Elddis Crusader Borealis twin-axle caravan
Description
Two ‘rooms’, two axles, eight-foot width, a capacious kitchen, an L-shaped lounge – and it’s complete with a television
Key Features
Full Review
Words: Val Chapman Photography: John Chapman
The Elddis Crusader Borealis
The accent is firmly on the lounge – and, in particular, television watching – in the luxurious Crusader Borealis. For this model has a dedicated TV wall, complete with stunningly curved shelving and bright inset lighting.
And the lounge seating is an L-shaped arrangement, designed so that, wherever you are sitting, it’s convenient for television viewing. The Borealis even comes with a 32in television.
The layout
The Borealis is one of many caravans on the market that can be divided into two rooms; it’s an arrangement that’s super-popular because it creates an apartment-style feel.
The bedroom is totally separate, at the rear, and is divided from the kitchen and lounge by two doors, one on each end of the shower room that sits in the middle.
Other caravans of this layout in the twin-axle, eight-foot-wide category, with Alde heating and L-shaped lounges, include Swift’s Challenger Grande 650L and Elegance Grande 850 and 860, plus Coachman‘s Laser Xcel 845 and 855.
And there are several more centre-shower-room tourers that have parallel lounges.
We love this L-shaped lounge, centre-shower-room layout – not least because we know many buyers love it, too – so we were keen to explore the fine details of the Borealis take on this layout. A day at Preston Caravans and Motorhomes would give us the perfect opportunity…
The lounge
We had to imagine the TV in situ as we nestled into the comfort of the L-shaped sofa, with its good-shaped knee rolls and firmly supportive backrests.
It’s also easy to imagine organising media kit and other paraphernalia on the three shelves, two of which are stylishly curved, below the television.
Two mains sockets are within the shelving unit and there is a pop-up charging unit incorporating two USB ports.
The long slender skylight – Elddis calls it a stargazer rooflight – and the wide sunroof above the front windows ensure the lounge is flooded by daylight. And the pale woodwork increases the feel of airiness.
Another feature that contributes to this feeling is the wide-open aspect of the entrance area, with a cabinet, and a mirror that adds to the impression of space.
The important thing to note is that the television comes with the caravan, so there’s no need to search around the market for the exact size needed. It’s the icing on the cake of a very comprehensive list of equipment.
The spec
Alde heating (a given at this price level), the stability advantage of twin axles, eight-foot width, a fridge with a separate freezer, the Alde load monitor that prevents you from exceeding the electricity capacity of the supply on your pitch, and an Aquasource connector so that you can connect directly to the water supply on a pitch… The list goes on.
Add in silver sides, a 40-litre on-board water tank, wardrobes with lights that come on automatically as you open the doors (small things count and you quickly realise that the Crusader Borealis is a well-specced caravan of strong appeal.
The kitchen
The kitchen, too, offers plenty of room. The worktop stretches 80cm to the left of the sink, and the cabinet opposite gives you a 36cm by 64cm surface.
The sink is rectangular – and large, at 30cm by 50cm. A flush-fitting cover is provided, so that the sink can become part of the worktop when not in use.
The main cabinet is 48cm wide, with two shelf spaces.
Alongside, four drawers, each 47cm wide, provide good storage, and the cupboard in the unit opposite is 38cm wide, with two shelves.
Next to this is the fridge; the Dometic 153-litre model. The microwave is above it and, below, a locker that can augment the pan storage provided under the oven.
Above the kitchen, the two double-doored cabinets add to the already top-class storage capability.
The washroom
The door of the toilet/washbasin compartment opens across the caravan to divide the kitchen from the bedroom and en suite zone. A sliding door segments this area from the bedroom.
The result is that, as in most tourers with this central shower layout, you can open the shower area – or close it – on both ends, so that it’s not just en suite to the bedroom, it can also be en suite to the lounge if you are converting this area into a bedroom.
(The bed base slides out from beneath the sofa section that runs across the front of the caravan.)
While on the subject of beds, here are the all-important sizes: the lounge double bed is 1.95m by 1.38m.
The bedroom
The island bed at the rear is 1.90m by 1.34m, and has a retraction mechanism built into its base; you can shorten its length to create extra floor space at the foot of the bed during the day.
This is a charming bedroom with a luxury ambience that matches the feel elsewhere in the Borealis. Here again, the light wood creates an impression of space.
There’s a roughly triangular-shaped dressing table in the forward nearside corner, with cabinets above and below the surface.
The wardrobes on each side of the bed are 40cm wide and have three drawers beneath.
Two drawers are 45cm wide and the bottom ones are smaller, at 34cm wide, shaped around the ducting for the central heating.
The bed rises exceptionally easily on its gas-filled supports and there’s plenty of space under it for storing outside chairs and a table.
Drop-down hatches make storage under the lounge easy to get at.
The lighting
Lighting is a delightful feature of the Borealis, indeed, of all the Crusader models. A strip of light runs under the edge of the kitchen surface. Two bright spotlights are set into the bases of the top cabinets and two more shine down from just above them.
Six tiny (but bright) spotlights are set into the frame of the stargazer rooflight.
In the bedroom, lighting is concealed above the over-bed lockers.
Strips of light run both above and below the dressing table mirror. And the mirror alongside the door is illuminated by a spotlight above it.
Our Verdict
<p>It’s almost 60 years since the Crusader brand first appeared. Always in the luxury class – even the early ones had Alde heating – today’s Crusaders carry forward that considerable pedigree with aplomb. </p>
<p>The Borealis, with twin-axle tow stability and a layout that has wide appeal, has several competitors. We think it stands out from the crowd well, with an engaging character, much of which is owed to its light cabinetry and excellent kitchen storage capability.</p>
