Many of you will have made a note in your calendars of the International Caravan and Motor Home Show 2009, to be held at the NEC in Birmingham, 13-18 October.
At this show British caravan makers Dunster House are to launch a brand new make of caravan called the Stealth Caravans.
Competing against mainstream brands on show, the new ‘Stealth’ forms part of a range of medium to large caravans with eye-opening new layouts, interior finishes and exterior designs.
But why the name ‘Stealth’? The caravan sports a unique nose-cone, from which the Stealth name derives. The picture is a front-on view which shows off the one-piece nosecone design. Whist it sheds light on the name ‘Stealth’ with design cues from the military fighter, there are practical reasons for the oblique shape. Managing director of Dunster House Alex Murphy explained further.
“We designed this as a way of solving the problem of water ingress” he explained. “The one-piece nosecone comes up over the roof which means water naturally flows away from the caravan. On conventional designs this is not the case”.
In fact, the whole idea of the Stealth came from Murphy’s love of design combining with a new-found obsession. His company Dunster House are well known for building high-end log cabins and outdoor office spaces. So why caravans?
‘I bought a caravan a year ago and became a complete caravan nerd. I was thinking “could I design one better?” and so I wrote off to caravan brands offering free design services. I got nothing back but I come from a design background as it is so we went ahead using a caravan specialist here’.
He observed ‘I love coming up with new answers for the same old questions’.
And when the question of reliability was raised considering the youth of the Stealth brand, Murphy was quick to counter the notion. ‘I’m aware caravan design isn’t perfect, but in essence we’ve thought about things we could improve. For example, the combi-boiler is a hidden- heating system. Normally in caravans your convector heater is stuck on the wall in an open set-up. Here it’s been tucked away as part of the design’.
Furthermore design isn’t limited to the exterior. ‘We’ve produced very high-gloss, high-end finishes rather like modern kitchens. Our island bed is a first as well – no one offers it with an end washroom and twin dressing tables. Access around the bed is easier as your feet can actually go under it’.
For more information you can visit our Stealth Caravans page.
The Stealth caravan will be available to view at the International Caravan and Motorhome Show 2009 at the NEC. To book your place or tickets please visit the organisers website
