The caravanning website Out & About Live was equally impressed. They reckon “The upholstery is probably the most supportive and comfortable we’ve ever encountered and the lighting—especially the ambient LED strips under the lockers—is exceptional.”

Steady on, guys! There’s nothing much revolutionary about the Nova range, apart from smart aesthetics on the outside and ‘moderne’ design on the inside. The furnishing scheme looks slick, using a ‘Toscana’ cherry wood finish with leather-look inlays. But the Nova 580 SL on sale in the UK sticks with a very conventional layout, with a U-shaped seating group at the front, twin beds, a washroom and a separate shower at the back.

You do get a ‘Lugano pear wood’ finish and a high gloss granite look for kitchen. But believe us, the Nova works better in pictures than in words. Enjoy.

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Tabbert offers even more luxury with its avant garde, bad-ass Paganini model. Hymer’s own Forever Young has more style, with a retro tinge.

The one-million-Kronor ($125,000) Glacier is reportedly Europe’s largest caravan. So you won’t be able to pull it with an old Saab 99, even with Stig Blomqvist at the wheel.

In reality, the Glacier is less a caravan and more a mini-lodge aimed at an exclusive market. It’s an alternative to a holiday cabin or large boat. Inside, there are four permanent beds and three rooms. You get 320 square feet of living space, which includes a small sauna, an open fireplace, and a large open-plan kitchen—complete with dishwasher and side-by-side refrigerator and freezer.

You can choose the interior materials and the kind of kitchen you want, and Polar will go out of its way to customize its flagship RV to your tastes.

The Glacier is built in the small town of Dorotea (pop. 1,600) in Lapland, northern Sweden. Nothing exciting has happened here since the local church burnt down in 1932, but Polar ain’t a hillbilly venture: it delivers around 2,000 luxury caravans a year.

Its Finnish parent company, Solifer Group, builds its caravans to withstand the toughest climatic conditions. So all Polar models have under-floor heating and almost two inches of insulation. They’ve been designed on CAD/CAM systems since 1984, and independent German tests have shown them to have the most rigid bodies on the market.

All this makes Polar one of the most highly-sought after brands amongst European caravanners, even those who live in temperate climates. And Solifer now has Kabe, Sweden’s #1 manufacturer, in its sights. Given that Kabe makes Europe’s ugliest caravan, the Royal Tower, we’re rooting for Polar and its good-looking Laplander.

We’ll have our Glacier delivered with some pickled herrings in the fridge, a bottle of good Akvavit to chase ‘em down, and a couple of frisky supermodells in the sauna. Okej?

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German maker Tabbert offers more affordable (and towable) luxury with its avant garde, bad-ass Paganini. It’s around ten feet shorter than the Polar Glacier, and half the price. Even smaller is the cute Hymer Forever Young, a luxurious little model that still manages to sleep four.

Sopranos actor and long time cigar nut Frank Vincent (below) is a fan of the Mobile Cigar Lounge, and rolled up last Father’s Day puffing on his own ‘Frank Vincent Signature Cigar‘. But it’s not just a Man Thing: the Florida-based Lounge is also pitched at laydeez who want to ‘learn how to handle a cigar like a pro.’

Yes, it’s the ultimate tailgater, and if you live in the south-eastern states, it could be at a stadium near you—thanks to a couple of cigar-mad hockey stars.

The original idea came from Juan Guillen, a 20-year veteran of the US cigar industry. Guillen built a prototype in Tallahassee, Florida, using a vintage Airstream that was completely gutted down to the aluminum skin.

He got the sub-floor reinforced and re-welded to withstand heavy traffic, and then removed the interior walls, leaving two support poles to distribute the weight and prop up the roof.

Then Guillen showed his prototype to retired NHL players Stanislav ‘Stan’ Neckar and Dave Andreychuk, and he was ready to roll.

Like most cigar fans, Stan and Dave were annoyed by the USA’s increasingly strict anti-smoking laws. Czech-born defenseman Neckar recalls one particular evening after winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Half the team was standing outside having celebratory cigars, and I was thinking, there has got to be a better way.”

So the three wiseguys turned the Airstream into an upscale cigar lounge on wheels. They added two rooftop air conditioning units and—smart move, fellas—a heavy-duty filtration unit. In went five flat screen TVs, each with its own satellite receiver, plus a wet bar and a wine cooler.

Seats were covered with ostrich leather. Woodworkers installed cherry wood cabinetry, cedar ceilings and walls, and a hand-hammered copper sink. On the outside, a complete polish brought back the original mirror shine. The new humidor is, of course, simply enormous.

The Mobile Cigar Lounge is now available for hire, along with the pretty Cigaristas, and proving popular on the party circuit. It comfortably seats up to 20 inside and minimum hire is just three hours, enough time to comfortably smoke a Gran Corona before the big game.

Sounds good, and there’s only one more decision to make if you’re tempted: are you going to give that stogie a V-Cut, or a Straight Cut, as Frank likes it?

See also:
If you like Airstreams, check out our guide to The 7 Essential Airstream Websites. Airstream’s latest model is the PanAmerica toy hauler, and we’ve got the pictures.

These Mississippi-built travel trailers may look rustic, but Martin House-To-Go knows its market inside out. Its products are mostly geared towards the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ crowd, and a lot of thought has gone into them.

They’re crafted from pine, cedar and cypress, and free of Volatile Organic Compounds. (“Real men prefer our masculine, all-wood bath facilities.”) Fittings are all-electric, down to the composting toilet. And you can specify propane if you want to go boondocking—an option you won’t get if you order the new Shasta Airflyte.

Customisation is easy. You can select any width from 8 to 14 feet. The roof can be shingles or metal. The size and number of windows is up to you. You can choose how you want your trailer staining or painting. And you can even request “NASA-approved insulation for extreme weather.”

We like the cosy built-in loft with its own ladder, and more room downstairs can be allocated to sleeping if you need it. You can add a gun rack, an outside shower, even a freezer for your game kills.

The idea comes from Julie Martin, a specialist in restoring historic houses who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. Her company offers two models: the $33,900 Fresh Start and the $37,900 Lodge-On-Wheels.

Her trailers are inspired by the Tiny House ‘movement’, which is gathering pace by the day. It’s all about downsizing, shedding unwanted possessions, and living in a comfortable yet frugal manner.

In these uncertain times, we can see the merit in that. As Julie says: “Are the deer calling to you? Is there a lake you like to visit?
 Take your buddies hunting. Take your son fishing. Take to the woods for no reason at all.”

How could we resist?

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Check out the Dutch Tonke Campers for a more luxurious, European take on the trend back to wood.

The Cricket pop-top is the first wheeled project to come out of Faro, Finney’s Houston-based design studio. Finney describes it as “much less an RV and more a piece of outdoor equipment. On a continuum of design, I’d place it between the SylvanSport Go and the Airstream Basecamp.”

At NASA, functionality takes priority over aesthetics—and there’s a hint of that ethos in these early renderings of the Cricket. The trailer is made from folded composite panels; with a projected weight of around 1400 lbs, it should be an easy tow for 4-cylinder cars and minivans. However, this focus on saving weight means a very spartan interior. “It’s made for comfortable camping and isn’t a house on wheels,” as Finney points out.

Right now, the Cricket only exists on computer and as a full-scale cardboard model. Soon there will be a prototype, so that Finney can give it a good old-fashioned NASA-style shakedown cruise. Then he needs to make a big decision: build the production vehicles himself, or look for a venture capitalist.

Finney’s pedigree suggests that we might be hearing more about this project. Although he helped design the habitation module of the International Space Station, he’s actually better known for his earth-bound creations. Last year, one of his houses was spread over eight pages in House & Garden magazine, and others have featured in bestselling books such as Small Houses For the Next Century.

Despite these obvious architectural and engineering talents, Finney told us that he’s simply “an outdoorsy sort.” He’s currently focused on “the problems of state and national parks, the ironies of eco-tourism, and designing a 21st century sustainable campground.”

There are many others who share those interests, and they wouldn’t necessarily buy an RV from a dealer with a forecourt full of Fleetwoods. If Finney can get the styling and the pricing right, he could be onto a winner.

Update, 21 October 2008
Garrett and his team thankfully survived the hurricane: “We are alive. We were without power for 15 days which became a drag after the adrenaline wore off. We are now starting to build things, always too slow … an axle should arrive today, wheels and rims on Monday and then hopefully our chassis will arrive in a timely fashion.”

The XL is the latest extension of the T@B line, which launched in the US in 2003. The original trailer weighed less than 2,000 lbs and had a starting price of just under $11,000 (€9K), but this 2009 model is a completely different beast.

The form factor originally designed for functionality has now become a style statement: the bloated XL measures just over 22 feet, including drawbar. You don’t actually need the full 7,700 lb towing capacity of a Porsche Cayenne to haul it around, but this particular teardrop is more about image than logic.

One can usually guess the target market of a new RV by looking at the accessories in the press shots. But the cigars and brandy balloons chosen by the stylist for the XL images have got us stumped. T@B calls the interior styling ‘American Way of Life’. And yes, that’s a fair description: it’s American in the sense that Ralph Lauren duty-free stores are American.

There’s obviously some heavy-duty niche marketing going on here. The interior is awash with fine leather and teak wood, and can be optioned with a leather lounger and armchairs. At first glance, you might expect to find Norman Mailer lounging around, or perhaps a hip-hop star sponsored by Hennessy Cognac.

Unfortunately, the reality is likely to be portly German Bürgers slumped in the armchairs, washing down their currywurst with bottles of Krombacher while watching reruns of Derrick on the TV.

Comfort is certainly a priority. The option list includes underfloor heating, an electric “living flame effect” fire, and a city water connection kit with a 12-gallon holding tank. There’s also a Media Package with a 23″ flat-screen TV, a CD-DVD radio with receiver, a sound system and a subwoofer. To primp the exterior you can specify solid wheels, in high-gloss polished alloy, that look like they’ve come straight off a Harley.

There’s no mention of smoke extractors for the cigars, and presumably you’re expected to fit your own fire alarm. But add a chessboard and candles, settle down on a rug, and you could recreate the Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway scene from The Thomas Crown Affair.

There’s plenty of good German engineering under the hood and construction quality is likely to be top-notch. Those looking for extra stability while towing can add an AKS safety coupling, plus an AL-KO trailer control system that prevents snaking during sudden maneuvers. If you need extra stability while stationary, you can add AL-KO Stabilform leveling jacks too.

There’s no word yet on price, or availability outside Europe. But the UK price will be around £35,000, which is $62,000. So we’re talking Airstream money.

Still, that shouldn’t stop it from being a hit with the Bavarian mercantile classes. More stollen, Günther?

Update, 11 October 2008: As widely predicted, Knaus Tabbert has gone bankrupt. Its application for a €12m ($16.2m) bridging loan to see it through the quiet winter months was rejected by banks, and a liquidator has been appointed. The German state of Bavaria is working to secure the company’s future.

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Like the idea of German luxury, but in a more conventional form? Check out the Tabbert Paganini.

This is the sort of trailer that would feature in Ronin 2 if they ever got round to greenlighting it. The exterior is sleek and dark; the interior has that superyacht look that upscale German RV manufacturers do so well.

The mahogany wood is highly polished, the ambient lighting is skillfully recessed, and micro LED spotlights dim at your command. You’re given three fabric groups to choose from, including ‘Prestige’ leather. Hell, just chuck a Porsche Design bottle-opener into the kitchen drawer and you’re ready to roll.

Innovative touches abound, even above your head: the roof has integrated air-conditioning channels, with a six-centimeter gap that also improves sound insulation when it rains.

The overall effect is slightly surreal, but we like it. So do many others, it would seem—the Paganini has a starring role at the current Dusseldorf Caravan Salon, and it’s one of the four winners of the Caravaning Design Award.

Tabbert’s flagship is available in three configurations, from 25 to 28 feet, and weighs between 1795 kg (3,957 lbs) and 1975 kg (4,354 lbs) in full running order. That means you’ll need a Class III hitch on your Euro SUV: any Audi Q7 will do, as will a Volvo XC90 V8 AWD. (Remarkably, a BMW X5 3.0si will also cope, with its extraordinary 6,000 lb tow rating.)

Unfortunately, there’s no word on the Paganini’s availability outside Europe. But you could pester Dutchmen, which distributes the teardrop trailers built by Tabbert’s Gen-X offshoot T@B.

Which reminds us: one of the other Caravan Salon stars is the T@B’s bizarre new XL teardrop trailer, which features a Ralph Lauren-style ‘American Way of Life’ interior. More on that later this week, so stay tuned.

Update, 11 October 2008: As widely predicted, Knaus Tabbert has gone bankrupt. Its application for a €12m ($16.2m) bridging loan to see it through the quiet winter months was rejected by banks, and a liquidator has been appointed. The German state of Bavaria is working to secure the company’s future.

Mehrzeller means “multi cell” and it’s building a buzz at the giant Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, Europe’s biggest RV show. This particular travel trailer is the creation of Christian Freissling and Theresa Kalteis, two designers from Graz University of Technology in Austria, and they’ve got backing from some of the biggest names in European industry.

One of Mehrzeller’s sponsors is BMW, itself no stranger to design controversy. (‘Flame surfacing’, anyone?) It’s good to see the Bayern boys sponsoring this project, and the X6 towing the Mehrzeller in the artist’s impressions looks a damn sight tastier than a lumbering Ford Explorer.

Unfortunately, Squob does not sprechen Sie Deutsches, so we’ll have to rely upon the Caravan Salon blurb for more details: ‘Every customer configures his own very personal caravan according to his or her wishes and needs, with the help of an online configurator. Thus each vehicle is absolutely unique. The honeycomb exterior design is continued in the interior: Each function has its own cell.’

From what we can gather, the configurator would allow you to personalise your own travel trailer within preset parameters, and send your design straight to manufacturing. Which is all well and good, but what if you finished off a bottle of Jägermeister during a spot of late-night Konfigurating, and then hit SEND?

Goodness knows what the drag co-efficient is, and you probably couldn’t take the Mehrzeller through a car wash. But let’s not quibble. Even the interior looks cool, oozing an Ikea-style bleached-wood-and-white-paint minimalism. There’s no other word for it: The Mehrzeller is simply fantastisch!

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Yes, the Shasta brand is back and it’s making waves. The 3-berth Airflyte 12 may be a new model, but the exterior is as authentic as they come. The distinctive wings on the flanks are still there, the Z-stripes on the sides are still there, and the wheels still sport cute little chrome moon hubcaps.

The new Shasta is all-electric, which has prompted an outbreak of tut-tutting amongst some traditionalists. There are no propane appliances, and because you need to hook up to an electrical supply, you won’t want to head off the beaten track. Then again, you can solve that problem by slinging a super-quiet generator into the back of the El Camino.

Shasta is one of the oldest names in the RV business, dating back to the early 1940s, but the interior spec of its new travel trailer is bang up to date. The look is sleek and modern, with space-efficient design and a choice of three colorways. You also get a 19-inch LCD (HD ready) TV—with a bracket for inside or outside viewing—and a DVD player. The options list even includes an iPod docking station.

The 17’4″ Shasta is nice ‘n’ light: the base weight of this trailer comes in at just 2,385 lbs. You won’t need something with a Hemi at the front and two axles at the back to tow this puppy. Extra attention has been paid to saving weight, and conventional air-conditioning has been ditched—the Shasta uses a thoroughly modern Duo-Therm ‘Cool Cat’ heat pump that cools and heats much more efficiently.

Coachmen is reportedly planning to release another two Shasta travel trailers over the next few months, and we’ll report on those as soon as they roll out of the factory. In the meantime, get the full Airflyte specs from the cute Coachmen website, or find out more about the glorious originals from the 1940s and 50s at Chris Strohm’s definitive and most excellent Vintage Shastas site.

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The VW Microbus Type 2 is another reincarnated classic: VW Brasil is shipping ‘new’ old Kombis to the UK to be kitted out as campervans. A more modern take on the retro travel trailer is the T@B XL, with its leather-and-wood ‘American Way of Life’ interior.

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We reckon that most owners would just use the Kelty tent structure and ample storage space for weekend mini-vacations. But the Go also ‘hauls, stores and organizes all of your toys, from boats, to bikes, to moto-machines and even tools and garden gear.’

We’re not so taken with the styling, which comes from the Dyson school of brightly colored plastics. And the open design means that stuff might get dirty on the road. But the engineering that has gone into this camping trailer is seriously impressive: SylvanSport calls the Go ‘hyper-engineered’ and we’re not going to argue with that.

The Control-Tilt™ cargo bed has hydraulic dampening, and the rack system is compatible with both Thule and Yakima accessories. There are waterproof, lockable gear storage areas and the Go is even suitable for use as a small boat trailer, complete with waterproof electrical system.

It’s hard to see how the Go could be improved. After all, the Cedar Mountain, NC company has won several awards for the design, including a Gold at IDEA 2008 and a “Best of Adventure Gear 08” gong from National Geographic Adventure.

But you could start with SylvanSport’s small accessory list, which includes an awning and bed/table/seat panels. If it was down to us, we’d go luxe and also add a Faema E61 Legend espresso machine and a high performance Galileo satellite internet system—even if it doubled the weight of the trailer.

But let’s take it easy: before you go all Harley Davidson and start customizing the heck out of it, you’d best get down to a dealer and check it out the Go for yourself.