle caravan that I reviewed had an Alko chassis that was extensively modified. It not only had a more expensive Alko Delta axle, which promises to give the road handling characteristics of sprung suspension (is that an admission from Alko that it’s superior?!), but they also fitted rigid steel sections across the width of the caravan to strengthen the chassis and floor, very much in the same vein that caravan chassis used to be 50+ years ago.
Fantasy is the right word. 99% of the caravanerati can't afford such stuff. And for most it always comes back to cost. For me it also comes down to small size with a 6ft 3ins plus bed.
