The Tonga’s new clothes
Caravan manufacturer Tojem has revamped its small fibreglass caravan – and now the Tonga boasts a brand-new coat, says Leon Botha.
The Tonga was launched in 2019, but Cape-based manufacturer Tojem has just completely revamped the bodywork of this small caravan. It’s still made of fibreglass, but the panels have been reinforced, and there’s also a lot more storage space.
So, what’s different?
The most noticeable change is the colour. No more charcoal, now it’s beige and grey.
Another change is to the design of the awnings holder – it sits on top of the roof and are now more aligned with the roof’s profile. The awning itself no longer has sides that extend close to the ground, it’s more of a standard 270 ° roof that extends from the back door to the nose.
In the nose is a 30 ℓ cooler box, and the adjacent cupboard, where the fridge/freezer fits, is larger. Instead of a 40 ℓ fridge/ freezer, there’s enough space for a60ℓmodel.
As with the previous model, the entire back door lifts, from which you pitch a tent. The tent has been completely redesigned: instead of the spring-loaded rods, it has an interior pole frame that folds up with the tent and then fits into the inside of the door. A lid goes over it all to keep everything in place. This lid doubles as a separate camping table – another new addition. The two sides of the tent can be opened completely in case you need access from both sides. The tent also serves as a dressing room, and there’s enough space for a loose three-quarter bed – perfect for two small children.
On the inside, they’ve added more cupboards. This includes cupboards on top in the corners, which is a clever use of this space.
The 35 ℓ water tank is at the door on the left, and you fill it from the outside with the tap at the bottom of the chassis.
The Tonga is available in two variants: the basic Tonga 1, and the Tonga 2 with an outdoor kitchen. The Tonga 1 is designed so you can upgrade it to a Tonga 2.
The standard models are unbraked, with a gross vehicle mass of 750 kg, but you do have an option of brakes – and they’ll increase the GVM up to 900 kg or 1 600 kg.
What comes standard?
The Tonga 1 includes the following: the front window, tent, loose table, 270 ° awning with its container, cooler box, water tank, all the inside shelves, fold-up mattress, and spare wheel.
A power system and the sliding frame for the fridge/freezer are optional.