Caretta Off Road caravan test

In the last week of July, courtesy of Rafał Bieżuński - the exclusive distributor of Caretta trailers on the Polish market, I had the opportunity to test the off-road Off Road model. We traveled with two adults and a two-year-old child. We spent seven nights in the caravan at two different campsites and traveled 400 km on different (Polish) roads, which allowed us to get to know the pros and cons of the caravan.

Small tear drop trailers are especially close to my heart. I have a similar caravan myself and I have been traveling with it for two years. I believe that a small and, above all, light trailer, especially in combination with a small bus, is a perfect set. In the article below, I will try to present my subjective opinion about this Caretta Off Road model, but also present the advantages of traveling with such a small trailer, based on my own two-year experience. We wrote about this caravan in February 2017, when the first model appeared in Poland - you can read the article here: Caretta Off Road now also in Poland .

Unique design on big wheels

The streamlined and at the same time small body of the trailer, suspended high on large off-road tires, with a spare wheel and a shovel on the roof, attracts attention from a distance. Massive piping around the perimeter of the trailer will definitely work well when driving off-road and prevent costly repairs of the sheathing.

Its appearance is so unique that driving through Łeba or Jastarnia I felt as if I was driving the latest Lamborghini model. At the campsite, we had the opportunity to meet most of the guests in person, because the desire to see the caravan up close attracted whole families to us.

The trailer was built on an AL-KO chassis with independent suspension of each wheel. The chassis has been equipped with an overrun brake, which I strongly recommend. I believe that even in such a light trailer (curb weight approx. 600 kg) it greatly improves driving comfort and safety. In my opinion, the track stabilizer, which the trailer was equipped with, can be skipped, but on the other hand, it is possible that it was thanks to it that the trailer stuck to the car towing it so well on winding and narrow roads.

At the front of the trailer, a streamlined laminate trunk is mounted, in which there is a battery and Eberspacher D2 heating together with a diesel fuel tank. Heating will certainly be useful during trips in colder periods. The one installed in the tested model effectively makes us independent of access to electricity, which can be very important during field trips.

The remaining space in the trunk is enough to hide various camping accessories or a vestibule, which can be useful to enlarge the seating area (especially during rain). Unfortunately, the material from which the trunk was made is not entirely convincing to me - it gives the impression that it could easily crack or be damaged in any other way, especially when driving off-road. With this type of trailer, I would prefer a solid steel trunk that you could even stand on to mount something on the roof rack. Rafał Bieżuński, however, assured me that neither the customers nor him had suffered any damage so far, although he regularly drives with a trailer in difficult terrain.

Kitchen

When I tell anyone that in this caravan, apart from the bed, there is also a kitchen equipped from A to Z (well, maybe without a dishwasher), they don't believe me. But as soon as I open the tailgate, this is what they see:

As you can see, the kitchen has been equipped with many cabinets and storage compartments, in which we can fit much more than just dishes and provisions. On the right side there should be a fridge - unfortunately it was removed during the tests because it needed servicing. On the left side, under the countertop, there are two cabinets. In one of them, a small tourist gas cylinder is hidden, which powers a single-burner stove. The bottle is enough for us for the whole season, unless we plan real culinary revolutions during our expeditions.

Behind the cabinets there is a place for a 60-liter clean water tank and a 50-liter dirty water tank. Water was supplied to a small but practical sink located right next to the stove. I consider it an ideal solution, sufficient for a basic toilet, cooking or quick washing of dishes.

Living room and bedroom in one

What seems to be the biggest surprise is hidden inside this tiny trailer - and this is the sleeping area. It consists of a fairly large bed, in which we slept very comfortably with our son. And I know people who traveled with this caravan in a 2 + 2 composition and were also satisfied.

Above the legs there are capacious cabinets in which you can hide enough clothes for a short trip. If someone needs more space for clothes, remember that the caravan is towed by a car, in which we can also transport luggage.

An additional, quite capacious storage compartment is located behind the headrest and when closed, it can be used as a practical shelf for books or a telephone.

Very wide doors are an undoubted advantage of this caravan and allow for comfortable getting in and out. The doors are equipped with a practical storage compartment and sliding windows, which, when opened from both sides, effectively ventilate the interior of the trailer. A better solution, however, would be windows that can be tilted upwards, which will protect the interior against rain and at the same time allow for ventilation.

A tilting window made of transparent plastic has been installed in the roof, which at the same time illuminates the trailer, but unfortunately also heats it up. A better solution would be to use a full window, which, if necessary, could be tilted to ventilate the interior - it would not, however, cause heating. Unfortunately, roller blinds, although they are installed in all windows, allow only a slight shading of the interior, but do not block the access of light. This can be especially troublesome during trips to warmer regions of the world. Mosquito nets installed in each window are a nice solution, thanks to which we do not have to worry about insects, even if we sleep with the windows ajar.

The whole trailer has very good and atmospheric lighting powered by a battery placed in the trunk at the front of the trailer. In the sleeping area, you can't complain about the lack of 12 V and USB charging outputs. However, I missed the 12 V output in the kitchen part to connect the coffee machine - but thanks to that I was able to make coffee without leaving the bed.

The mounted radio with speakers in our case did not quite work out. We have all the music and fairy tales for the child on the tablet, and we connect to our portable speaker via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the installed radio lacked such a function.

Summary

As I mentioned at the beginning, such a small trailer combined with a van is a perfect set for us. We do not need a toilet or bathroom in the caravan, because we always use campsites, and toilets are always there.

A small trailer allows us to move quickly on the road without significantly increasing the car's fuel consumption. Since we have a bedroom in a separate cabin, if necessary, we can leave it at the campsite and explore the area by car.

If it rains, we hide under an awning or in a car with a table and swivel armchairs - we can comfortably spend many hours there, even in four people. However, if someone does not have such a large car, they can attach an inflatable vestibule to the trailer, which unfolds in 3 minutes. In this way, we will significantly increase the living space where you can hide in the rain.

I can recommend Caretta to anyone looking for a small but comfortable caravan. And if you also like to ride off-paved trails, you care about low insurance costs and no need to carry out annual technical inspections, then it will certainly be the perfect trailer.

I liked:

• design,
• dimensions and weight,
• wide door,
• AL-KO chassis and overrun brake,
• Eberspacher heating,
• kitchen.

I would like it better if:

• blinds were installed in the windows, which will shade the interior more,
• door locks were of better quality,
• in the kitchen there is a 12 V output,
• bicycles could be mounted on the drawbar or on the roof.