It is a complex, cathartic, and almost chaotic thing to watch from afar, but when you look at the detail, it’s a masterpiece of timing and precision. Each piece arrives just in time to be installed onto the caravan, and no matter the caravan or specification, each vehicle is treated the same. If you are in the mood, you can watch my 2-part series following the construction of a series 1 Phoenix 640.

With every caravan built from the same pool of parts, the sides and roof built to the exact Alu-Tech specification, is our current Alicano Grande really different from the Phoenix? You could theoretically ask the same question of any car manufacturer. Apart from the size and shape, is there much in the way of difference?

The Alicanto Grande and the Phoenix ranges of caravan each offer similar layouts on paper, but the layout only really tells half the story. It’s the sum of the parts and the aggregation of granular elements that make the difference. Although both caravan ranges offer transverse bed and end washroom layouts, the Alicanto Grande Evora is 8ft wide and almost ½ metre longer than the Phoenix 640 counterpart. But, there is more than just space setting the two apart, as we discovered…

Once we moved into the Alicante Grande Evora, we noticed a huge difference in the lounge area of the caravan, which may be obvious. Neither I nor Angela could stretch our legs to the other side like we have always done in previous caravans. It’s just a couple of inches too far. Although obvious, we never actually thought of the extra space in the lounge area, and this is great news for the dog, who loves sitting at our feet in the caravan.

Small changes in the kitchen have had a huge impact. Our old caravan had a drawer and cupboard beneath the sink. The Alicanto Grande has a very different arrangement and one that didn’t give us a headache on where to put the food, pots, pans, and items such as washing up liquid and sponges.

After some fiddling and trial runs, we configured the kitchen in a very different way than before. We use the locker above the fridge as a ‘bread bin’ cupboard. That has now made the front overhead locker available for bakery items and snacky bits.

Perhaps the biggest difference is the bed. Not only is it far comfier (Don’t get me wrong, the Phoenix 640 was very comfortable), but the size is a real game changer. We use the bed more in the day than our last caravan. It’s so usable as a place to veg out during the day, that it has become a bit of a favourite spot to read a book. For us, the biggest difference was the lack of wardrobes on either side of the bed. This gave us far more space to place a book, a cup of tea, and my reading glasses. We didn’t feel so closed in when in bed.

Finally, a small change that’s had a huge impact has been the shower, now at the back of the caravan. There is now no wheel arch intrusion in the shower cubicle, which was very useful for standing bottles of shower gel and shampoo. Instead, we now have a shelf in a much larger cubicle area.

Overall, we feel right at home. It’s the same but different. Although the caravan changed a lot from our previous Bailey caravan, nothing feels alien. Nothing feels out of place, however, because the kitchen is now reconfigured, I cannot remember where the washing-up liquid is, So, sadly, I cannot complete the washing-up, that’s my excuse anyway! Interested in seeing more? Watch my full Alicante Grande Evora walkthrough video.