Camp Like-a King
My family and I took many camping tours of New Zealand. We usually tented. A hurricane or other special occasion might warrant a cabin or maybe a friend’s caravan. Let’s make it clear, a definite hierarchy existed in camping accommodation. Tent camping was at the bottom. People with single-room tents were entry-level. Then you got the multi-room family tents. That was us: above the bottom – but not far above. Cosy we called it. An awning covered the cooking equipment. Not a problem in good weather but if it rained or snowed then Mum was exiled into the weather to cook while Dad dashed around to stop the leaks. Kids would huddle inside around the Scrabble set that was older than me. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Because at first… I didn’t know another way.
An entire class higher was the pop-up camper. Half trailer and half tent, a pop-up exuded cool in the 80s. They always bought majestic colours to represent the period; reds, browns and golds were almost mandatory. Our family friends obtained a pop-up so they were cool. I always wanted to stay in the pop-up. Above the pop-ups were the caravans. The classic small Kiwi caravan and the ‘big’ caravan. A caravan was a true status symbol in New Zealand. You’d truly made it if you towed with a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon, and you could look out across the campground with a commanding view of the minions.
In the latter part of my camping years, a new king of the campground appeared. The campervan. They came in different sizes from small to large. Any self-contained camper you could stand up in was a class above anything made with canvas or towed. We are not talking about a converted car here, where you lie the seats down and sleep in the back — that means you are a hobo. And not a delivery van with a tiny futon and a primus – that makes you a student. No. This is a whole different story. A campervan made you top-tog, the Wall Street to the Main Street of the camping ground.
After many years in canvas, I was campervan curious, leading me to this Laika. A deluxe Italian coach-builder founded in 1964, Laika uses a Fiat Ducato light truck as a base and performs a stylish fit-out. There are many variations, I took an EcoVIP L3019. In the Campervan lexicon, it’s known officially as a ‘low-profile’, a sleek self-contained luxury hotel room on wheels.
With the Laika, It’s business up front and pleasure out back. Everything you need for a more refined existence on the road If you haven’t driven a truck-based vehicle before you are in for a treat. You get an excellent lock, important with a vehicle of size, unrivalled forward visibility, enormous mirrors, truly comfortable seating, and a cab that you can stand up in and stretch your legs. However, don’t do this while you are driving. A very spacious driver’s area with swivelling captain’s seats, armrests and a whole lot more. High driver positioning gives you excellent visibility and the large wheels mean you ride over any pothole without a commotion.
You know you have gone from the bottom of the pecking order to the top and when you turn up with this palace. In a camping ground, you do get a few looks and whispers, quickly giving way to an orderly queue of people wanting to know every possible detail. You start conducting tours.
Storage space abounds. You can pack anything you can think of but don’t take the kitchen sink because it’s got two already. The kitchen is well appointed with a multi-burner gas hob and oven and a high-quality fridge freezer unit can run off mains gas or hook up power. The interior is beautifully finished with a dark wood grain style. The quality of the finishing is uniformly very high and everywhere you look there’s another container or compartment to hold something just where you need it. The bedding is a rear permanent bed that converts from two singles with a huge double plus a genius lowering second double bed above the eating area for a second couple or kids.
On the technology front, there are a large number of USB ports sprinkled around the vehicle from back to front. The entertainment head unit is comprehensive and while internal lacking navigation, connects fairly simply to find through Bluetooth or cable to give navigation through your phone. Lighting is graciously designed with quality switches conveniently located. Again the window options are very comprehensive with blinds and insect covers integrated for privacy and protection. A very clever swivelling compartment means you get a separate shower and toilet by moving a hidden wall. It’s ingenious and very effective. Being able to have a shower when you are on a camping holiday is an absolute treat and the high water pressure from the onboard pump is powered by the house battery. The driver and passenger seats swivel to form a fairly large seating area with room for at least five. Additional squabs turn the rear seats into a comfortable couch with a table that can be set to any level you want and rotated as required.
Storage is comprehensive. With lots of cubbies and nooks available for tucking everything from clothing to shoes to hardware with such a large array of storage, I put everything I could in the multitude of compartments with the interior as uncluttered as possible. One of the truly Deluxe features of this camper is the extraordinary amount of space it has in the rear – at the cost of a two-meter real overhang, it has storage space that can only be described as enormous. There are all manner of combinations that you could use for using the space. Don’t hang your bikes off the back, put them in the garage. Want to take that barbecue? Throw it in the garage. Chairs, table, boxes of food? No problem, throw them in the lockable garage. I didn’t use the ski compartment, it was summer after all.
This is a fairly substantial vehicle. The diesel motor hauls it well along highways and byways and far smaller roads. It’s no problem to manage once you’re used to the more truck style of driving and the fantastic lock makes it surprisingly easy to manoeuvre. It is higher off the ground, yet it’s not a problem getting into the accommodation as the retractable steps ensure young and old will have no problem.
Backing is not for the faint-hearted and you’re going to do what you can to park where you can pull forwards instead of backing up. Yet with a reversing camera and excellent mirrors, you quickly adapt.
A full tank of gas indicated just over a 500-kilometer range which made sense once I remembered just how large the vehicle is, up to 3.5 tons with people and the thousand items you have packed in the garage. I might keep an extra store of fuel in the garage if I planned a long trip.
This is a top-end unit, just right for one or two couples. A holiday on demand: Fully set up and ready to go. Gazebo loaded, chair and tables packed, a full gas tank, just get up and go. It would be a treat. I drove the Laika for nearly two weeks and loved the freedom and options it enabled. I took it over a combination of sealed and unsealed, main and minor roads with a few stop-and-go nights on the road and an extended stay at a festival. It was a drivable hotel room, a palace. Meals were prepared in the full kitchen, bread was baked, and cocktail parties were hosted. I couldn’t think of a better way to camp. A luxury camper van / RV / Motorhome, call it what you will, combines luxury living with ‘end of the unsealed road’ adventuring, and of course the title of ‘King of the camp-ground’. I’m spoiled now.
Thank you to the RV Super Center for the vehicle.
After many years in canvas, I was campervan curious, leading me to this Laika. A deluxe Italian coach-builder founded in 1964, Laika uses a Fiat Ducato light truck as a base and performs a stylish fit-out. There are many variations, I took an EcoVIP L3019. In the Campervan lexicon, it’s known officially as a ‘low-profile’, a sleek self-contained luxury hotel room on wheels.
With the Laika, It’s business up front and pleasure out back. Everything you need for a more refined existence on the road If you haven’t driven a truck-based vehicle before you are in for a treat. You get an excellent lock, important with a vehicle of size, unrivalled forward visibility, enormous mirrors, truly comfortable seating, and a cab that you can stand up in and stretch your legs. However, don’t do this while you are driving. A very spacious driver’s area with swivelling captain’s seats, armrests and a whole lot more. High driver positioning gives you excellent visibility and the large wheels mean you ride over any pothole without a commotion.
You know you have gone from the bottom of the pecking order to the top and when you turn up with this palace. In a camping ground, you do get a few looks and whispers, quickly giving way to an orderly queue of people wanting to know every possible detail. You start conducting tours.
Storage space abounds. You can pack anything you can think of but don’t take the kitchen sink because it’s got two already. The kitchen is well appointed with a multi-burner gas hob and oven and a high-quality fridge freezer unit can run off mains gas or hook up power. The interior is beautifully finished with a dark wood grain style. The quality of the finishing is uniformly very high and everywhere you look there’s another container or compartment to hold something just where you need it. The bedding is a rear permanent bed that converts from two singles with a huge double plus a genius lowering second double bed above the eating area for a second couple or kids.
On the technology front, there are a large number of USB ports sprinkled around the vehicle from back to front. The entertainment head unit is comprehensive and while internal lacking navigation, connects fairly simply to find through Bluetooth or cable to give navigation through your phone. Lighting is graciously designed with quality switches conveniently located. Again the window options are very comprehensive with blinds and insect covers integrated for privacy and protection. A very clever swivelling compartment means you get a separate shower and toilet by moving a hidden wall. It’s ingenious and very effective. Being able to have a shower when you are on a camping holiday is an absolute treat and the high water pressure from the onboard pump is powered by the house battery. The driver and passenger seats swivel to form a fairly large seating area with room for at least five. Additional squabs turn the rear seats into a comfortable couch with a table that can be set to any level you want and rotated as required.
Storage is comprehensive. With lots of cubbies and nooks available for tucking everything from clothing to shoes to hardware with such a large array of storage, I put everything I could in the multitude of compartments with the interior as uncluttered as possible. One of the truly Deluxe features of this camper is the extraordinary amount of space it has in the rear – at the cost of a two-meter real overhang, it has storage space that can only be described as enormous. There are all manner of combinations that you could use for using the space. Don’t hang your bikes off the back, put them in the garage. Want to take that barbecue? Throw it in the garage. Chairs, table, boxes of food? No problem, throw them in the lockable garage. I didn’t use the ski compartment, it was summer after all.
This is a fairly substantial vehicle. The diesel motor hauls it well along highways and byways and far smaller roads. It’s no problem to manage once you’re used to the more truck style of driving and the fantastic lock makes it surprisingly easy to manoeuvre. It is higher off the ground, yet it’s not a problem getting into the accommodation as the retractable steps ensure young and old will have no problem.
Backing is not for the faint-hearted and you’re going to do what you can to park where you can pull forwards instead of backing up. Yet with a reversing camera and excellent mirrors, you quickly adapt.
A full tank of gas indicated just over a 500-kilometer range which made sense once I remembered just how large the vehicle is, up to 3.5 tons with people and the thousand items you have packed in the garage. I might keep an extra store of fuel in the garage if I planned a long trip.
This is a top-end unit, just right for one or two couples. A holiday on demand: Fully set up and ready to go. Gazebo loaded, chair and tables packed, a full gas tank, just get up and go. It would be a treat. I drove the Laika for nearly two weeks and loved the freedom and options it enabled. I took it over a combination of sealed and unsealed, main and minor roads with a few stop-and-go nights on the road and an extended stay at a festival. It was a drivable hotel room, a palace. Meals were prepared in the full kitchen, bread was baked, and cocktail parties were hosted. I couldn’t think of a better way to camp. A luxury camper van / RV / Motorhome, call it what you will, combines luxury living with ‘end of the unsealed road’ adventuring, and of course the title of ‘King of the camp-ground’. I’m spoiled now.
Thank you to the RV Super Center for the vehicle.
