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Boroma’s new Tourista Grand Grandinata 760ST is their latest in their line of luxury caravans. Words and photography by Gil Schott Grandinata? It means hailstorm in Italian! I guess some folks would think that name is tempting fate, but the Grandinata has stormed onto the luxury caravan market with the usual Boroma style. The Boroma Tourista Grand Grandinata 760ST is a handsome 25-footer aimed squarely at the luxury tourer. It’s big and beautiful, strong as an ox and loaded with a heap of neat extras. But don’t let the size fool you. The Grandinata will handle dirt roads without fuss and let you sneak into places where a ‘standard’ luxury van would fear to tread. On The Outside Boroma vans all have a similar ‘look’, a touch of Italian style combined with loads of practicality. The Grandinata takes that a little further with moulded fibreglass front and rear panels and a full front to rear ‘glass roof. They’ve also added a touch of colour to the flanks, with coloured chequerplate skirts along both sides. It’s beige, which doesn’t appeal to me personally, but it’s much more attractive than all white, hey? The real strength of the Grandinata lies in its chassis. By crikey they build solid rigs. The double rail galvanised chassis is one of the most solid on the market, and they build them well. The van we saw was not your standard Grandinata however. For a start, this unit had Air Cruisemaster Independent Load Sharing suspension with 4.5 tonne airbags. This is fully adjustable through a control panel in the front boot, or alternatively it can be set on automatic. She (She? Do we call ‘vans ‘she’ as we do boats?) was also fitted with five alloy Royal rims and 16in tyres to suit five stud Land Cruiser hubs. Water supplies come from 3 x 65L heavy duty water tanks with 12 volt flowjet pump, with the third tank plumbed separately to a water filter. There’s also a mains water inlet and exterior tap. Along with the water systems, the power supply is designed for comfortable independent touring. Three 120 amp deep cycle glass matt batteries are installed, along with three 64 watt triple junction morphonfilament unisolar panels, a PL20 controller and a 1500 watt pure sinewave inverter. Also up on the roof you’ll find an Oyster satellite dish and an Electrolux Cal 136 roof air conditioner. Outdoor living is well catered for in the Grandinata. The big rollout awning features a centre awning support cradle and three curved roof rafters that keep things nice and taut. Up forward is a locker with a slide-out bbq and astern of this is another locker concealing a fold out flat screen TV bracket, antenna jacks and a couple of power points. External speakers and lights are fitted, along with an electric Omni double step below the three pin security entry door. In The Kitchen Positioned along the passenger side adjacent to the door, the kitchen is as good as you’ll find in any ‘van (or in some homes). A Smev four-burner grill and oven is positioned in the bench alongside the door, while forward of that is a stainless steel sink with flickmixer and pump tap. There’s plenty of work room on the benchtop and there’s more opposite if you need it. A ceramic tile splashback add a touch of class to the whole bench area. Below the bench there are plenty of cupboards and drawers (including a pull out ironing board that masquerades as a drawer, plus there’s a slide out rubbish bin). Above is a 12-volt range hood, downlights and another five overhead storage lockers. The cabinetry is all quality, with good timber and a nice finish, as it is throughout the Grandinata. Opposite the cooktop on the driver’s side is a Waeco RPD 190l 12-volt fridge and alongside is a 20L microwave. There is extra bench area here and a neat timber roller door conceals a Dometic front loading washing machine. There is also a swing out TV mount here to allow you to rock back on the lounge and watch the soapies while the washing’s on. At The Dinette Ahh, the dinette. Well, it’s a lounge really, a lovely curved number that will seat half a dozen folks comfortably. The oval table is nice, but those six friends would have trouble getting all their plates and stuff on there. You also have to sit forward a bit to the table, but that’s no big deal. The lounge is very comfortable though, with very good cushioning under-bum and ‘antelope’ pattern cushioning at your back. It’s perfect for an afternoon lazing back watching the cricket (mind you, in summer you can do that outside with this rig). Above are stacks of storage lockers and there are powerpoints and four individual downlights around the dinette. Big windows flank the dinette on three sides, giving it a very bright and airy feel. There’s also a Heki hatch above. If I have any gripe about this area it’s the bamboo pattern wall linings around the dinette (and also in the bedroom). It’s a personal taste thing, of course, but I thought it made everything too ‘brown’. Guess I’m just not a brown person. In The Bedroom The bedroom occupies the entire forward section of the Grandinata and features a queen sized bed, with room to move around it. At the head there are individual reading lights and alongside are bedside tables with a smalls drawer and locker beneath. These bedside tables are the biggest I’ve seen, with loads of room to leave your books, glasses, coffee cup and what fellow RV reviewer Richard Robertson sometimes describes as “bedtime knick-knacks” (I wonder what they are? The mind boggles, Richard!). Above the bedhead are five good lockers and at the bed ends are two smaller corner cupboards for odds and ends. Between the bedroom and the kitchen on the passenger side is a big mirrored-door wardrobe with plenty of hanging space. Two big side windows and a smaller one above the bedhead provide light and air, and there’s also a Heki hatch above. If you like watching telly in bed there’s yet another swing out TV mount for the bedroom. Keeping Clean Positioned along the driver’s side opposite kitchen, the bathroom is very Boroma – it’s a beaut. The toilet section features a Vacuflush toilet, with a corner vanity with drawer and cupboard, and decorated with a ceramic tile splashback. A Truma gas/electric hot water system keeps the hot water up to the van and there are cupboards overhead. Towel rails are within easy reach. The separate shower recess is a full one-piece fibreglass unit with a 12 volt exhaust hatch and light. A glass/aluminium shower door adds a homey touch. Small windows allow light and air to circulate. Worth Buying? The Grandinata is a heck of a caravan. It’s got all the makings of a home away from home and the model we looked at is fitted out with ‘the works’. It’s very comfy, very practical and it looks good (well, except for that bamboo inside). It’s also nicely put together, very well finished and lends itself to both caravan park or independent camping. Being big and solid, it’s also pretty heavy, which limits the choice of tow vehicle. With an ATM of 3500kg it’s right at the limit of the Landcruiser towing range and I would think an F250 would be more practical (and probably safer). The Boroma Tourista Grand Grandinata 760ST is not a cheap caravan, but Boroma are not into building cheapies. They build a lot into their vans and they back them up with good service. If you have the wherewithall and want a luxury touring caravan with lots of independent capability, the Grandinata is well worth a look. SPECIFICATIONS THANKS TO |
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