Automotive

Clever Weinsberg camper rearranges van life for the next generation

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The CaraLife 630 MQ is one of the highlights of Weinsberg's Caravan Salon 2023 booth
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann

Much like Volkswagen has done with its newest California design, Weinsberg creates an indoor/outdoor kitchen space to inspire campers to spend more time outside the van walls
Weinsberg
The tall fridge isn't directly aligned with the entry, but it's positioned for easy grab-and-go back to the outdoors
Weinsberg
The front wall gives Weinsberg the opportunity to install an L-shaped front kitchen that wouldn't really work well at all with an open cab
Weinsberg
The dinette seats up to five on two benches and includes a slide-away table
Weinsberg
The fixed rear transverse bed serves as a cozy bedroom area, surrounded by soft-touch wall and slat wall paneling
Weinsberg
Weinsberg CaraLife 630 LQ interior
Weinsberg
The CaraLife 630 LQ's floor plan does not create the type of pass-through load area common on other European camper vans, but there's still plenty of cargo space below the bed, and the bed also tilts upward, increasing space further
Weinsberg
A 32-in TV is available to hang over the kitchen area
Weinsberg
Making use of the versatile indoor/outdoor kitchen space
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
Weinsbarg exhibits the CaraLife 630 LQ at the 2023 Düsseldorf Caravan Salon
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
The "Secret Shower" stores away in a compartment below the slide-out dining table, quickly deploying for a morning or evening scrub
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
Weinsberg looks to redesign and personalize van life for a more youthful, adventurous set of buyers
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
Inside the new Weinsberg CaraLife 360 LQ
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
Weinsbarg CaraLife 630 LQ at the 2023 Düsseldorf Caravan Salon
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
Weinsberg has designed the CaraLife 630 LQ for serious personalization (but perhaps not this much)
Weinsberg
A more utilitarian, gear-hauling take on CaraLife 630 LQ wall personalization
Weinsberg
The L-shaped kitchen offers extra space for food prep and cookware use
Weinsberg
That looks like a speaker next to the TV but is actually the bathroom cabinet with interior mirror
Weinsberg
Three skylights bring serious light into the CaraLife 630 LQ
Weinsberg
Weinsberg adds a very different style of camper van to its CaraLife family
Weinsberg
The wall might make the driver cab feel a little claustrophobic, but it pays off in the living area
Weinsberg
Weinsberg completes its deconstructed bathroom using the kitchen sink and a vanity cabinet over it
Weinsberg
The bed extension creates a huge super-king or a spare single bed
Weinsberg
Prop the bed up to create a more sofa-like lounger for relaxing, working on a laptop or watching TV
Weinsberg
The CaraLife 630 MQ is one of the highlights of Weinsberg's Caravan Salon 2023 booth
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann

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The all-new Weinsberg CaraLife 630 LQ features such a fresh, flexible layout, it feels like a design study. But it's actually the German company's latest production camper, launching as part of its 2024 lineup. Designed specifically for the most youthful, active aspiring van lifer and weekend adventurer, the new camper van features a unique floor plan fully sealed off from the driver cab to create a tiny home-like atmosphere. Flexible additions like a stowable "secret shower," customizable plank-style paneling and an indoor/outdoor kitchen space ensure that no day on the road or in the wilderness is exactly like the last.

Weinsberg's new "rolling chill-out lounge" is distinctive enough to get its own model name, "CaraLife." It's a ground-up rethink about the changing tastes and needs of modern RVing, aimed at the youthful, design-minded spirits who want to wring out every last millisecond of their time outdoors before grabbing a healthy, homecooked meal and retiring for a night of sleep as comfortable as home.

The biggest departure from Weinsberg's other "Cara" vans is immediately clear the moment one enters the 250-in (636-cm) Fiat Ducato-based rig. Instead of the open driver cab you'll find on virtually all other camper vans, the CaraLife 630 LQ has a divider wall, neatly splitting off the "van" from the "life."

The L-shaped kitchen offers extra space for food prep and cookware use
Weinsberg

Not everyone will like having the cab and cabin cut off in this way, but those who do will enjoy a homier space that helps one forget they're on the road. Weinsberg further bolsters this feeling with warm, residential-style equipment and trim, including the vessel sink, wood-style kitchen counter and backsplash, and, most prominently, plank-style wall and ceiling paneling.

Not only does the yacht deck-like paneling enhance the homey ambiance, it serves as functional decor upon which owners can hang accessories, such as shelves, plants, pictures, coat hangers, clocks and more. Knaus competitor Hymer made this feature pop in its disruptive Vision S a year ago, and the paneling appears to be becoming more of a standard across the industry.

Weinsberg has designed the CaraLife 630 LQ for serious personalization (but perhaps not this much)
Weinsberg

Speaking of innovations turned up-and-coming standards, the deployable indoor shower room was once a rarity reserved mostly for customs and concepts but has slowly become more of a standard option available from small and large brands. Weinsberg calls its design the "Secret Shower" and installs it amidships, just in front of the rear transverse bed and between the two dinette bench seats.

The dining table slides away to free up the space, and the raised dinette floor houses the shower pan and curtain below a folding lid, adding a third function to the convertible dinette, which can also be made a solo bed. The curtain rises up, secures to the ceiling paneling and use a magnetic-close entry. Weinsberg completes the bathroom with a portable toilet tucked away in a cabinet and a vanity cabinet over the kitchen sink with built-in mirror and space for things like toothbrushes and toothpaste.

The "Secret Shower" stores away in a compartment below the slide-out dining table, quickly deploying for a morning or evening scrub
Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann

When no one's taking a shower, the dinette is designed to seat up to five people on its two benches. The table can slide out for dining and slide quickly away for more space.

Weinsberg uses its front wall to create a large, L-shaped kitchen area with a dual-burner gas stove, sink and fridge/freezer. The console next to the entryway features an indoor/outdoor design with foldaway outdoor tabletop and slide-out pantry that can be used as a minibar. The tall, slim fridge is also positioned for quick outdoor access.

Much like Volkswagen has done with its newest California design, Weinsberg creates an indoor/outdoor kitchen space to inspire campers to spend more time outside the van walls
Weinsberg

Surprisingly, the 630 LQ's rear bed is a fixed design that does not fold away to clear pass-through space for the myriad boards, bikes and skis that Weinsberg's targeted demographic will undoubtedly want to bring along. It does, however, help create a cozier bedroom-like space enhanced by the personalization invited by the plank paneling, and Weinsberg even shows a surfboard mounted to the wall, providing a different way of carrying long gear. A bicycle might be a little more difficult to hang but probably possible with the right hooks and clamps.

A more utilitarian, gear-hauling take on CaraLife 630 LQ wall personalization
Weinsberg

The rear of the bed can be propped up to create a sofa-style lounger for reading, working or watching the available 32-in TV hanging on the front wall over the kitchen. Weinsberg even offers an optional extension panel to create either an oversized bed measuring roughly 75 x 83-in (190 x 210-cm) – larger than a residential king – or a third berth on the dinette. Weinsberg's design doesn't leave any room for rear belted seats, but the Fiat Ducato cab can seat up to three people to match those three available sleeping berths.

Weinsberg's new van was clearly inspired by the floor plans, equipment and decor of custom conversions, but it skips the six-figure price tag, starting at a reasonable €59,990 (approx. US$64,750). The base Ducato is powered by a 138-hp 2.2-liter engine and six-speed manual transmission.

The animated video takes a closer look at the CaraLlife 630 LQ's layout and key components, some of which aren't clear in the photos. The voiceover is in German, but the visuals tell the story pretty well.

Source: Weinsberg

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2 comments
Brian M
'such a fresh, flexible layout, it feels like a design study.' - Indeed it looks like a first year design project where the student got an F grade.

Can't believe why anyone would even consider such a badly designed camper van. In a van of this size you expect a proper loo and shower facility, worse any space this might have saved has been squandered.

Separating the living from the cab area is shall we say a 'brave decision', but (really wanted to say foolish! It, immediately loses a lot of the living space, both in feel and in practice, the standard two front rotating seats really add to the usable spaces in a camper of this size. Not to mention you are no longer able to pull over into a layby and make a cup of Tea without leaving the van.

CarolynFarstrider
What’s the etiquette of using a portable toilet in a cupboard? Do you have to have a separate tent? Or do you just have to be very tolerant friends?