Against other players in its price range the Belmont stands up quite well

Concept is a relatively new player in the caravan scene; it was founded back in 2003, and is based in Victoria. Besides the Belmont which we're looking at here it produces three other models: Icon, Randwick and Ascot. Icon is a smaller caravan while the Randwick is a bigger, more luxurious product; Ascot is another step up again.

Retailing at just under $34K, the Concept Belmont fits right into the price bracket for Middle Australia. It's a simple, durable-looking alloy-side pop-top caravan. It doesn't break any design rules, and against some of the other players in its price range it stands up pretty well. Let's take a closer look.

Talking technically

Looking overall, the Concept Belmont is a mid-sized, dual-axle, pop-top with a rear side kitchen and a door at the rear of the van. It's tagged for 1735kg GTM over its tare of 1335kg which means it'll carry 400kg.

I'll save you the effort of scrabbling around on the gravel in the dealership: there are no surprises with the Belmont's chassis. It's a bit like the underside of a Holden Kingswood Ute: stout, simple and should do the job for a long time. The main chassis rails are 100mm deep rectangular box sections supporting multiple smaller cross-beams and the whole lot is protected with silver Supergal. Rolling stock consists of white steel rims with Australian-made Dunlop 195/14 light truck tyres. The suspension runs two leaf-sprung drop-beam axles on rocker-arms.

On top, the floor is screwed and glued to the chassis and the underside of the floor has an anti-moisture veneer. Its better put together underneath than some I've seen, with the gas lines and wiring neatly installed but something I noticed immediately was that the wheel arches didn't line up with the axle centre-lines. If a high school woodwork class can measure straight, why can't Concept? C'mon, lads ...

Outside, on the living side, there's a power point and a handy-sized drop-down table that would be useful both at camp and for tea breaks at the side of the road.

Inside story

The Belmont's pop-top requires some muscle. And for some people, it could be a 'deal breaker'. I'd strongly advise checking your ability to raise and lower it at the dealer (this could be down to it being a brand-spanking new model, though - it's still tight - Ed).

The pop-top's flyscreens are installed with Velcro so could be replaced with midge or sandfly-proof screens if required.

It's usually about now that I start complaining that there's nowhere to put the spoons and forks. Happily, the Belmont has a cutlery drawer. And it has a flip-down dish-washing brush nacelle, but I'm afraid to say construction is a little flimsy. I like to see drawers on metal frames with little nylon wheels to roll out on. But then again, it's a $35K not $50K van.

There's no shortage of light inside the Belmont thanks to big Camec windows either side of the bedroom and adjacent to the L-shaped lounge dining area. At night, six down-lights in the ceiling and two reading lights in the lounge area do a pleasantly effective job of illuminating the interior. There are two reading lights over the bed, too, for flipping through the pages of a good book before retiring for the night.

The bedroom has an island double bed. There is generous personal gear storage with three overhead lockers, two mirror-fronted 'trinkets' cupboards and a handy-sized wardrobe either side of the bed, with enough room for half-a-dozen or more shirts. So the Belmont looks after its occupants quite well.

Little cupboards are installed against the back of the kitchen and there's a partitioned shoe locker under the bed, on a gas-strutted base frame. The mattress is a comfy innerspring double and only loses a couple of inches from each bottom corner for walk-around.

But first, let's have a feed. The kitchen is quite roomy and thanks to a decent-sized (home-sized) single sink with a drain board, there's enough bench space for easy lunches. The tap is a flick-mixer unit (in preparation for optional hot water).

Storage is good here, too. There are six airline-style overheard cupboards (flip-up doors) - all of useful depth - and one deeper space with a side-swing door. The microwave (on the other side of the kitchen) obstructs some possibly useful bench space, but there's ample room - and wiring - for a TV.

The dinette has seating for two, possibly three if everyone knows each other but it suffers from the too-common problem of wobbling on its single post. Remove the table though, and the lounge is huge. The stove is a four-burner gas with grill, rather than the increasingly popular three burners with one electric hot plate.

All good so far, but the slide-out pantry is inexplicably located in the rear left corner of the van, making it a considerable reach from the kitchen (it might not be a pantry then - Ed), and in the way of the door.

In the end

Except for a few quibbles such as the offset wheel arches, the stiff pop-top and the wonky table, this a good mid-range caravan for long-weekends away. Most of the niggles could be particular to this actual unit too - most dealers would rectify these things. The only real problem the Belmont has is that there's some very good competition in this price and size bracket. 

Words and photos Isaac Bober. Article published in Caravan+RV magazine, Autumn 2008.