Sterckeman Starlett 370 DD
Image
Key Features
Model Year
2011
Product Class
Single Axle
Price from (£)
£9460
Berths
4
Full Review
CONTINENTAL-MADE Sterckeman caravans are all light in weight and light in price. Most are also short – and narrower than most other caravans available in Britain.
Our text example, less than four metres in body length and only 2.1 metres wide, crams in sleeping accommodation for four – and, by day, gives you a true family eating/playing area at the rear. All for little over £9000.
The door’s on the offside, the build is visibly solid, the furniture’s chunky, the tables have thick tops and are heavier than you’d expect – heavy enough, in fact, to stay in position when you tow…
All typically continental caravan traits. The difference between this and British-built caravan style doesn’t end there. This little gem has a semi-inboard water system. In the gas bottle compartment is a 20-litre water container and a submersible pump.
Lifting 20 litres into this area isn’t difficult, because the gas bottle compartment lid is huge and hinges right up, held in place by a simple metal bracket. So your angle of lift is reasonably straight – and the water container is easy to pick up as it’s a straightforward sort with a handle on the top.
Compared with more sophisticated, in-built water systems, it’s a bit crude – but it’s 100% better than nothing!
As well as water container and two gas bottles, there’s room for a spare wheel in this compartment – although you’ll have to pay extra for it.
The list of features that contribute to the Sterckeman character goes on into the night-time mode. The rear dining area creates a single bed (straightforward) with a bunk above (less obvious).
The bunk descends from the rear wall; it’s disguised as a locker assembly. It has a sturdy wooden base that lowers easily onto supports on both sides.
There’s an option here – and a reason why this bunk unit looks like two head-height lockers, because if you don’t want to use the top bunk, you can remove the blanking plates inside the locker doors, and it becomes storage space.
But there’s a problem about having locker doors forming part of the bed bases, the catches are not strong enough to keep the doors closed when they’re in the (horizontal upside-down bunk position, so the occupant of the lower bunk would have a flapping locker lid intruding on their bed space.
These lockers will catch closed with a little patience – but as soon as there’s any slight movement on the top bunk, they swing open again.
The table forms the centre of the lower bunk base, as is the case for the double bed that forms in the lounge.
With solid bed bases, rather than the slatted type, there’s a risk of condensation happening in response to body heat on a solid mattress surface, so it’s wise with beds of this structure to put a blanket under the upholstery sections that come together to form your mattress.
Our test, at the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Cannock site, half an hour from Sterckeman importers Freedom Caravans at Stafford, didn’t involve an overnight stay this time, but we’ve experienced solid bed bases before – and we know this easy way to overcome any potential problems works.
Considering the overall size of the caravan, the washroom is amazingly large. There’s a bench-style toilet, a good-sized basin, plastic shelves and cupboards, all very well made – but no shower, although there is enough space to have a shower, and the whole floor unit is of shower tray design – and there’s a drain hole!
Our verdict:
This caravan may have an appealingly low price, fantastic light weight and short length but it does have some glaring omissions – all of them are easily cured if you’re interested in buying one.
Budget for a spare wheel, of course (£87.99). Arrange for an extra power point in the rear dining area and an extra TV socket in the lounge.
And, for £1100 you can have a water heater and shower installed. That brings the total price up to £10,647 – which is well under anything comparable from British manufacturers. This Starlett offers great value – and appealingly simple styling ,too.
Our text example, less than four metres in body length and only 2.1 metres wide, crams in sleeping accommodation for four – and, by day, gives you a true family eating/playing area at the rear. All for little over £9000.
The door’s on the offside, the build is visibly solid, the furniture’s chunky, the tables have thick tops and are heavier than you’d expect – heavy enough, in fact, to stay in position when you tow…
All typically continental caravan traits. The difference between this and British-built caravan style doesn’t end there. This little gem has a semi-inboard water system. In the gas bottle compartment is a 20-litre water container and a submersible pump.
Lifting 20 litres into this area isn’t difficult, because the gas bottle compartment lid is huge and hinges right up, held in place by a simple metal bracket. So your angle of lift is reasonably straight – and the water container is easy to pick up as it’s a straightforward sort with a handle on the top.
Compared with more sophisticated, in-built water systems, it’s a bit crude – but it’s 100% better than nothing!
As well as water container and two gas bottles, there’s room for a spare wheel in this compartment – although you’ll have to pay extra for it.
The list of features that contribute to the Sterckeman character goes on into the night-time mode. The rear dining area creates a single bed (straightforward) with a bunk above (less obvious).
The bunk descends from the rear wall; it’s disguised as a locker assembly. It has a sturdy wooden base that lowers easily onto supports on both sides.
There’s an option here – and a reason why this bunk unit looks like two head-height lockers, because if you don’t want to use the top bunk, you can remove the blanking plates inside the locker doors, and it becomes storage space.
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But there’s a problem about having locker doors forming part of the bed bases, the catches are not strong enough to keep the doors closed when they’re in the (horizontal upside-down bunk position, so the occupant of the lower bunk would have a flapping locker lid intruding on their bed space.
These lockers will catch closed with a little patience – but as soon as there’s any slight movement on the top bunk, they swing open again.
The table forms the centre of the lower bunk base, as is the case for the double bed that forms in the lounge.
With solid bed bases, rather than the slatted type, there’s a risk of condensation happening in response to body heat on a solid mattress surface, so it’s wise with beds of this structure to put a blanket under the upholstery sections that come together to form your mattress.
Our test, at the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Cannock site, half an hour from Sterckeman importers Freedom Caravans at Stafford, didn’t involve an overnight stay this time, but we’ve experienced solid bed bases before – and we know this easy way to overcome any potential problems works.
Considering the overall size of the caravan, the washroom is amazingly large. There’s a bench-style toilet, a good-sized basin, plastic shelves and cupboards, all very well made – but no shower, although there is enough space to have a shower, and the whole floor unit is of shower tray design – and there’s a drain hole!
Our verdict:
This caravan may have an appealingly low price, fantastic light weight and short length but it does have some glaring omissions – all of them are easily cured if you’re interested in buying one.
Budget for a spare wheel, of course (£87.99). Arrange for an extra power point in the rear dining area and an extra TV socket in the lounge.
And, for £1100 you can have a water heater and shower installed. That brings the total price up to £10,647 – which is well under anything comparable from British manufacturers. This Starlett offers great value – and appealingly simple styling ,too.
