Sprite Major 4 SB Caravan

The lightest and cheapest transverse island bed, rear shower room tourer on the market

In the field of lightweight, affordable caravans, Sprites have always been front runners. The marque has built its reputation on those two factors, plus practicality and pleasing ambience – and there is no better example, in today’s line-up, than the Sprite Major 4 SB. 

This standard-width model has a full-width rear shower room and a transversely aligned island bed; a layout that has luxury appeal. Its MTPLM is a mere 1,383kg. 

The SB was introduced in 2015 in response to rising popularity of the transverse island bed layout. Sprite had to get in on the act – and, 11 years on, it’s as popular as ever, standing its ground among competition from all the major British manufacturers.

How it compares on price and weight

In Swift’s portfolio, there are two others of this layout. These are the Challenger 580 (£30,095 and 1,510kg MTPLM) and the Conqueror 580, albeit with Alde heating (£37,695 and 1,675kg MTPLM).

Bailey offers three models with this layout. There’s the Phoenix Black 644 (£25,649 and 1,437kg MTPLM), the Pegasus Black Brindisi (£29,799 and 1,546kg MTPLM; this one is wider, at 2.43m) plus the Alde-heated Unicorn Deluxe Vigo (£33,399 and 1,600kg MTPLM). Coachman’s Acadia 575 has a similar layout. Like the Vigo, it has Alde heating. Its price tag is £32,190 and its MTPLM is 1,537kg. 

There’s also the Elddis Whirlwind 554 (£26,750 and 1,470kg MTPLM) – if you can find one, bearing in mind that they are no longer being produced for 2026. 

So, the Sprite Major 4 SB is the lightest and cheapest standard-width, transverse island bed caravan around. Worth a very close look, then…

We came to Leisure Sales, in Cheshire, to explore this icon of light weight and affordability.

Specification, options and everyday practicality

This is what you get. Sprites have a bright, fresh, simple-styling appeal. On the face of it, no frills. Just functionality. But there is more than meets the eye about Sprite components. There’s the comfort and durability of sprung seat bases; a new feature for 2026. The mattress deserves a mention, too; it’s made of reflex foam and incorporates memory fibre that is designed to increase airflow. There’s a door flyscreen and curtains on all windows. Recognising today’s fashion for fewer curtains in caravans, it has to be said that they still bring a depth of cosiness to a lounge and this one is a great example.

Sprite has kept the price low but buyers can upgrade with a package of equipment. 

You can get a microwave, a set of carpets, a hitch-head stabiliser and a television aerial – but you have to pay extra for these items. Together, they’re called the Lux Pack and it adds £995 to the price.

Other options include an Al-Ko Secure wheel lock (the receiver is fitted as standard), a solar panel mounted on the roof and an alarm system (with tilt sensor and key fob operation).

Kitchen, lounge and flexible living space

The kitchen provides all you need – except, perhaps, a microwave – although, if you don’t go for the Lux Pack, you could buy a microwave to use in an awning. There’s a 98-litre fridge, a combined oven/grill and a three-burner hob. And surface space – while not generous – is enough for reasonably easy food prep. Storage space deserves praise.

There are two top cabinets, 46cm and 75cm wide, and a 26cm-wide cabinet between the fridge and the cooker that contains a small cutlery drawer and a shelf, plus a cabinet measuring 46cm wide, 50cm deep under the oven. The advantage of having a combined oven/grill rather than a deeper unit with a grill above the oven is that there is space for a large cabinet here.

Opposite the kitchen is a little extra surface, 58cm by 32cm. It’s the top of a cabinet unit that gives you two open shelves, 58cm by 14cm, and also incorporates the housing for the free-standing table. 

The lounge, of course, can be transformed into a second double bed by pulling out webbing-linked slats from under the drawer at the front. The resulting bed measures 2.02m by 1.17m.

Bedroom, rear shower room and verdict

It’s the proper bedroom that gets the accolades, though, for its cosy ambience, enhanced by its tall bedhead upholstered in the sort of tactile, quality fabric you’d expect in a caravan many rungs higher on the luxury ladder. If your exploration of the Sprite Major 4 SB is your first foray into fixed bed caravan selection, you may not be familiar with the mechanism, found on most island beds, that enables you to shorten its length during the day to create more floor space for you to walk around the foot of the bed to the shower room. 

The forward wardrobe is 67cm wide and the aft one is 40cm. Both have cabinets beneath, and a little ledge perfectly sized for coffee mugs. The two over-bed lockers are 20cm deep and 66cm wide.

The corner dressing table provides a triangular cabinet and an array of shelving plus a double coat (or dressing gown) hook. So, storage space in the bedroom is first rate and that’s before you have factored in the huge space under the bed, which has an exterior hatch.

Perhaps you’d expect to find at least one area of this caravan that looks a little basic, respecting the Sprite Major 4 SB’s budget status – but, as our review progressed all of the way to the shower room at the rear, we still hadn’t found anything that could be described as basic. 

On the contrary; there is a spotlight beaming down within the top shelf units, and two spotlights above the mirror, all giving a pleasant level of illumination and simple style. White cabinet doors and shelving look pleasingly plain and stark. All in all, a pleasant preening environment. 

The luxury of an island bed layout with a low price and a low weight – surely the backbone of everyone’s idea of a perfect choice for their first caravan. The Major 4 SB answers those needs perfectly. Plus, while adhering to the Sprite no-frills ethos, if ever there’s a tourer that sings out the message that caravanning is great – and affordable – it’s this one.