Elddis Xplore 540
Image
Key Features
Model Year
2011
Product Class
Single Axle
Price from (£)
£13249
Berths
4
Full Review
When Elddis added a fixed-bed, end shower room model to its budget-priced Xplore range this popular layout was suddenly brought within range of £13,000 budgets. It’s also within range of mid-sized cars, at 1400kg MPTLM.
Its layout is identical to many others – but the Xplore 540 has a character all of its own. First impressions are of a light, bright lounge. That’s because the window is a single unit, rather than three, so it lets in more light. One-piece windows are the preserve of economy-class caravans, but we think they’re more of a virtue than a means of saving cost. And in this layout its presence more than makes up for the lack of window in the door – another economy measure.
There are lots of ways in which the Elddis design team has saved weight and cost to bring us the luxury layout of a permanent bed at a budget price. One of them is the absence of drop-down hatches for under-settee bedding lockers; you get in by raising the top. And the hinges aren’t designed to hold up the base while you reach inside. But at this money, few are going to object to holding up a settee base.
The wardrobe has only one door, so reaching the clothes at the left hand side would necessitate taking out some of those on the right. Again, something that’s easy to tolerate considering the light weight and light price achievement of this caravan.
There’s no exterior hatch to gain entry to the under-bed storage space. Again, no problem. And this bed rises high enough for you to crawl inside to reach items at the far end if you need to; it’s supported by gas-filled-strut hinges.
Like so many short fixed-bed, end-shower room models, the 540 has a short kitchen. There’s a hinge-up section of surface to help, though this inevitably intrudes into lounge space. And when you remove the drainer there’s enough top space to assemble and prepare food. The central cupboard provides only a slim cutlery drawer (enough space for just a few utensils here) but there’s a drawer above the Truma heater unit in the dresser opposite to contain table cutlery.
The Xplore 540 is not short of power points – there are five, which is more than in some caravans that cost many thousands more.
One economy measure in this caravan is set, we think, to divide opinion. It’s under your feet. The Xplore 540 has a single, central strip of carpet, running from the front end of the bed to the front of the lounge. The upside is that this strip is easy to take outside to shake off any bits. The downside is that the vinyl is much colder under your toes than carpet. Whether this matters to you depends if you intend to use the caravan in cold weather. Our test week involved temperatures of between four and six degrees and we missed the carpet a lot, especially in the shower room. The cure? Buy a small bathroom mat so that you step onto something warm when you come out of the shower!
Its layout is identical to many others – but the Xplore 540 has a character all of its own. First impressions are of a light, bright lounge. That’s because the window is a single unit, rather than three, so it lets in more light. One-piece windows are the preserve of economy-class caravans, but we think they’re more of a virtue than a means of saving cost. And in this layout its presence more than makes up for the lack of window in the door – another economy measure.
There are lots of ways in which the Elddis design team has saved weight and cost to bring us the luxury layout of a permanent bed at a budget price. One of them is the absence of drop-down hatches for under-settee bedding lockers; you get in by raising the top. And the hinges aren’t designed to hold up the base while you reach inside. But at this money, few are going to object to holding up a settee base.
The wardrobe has only one door, so reaching the clothes at the left hand side would necessitate taking out some of those on the right. Again, something that’s easy to tolerate considering the light weight and light price achievement of this caravan.
There’s no exterior hatch to gain entry to the under-bed storage space. Again, no problem. And this bed rises high enough for you to crawl inside to reach items at the far end if you need to; it’s supported by gas-filled-strut hinges.
Like so many short fixed-bed, end-shower room models, the 540 has a short kitchen. There’s a hinge-up section of surface to help, though this inevitably intrudes into lounge space. And when you remove the drainer there’s enough top space to assemble and prepare food. The central cupboard provides only a slim cutlery drawer (enough space for just a few utensils here) but there’s a drawer above the Truma heater unit in the dresser opposite to contain table cutlery.
The Xplore 540 is not short of power points – there are five, which is more than in some caravans that cost many thousands more.
One economy measure in this caravan is set, we think, to divide opinion. It’s under your feet. The Xplore 540 has a single, central strip of carpet, running from the front end of the bed to the front of the lounge. The upside is that this strip is easy to take outside to shake off any bits. The downside is that the vinyl is much colder under your toes than carpet. Whether this matters to you depends if you intend to use the caravan in cold weather. Our test week involved temperatures of between four and six degrees and we missed the carpet a lot, especially in the shower room. The cure? Buy a small bathroom mat so that you step onto something warm when you come out of the shower!
