TEC Travel King 535 TE
Image
Key Features
Model Year
2008
Product Class
Twin Axle
Price from (£)
£13729
Berths
4
Full Review
LET’S cut straight to the chase. The real appeal of the TEC 535 TE is the bedroom’s versatility. And in true German style, this one’s been stuck right at the front of the body.
What your eye initially sees as everyday fixed single beds, if of somewhat generous proportions, suddenly morphs into a fixed double.
Lift out the small central bedside tabletop, pull out the slats and the job’s done. Two 0.83m (2ft 8in) by nearly 2m (6ft 6in) singles become a double that stretches the entire width of the caravan if you use the extra foam sections provided.
Mock net curtains soften the inside of the windowless front panel, while heavy navy blue dummy curtains stand guard in each corner. Meanwhile, soft puddles of light illuminate the ceiling from concealed lighting set above the top lockers.
The bedroom is not just some multi-use area of the caravan; it really is a bedroom. The 535’s layout ensures there’s a definite ‘entrance’, with the high walls of the washroom and wardrobe on either side. It really gives you a sense of escaping the bustle going on elsewhere in the caravan.
The mattresses were so comfortable, I was convinced they were pocket sprung. Although all fixed bed bases are sprung, the mattresses themselves are merely foam.
In the the bedroom, there’s plenty of top locker storage and a useful lower slung shelf. So we have success in the bedroom.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said in the kitchen. Okay, it’s a TEC, so it’s stylish. It will also be much more sturdily built than many others around. While these and other attributes, such as the externally vented chimney hood extractor fan remain, the layout doesn’t suit the 535 TE.
The problem is that there’s no longer space for one of TEC’s legendary roll-out cupboards. These solid, versatile units underpin the practicality of the entire kitchen. In fact, there’s no pull-out unit in the kitchen at all, just a narrow double-shelved cupboard. Add to this the fact that there’s no microwave (nor space to add one), limited worktop and upper storage space, and the kitchen certainly isn’t one of the TEC’s strong points.
The unitary washroom is much more successful. Although not big, a recent update has cheered the place up a bit. It was never going to be a visually appealing place, with its mass of bland, white, moulded cupboard units, but it does highlight what’s been achieved in the rest of the caravan.
It still has the mouldings, but they now sport mock wood grained doors. There’s also a matching upper light plinth. It’s not perfect, and there are still far too many cupboards, but it’s leaps and bounds ahead of what we had before. Unsurprisingly, the loo’s a Thetford easy wipe bench variety, here with the large 19-litre wheeled cassette tank.
As you might expect of a U-shaped design in a maximum width tourer the lounge is huge; it also has the same indirect, above locker lighting as the bedroom. If you’re buying this layout it probably means you’re a touring twosome. My advice would be to ditch that huge table, buy a small stowable one and have a lounge your house would be proud of.
Weights are superb and much less than you might expect at 1158kg MRO, with a top weight of 1400kg to 1700kg depending on how you have yours plated.
As usual TEC’s engineering is mostly top notch. Sitting on one of AL-KO Kober’s larger chassis equipped with shock absorber-clad wheels and an extended ‘stability friendly’ A-frame.
You’ll also get (and might expect too) the AKS3004 hitch head stabiliser. We also liked the jockey wheels’ manoeuvring ring and huge flat A-frame cover, which took the weight of two of us while we measured it. Sat atop the chassis is a tub of two-tone, stucco-sided toughness.
However much the clean lines of smooth sided tourers may appeal, they just don’t replicate the hard-boiled demeanour of these dappled sides. Whether they’ll continue to appeal in an increasingly vanity led market is another thing.
At £14,278 on the road, you’ll be getting a competitively priced caravan with longevity thrown in for good measure.
Verdict:
Considering its build, the 535 TE should weigh more than it does. Its bedroom is versatile and oozes quality, and there’s a hugely comfortable lounge to match. The kitchen was the biggest disappointment and the washroom is still very cramped, despite being a big improvement over previous versions.
Priced where we’d expect it to be, this wide-bodied tourer has loads to offer, but this model is best used solely as a two berth. A look around the outside might divide opinion, but in most respects TEC interiors are hard to fault.
Face-file:
Price: £14,278
Berths: 4
MRO: 1158kg (22.7cwt)
MTPLM: 1400/1600/1700kg* (27.5/31.4/33.4cwt)*
Payload: 242/442/542kg* (4.7/8.7/10.6cwt)
Internal length: 6.10m (20ft)
Overall length: 7.42m (24ft 4in)
Overall width: 2.28m (7ft 6in)
Internal height: 1.95m (6ft 4in)
Overall height: 2.57m (8ft 4in
Warranty: 3 years
• A full version of this review appeared in the April 2008 issue of Which Caravan, the only magazine all about buying. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
What your eye initially sees as everyday fixed single beds, if of somewhat generous proportions, suddenly morphs into a fixed double.
Lift out the small central bedside tabletop, pull out the slats and the job’s done. Two 0.83m (2ft 8in) by nearly 2m (6ft 6in) singles become a double that stretches the entire width of the caravan if you use the extra foam sections provided.
Mock net curtains soften the inside of the windowless front panel, while heavy navy blue dummy curtains stand guard in each corner. Meanwhile, soft puddles of light illuminate the ceiling from concealed lighting set above the top lockers.
The bedroom is not just some multi-use area of the caravan; it really is a bedroom. The 535’s layout ensures there’s a definite ‘entrance’, with the high walls of the washroom and wardrobe on either side. It really gives you a sense of escaping the bustle going on elsewhere in the caravan.
The mattresses were so comfortable, I was convinced they were pocket sprung. Although all fixed bed bases are sprung, the mattresses themselves are merely foam.
In the the bedroom, there’s plenty of top locker storage and a useful lower slung shelf. So we have success in the bedroom.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said in the kitchen. Okay, it’s a TEC, so it’s stylish. It will also be much more sturdily built than many others around. While these and other attributes, such as the externally vented chimney hood extractor fan remain, the layout doesn’t suit the 535 TE.
The problem is that there’s no longer space for one of TEC’s legendary roll-out cupboards. These solid, versatile units underpin the practicality of the entire kitchen. In fact, there’s no pull-out unit in the kitchen at all, just a narrow double-shelved cupboard. Add to this the fact that there’s no microwave (nor space to add one), limited worktop and upper storage space, and the kitchen certainly isn’t one of the TEC’s strong points.The unitary washroom is much more successful. Although not big, a recent update has cheered the place up a bit. It was never going to be a visually appealing place, with its mass of bland, white, moulded cupboard units, but it does highlight what’s been achieved in the rest of the caravan.
It still has the mouldings, but they now sport mock wood grained doors. There’s also a matching upper light plinth. It’s not perfect, and there are still far too many cupboards, but it’s leaps and bounds ahead of what we had before. Unsurprisingly, the loo’s a Thetford easy wipe bench variety, here with the large 19-litre wheeled cassette tank.
As you might expect of a U-shaped design in a maximum width tourer the lounge is huge; it also has the same indirect, above locker lighting as the bedroom. If you’re buying this layout it probably means you’re a touring twosome. My advice would be to ditch that huge table, buy a small stowable one and have a lounge your house would be proud of.
Weights are superb and much less than you might expect at 1158kg MRO, with a top weight of 1400kg to 1700kg depending on how you have yours plated.
As usual TEC’s engineering is mostly top notch. Sitting on one of AL-KO Kober’s larger chassis equipped with shock absorber-clad wheels and an extended ‘stability friendly’ A-frame.
You’ll also get (and might expect too) the AKS3004 hitch head stabiliser. We also liked the jockey wheels’ manoeuvring ring and huge flat A-frame cover, which took the weight of two of us while we measured it. Sat atop the chassis is a tub of two-tone, stucco-sided toughness.
However much the clean lines of smooth sided tourers may appeal, they just don’t replicate the hard-boiled demeanour of these dappled sides. Whether they’ll continue to appeal in an increasingly vanity led market is another thing.
At £14,278 on the road, you’ll be getting a competitively priced caravan with longevity thrown in for good measure.
Verdict:
Considering its build, the 535 TE should weigh more than it does. Its bedroom is versatile and oozes quality, and there’s a hugely comfortable lounge to match. The kitchen was the biggest disappointment and the washroom is still very cramped, despite being a big improvement over previous versions.
Priced where we’d expect it to be, this wide-bodied tourer has loads to offer, but this model is best used solely as a two berth. A look around the outside might divide opinion, but in most respects TEC interiors are hard to fault.
Face-file:
Price: £14,278
Berths: 4
MRO: 1158kg (22.7cwt)
MTPLM: 1400/1600/1700kg* (27.5/31.4/33.4cwt)*
Payload: 242/442/542kg* (4.7/8.7/10.6cwt)
Internal length: 6.10m (20ft)
Overall length: 7.42m (24ft 4in)
Overall width: 2.28m (7ft 6in)
Internal height: 1.95m (6ft 4in)
Overall height: 2.57m (8ft 4in
Warranty: 3 years
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• A full version of this review appeared in the April 2008 issue of Which Caravan, the only magazine all about buying. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
