Compass Rallye 634

The Compass Rallye 634 is big on space, storage, spec and style. This twin-axle model has a lot of features to impress potential buyers including a wardrobe with three rails.

When the Explorer Group reintroduced the Compass brand for 2014 they gave buyers three levels of spec from which to choose.

Rallye is the top spec; there are four models, all with Alde heating and the ATC stability control system. The two twin-axles models in the range both have 40-litre on-board water tanks and 155-litre fridge-freezers. They both have double beds; the 634 is the one you’d consider if you are looking for a fixed-bed on one side of the caravan, rather than aligned across the caravan.

The Compass range, in common with all caravans made by Explorer, are made using a bonded construction system called SoLiD. That stands for Strong, Light and Dry; the system is designed to eliminate possibility of water ingress and there’s a 10-year body warranty to back it up. There’s also a GRP underskin to keep road-spray away from the caravan floor.

The 634’s layout gives you a full-length lounge, a big kitchen with plenty of storage space, and a luxuriously large shower room…
 

Showering

One glance at the keeping-clean department tells you that proportions are generous. We decided to investigate in detail, with a tape measure. The shower tray measures 65cm x 78cm; that’s easily of domestic proportions. The shower room measures 1.16m at its deepest point and 80cm at its narrowest. The washbasin is of a good size, too, measuring 42cm wide and 23cm deep.

There are styling points to notice, too. The wall boarding is pure white, with a subtle bark pattern and a light-reflective sheen. It's the same as that used elsewhere in the caravan but in the shower room there is a greater amount of wall-boarding visible, so it becomes more of a style feature. There’s a faux-blind at the top of the window, with four chunky chrome-effect rings across its base. It looks good, but it would have looked even better had it been bigger, in the form of a folded blind that could be used.

The Alde heating system enters the shower room by means of floor-level vents running across the rear. A wide towel bar is fitted directly above it. Hooks for two more towels are on the forward wall alongside the shower. Only a shortage of shelves for shampoos and showergels mars an otherwise awesome shower room. There’s a soap tray but only one very small shelf.
 

Sleeping

The mattress is made of memory foam. It’s a good depth, at 16cm, and it felt firmly supportive when we laid on it but the proof is in the sleeping and this was not a live-in test, so we couldn't develop this review into a memory foam versus sprung mattress evaluation.

Importantly, the bed is 1.9m long and the cut-off that gives you a good-wide corridor (57cm) between the bed and the wardrobe is minimal, so even at its narrowest point the mattress is just over a metre wide.

There’s a wide (and accurate) assumption that most fixed-bed tourers are designed just for couples. This is one, though, that is of family proportions. The settees are of single-bed length for most heights, at 1.75m. And on occasions when you may want to make up a double in the lounge, slats for the base quick and easy to pull into position.
 

Storage

In a caravan with a body length of 6.34m you expect storage to present no challenges. And the 634 delivers amply in this sector. The three lockers above the bed are 44cm deep; the one over the bed head gives you a front-to-back measurement of 20cm; the two on the side are 30cm. The four lockers above the lounge are of similar generous proportions.

The wardrobe’s capacity is amazing. We measured the total hanging space at 1.37m. That’s on three rails, two at the top of the wardrobe and a third under a shelf. Hanging depths at 1m for the top two rails and 83cm for the lower rail. A shelf runs around three sides of the wardrobe and two more shelves are below it. Yet more space is available for footwear in the base of the wardrobe.

The bed’s gas-filled supports hold it up securely even when there’s a duvet in place. The under-bed space is totally clear of framework, making access easy. An exterior hatch is here for putting in folding chairs, for example.

Space under the settees is easy to get at, too, with full-length drop-down hatches and an exterior hatch to the space on the nearside. The inevitable collection of water heating, electrical equipment and piping intrudes into offside locker space but in total there’s more than most buyers would ever need.
 

Dining

Dining space for two is amply provided by the extension which pulls out from under the top of the front-central chest of drawers. It measures 81cm deep and 65cm across.

The freestanding table has its own store cabinet on the forward end of the kitchen. Amid a current fashion for storing tables horizontally, under beds and seats, vertical table storage (which is far easier to access) deserves positive comment.
 

Lounging

There’s much more than the attractive tactile pale fawn and turquoise fabrics to notice as you examine the 634’s lounge. A white acrylic panel arches up from the top of the front windows, to frame the sunroof and the roof light. Lighting is concealed among each side and four very bright LED spotlights are set across its width forward of the roof light.

And there’s something else special about this lounge. You can have two layouts in one caravan. For an extra £179 you can buy a seat and backrest, to enable you to turn the parallel lounge into a wrap-around configuration. Suddenly, you have seating for at least seven. Ideal, then, if your caravanning lifestyle involves entertaining. And the best bit is that if you opt for the wrap-around seating, you get the standard chest of drawers as well; the best of both lounge worlds! And ideal for entertaining.
 

Kitchen

The 634’s kitchen is up to the task of entertaining, too. With a 76-cm-wide surface forward of the sink, kitchen work would be a joy. Two bright spotlights under the top lockers and two more in the ceiling ensure your work is well illuminated. Two power points are here (there are six in total around the caravan).

Kitchen storage is generous. There’s a tall cabinet, 33cm wide, with two shelf spaces. There are three drawers, 51cm wide. Two are 18cm deep and the third, at 8cm deep, is where you’d place the cutlery tray (provided). That’s in addition to the pans cupboard under the oven, and three top lockers. The central one is 80cm wide, flanked by 40-cm-wide units, one of these is fitted with a rack for eight plates and a holder for two mugs (why only two, we wondered?).

That tiny puzzle apart, though, we have to say the 634’s kitchen is truly among the best in caravans, in terms of storage and surface space. Especially when you consider that, opposite, you have a large fridge incorporating a freezer compartment that you can remove if chill space is more important to you than freezing stuff.

The microwave is above the freezer, with an additional cupboard above that. And the dresser, with illuminated drinks cabinet, gives you yet another cupboard and a drawer. Rallye spec includes an extractor fan and dual fuel hob, too.
 

Towing

At 1834kg, the 634 is in the big league as far as tow vehicles are concerned. But, in case you’re wondering, caravans of this size, on twin axles, are not daunting or difficult to tow. In fact, twin-axle geometry makes them easier (more accurate) to manoeuvre and more predictable when it comes to ensuring you take the correct line around tight corners. We did the 634’s test tow with our photographer’s Volvo XC90. It was a smooth, easy, enjoyable experience, the big outfit making light work of right-angle junctions and open-road sections where, had there been a high wind, we might have been glad of the stability-enhancement ATC unit that’s fitted as standard. (The system automatically activates the caravan’s brakes should it detect the first signs of a snake motion.)

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The 2014 Compass Rallye 634 is a refined caravan with the high level of spec including AL-KO Secure wheel locks and an alarm system, plus a tracker security unit. Quality of cabinetry and fabrics is obvious when you take your first step inside a 634. It’s not until you spend quality time in a 634, though, as we did, that you appreciate the cocooning warmth of the Alde central heating unit. The 2014 Rally 634 merits a place on your shortlist if you’re looking for big-caravan, high-spec luxury.