Our Van
Our van is a 2017 Essential Exceed Series II from Essential Caravans.
The van is 21 foot, model 6.1, with a Queen bed up the front, kitchen with full oven, 3 way 190L fridge, microwave, 3kg washing machine, heaps of storage space, a full ensuite (separate toilet and shower), twin 100L fresh water tanks, 100L grey water tank, 23L hot water tank (Gas/Electric), internal and external TV mounting brackets and cabling, 17ft awning with shade screens and full annex walls, toolbox on the drawbar, Bike rack sitting over that and now a diesel heater too.
The original purchaser requested quite a few upgrades, including:
- Semi Offroad pack (independent suspension, 2in riser to the chassis, 6in draw bar, extended draw bar with tool box)
- silver cladding instead of white
- outdoor TV cabinet
- outdoor fold down picnic table, and,
- an ATM upgrade, which gives it a 940kg payload! (2415 tare, 3355 ATM).
For us being on the road full time the ATM upgrade gives us plenty of leeway to carry the extras you would normally not take on a few weeks holiday, like the coffee machine, extra fuel, 200L water, summer and winter clothes etc.
The layout:
We are very impressed with the fit and finish of the van, everything works and looks good! Here are some pics of the inside from the original advertisement:
Update.. 2 years into our trip and the photos of the annex walls set up was the only time it was every used. A few weeks back whilst in WA we bit the bullet and packed them up and shipped them back to our Daughters for safe keeping. 40kg of extra stuff we lugged around and didn’t use!
Guys .. what’s the floor mat please? Any issues with parks and porosity? Thanks.
Hi Nik, the mat is the Diamond Pattern from Recycled Mats. They are made from 100% recycled plastics and are constructed of hollow plastic tubes about 3mm diameter woven into a mat. They are really comfortable to walk on because of the tubes! In the 20 months so far we have been on the road we have been asked by one park to not use it as we were staying for 3 weeks (they allow them for a few days to a week no problem), another had a sign saying no plastic or non-breathable mats, that’s it, just the two sites in nearly 2 years full time. We also now have a cGear mat for use on grass sites, as we don’t want to knowingly kill the grass of course. Majority of the sites we have been on so far though have been concrete or plastic slab or another mat of some sort so it hasn’t been an issue. Cheers, Dave.
Great information. We start our family’s next great adventure with a quality caravan, and create unforgettable memories on the open road. Thank You