Gobur Carousel 12/4 caravan

The Gobur Carousel 12/4 is one of a range of folding caravans hand-built on the coast of North Norfolk They are built to a design made nowhere else in Europe. They can be pulled by small cars – and stored in a garage

Gobur Carousel 12/4 folding caravan

“Release the front catches, then push the roof upwards which will bring the front wall into position. Now go to the rear, release those two catches and push the roof vertically… Gobur managing director Richard Moss is giving Go Caravan instructions on the assembly of a four-berth in Gobur’s 10-model range.

Within five minutes of arrival on a site, a Gobur owner would be putting the kettle on the four-burner hob having transformed the caravan from its low-level tow position to its full height. Living position. But we are taking longer. It’s the Go Caravan test team’s first Gobur experience and we have a short, steep learning curve, which is why Richard has joined us at Pine View Caravan Park, a short distance from the Melton Constable factory, to offer instruction.

Pushing each end up on their gas-filled strut supports requires amazingly little effort, we discover.
Next: the sides. “Step inside the door and raise the nearside wall to vertical,” Richard tells us. “Now secure it by turning the catch on the wall. “Turn around and raise the offside now – and secure that one with the catch above the kitchen.” It’s simpler than it sounds.

All the woodwork, hinges and catches are of high quality, as are the fabrics. The hob and sink of a level you’d expect to find in a caravan; these folding caravans may be in some respects just a step up from camping but the kitchen’s a whole ladder-length higher than a camp kitchen.

The construction is similar to a conventional touring caravan – aluminium, with Styrofoam insulation (25mm). The roof is one piece of fibreglass. The floor, though, differs from conventional caravans in that has to be stronger, to give the caravan its rigidity. It’s made of 12mm ply with 25mm insulation and, underneath, a double polythene membrane.

Anything missing compared with a conventional tourer? There’s no shower or toilet room in this model – but a portable toilet can fit under a bed at the front and a curtain pulls across the entire front area. Anything else missing? A water heater – but that’s on the options list, (£640), along with gas-powered heating (price depends on model) and 20 different fabric combinations, three carpet options – or just vinyl flooring. There are 10 layouts from which to choose; only the 12/4 is without a toilet compartment.

We quickly found out that everything about the Carousel is easier and speedier than we had imagined. The blown air heater warmed the caravan within five minutes on test – then automatically switched off, controlled by a thermostat. The kitchen working surface is the cover over the sink but, if you raise this, you still have the drainer area on which to prepare food.

Perhaps most impressive of all is the ease with which these caravans tow. You have a full view of the road behind, over the top of the caravan. You have excellent door mirror vision because Carousels are narrower than convention caravans. And, because they’re below the level of a car, they present far less wind resistance than a conventional caravan – so you use less fuel. They’re more stable, too, because all of the weight is low down.

Another plus-point about Goburs is that you can keep them in a garage; they’re slightly narrower than usual garage door width. There’s a range of even narrower Goburs, too.

Look closely at a Gobur if you’re taking a step up from tenting, if you’re nervous about towing a conventional caravan, or if you have only a small space in which to store a caravan. They’re expensive for their size, but the rise and fall mechanism of the sides and roof doesn’t come cheap. We were amazed at the quantity of storage in such a small caravan, the spaciousness of the U-shaped lounge – and the ease of the folding and unfolding process.