Caravan Review: 24ft Royal Flair Family Flair Quad Bunk

Most of the caravans I tow are between 17ft and 22ft. Every once in a while, however, I hitch up a big Bertha – a caravan with more living space than a city apartment and a large on-road footprint. I early September, I received a call: Royal Flair Caravans had just finished a 24ft quad-bunk caravan  in its Family Flair range.

Now, the Family Flair has been the name of this manufacturer’s dedicated range of bunk vans for at least 15 years. I recall doing a big tour of Victoria’s Gippsland region in a Family Flair in 2010. Back then, Royal Flair built with meranti timber and corrugated aluminium cladding, and the bunks on that van had fold-down DVD players, which was cutting-edge at the time and viewed as mandatory equipment for a family van. How far we’ve come in such a short time…

This quad-bunk Family Flair certainly had the gear you’d expect in a modern caravan, too. But given its weight, I needed to borrow a tow vehicle – my 2018 MU-X wasn’t going to cut the mustard. Bill Deralas, the owner of Royal Flair Caravans, gave me the keys to his Chev Silverado. I dropped this long, lovely van’s DO45 coupling onto the towbar, pointed the bonnet north out of Epping, Vic, and hit the open road.

BIG ROYAL FLAIR INTERIOR!

As I alluded to, there’s some weight to this van. The Tare was 3254kg and it could be loaded to 4500kg, while the unladen coupling mass was 257kg. So from the get-go, you’re looking at a particularly substantial tow vehicle. That said, I experienced no towing dramas – the van tracked along nicely at freeway speeds. The 4500kg ATM, I should note, is an optional upgrade.

To my mind, this 24-footer isn’t about quick weekend trips. It’s built for a big family on the road full-time. Step inside and you’ll see what I mean. Let’s start with the kids’ bedroom in the front. Here, you’ll find four large bunks, two either side of the van. Each bunk is equipped with a 12V fan, a reading light and a USB point. There’s no shortage of storage space for the kids, either, with a cupboards on the forward wall, between the bunks, as well a couple of additional wardrobes and access to the space beneath the two lower bunks.

Now, Royal Flair isn’t afraid of a challenge and has been known to work closely with its customers to achieve a customised result. The kids’ room is a case in point. While it was setup for four kids, this space could equally be an on-the-road office space, or it could be equipped with two bunks, one either side, complete with cupboards and drawers beneath.

The secret to Royal Flair’s layouts lays in the way the company has embraced drop-down beds. These lower from the ceiling at the push of a button to your preferred height. In the case of this van, the bed can be lowered, say, halfway to the floor so that the rear leather-upholstered club lounge can also be used as sleeping quarters. Just lower the table, fill it with a backrest cushion or two, and suddenly this van could sleep eight people!

So there are beds in the front and a drop-down bed in the back above a club lounge – what’s in the middle? To begin with, the kitchen sits on the nearside wall. There’s heaps of bench space here, due to the fact that Royal Flair omitted the stove, griller and oven while retaining the rangehood. The thinking here is that the customer will use a portable induction cooktop, something we’re seeing more and more of. You see, this van is equipped with a 200Ah lithium battery and the full Victron suite of power management. This includes a 2000W/80A inverter, three 200W solar panels, a couple of MPPT solar controllers, a DC-DC charger and a mains charger, along with an internal digital display to show the battery state of charge and any loads being placed on the battery.

In terms of cooking, there’s also a 900W 23L flatbed microwave, but with no gas being plumbed into the van, you’re limited to the microwave and a portable induction hotplate. That said, this was a customer’s choice and Royal Flair can certainly add these appliances if you like. I should point out, too, that the customer wisely opted for an external Ziggy gas barbecue, powered by a couple of 9kg gas cylinders inside the powder-coated aluminium toolbox on the A-frame. These cylinders can also fire the gas-electric hot water service as well as the 208L absorption fridge.

That leaves the bathroom, which is positioned between the kitchen and kids’ bedroom in the front of the van. It comes with a separate fibreglass shower cubicle, a cassette toilet and a vanity. There’s even a front-loader washing machine mounted to the wall. 

So as you can see, there’s a lot of equipment that comes as standard with this van, all presented in a tidy and cohesive manner, which is what we’d expect from Royal Flair. I would, however, add Starlink provision – the kids are going to want to stream their content – but you’ll always be able to pick-up a terrestrial TV signal where one exists thanks to the omnidirectional VanTenna, which also receives horizontally and vertically-polarised signals – a 24in flatscreen TV, speakers and a stereo system are included too.

EXTERNAL FEATURES

What do you get on the outside? It’s an extensive list. First, there’s a full-length roll-out awning, a picnic table, multiple storage compartments, from the A-frame box to a rear-nearside locker. On the offside is the 12V nerve centre of the van. Mounted behind a few different powder-coated aluminium doors is all the Victron gear, as well as the lithium battery from Arizon.

It’s built atop a 4in SupaGal steel chassis with a 3in raiser and a 6in A-frame extended by 22in. Independent coil trailing-arm suspension is used and BMPRO sway control is also part of the package – one of many new features for 2025. And if you find yourself stuck on the side of the highway, unable to tow the van, a premium roadside assistance is provided for your first year of ownership.

Royal Flair builds its vans in an interesting way. Instead of traditional studs/framing, Royal Flair’s walls are one sheet of 18mm ply, routed out to accommodate wiring, that are then clad with smooth aluminium. I don’t doubt that it’s strong. As I poked and prodded around the outside, I noticed a neatly finished vehicle with no rough or unfinished edges. Small touches such as the branding laser-etched into steel plating, the inclusion of a mesh stoneguard, and some plating to protect the A-frame tap were very welcome. The powder-coated Bluescope steel sheeting used for protection around the van rather than black checkerplate is great too.  

I would personally prefer for the gas bayonet coupling to be mounted flush with the wall of the van rather than being screwed onto the chassis rail at the rear, but I give the van points for the fact that it has the gas backup for cooking. As a family van, the fact it comes with a bike rack is very welcome too.

GORV’S VERDICT

Have I pointed out every feature and benefit of this van? Not by a long shot. There’s a great deal here. The key takeaways, though, are that the 24ft Family Flair is built for long-haul trips around the country, knowing that you’ll have all the storage space and load-carrying capacity you’ll need for a family of six (or more!), and if you want to make changes – perhaps you only need three bunks and would like to include a suite of drawers in place of the fourth bunk – Royal Flair can help with that.

Yes, you’ll need a 4500kg-friendly tow vehicle, but you will have everything you need to keep the tribe happy, whether you’re camped in the red earth of the outback or overlooking the ocean on the Nullarbor.

THE SCORE 

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

COMPLETE SPECS