Dethleffs Nomad 560 SB

A caravan with minimalist continental styling that’s ideal for couples

Exterior

Dethleffs caravans are unmistakably continental in appearance. Bright white, with stark, minimal graphics, the three Nomad models now being imported by Lowdhams Leisure World look every bit the solidly constructed caravan they are.

Our test example, the fixed-bed Nomad 560 SB, is 1480kg of caravan and it’s almost 2.5m wide; the maximum legal tow width for a conventional towcar. The distinctive gas bottle locker door is mounted on substantial cantilever hinges and rises up to rest over the front window, giving unobstructed access to the contents of the locker.

As well as two cylinders, there’s space for the waste water container that comes with the caravan and a step. Its single–piece front window might categorise it as entry level – but this is no budget model.

Interior

As soon as you step inside a Dethleffs, the quality of furniture construction is obvious. Woodwork is solid. Corners are well rounded. Lockers close with a satisfying clunk. And there’s a lot of woodwork in the Nomad 560.

Put another way, there’s a lot of storage opportunity in all that cabinetry. The layout gives you a fixed bed, U-shaped lounge, offside kitchen, as well as a full-width shower room at the back. Top lockers surround the lounge and run along two walls of the bedroom; 12 in total. Underneath each is a shelf. Alongside the bed, a low dressing table provides cupboard accommodation; there’s a tall shelved cabinet beside the wardrobe.

Intelligent use of space

Behind the entry door is a cleverly designed piece of furniture: two slanted magazine racks are hidden within a cabinet, with yet another cabinet above. There’s the expected storage area under the bed, plus more under the lounge seating, but you have to access these areas through the tops; there are no front locker doors. Some caravanners may say that, by British manufacture standards, this is a bit crude but we think you’d soon get used to it.

What’s in the kitchen?

The excellent storage story continues in the kitchen. There’s a deep cupboard between the fridge and the combination oven/grill, plus a wide drawer that extends under both the cabinet and the oven unit. Three top cabinets complete the kitchen storage package.

The Nomad’s kitchen has character. Its sink and hob are a single piece of matt stainless steel. There are three burners, and a brilliantly-designed cover which hinges up in three sections. This enables you to use one gas ring while the other two are covered and in use as work surface – or you can use two and keep the third covered. The sink cover leaves part of the sink exposed. We think this is a star performer in terms of a design which makes the most of available space.

There’s a 25cm work area to the left of the kitchen, too. Any negatives here? Well, there’s no microwave; whether this matters to you depends on your style of cooking. On the plus side, an extractor fan is directly above the hob. The shower room is spacious enough to be classed as a dressing room; there’s a huge mirror on the rear wall, another over the basin, and a mains power socket in the perfect position for hairdryer use. More shelves than in any other caravan we’ve tested take care of cosmetics and shower-time paraphernalia. And there are three cabinets in which to stow that stuff when you tow.

Overall

Dethleffs caravans have a distinctive character. Is it the single-piece front window that lets in more light than a triple window? Or the obvious solidity of furniture construction? Or the minimalist styling? Or the width of the caravan, which creates more living space and enables the bed to have only a slight cut-off section and still have a wide corridor alongside it?

We think it’s a combination of all those features. Perhaps chief among them, though, is the splendidly spacious U-shaped lounge-dining area. Wherever you look in this caravan, there is just so much space.

It’s relatively expensive but it’s also solidly built. However, it lacks some equipment that’s expected by most British buyers.