Bathurst racing key to caravan focus

"I had a team that raced at Bathurst twice in the early '70s and in '72 we won our class in the Australian Touring Car Championship and finished fourth outright with a twin-cam Escort driven by Eric Olsen," he says.

"I also built speedway race cars for years so I never stop thinking about weight. "The latest trend in caravans is that people want to tour right around Australia but they want to take everything.

Kratzmann's latest luxury caravans - the Franklin X Factor Platinum range - is packed with luxury features and a heavy duty chassis, but can be towed by mid-sized SUVs such as the Toyota Prado.

The caravans are made in Melbourne by Concept Caravans to Kraztmann's specifications. There are 10 models in the range from 5.2m-7m with the 6m model the biggest seller. Prices vary from $60,000 to $70,000.

The Platinum Pack range adds features such as a Waeco reversing camera, slide-out barbecue and external TV box. Kratsmann says the framing is made of high-quality meranti timber with minimal spacing between frames for extra strength and durability.

It also sports a 15cm Duragal heavy duty chassis, Al-Ko load-sharing leaf-spring suspension, 15-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres, pre-coated marine-grade ply flooring, dual water tanks with stone protection and tank gauge and two 9kg gas bottles.

There are a dozen different floor plans, many with family bunk bed layouts and some with en-suites. All layouts have shower and toilet with gas/electric hot water service. "This is the most highly specced van in our fleet," says Kraztmann. "It's our flagship and has all the creature comforts of a luxury hotel." 

Features include an entertainment system with flat-screen TV, DVD/CD/MP3 radio with internal and external speakers, boosted 12V windup antenna, reverse-cycle airconditioning, oven, 184-litre three-way two-door fridge/freezer, innerspring mattresses, combo plush leather upholstery options, energy efficient LED lighting and washing machine in most models.

Kratzmann caravans are only sold from the company's Burpengary showroom north of Brisbane, but Kratzmann says they sell to people around Australia. "We sold one from this range this week to a couple from Tasmania who started out travelling around Australia towing a camper van and decided they wanted more luxury," he says.

"We fly people in from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne but mainly Sydney and north Queensland and refund them a budget airfare if they buy a caravan. "A lot of them are already on the move and drop in on their travels."