SAFE AND SOUND

Paul Owen went in search of a classy caravan that also has the technology to handle New Zealand roads with style. He found it in the form of Dethleffs Nomad 560FMK.

Where most caravans have to muddle their way over imperfections in the road surface with their fixed wheel geometry, the Nomad, like all Dethleffs caravans equipped with the Euro Delta axle, remains composed, giving the suspension more opportunity to fully absorb the bump without straying offline. This is such an improvement to stability and safety, especially given the bumpinfested nature of New Zealand roads, that Dethleffs caravan importers, Brent and Adele Thurlow from Central RV, often wonder why other caravans don’t offer similar suspension formats.

This particular Nomad is equipped with a set of two bunks at the rear and a longitudinal double bed, which is mounted at the front of the left side. This is situated ahead of a U-shaped seating area that faces the kitchen and can be converted into further sleeping quarters.

The kitchen features an oven, a large 142L three-way fridge and a circular sink.

The U-shaped dining area seats six, and the space can be illuminated by the flexible LED spotlights above.

The double bed area at the front of the Nomad FMK can be sectioned off from the rest of the van.

At two metres in length, and one metre wide, the bathroom is relatively long and narrow as caravan facilities go. Dethleffs has made the most of the space by separating the shower from the wash basin and tucking the toilet into a corner. It is a bathroom setup that’s designed to handle the demands of a family; the Thetford cassette toilet can store 18 litres of waste, and the crew at Central RV fits larger fresh and grey water tanks to all Dethleffs caravans as part of their extensive preparations for selling them to New Zealand customers.

The model is well set up for extended stays away from powered sites, with enlarged water tanks, a 200W solar energy system with a MPPT regulator, and the battery, a 150Ah Lifepo4 lithium unit with built-in monitoring, can be checked with a phone via Bluetooth. The gas plumbing includes an external hook up for a BBQ.

Nomad is an apt name for this model, given that it conjures up images of entire families living their lives on the move. The added strength, towing performance, safety, quality, comfort, and well-evolved design of the Dethleffs Nomad 560 FMK is worth paying extra for.

Find out more at centralrv.co.nz