FAMILY FRIENDLY FRANKLIN

Back when Holden Kingswoods roamed the earth, family caravans were quite common. However, they didn’t have the look of family vans of today — or at least the ones I was familiar with didn’t. Basic features, like a two-burner cooktop, an under-bench fridge and a small washing up sink with hand or foot pumped water, were there. Beds usually consisted of a fold down or basic fixed bed in the rear and a dinette that folded down into a bed at night in a not always quick process. As teenagers, we were grateful when the canvas annexe and external bunk beds came along.

If the Franklin Razor 220 bunk van I took for a spin recently was any guide, things have changed. Franklin, one of the few big caravan manufacturer names left over from the 1970s, is Melbourne based and run under Concept Caravans. Franklin manufactures a range of caravans, both on-road and offroad,