GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #30 | Page 38

The position of the bunks allows for a spacious rear corner bathroom. It offers a cassette toilet, vanity and moulded-fibreglass shower. Another feature of the layout: the large nearside club lounge, which should easily seat the entire family. It has also been fitted with a swivel table, allowing you to position the table to suit. This table can drop down to form the base of an extra bed. The kitchen fills out the space opposite the dinette. It comes with a four-burner cooktop, griller and oven, with a hinged section of bench above to maximise bench space. In the lockers above – all locker doors are on piano hinges – Salute has centralised items such as the 12V fuses, the BMPRO Genius battery management system, hot water switch and water level indicators. The range of cupboards below the kitchen bench includes a pull-out pantry with two shelves; however, it has to be said that a lot of silicone was used to seal the hole where the grey water pipe and other lines exit the cabin through the floor. On the positive side, nothing will get through! The main bedroom features a bedhead of overhead lockers and side wardrobes, each of which has a niche with 12V/240V/USB point so you can keep your devices, etc., charged. The Avalon also comes with a 185L fridge-freezer with microwave above, as well as an RV Wi-Fi system, which is fitted in an overhead cabinet next to the microwave. It’s powered by a nearby 12V point. 38 \ The van’s optional curved front profile (two other front profiles are available, should you not like this one) lends the van a real sense of space and, overall, I found the interior of the Avalon very appealing. AROUND THE AVALON The Avalon is built on a 4in DuraGal RHS chassis with a 2in raiser and 6in A-frame. The frame is made from meranti timber clad with composite aluminium and black checkerplate. It rides on 16in alloy wheels with mud terrain tyres and Al-Ko’s offroad Outback independent coil suspension. Up front, a DO35 coupling is fitted, along with a mesh stoneguard, two 9kg gas cylinders and a storage box fabricated from black checkerplate. A freshwater tap is fitted to the A-frame, too. Other features include a nearside ‘entertainment locker’ complete with 12V/240V powerpoints, TV mount and relevant connections, a roll-out awning, rear bike rack, two spare wheels mounted to a three-stay bumper bar, and a slide-out barbecue (with nearby gas bayonet) in a tunnel boot.