Time to Roam Magazine Issue 11 - October/November 2014 | Page 26

| feature reno rescue After Our Reno Rescue: Before 1969 VISCOUNT GETS A 21st CENTURY MAKEOVER For families on a budget looking to buy a caravan for the first time, quality aluminium-framed models from the 1960s and 1970s are a great alternative. The good news is that the latest caravan accessories you need to make an older caravan more comfortable have never been better value. “Dolce” is Time to Roam’s flagship caravan, rescued from a backyard four years ago and restored. While we love the 1960s décor, we were envious of the creature comforts in more modern caravans. So the challenge was set. How do we drag Dolce into the 21st Century – but keep that original 1960s look and feel? We teamed up with the experienced team at Camec who helped choose a range of value accessories to make Dolce more comfortable. Then we turned to the team of specialist tradesmen at Sydney’s G&L Caravan Repairs to carry out the installation. The Result? A much more comfortable and easyto-live-in Viscount fitted out for under $10,000. (Even less of course for a do-it-yourself renovator.) Speaker system Wired for sound First and foremost came CAMEC’s latest RV Media entertainment system. This super-compact unit does not include a CD player but rather features music playback and control using free Android or iPhone Apps, along with MP3 playback from USB & SD cards. We synched it in with the Blutooth on the iPad and streamed music all day long. One of its great features is a dedicated TV audio input. You can can now kick back in bed watching a movie with cinema-quality sound! The radio also comes with a smart quick tune feature , there’s also wireless remote control – plus you can control it from a smartphone app – if you feel the need. $169 26 timetoroam.com.au Camec has patented this combined speaker and integrated LED interior light system. There are two high quality RV speakers that come with 33 tiny cool white LED interior lights. The speakers and lights operate independently so they can be fitted to new or used RV’s. Looks great, performs even better. On the subject of lighting, Camec replaced all the original 1960s 12v incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs. The BA15D unit has a double contact parallel pin to fit most most older vans. Great lighting, low heat and very durable. They last up to 50,000 hours. $99