Being based on Qld’s Sunshine Coast isn’t exactly a hardship, as Queensland Regal’s Ryan Hodges will tell you. It’s also a great place to sell to RVers who are going to be travelling in the northern parts of Australia.

The 7.1m (23ft 4in) Regal RSV (“Regal Special Vehicle”) van that was presented for our inspection had a few more features than a standard Regal van. Indeed, the list of extra inclusions was almost as long as the standard list.

“We get quite a few people through here who are looking for an up-spec’d van that can handle many of the roads around Australia,” Ryan Hodges says. “That’s why we spent a bit of time with the Regal factory team getting what we wanted.”

That does come at a price of course, not only financially but also in terms of towing weights. Our RSV came in with a Tare of 2430kg and an ATM 2900kg, but our LandCruiser had no trouble handling the van, even on the steep roads to our photo-shoot location.

CONSTRUCTION

Our RSV is built on what is known as a double-boxed DuraGal chassis. When you get under the van to have a look (as you should when buying a van), you’ll see two 150x50mm (6x2in) rails which are laminated to smaller 100x50mm rails (4x2in) and run the entire length of the van. They are joined across in a ‘box’ arrangement by smaller sections of steel running both down and across the van. Up front, the drawbar is also 150x50mm; you might think it’s part of the top rail but in fact it’s welded to the lower rail.

While we are under the van there are three 80L water tanks, one mounted above the axle and two behind it. Generally speaking, the under-chassis area was quite clean with nothing hanging down where it shouldn’t. On the drawbar things are quite simple and include the normal fittings, such as two 9kg gas cylinders. The house battery hides in the front boot, along with the charger.

RSV vans are all built with a timber frame and aluminium cladding, and this one is no different. It also has tinted hopper windows and a Camec triple-locker door. Covering most of the nearside gear including slide-out barbecue, picnic table and small entertainment unit with external speakers, is an A&E awning. There are three external storage bins – front boot, front offside tunnel boot and a smaller bin in front of the offside wheels.

Dark nights aren’t going to be a problem around this van: the nearside wall has two fluorescent wall lights, an over-door light and a grab-handle light, while the offside has a fluorescent wall light. As someone who likes plenty of light fittings, I was impressed.

INTERIOR

Inside the RSV, the stained timber look is prevalent but it’s done in a relatively light hue, so is not overpowering. Almost as prominent is the laminate finish on the quite long kitchen benchtop because it forms a high splashback on the wall as well.

The layout is fairly standard with a front bedroom, full-width rear bathroom and mid-station kitchen and dining area. All the windows, including kitchen and bathroom, have both lace and full curtains, as well as timber pelmets. Lighting throughout is a mixture of fluorescent and halogen fittings.

The bedroom is a fairly standard arrangement with a queen-size island bed and side wardrobe/overhead locker bed head. Slightly different are the extended bedside shelves and the cupboard arrangement at the foot of the bed which offers more than the usual storage area. There is also a large wall mirror above the cabinet that is usefully positioned between the bedroom and dinette.

The conventional dinette sits mid-offside with the versatile tri-fold table, very relaxing hinged foot rests at the end of the seats and (in our case) striking striped upholstery. It also comes with a powerpoint above the table, instead of being hidden under one of the seats as is often the case.
Long kitchen benches must be the ‘in’ thing at the moment and a good thing they are too. This one comes with five drawers, six cupboards and three overhead lockers. It also has a few other essential features like a Smev four-burner cooktop/grill/oven and a stainless steel sink with drainer and filtered drinking water. The cooktop comes with a flush top, thus adding to the already extensive benchtop area.

Also fitted in is a Waeco wine cooler – very useful for keen ‘winos’ – and I note that our little campaign to get microwaves to lower levels seems to be having an effect: this one above the sink is at reasonable eye height!

Two non-kitchen features are installed in the front end of the kitchen bench: an AM/FM radio/DVD player and a swivel arm-mounted 19in flatscreen TV.

The two-door, 175L Dometic fridge is installed in the opposite corner, alongside a full-height wire basket slide-out pantry.

The bathroom has all you might expect: separate shower cubicle in the nearside corner, Dometic cassette toilet opposite and vanity cabinet in the middle. The latter is quite extensive with a generous amount of storage space, contemporary ceramic handbasin, wall mirror and that other trend of modern RV bathrooms, a front-loading washing machine.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you want a high-specification van that’s built for some serious travel around Australia, then the RSV caravan from Queensland Regal has to be well up the list. It has a very extensive level of appointment, as well as a good general finish both inside and out. The little things in life all add up and that is certainly the case with this van.

Queensland Regal Caravans, 57 Coronation Avenue, Nambour, Qld 4560, (07) 5453 8555, qldregalcaravans.rvpoint.com.au
For more information, including your nearest Regal dealer, visit www.regalcaravans.com.au