1980 Fleet of foot
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Published by the Caravan Club in the 1980's
Pictures provided by one of our members of their caravan prior to restoration (Jan 2014)
The new Colchester 1300 De-Luxe tows superbly, but how does it rate otherwise?
Like a number of caravan manufacturers this year, Fleetwood caravans have created a new range of vans by more or less simply uprating their basic range.
Not that this is a bad thing. On the contrary, it is a most sensible move as it cuts down production costs by allowing the same body and furniture design and construction to be used. It also offers the buyer an option of the same van with or without all the extras.
In Fleetwood's case, the Colchester range bas been up rated and four of the body shells are now fitted with extras such as a fridge, oven, heater and double glazing to make up the new Colchester De-Luxe range.
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Besides the new fitments, the new DL range is, strictly speaking, not identical to the standard range. A quick glance may give this impression, as the body sizes and colouring are identical. However the keen eye will notice that the DL has a different roof construction, which is in three pans as opposed to the standard's two. |
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The DL range consists of four vans - 13ft two and fourth berth, a 15ft and a 17-footer which sleep four. For our test we chose the 1300 - the 13ft four berth - because, in our opinion, it should prove the most popular of the range. The 1300's layout is a well proven and tested one, which is adopted by most manufacturers in one form or another. It consists of a front dinette, which converts into a double bed, a kitchen unit in the centre on the nearside, toilet and wardrobe opposite, with the rear section taken up with a single dinette, which also converts into a bed plus a fold-down bunk located above the rear window. |
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Well insulated
The van's bodyshell is constructed of 22swg pre-finished aluminium cladding attached to a softwood frame, with 3mrn plywood interior cladding. The walls, ceiling and floor are insulated in a number of different ways. The side walls have 13116 inch polystyrene core, the roof Fibreglass and the end walls with 1 inch Purl Board bonded to aluminium sheet. The floor is a sandwich of 26mm polyurethane bonded to 9mm Douglas fir ply on the top and 3mm marine ply on the underside. To complete the picture, the windows are double glazed and imported from Polyplastic in Holland.
The bodyshell rests on a new Al-ko chassis which saves weight due to its unusual design. Unlike most chassis which are rectangular, the Al-ko is simply a long V shape. This new unit is undoubtedly a departure in touring chassis designs. The heavily galvanised main frame is of bolted construction, having none of the problems of manufacture associated with welded chassis.
This new chassis, fitted throughout the Fleetwood range, gives the van a unique look as the chassis is clearly visible underneath the caravan bodyshell. Because of the unusual design, the front corner steadies face out towards the corner of the van instead of straight ahead. In essence this makes no difference at all to the van's stability. What is highly practical, however, is the extra big jockey wheel with an inflatable tyre which will not easily get bogged down.
| All Fleetwood caravans, including the Melford range, have the same distinct exterior colour scheme of magnolia with a chestnut waistband and a side flash completely above the windows. The corners, front and rear have a smooth-radius curve to help towing characteristics. The A-frame sports only a gas locker. This does not make the van unattractive as one might think as the galvanising literally shines. |
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The 1300, considering all its standard equipment, has a fairly modest unladen weight of 14.76cwt, and a loading margin of 3cwt giving it a mgw of 17.71cwt. This is more than ample taking into account all the extras already fitted.
To test the van's stability on the road, we towed it behind our Princess 2000 and Cortina 1.6GL in all types of conditions from the wet and blustery to the warm and dry. Up to speeds of 70rnph on our test track never once did we experience any signs of misbehaviour. The van was well balanced and a pleasure to tow.
As we mentioned earlier, the 1300 bas a conventional layout at each end with kitchen, toilet and wardrobe in the centre. Fleetwood have created a cosy atmosphere inside the 1300 by careful choice of decor.
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The interior colour scheme is conservative and tasteful. The floor, but for a small section in front of the door which is wisely covered with a rubber mat, is covered in a plain light brown carpet, which proved to be a very impractical choice. All the sidewalls and wood furnishings have a simulated wood veneer covering of alpine oak and teak. The ceiling, with its off-white vinyl, has dark cream plastic mouldings concealing the joins. The soft furnishings are just as tasteful. Plain rust-coloured unlined curtains match the seat cushions which are striped in rust, brown and oatmeal and look very attractive. |
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Front dinette The front dinette is perfectly functional. Four people can sit to a meal comfortably without any restrictions. The hook-on table is at an ideal height and its exposed corners are cut away to avoid giving anyone a sharp jab as they move in to sit down. The four-inch thick seat cushions are rolled at the front edges for comfort. |
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To make up the front double bed, the table's tubular legs are folded up flat against the table which is lowered to rest on the seat base. This makes a flat base on which the cushions can be rearranged to make a tight-fitting, comfortable mattress measuring a substantial 6ft 6in by 3ft 10in.
The rear dinette is not quite as functional due to the bunk fixed above the rear window. This bunk has a base made up of two sections of wood which rest on supports on the side of the van. The base concertinas against the rear wall. The problem is that under normal circumstances it protrudes outwards 10in. This means that adults sitting below have to watch they don't crack their heads. The base can be pushed in four more inches if the mattress is taken out from behind the base. However, this is not really the answer as you have to find a place to store the 6ft 6in mattress - a problem in a van of this size. Nevertheless as a two seater dinette, it is serviceable.
Making up the two beds at the rear of the van is just as simple as with the double bed. The top bunk's two-part hinged wood base is released from its security catch which allows it to unfold flat. A cushion located behind it opens out to form a mattress 6ft 6in by 2ft 1in. As this mattress is only 2in thick, it is only suitable for children. Headroom over the bunk is quite restricted but it is good below.
Fleetwood have designed a fairly large-sized tubular guard which fits into the bunk to prevent anyone rolling off, and also provide a separate ladder for easy access. Ladder is clipped to the toilet room bulkhead during the day to keep it out of the way.
Curtain divider
The bottom bunk is made up the same way as the double with the table dropping onto the seat bases and the 4in cushions making up a mattress measuring 6ft 6in by 2ft 3in. A curtain divides this rear area of the van.
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The toilet room in the 1300DL is a treasure. Floor area is 41in by 26in which is bigger than one would expect in a van of this class. Fleetwood have given the toilet room the full treatment as far as equipment is concerned. The basin is a large fixed plastic unit that stretches right across the width of the room. Underneath the sink is a 6in-deep cupboard with a fall-from flap. Above the sink is a sizeable roof locker which has mirror-faced sliding doors. To make life easier, an electric pump feeds water to the sink. Small touches like a toothbrush holder, toilet roll holder and towel ring add nice finishing points. This toilet room is not perfect however. One of its flaws is its door height of only 5ft 9in – Just the right height for the tallish person to bang his head. Another small flaw which mars its excellence: is the placing of the water pumps - a Whale GP7404 and a GP51 foot-pump and footswitch - beside the wheel arch! Although it may still have enough room for the newer, smaller portable toilets, there wasn't enough room under the basin for our somewhat old large loo. |
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Opposite the toilet compartment is the kitchen unit which is thoroughly conventional in design. It consists of a stainless steel combination on top of the floor unit which also contains a Flavel oven under the grill and an Electrolux RM212 fridge under the sink. Water is supplied by an on/off swivel faucet and a foot switch activates the pump. The foot-operated standby pump is in the toilet room. The unit is placed in front of a window. At least the chef or dishwasher can look outside instead of at a blank wall when doing the chores. Strangely enough, this window is the only window in the van which does not open. It is fitted with a floral-pattern roller blind. Fleetwood have fitted a fume hood to the De-Luxe models above the cooker. This is basically just a rounded object which, to theory, is supposed to catch cooking odours etc, and funnel them out of a side vent. Unfortunately, when the cooker top is up, it blocks two thirds of the vent. However, there is a large double glazed roof vent overhead. |
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Storage facilities on the 1300 are excellent. Kitchen storage space consists of a cutlery drawer, floor level storage and a central compartment in the nob which has two largish wire baskets - ideal for vegetables and other perishables. A battery of roof lockers run right round the front of the van from above the kitchen to the wardrobe. Lefthand flap above the kitchen reveals a moulded plastic crockery rack, a good precaution against breakages.
Storage space
The wardrobe, placed next to the toilet compartment, is large and quite well designed. It has two doors, the larger reveals the 18in hanging rail which has a hanging depth of 64in and the smaller the four 20in by 10in shelves, which need an extra guard to stop the contents spilling out, placed alongside the hanging compartment. There is also a full-wIdth shelf above the hanging rail. A decent-sized mirror on the outside of the unit is a useful addition.
Most manufacturers who place heaters in their caravans situate them at the bottom of the wardrobe. Fleetwood are no exception and the Carver SB 1800 fits neatly in the wardrobe base. Also in the base of the wardrobe is the Lab-Craft TP2 battery box. This box and connections allows a 12 volt battery (not supplied) to be charged by the car or mains.
Lighting in the 1300 is more than adequate. The low strip-lights flush-mounted (rather badly) light the front and rear of the van, with conventional 8W units placed under the kitchen and toilet room roof lockers. A Truma gas lamp, useful when batteries go flat or if a pleasant low light is wanted, is situated on the front roof lockers.
Overall the 1300, with a few minor exceptions as mentioned, is an admirable little van. The design is well proven and the decor is made up of colours that one will not tire of too quickly. We found little to fault Fleetwood on the quality of workmanship, although we did find one or two rough edges. It must be pointed out that the van is lightweight and therefore lightweight materials are used. Looked after, the van will last for years.
With a price tag of £3177, the DL costs £781 more than its standard counterpart. The extra cost includes the reshaped roof, oven, fridge, battery box and better upholstery and perhaps most important of all, double glazing and a heater which transforms the van from a summer tourer into an all-weather van.
