On Test Romahome R10 Solo ONE IS FUN - Out and … historic road... · On Test Romahome R10 Solo...

On Test Romahome R10 Solo

130 I JULY 2009 www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

Romahome R10 SoloRomahome R10 Solo

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It’s always dangerous to claim that something is the ultimate of anything - in fact, it’s an

open invitation to disagreement. So, rather than saying that this is the smallest motorcaravan currently available in the UK, I’ll wimp out and just murmur that

it’s certainly the smallest I’ve tested for years... since Wheelhome’s Lilliputian Suzuki Wagon R conversion, in fact.

The Romahome R10 Solo certainly hopes to attract new recruits to motorcaravanning by appealing to more people than more conventional motorcaravans might. It’s already attracted a lot of interest and many positive comments. As it was only launched at the NEC show last October, it’s still a new kid on the block. Let’s take a closer look...

WHAT IS IT? Perhaps I should have been a politician? They frequently have scant regard for the question as asked - and I want to answer a question I’d hoped to have been asked instead of the one posed above: what isn’t it?

Emphatically, it’s not Postman Pat’s van, a mobile (red) letterbox, or a Tonka toy. Laugh all you like, but actually it’s a fully formed comprehensively(ish) equipped motorcaravan. And it’s not just a picnic wagon, though very suitable it would be. I know these things coz I lived in it!

As far as I’m aware (another opportunity to be corrected) this is only Romahome’s third conversion of a panel van and it is the first panel van with an elevating roof. Most of

the firm’s production has been in the form of dismountable, rigid, or raising-roof GRP-bodied coachbuilts.

R10’s base vehicle is the recently launched Citroën Nemo. These arrive as standard with two cab doors and two asymmetrical rear side-hinged ‘barn’ doors. Romahome specifies a nearside sliding door and bonded, tinted rear glazing, plus car-type goodies for what is actually a pretty basic small delivery vehicle. Expect to find remote, zoned central locking, electric windows and mirrors, a height-adjustable driver’s seat combined with a steering wheel that adjusts for rake and reach.

Romahome replaces the steel roof with a GRP-capped front-hinged elevating one. It’s made in house, possesses canvas sides and features more windows than the old Crystal Palace.

Finally, the test ‘van’s motive power was provided by a 1.4-litre version of the very latest HDI engine (high pressure common-rail turbo-diesel). SensoDrive automatic transmission (actually a robotised manual gearbox) is available, as is a 1.4-litre petrol engine. Expect the former to be a popular choice, the latter less so.

WHO IS IT FOR? As the R10 is of lightweight construction and offers automatic transmission, the answer is that it can be driven by almost any driver. No worries for those with restricted licences: if you are allowed to drive a car, you will be licensed to drive this little ‘van, regardless of

ONE IS FUNRomahome R10 Solo on 1.4-litre Citroën Nemo

Leaving much less carbon in its tracks, this one-berth mini camper is a super sole vehicle solution

age or impairment. R10 Solo - the clue is in the name - is designed for one person to live in and a fairly lithe one at that. It’s Intended for use as a sole vehicle and proved to be economical to drive and easy to park, slipping under all the height barriers I encountered.

I guess it might be chosen as accommodation for night fisher-people, landscape painters, twitchers, motor sport enthusiasts, fell walkers - in fact, all the usual suspects. However, it has also really caught on with younger music fans wanting a more comfortable festival experience: no more soaking wet sleeping bags inside a soggy tent pitched in a sea of mud!

With just a single exception, it does everything one would expect a small car to do, plus so much more. R10 Solo provides catering gear, washing facilities, loo, and rest and relaxation via a full-length single bed. The exception is that in any car (except perhaps, a sports or micro-car) one would expect to find four belted travel seats and there are only two in the R10 Solo. Is this a fair criticism? Probably not: after all, it’s designed for use by unaccompanied folk and there is still the cab

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passenger seat available. At the time of writing, Romahome was

looking at fitting a rear lap belt, though many would see this as unsafe and only suitable for keeping the shopping steady on the way home from an out-of-town store.

WHAT’S INSIDE? Full standing height for starters. Raising the roof reduced any feelings of claustrophobia as it has so many windows in it, while the Lloyd-favourite Embassy Computation (back of a fag packet) method showed that it increased the interior volume by almost half again.

The offside wall is home to a run of cupboards containing (from front to back) a dedicated store for the freestanding Porta Potti toilet, then the kitchen that includes a two-burner hob and sink with 12V pumped cold water supply: the base units are also home to a well-made gas cylinder compartment and the water porter, into which the submersible pump is, err, submersed! There’s also a cutlery drawer, some hooks and a smidgin of storage space.

The nearside rear corner is home to a very

Words & Pictures by Jonathan Lloyd

comfortable seat. This uses the table top as a support for its backrest cushion, while the seat squab box is where the optional Propex (blown-air) space heater will live. This was also my wardrobe! Actually Romahome provides a clothes bag for storage of a change of clothes: a good idea, which stopped the unscheduled escape of my (quite large) smalls! The tested Solo also had an extra-cost flat screen TV/DVD player fitted.

Surprisingly, for such a tiny motorcaravan, the R10 has a leisure battery, a full charge management system and mains hook-up. The control panel is above the kitchen and the consumer unit behind the driver’s seat. At time of writing no decision had been reached regarding the fitted solar panel - whether to leave it as a standard item or put it on

1 Nemo’s cab is well equipped, its motor very economical

2 R10 Solo is a one-person motorcaravan

3 The easy-to-use rising roof provides natural light and standing headroom

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the options list and make a commensurate reduction in base price.

HOW DID IT PERFORM? My stewardship of this lovely little creation coincided with the worst of the winter’s snow, but I survived: just! This ‘van is not really designed for arctic conditions, though credit is due as it actually coped very well.

Things got off to rather a mixed start when I couldn’t get the space heater to fire up. With a brain numbed by cold and with fingers resembling raw sausages, I made sure that gas regulator was on, the shut-off valve open and that the habitation electrics were all systems go. Still nothing. Re-check, yep everything set to go and yet... Still nothing. Eventually, I decided to see if the heater’s electrical multi-connectors had parted company. Result! They certainly had parted company, because some Muppet had removed the entire heater, leaving just the control panel and outlet vents. Presumably to give a tantalising suggestion of warm air! Thank goodness the ‘van was equipped with hook-up and I could utilise my mains fan heater. Such is often the lot of the intrepid motorhome tester!

Joshing apart, using a mains fan heater worked okay, though for this test I had nicked the one out of our garden chalet, which was twice the size of more appropriate models. On reflection, the experience actually taught me that I could save myself eight hundred quid and gain valuable storage space by not having a space heater. After all, I’d only be likely to camp in the R10 during the winter on a full-facility campsite or a friend’s driveway (with hook-up). Other folk with different patterns of usage may disagree. I’ve also seen a very compact 12V 200W fan heater advertised somewhere, though I’m dammed if I can remember where (this would draw a leisure battery-threatening 16 amps DH).

The rest of the living experience went pretty much as one would have expected. However, I did have some difficulty getting my less-than-svelte body through the side door aperture,

which turned out to be far narrower than it looked. Because of this, I tended to enter and leave the residential part via the rear doors.

The cab is really only used at bedtime and it did seem a pity - in such a small vehicle - not to utilise this area.

To make the bed, the back of the cab passenger seat is folded flat. This type of seat was developed by Citroën for delivery drivers to have a flat surface to write on, and for the accommodation of long loads. Actually, this is important, as it means that the whole mechanism had been crash-tested.

Next, the seat squab sides are extended and the table used to top the extension. Finally, a spot of cushion shuffling resulted in a bed that proved both long and comfortable.

It’s not compulsory, but if you sleep with your head towards the rear, a halogen reading

light is within easy reach. Also, the removal of the longitudinal seat backrest cushion revealed a trinket storage trough, perfect for the specs and penny dreadful, or i-Pod and Nintendo.

Unless you’re a stick insect you’ll find it impossible to use the loo in situ and there is insufficient floor space for it to be freestanding when the bed is made. This ‘van was the prototype Solo and production versions have addressed this problem by altering the storage so the loo can be used with the bed deployed.

The two side windows were alone in having curtains. All the other windows utilised custom-made insulated pads held in place by Velcro. The cab pads were an over snug fit, but once again, this should be corrected on production models.

Night time saw me as snug as a bug in the proverbial, and the only problem I could find

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Test report extraTest reportTest report extraTest report extra

with the sleeping arrangements was where to put my rather bulky sleeping bag and pillow during the day. Fine when the roof was up, as there is a storage ledge towards the front (though contact with the inside of the canvas should be avoided), but where can they be stored with the roof down?

The galley surpassed expectations, with the little 12V (thermoelectric) cool bag winning the most useful gizmo award.

HOW DID IT GO?On the road, the almost lawnmower-sized engine acquitted itself superbly. Slick gearshift and responsive steering encouraged some press-on miles when the awful weather conditions allowed The Nemo cruised happily at the legal limit of 70 mph with the motor spinning at a reasonably

leisurely 2700rpm. The wheel-at-each-corner format and a lack of height ensured pin-sharp cornering, but also gave a rather jiggly ride.

The interior rear-view mirror was missing so I couldn’t really judge the sight lines via the glazed rear doors when moving forwards. Reversing was a doddle though. Rear wash/wipe is available for an extra £161, and that’ll be money well spent. It’s time all vehicles came with two front airbags as standard, but here you’ll have to remember to specify the passenger one at time of ordering, as these are nigh on impossible to retrofit.

Nemo felt more ‘commercial’ than stablemate Berlingo - bare, painted internal door cappings didn’t help and neither did the cab seats not having covers to match the residential side. That’s it though: it wasn’t noisy, had plenty of car-type toys and a good radio/CD/MP3 player, so perhaps I’m just being over-critical.

Although advertised as being capable of 80mpg, this figure seemed to me to be unachievable when considering what I had put it through: 350 miles of motorway blasting and 150 miles at a walking pace over icy roads.

However, the R10 managed 60mpg overall (actually 59.2) which was just dandy.

Interestingly, this engine only chucks out 119 grams/kg of CO2, which, by my reckoning, makes it liable for a VED of £35.00 annually. However, the tax disc showed that a fee of 180 smackers had been paid. Presumably, this means it was first registered as a commercial vehicle, thus attracting the 180-quid hit - a tax not based on CO2 emissions.

Ed. VED for motorcaravans and commercial vehicles is not banded on CO2 emissions, unlike cars. Therefore the tax rate for the R10 Solo is correct.

Price-wise, our R10 Solo was knocking on the door of £23,000, which is a significant amount of money. Of course, low volume, design-led, hand-built, quality products are never the cheapest and in the end one generally gets what one pays for.

This particular Nemo was in a colour aggressively named Malicious Red: no offence meant, and none taken!

WHAT’S THE SCORE? You get clever design and great execution from a well-respected and innovative manufacturer. My only real concern was that (for me) entrance and egress via the side sliding door was challenging. You, of course, are much fitter and slimmer so it won’t bother you! The Romahome R10 solo is versatile, economical, garage-able, and with a pleasingly low impact on the environment.

This is a really clever, well-made Tardis of a motorcaravan. You can almost hear the Doctor Who theme tune...

I LIKED■ Compact size■ Good fuel economy■ Auto transmission option■ Full standing headroom■ Good kitchen■ Long comfy bed■ Leisure battery and mains hook-up

I WOULD HAVE LIKED ■ A space heater (see text)■ Ability to use the toilet with the bed made

I DISLIKED ■ Squeezing through the side

sliding door

■ Price as tested: £23,129 OTR■ Base vehicle: Citroën Nemo five-door

panel van, with GRP canvas-sided elevating roof, 1.4-litre turbo-diesel producing 70bhp, five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive

■ Warranty: Base vehicle 3 years, conversion 1 year, 10 years on all GRP

■ Dimensions and weights: Length 3.86m (12ft 8in); width 1.68m (5ft 6in); height 1.90m (6ft 3in)

■ Maximum authorised weight: 1700kg ■ Payload: Not available as we went to

press, please contact Romahome for more information

■ Belted seats: 2 (including driver)■ Beds: Rear single: 1.93m x 610mm

(6ft 4in x 2ft 0in) ■ Other features: Moulded GRP furniture,

12V cool bag, two-burner hob/sink with cold-water-only tap, cutlery drawer with built-in worktop, 12V and mains sockets, Porta Potti toilet housed in cabinet with opening door and lift-up lid under-seat storage, clothes bag, LED lighting

■ Heating: Optional Propex gas-fired blown-

air space heater; no water heater fitted■ Water tanks: Inboard five-litre removable

fresh water container with submersible pump; no waste tank fitted

■ Gas: Internal locker for 1 x 907 Campingaz cylinder

■ Optional extras fitted to test vehicle: TV/DVD player (£510), towbar (£665)

■ Other options available: 1.4-litre petrol engine (less £2000), SensoDrive automatic gearbox (£1400), rear wash-wipe (£161), Propex blown-air space heater (£759), choice of trim (FOC), reversing sensors (£185), tinted windows (£175), passenger airbag (£100),

E&OE

TEST EXTRA SPECIFICATION

4 The kitchen in includes hob/sink combo and 12V thermoelectric cool bag

Inset: Cool bag stows to the rear of the seating when travelling

5 Furniture is moulded in GRP, with the main unit also providing a good-sized drawer and housing the gas locker

6 The Porta Potti loo has its own locker

7 Inboard fresh water container is removable for filling

8 The only bed is a good-sized single

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VEHICLE LOANED FOR EVALUATION BY:Romahome Ltd, Prospect Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7AD (tel: 01983 292451; web site: www.romahome.com)

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To assist us in locating your road test please give us as many of the following details as possible:

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PLEASE ALLOW UPTO 14 DAYS FOR DELIVERY

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ADDRESS:

POSTCODE: TELEPHONE:Send to: Tina Beaumont, MMM Road Tests, Warners Group Publications plc, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.

previously appeared in MMM/Which

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138-145 live-in test .indd 1

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save administration costs and to obviate the need for refunds where reprints cannot be supplied, we ask readers to enclose a signed, open cheque, made payable to Warners Group Publications plc. If you require, for example, two separate road tests, please word your cheque ‘No more than ten pounds’, and leave the ‘amount in figures’ box blank.

give us as many of the following details as possible:

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156-163 head to head.indd 1

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Cute and versatile, the Romahome R10 could make an idealsole vehicle, and it should slide under most height barriers

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On Test Romahome R10 Solo ONE IS FUN - Out and … historic road... · On Test Romahome R10 Solo...

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