04 May, 2015

Roadstar Infinity Slideout: 2015 Review

by Michael Browning

Victoria’s Roadstar Caravans’ Infinity Slideout made its public debut at the recent Victorian Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow. And Ken Nizam and his team have good reason to be proud of their new ‘baby’.

The new range-topping Infinity comes nearly seven years after the rebirth of Roadstar under its new management. During this time, we have seen the arrival of a stylish new model range and, most recently, a move from their former crowded premises in a tight side street in Coolaroo into the more spacious and now totally refurbished former Galaxy Caravan factory on prominent Cooper Street, Campbellfield.

LAYOUT & DESIGN

The aim from the outset, according to Ken, was to get the most living space possible out of a 22ft 6in caravan without taking up extra road or caravan park real estate, and the bedroom slide-out at the front of the Infinity achieves this beautifully.

By running the island queen-size bed across the van, Roadstar has gained nearly a metre of interior floorspace, which has been invested in a full wardrobe wall with a central mirrored dressing table across the front of the van, more kitchen bench space, a large cafe dinette and more ensuite space than you would normally find in a caravan of this, now-average, length.

The rear entry door between the ensuite and galley is the key to this slide-out’s success as, compared to other slide-out vans, you can access all working parts of the van at a roadside stop (without thrusting the slide into passing traffic).

But when you want to access the bed or robes and cupboards behind it, a touch on the wall switch sees the job done almost silently in less than 10 seconds. And as the slide-out happens at floor height, there is no raised flooring or tracks to trip over in the middle of the night.

Given the fitting of the front wardrobe wall, there’s no front boot as such – just a very large and totally unencumbered full tunnel boot through the body behind the twin 9kg gas cylinders on the A-frame.

With the slide-out up front, there’s no other storage room on the outside of the Infinity, although, in keeping with its all-road specification, there are twin jerry cans on the rear bumper, flanking a single spare wheel.

BEDROOM & STORAGE

The bedroom really is the interior highlight of the Infinity slide-out. Once activated, it reveals the full wardrobe wall consisting of twin double-doored robes with your personal choice of hanging space or shelves, plus large drawers below them and the mirrored centre vanity cabinet.

Add to that the five separate top-hinged cupboards above the bed and the two beneath the side tables – both served by double powerpoints – and you can see why Roadstar has specified 500kg of carrying capacity for all the things owners would like to pack into their Infinity!

Utilising the slide-out has allowed Roadstar to fit a true luxury feature to the Infinity – a 42in LED TV/DVD player that glides up silently from within a shallow cupboard at the bed end, on the awning side of the caravan, to create a home cinema effect from the comfort of your bed.

As the TV relies on 240V power to emerge from its hiding place, this is a pleasure restricted to a mains electricity supply but, if you’re free camping, there’s a second 21in LED 12V TV that can be viewed from the van’s central galley/lounge area or, alternatively, from another angled arm that swings out from an under-awning hatch in the centre of the van for outside entertainment.

KITCHEN

The kitchen, with its angled stainless steel sink and drainage tray, with separate taps for the hot/cold and filtered water, is located on the nearside wall. There is reasonable rather than exceptional bench space on the other side of the Swift three-burner gas plus one electrical hob cooktop, with grill and oven below.

Unfortunately, as in many vans, the Infinity’s dLuxx microwave is located in one of the cupboards high above the sink, making it a challenge for shorter cooks serving steaming soup! On the plus side, there’s a lot of kitchen cupboard space including a two-tier, slide-out pantry near the door.

The central dinette opposite is invitingly upholstered in plump, heavily bolstered leather, with cushions to lean against on the wall side and fold-up footrests at the other end. But there’s still only room for two, which is fine for most couples. A twin 240V powerpoint and a single 12V socket are conveniently placed for overnight appliance charging.

THE BOTTOM LINE

What’s most impressive about this caravan, though, is not so much its packaging, but how well it tows for a relative heavyweight with a Tare of 2960kg.

It says a lot for Roadstar’s experience that it felt 500kg lighter and towed superbly at all speeds behind my Land Rover Discovery and that’s good news for anyone planning to take one on a long, all-roads Australian road trip, which this van’s ideal for.