Venus 380/2

The Venus 380/2 is a classic two-berth layout in an ultra lightweight caravan that looks a long way up from its budget status.

Lunar Caravans has built its reputation on making tourers that are lighter in weight than many of its competitors. By careful selection of materials, in recent years, Lunar has at the same time managed to produce caravans that don’t look as if they’re light in weight. For several years, though, Lunar has not had a specific budget range of caravans.
But then came the Venus, built in the Lunar factory to take on the likes of the Sprite, Orion and Xplore. And with its own standalone brand, Venus.
 

Showering

Basic but functional. Although the shower room is narrow, it’s still possible to bend over the sink without one’s rump forcing open the door opposite. The large mirror does its part in emphasising light levels but in reality this Venus shower room just sets out to achieve the bare minimum. Forgive it that, though, for this caravan comes in under £12,000 including its £399 pack that gives you the vital items of hitch-head stabiliser and spare wheel.
Many caravanners will take issue with the unlined shower, though; the expectancy is for plastic walls in a shower simply because most caravans have that feature.
 

Sleeping

With the central slats pulled out, the forward double forms easily in the time-honoured fashion with no quirks or foibles to irritate.
The amply wide and flat windowsill acts as a very long bedside table. Budget caravan, maybe, but tha ‘s not the feeling you get sitting on the Venus’s sprung upholstery during our test day. Only an overnight stay will tell if that translates into a good night’s sleep but the signs are good.

 
Storage

It’s the smaller caravans such as this 380/2 that most benefit from Whale’s new under-floor mounted blown-air heat source. Where storage was at a premium, now it’s simply ‘premium’.
    The sideboard unit opposite the kitchen will handle most of the everyday logistics and it’s certainly up to the job. The presence of the wheel arch in the base of this storage space tries to spoil the show but in truth has a negligible affect on what is this caravan’s key storage area. Like the rest of the caravan, the sideboard styling has been kept simple, and so melds itself perfectly with the rest of the Venus’s interior.
The neat row of upper lockers wends its way from the door and around the front panel before halting at the kitchen’s bulkier offerings.
 

Dining

Dining in this caravan means taking the table out from its cupboard in the wardrobe and erecting it in the lounge. Nothing new here, then. But again it’s that open ambiance, that bright appealing space to be in when eating and drinking, that counts. No curtains mid-window to interrupt your view, no chest of drawers to clobber your knees. Even without the table in place, this can be an area for snacks. The wide windowsill can accommodate small plates with ease and the lower shelf that covers the bed slats offers more  space for drinks or biscuits.
 

Lounging

For me as a testy tester this is a high point. Whilst the central area might be the hub of the caravan, the lounge is certainly the home.
The 380’s lounge is a place of quiet, light calm. From the lounge viewpoint, it certainly doesn’t feel that you’re in a small, ultra lightweight caravan. Soft furnishings and décor are, of course, entirely subjective. But, for the record, the upholstery works perfectly in my personal universe of palettes and poufs preferences.
 

Kitchen

Thetford’s neat triangular three-burner hob nestles snuggly into the space above the single-unit combination oven and grill. In theory, both the three-burner hob and combined oven-grill are usually deemed inferior to their four-burner and full-on oven and separate grill counterparts. Or are they? My guess is that Venus buyers won’t care, and simply rejoice in the extra space gained and weight saved.
And space in the kitchen carries on where the previous storage discipline left off. The use of Whale’s under-floor mounted blown air central heating system makes it possible for the fridge to be taken out of its familiar low kitchen home and sited beneath the wardrobe. Instantly, this move creates well over 200 litres of storage space.

 
Towing

Considering a light tow weight is the entire point of the Venus, you’d be surprised if it fell on its face here. And, as anticipated, the figures tell their own persuasive story with this larger of the two Venus two-berths still weighing less than a tonne. And that’s fully loaded.
Add in the accessory pack (£399) that gives you, amongst other goodies, AL-KO’s hitch-head stabiliser, and you have a caravan that appears well-tamed before it hits the road.
Normally the absence of shock absorbers is questionable, but the sprung mass in the 380/2 is so low, they’re hardly missed. Our assessment in this section is, unusually, based on theory only; we weren’t able to take this prototype out on the road because it was fresh from an exhibition and ALL its road lights had been wired to stay on all the time! We’re sure in the not-too-distant future we’ll be able to put our Venus tow theories to the test.

The Venus 380/2 is a classic two-berth layout in an ultra lightweight caravan that looks a long way up from its budget status.