Coachman Travel Master 565 low-profile motorhome

Base vehicle: Mercedes Sprinter Price from: £108,500 Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Length: 8.06m Width: 2.47m Height: 2.96m Gross weight: 4,500kg Payload: 850kg

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Coachman Travel Master 565

It’s fair to say that Coachman’s Travel Master range – the first motorhomes from this upmarket caravan brand – has got off to a flying start. The company took 22 orders on the vehicles’ debut at the NEC in February, despite virtually zero prior publicity.

And those conquest sales came at the expense of top German marques, including Carthago and Hymer. Since then, the 545 island bed model has even nabbed our Luxury Motorhome of the Year title. Some going when Coachman had never offered a motorised model before…

It hasn’t done it alone, of course, its Swedish parent company, Kabe, not only being involved in the development but also building the production vehicles. It may not be well-known here but Kabe manufactures up to 850 motorhomes a year and, being Scandinavian, it puts a major emphasis on heating and insulation, as well as safety.

This is no rebadging of a continental coachbuilt, either – the Travel Master is designed to suit the UK market, from its NCC approval to having its habitation door on the left. We’ve already examined the 545 and the French bed 560 (which, actually, is not now going to be part of the range), but, if you don’t want a double bed, the model you’ll be seeking is this 565. It shares the same lounge and kitchen as the same-length (8.06m) island bed model and the same £108,500 price tag.

The spec

Of course, it still wins motorhoming Top Trumps with its Swedish construction methods. That includes non- porous Ecoprim insulation, a double overlap where walls and roof meet, and aluminium skinned walls inside as well as out for better heat distribution. Internally, the walls are finished in a breathable carpet because Kabe is obsessive about eliminating condensation, which can freeze and cause damage.

The roofs of its motorhomes are said to be able to support four tonnes of snow and Kabe’s own cold chamber tasks every motorhome to go from minus 21 to plus 21 degrees throughout the interior in under an hour.

That’s very impressive, but where the Travel Master more obviously scores in comparison with its German rivals is the absence of a long and costly options list. You can add an awning for £1,300 but everything else is standard. The spec includes alloy wheels, a 140W solar panel, exterior shower, barbecue and TV points, and even roof-mounted Dometic Freshjet habitation air-conditioning.

As with Teutonic models, there’s a generous rear garage – 800mm wide at floor level, 1.10m high – complete with tie-downs, 12V and 230V sockets and some useful shelving. It is the only external storage, though, because there’s no double floor.

The layout

It’s also worth noting that the Coachman is wider than all its rivals, at 2.47m, and that extra width is obvious – the front lounge just seems sooo wide. Of course, the side sofa floorplan and the lack of a fixed table make it even more spacious.

The settees are well-judged for comfort, while the cab chairs contrast in black faux leather. Above the Merc cab, there’s a wind-up sunroof while the storage here is amongst the most practical we’ve seen, featuring proper cupboards and pockets with nets.

At first, there doesn’t appear to be provision for a telly, but the TV bracket is hidden in the nearside top cupboard and the screen drops down through a hatch for viewing. A Status TV aerial is fitted but not a telly.

When it comes to dining, the free-standing table slides out of its cupboard next to the fridge but the clever aspect of the lounge is the way the offside settee turns into a forward-facing double passenger seat for travel. The detailing impresses, too, from the padded ceiling, which helps with both insulation and acoustics, to the Alde underfloor heating, which feels oh-so-luxurious.

The kitchen

The kitchen carries on the British-spec theme with a domestic-style cooker (three gas rings, mains hotplate, separate grill and oven), an extractor hood above and a huge 177-litre fridge/freezer with doors that open from either side.

Where the galley really wins, however, is with its storage, including neatly divided top lockers and fiddle rails to keep cups or condiments in situ. A pull-out rack caters for tinned/packet food and the three drawers are all locked for travel with a single twist catch.

The washroom

Beyond the kitchen, the toilet door does the usual trick of closing off the back of the motorhome as an en suite, but (unlike in the 545) there’s no screen to make the bedroom itself private. The actual toilet is, slightly disappointingly, just a plastic swivel-bowl Thetford, but the space around it is generous and the basin is surrounded by loads of useful worktop.

Opposite is the shower (again generously proportioned), which has a pump to suck soapy water from the shower tray – it’s all about ensuring there’s no water left in pipes that could subsequently freeze.

The beds

It’s at the very rear, though, that the 565 has its raison d’être. Here, three steps take you up to bed, or rather, beds – twin singles each 1.98m long. Padded headboards are provided, as well as reading lights and rear speakers, but overhead lockers mean there’s not enough room to sit up – pity Coachman hasn’t fitted one of those ratchet systems to angle the bed bases and make a chaise longue arrangement.

In between the beds is a useful shelving unit, plus 230V and USB power points and a light switch for the main living area. As usual, there’s a shorter cushion in the middle and a pull-out extension, here with a ladder attached. Deploy that and the resulting transverse double is 2.18m by a minimum of 1.85m – bigger than a domestic super king size!

There are tall cupboards under the foot of each bed, but the wardrobe (alongside the toilet compartment) is rather slim, at only 210mm. With a hanging height from its rail of 1.87m, you’ll be able to take a ballgown but not a selection of them! More practical, perhaps, is the tall, shelved cupboard for folded clothes alongside the shower.

The rear beds aren’t the only sleeping option, as the 565 has the same drop-down bed as the 545, beautifully concealed in the lounge ceiling. It doesn’t obstruct the kitchen or doorway, it has its own rooflight and spotlights, bedside shelves with USBs and excellent headroom. More great design. And all this comes on a very high spec Mercedes Al-Ko chassis, making the price tag seem very competitive.