TEC Travel King 510TE
Image
Key Features
Model Year
2008
Product Class
Single Axle
Price from (£)
£13354
Berths
4
Full Review
THERE are times, I have to admit, when sharing a double bed with my dearly beloved is something neither of us wants.
Not for any reasons of marital strife, I hasten to add, but I’m an angler, and with the territory comes the occasional dawn start.
The last thing she wants is me clambering over her at four in the morning to reach my ever-present fishing rods. On the other hand, there’s nothing like a cuddle on a cold night.
So most caravanners have been forced to choose between twin and double fixed beds.
Not any more. If you invest in TEC’s Travel King 510TE, you get both, thanks to a bit of nifty space management which, until this year, was an optional extra.
The lounge is at the front, with a window. Now there’s British for you. The double dinette is converted by the slide-and-tilt table mechanism we’re now used to seeing on TEC models.
The floor rails also allow the table to be moved more centrally to free up legroom in the end seats, if required.
TEC has sensibly gone for neutral ‘Deventer’ upholstery and understated lighting and cupboard doors, giving a popular ‘minimalist’ feel.
As you’d expect, the amount of storage under the seating is more than adequate, the left seat hiding the water heater but with enough room for a caravan step and more besides.
Moving towards the back, the kitchen is on the left, next to the door. It’s a well-equipped affair, with glass-covered hob and sink, with a natty covered green waste bin behind it.
The three-burner hob is complemented by an oven/grill on the left and large fridge on the right. In common with most TECs, it has the Belle Cuisine lighting and extractor unit over it, so smells can be kept to a minimum.
Opposite the kitchen is the washroom, offering a shower, basin, loo and enough bathroom cabinets for a Hollywood star’s cosmetic collection.
TEC has done away with the sliding bedroom door which demanded space and added weight. It’s gone for a concertina screen instead, beyond which is the caravan’s USP twin bed that thinks it’s a double.
To achieve this trick, TEC has built a small, central bedside cabinet which normally sits between the twin beds.
But if you pull out the bed slats stored within the table, you can then turn the mattresses 90 degrees and form a double bed. It’s the work of a moment, and solves an age-old conundrum for fixed-bed fans.
The twin beds are long, too, with a recess into the kitchen cupboard space at the end of the left-hand bed for extra-tall people.
As with all this year’s TEC models, the mattress is the truly sumptuous Softec type.
I have to say that TEC scores its best points in the detail; the layout’s nothing unusual and nor is the specification.
What is impressive is the quality of everything installed, from the solidity of every cabinet to the functionality of the cooker hood. Everything works properly, and there are no loose bits of furniture to store before moving on to your next destination.
The TEC 510TE offers a UK-style layout with German build quality. It’s among the best fixed-twin bed caravans we’ve seen, and that’s as you’d expect given the near-£14,000 price tag.
Verdict:
TEC has really made great strides in taking the Travel King and other models to UK specification, and the 510TE hits the mark.
It’s a great layout for anyone looking for a twin-bed or double fixed bed, and the improvements to the kitchen and addition of a shower to the washroom put it high in the league of desirable caravans.
The attention to detail and build quality are its finest attributes, we think. The space is used well, and it will suit couples brilliantly – even those with a fisherman in the family!
• This review appeared in the August 2008 issue of Which Caravan magazine.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
Not for any reasons of marital strife, I hasten to add, but I’m an angler, and with the territory comes the occasional dawn start.
The last thing she wants is me clambering over her at four in the morning to reach my ever-present fishing rods. On the other hand, there’s nothing like a cuddle on a cold night.
So most caravanners have been forced to choose between twin and double fixed beds.
Not any more. If you invest in TEC’s Travel King 510TE, you get both, thanks to a bit of nifty space management which, until this year, was an optional extra.
The lounge is at the front, with a window. Now there’s British for you. The double dinette is converted by the slide-and-tilt table mechanism we’re now used to seeing on TEC models.
The floor rails also allow the table to be moved more centrally to free up legroom in the end seats, if required.
TEC has sensibly gone for neutral ‘Deventer’ upholstery and understated lighting and cupboard doors, giving a popular ‘minimalist’ feel.
As you’d expect, the amount of storage under the seating is more than adequate, the left seat hiding the water heater but with enough room for a caravan step and more besides.
Moving towards the back, the kitchen is on the left, next to the door. It’s a well-equipped affair, with glass-covered hob and sink, with a natty covered green waste bin behind it.
The three-burner hob is complemented by an oven/grill on the left and large fridge on the right. In common with most TECs, it has the Belle Cuisine lighting and extractor unit over it, so smells can be kept to a minimum.
Opposite the kitchen is the washroom, offering a shower, basin, loo and enough bathroom cabinets for a Hollywood star’s cosmetic collection. TEC has done away with the sliding bedroom door which demanded space and added weight. It’s gone for a concertina screen instead, beyond which is the caravan’s USP twin bed that thinks it’s a double.
To achieve this trick, TEC has built a small, central bedside cabinet which normally sits between the twin beds.
But if you pull out the bed slats stored within the table, you can then turn the mattresses 90 degrees and form a double bed. It’s the work of a moment, and solves an age-old conundrum for fixed-bed fans.
The twin beds are long, too, with a recess into the kitchen cupboard space at the end of the left-hand bed for extra-tall people.
As with all this year’s TEC models, the mattress is the truly sumptuous Softec type.
I have to say that TEC scores its best points in the detail; the layout’s nothing unusual and nor is the specification.
What is impressive is the quality of everything installed, from the solidity of every cabinet to the functionality of the cooker hood. Everything works properly, and there are no loose bits of furniture to store before moving on to your next destination.
The TEC 510TE offers a UK-style layout with German build quality. It’s among the best fixed-twin bed caravans we’ve seen, and that’s as you’d expect given the near-£14,000 price tag. Verdict:
TEC has really made great strides in taking the Travel King and other models to UK specification, and the 510TE hits the mark.
It’s a great layout for anyone looking for a twin-bed or double fixed bed, and the improvements to the kitchen and addition of a shower to the washroom put it high in the league of desirable caravans.
The attention to detail and build quality are its finest attributes, we think. The space is used well, and it will suit couples brilliantly – even those with a fisherman in the family!
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• This review appeared in the August 2008 issue of Which Caravan magazine.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
