Full review

Transverse island beds are the hottest layout idea right now. There are now 30 from which to choose. All of them conform broadly to a layout pattern. Except one.

Lunar took this brilliant bedroom concept that has swept into caravanning over the last few years, to dominate the couples’ market, and turned it into something even more special. Even more luxurious. Even more practical. Even more bijou hotel-room, one might say.

That’s because, whereas the transverse concept that has become an industry standard has the shower room behind the bedroom, the Delta RI is the only model with a transverse bed at the back of the caravan. This creates a bedroom that’s totally separate from all other caravan functions. It’s a long way from the eating, the cooking and the lounging areas. It even seems a long way from the showering department, delightfully isolated on its own.

Layout inventions are rare. This one is surely destined to be a trend-setter; a benchmark, perhaps, of future caravanning bedroom luxury.

And there’s something else that marks out the Delta RI as very special. This is the lightest of the twin-axle transverse-bed caravans on the British market, if only by seven kilos. (The Bailey Unicorn Cartagena’s MTPLM figure is 1717kg.)

While the RI’s attention-grabber is without doubt its luxurious bedroom, the central shower-dressing room is pretty special, too…
 

Showering

Like its bedroom, the RI’s shower room is unique. Only the Coachman Laser 650 is comparable, with a shower room spanning the whole width of the caravan forward of the bedroom. The RI’s washing department, though, is a totally differently design.  Whereas the Laser 650’s shower is on the nearside and the toilet on the offside, the Delta has its toilet on the nearside, with a large wardrobe alongside it. The position of the toilet bucks the trend which, over the last few years, has moved away from nearsides to avoid having to extract and replace the cassette in an awning. Does that matter? We don’t think it’s an issue; you’re unlikely to do the mundane toilet task while there are people sitting in the awning anyway!

A large Alde heated towel rail snakes its way up the offside wall of the shower room. Elsewhere, there’s a towel loop, usefully alongside the washbasin cabinet, and a double hook high up on the wall by the shower room door.

The big, oval washbasin is delightfully practical in size as well as being stunningly stylish.

The presence of the wardrobe in with the shower-washing facilities ensures this central area is a true dressing room. Its rail runs transversely, because the wardrobe is quite a slim unit, and there’s only 35cm of hanging width. But that doesn’t matter, because there are two more wardrobes in the bedroom. And there’s plenty of accommodation for shoes, in the large, two-shelf cabinet under the wardrobe.

There’s an additional cabinet on the offside, alongside the shower, with a cleverly designed door with a hinge that’s in a runner, enabling you to angle the mirror on the door to face you as you’re putting on make-up.

It’s the main mirror, over the basin, though, that steals the show. That’s because it is surrounded by bright LED lights, and set on a white gloss panel which intensifies the light. Deltas do lighting well, as you’ll read later in our review.

The Delta RI’s chief appeal is to couples, of course, but when it’s being used as a four-berth, the central position of the ablutions department, with access both from the proper bedroom and the lounge-bed conversion, is brilliantly convenient for all.

Sleeping

If Caravan magazine had an award for “Best Bedroom” the RI would surely have taken that trophy as well as its accolade for Best Layout. This is the best-designed caravan bedroom yet.

There are several reasons why we’re so impressed. One is the large rear window, which ensures the bedroom is a bright environment. Another is the amount of space around the bed, making bed-making easy.

And there’s more. You can extend the bed by 10cm if you opt for an extra mattress segment that takes the bed length up to 1.93m. At 1.34m wide it’s normal double bed width.

And there’s a TV station on the wall at the foot of the bed.  Not just a bracket and some sockets. This is a refined feature with upholstered panels matching the duck-egg blue curtains and cushions.

If you want a caravan that provides a totally secluded sleeping environment, just as you have in a house, the awesome new Delta has to be it.

Storage

Under the bed is the RI’s biggest storage asset, of course. And it has an external hatch, which is an immensely practical asset.

Wardrobes flank the bed.  Each gives you 25cm of hanging width. There’s a three-shelf cabinet under one wardrobe; the other has a drawer plus a deep cabinet. Altogether, including the two top cabinets above the bed, clothing is catered for amply in the RI’s bedroom and dressing room.

Four lockers above the lounge give generous space, too; more than in most caravans, given the current trend for front sunroofs. (The Delta has a sunroof, too. Lunar’s hallmark skylight, though, is different. It’s 1.48m long and 57cm wide, and rather than being at the front of the caravan it’s centrally located above the lounge.)

Dining

The dining table lives within the kitchen cabinet, at the fore end of this unit. Sliding it in and out is easy. There’s something different about this table; the legs are offset from one another, and with horizontal bases that are almost the width of the table. The result is an exceptionally stable table.

For snacks and breakfasts the front pull-out table gives you 80cm of level surface, and a good width, too, at 60cm.

Lounging

The RI’s lounge is a four-seater, cosy room, with bolster-style armrests at the rear of the settees and big, shaped corner units at the front.

Deltas ooze style, with glossy top locker doors and an amazing lighting array; bright lights above the lockers, four spotlights set into the white skylight surround, and corner lights that emit beams from both the tops and the bases. The four lounge spotlights are little cubes, again with light beams from both top and bottom. It’s a lovely, light, bright lounge both in daylight and after dark.

Kitchen

More lighting style is here, too, with a rim of white light outlining the top lockers, and LEDs running the whole length of the kitchen under the top lockers.

With the 35cm extension hinged up, the RI has 1.31m of kitchen surface length.

Total lower cabinet width is 82cm, divided into two cupboards, containing two drawers, two metal basket-style pull-out shelves and three large shelf spaces. And there’s a little more space opposite, in a two-shelf, 26cm wide cabinet under the neat dresser that provides a TV surface.

One of the RI’s great assets is the size of its fridge-freezer; it’s the 180-litre Dometic model. The microwave is above it, though this high position won’t meet with approval from caravanners who are short in stature. That apart, the RI’s kitchen is really fantastic.

Towing

Lunar caravans get a motorway-and-lanes tow test from the factory to our chosen North West review location, the charming, quiet Little Orchard Caravan Park. It’s a route that provides a fair test of differing road conditions and, of course, the twin-axle stability of the Delta made for exemplary motorway cruising, with no sway induced when we were overtaken and overtaking, even on a blustery day.

Deltas are equipped with ATC, to reinforce stability and increase safety margin.