First look: Moto-trek Trek-away
This compact, lightweight caravan should appeal particularly to solo tourers, but you’ll need some of the cost-options
This South Yorkshire firm made its name manufacturing horse trailers, then branched out into motorhomes. Now it’s launching a compact caravan. Peter Baber steps inside
CARAVANNERS MIGHT NOT be familiar with the name Moto-trek, but if you have friends with a motorhome, they might have heard of it. More likely still, if you have friends who keep horses, they will almost certainly have heard of Equi-trek horse boxes. It was the success of these that caused the South Yorkshire company to branch out into Moto-trek motorhomes earlier this decade. Now it’s having a go with touring caravans, too. The Trek-away, as the new caravan is called, is very much geared to the kind of people who already buy Equi-trek horse boxes – who use such a vehicle as somewhere to sleep when they are eventing. But some of its characteristics should appeal to those who go touring as well. We took a look at the Trekaway at this year’s Caravan & Motorhome Show in Manchester.
Pitch and set-up
The Trek-away should appeal in particular to older caravanners, including those who might tour on their own, because it is super-lightweight, at just 750kg. Moto-trek claims that it is light enough for one person to move around on their own. We couldn’t check this out at the show, but it sounds plausible. Its compact shipping length of just 4.10m means you could also stow it away quite easily on even an average-size drive. The hook-up arrangements are fairly standard, although you won’t find an externally accessible gas bottle locker across the front: just a panel housing the grab handles. There is a gas bottle locker at the front, but it’s only accessible from the inside and it also houses the spare wheel. Mains hook-up was fitted, but this is only included as part of the Excel version that we saw, priced from £13,199, compared to the £9600 standard model. As standard, a hook-up would not be included – and nor would a leisure battery, which is also in the Excel version, as are warm air heating, electrically operated water supply and a water heater, among other features. Our test model was silver and, if you don’t like the standard off-white, you can go for any colour you like – but that pushes up the cost by another £1620.
Lounge
Unusually for a caravan today, the Trek-away’s sofa straddles the front of the van. The base cushion is wide and the back is high, so it is comfortable, while another cushion covers the top of the front locker, rather like a parcel shelf in a car. Neither the front nor the side windows are generous, but you do get two spotlights and an LED placed centrally in the ceiling. The main switches and controls are next to the stable-style door, a design useful for containing dogs or for extra ventilation. A long, narrow table folds down from the offside. This would probably be big enough for snacks, but not for a dinner party.
Kitchen
The kitchen stretches across the rear of the van, opposite the sofa. For a small caravan, it has a surprisingly large amount of workspace, thanks to it being L-shaped. You get a two-burner gas hob combined with a sizeable sink, while a Vitrifrigo fridge is included in the Excel pack. There’s no oven, but to be fair, having one in this space would probably involve too many
compromises. There is one shelf to the right above the smaller leg of the ‘L’, a cupboard with a shelf under the sink, and a drawer below the hob that slides out so you can access the back. The fire extinguisher and fire blanket are optional extras.
Washroom
Much of what you can see here in the corner washroom is only included in the Excel version (the electric flushing toilet) or as an optional extra (the handbasin and vanity unit). Without these, this would in effect be just a large storage cupboard or changing room. But with these, the washroom isn’t too bad at all. You get a proper handle on the door and a separate shower head, although the tray is a bit compromised by the wheel arch. The toilet is bench-style, making cleaning easier. The folding handbasin and vanity unit are perhaps a little ‘white plastic’ – the kind of thing you would have seen in caravans of the past. But the room does have an LED light and even a roof vent. You don’t always get that in much bigger caravans.
Beds
Our test model featured two bunk beds, which you make out of the sofa and the cushion over the front locker. The lower bunk is comfortable, but we weren’t convinced about the upper one, which relies for support on one strut and two straps coming down from the ceiling. One strap can be removed if you need to access the toilet in the night, but we doubt if this would be a very easy manoeuvre. In any case, putting the upper bunk in place severely restricts headroom in the lower one, and obscures those two spotlights. An alternative no-cost option is to have a double bed that slides out on a platform from under the base cushion. The only snag with this is that it obstructs the door.
Storage
For a caravan this size, storage is remarkably good. Along with the front storage locker, there is more room for storing your gear under the seat, although you do have to lift the base and keep it held up, because there are no support struts. You also get two elegant open shelves on the other side of the table, and there’s a third, matching, shelf next to the wardrobe by the door. The wardrobe itself is large – very large for the size of this van – so it’s just a shame the hanging rail runs from front to back, not side to side. Underneath is a large drawer, and if that isn’t enough, a locker below that; although it’s not deep, because of the wheel arch.
‘At 750kg the Trek-away is super-lightweight, so it should appeal to solo tourers’