2023 Coachman Travel Master 565 motorhome

When Coachman announced its intentions – many moons ago now – to enter the motorhome sector, few were expecting something as grand as this.

The Hull-based caravan manufacturer of some renown has dovetailed with its parent company, Sweden’s Kabe, to produce a trio of coachbuilt motorhomes, all based Mercedes chassis-cabs with Al-Ko extensions.

It’s a bit of a beast!

Not just longer and heftier than most typical motorhomes, the Coachman Travel Master 565 is also a crucial bit wider – feeling that essential tad more spacious throughout the inside.

It’s also considerably pricier. Unlike many manufacturers at this price level, especially imports, though, the Coachman Travel Master is pretty much a one-spec’-suits-all specification.

Only an awning, at £1,300, is offered as a factory-fitted option – and even that, at 30kg, isn’t going to have much impact on the impressive 850kg payload.  You might, of course, wish to explore other fittings with your Coachman dealer.

One other aspect where the Coachman Travel Master motorhome stands out is the ultra-solid, highly insulated coachbuilt bodywork. It includes double aluminium walls, and any cold spots are designed out.

Along with an Alde system that includes underfloor heating, you won’t get a cosier motorhome. At the same time, it’s also a vehicle that stays cooler when the temperature outside threatens to get too hot. Habitation air conditioning as standard is a boon, too.

If the Travel Master exterior is all-new to Coachman aficionados, there’s something reassuring about the interior. It might be a motorhome floorplan that has its origins in the rest of Europe – twin single beds over a sizeable and well-kitted out garage (lots of lashing points, lockers, open shelving, mains and 12V sockets and more), front lounge with drop-down double bed overhead, split washroom facilities – but it’s become a firm favourite over here and there’s a particularly British feel inside.

That’s down to the choice of furniture finish, flooring and soft furnishings as well as the superior levels of standard equipment.

In this video we take a look inside the all-new Coachman Travelmaster 565:

That lounge starts off with inward-facing settees around a free-standing table. The multi-adjustable cab seats also benefit from a smaller, circular pedestal leg table for on-site use, when swivelled.

The extra body width is helpful in the main lounge area, too – allowing more open floor space than the norm. And there’s a particularly clever hide-away storage fitting for a flatscreen TV.

The offside settee has an equally ingenious design that allows it to be adapted into a forward-facing travel seat for two. A heavy-duty backrest support slides inwards and the settee base swivels into position (note: all models will have removable head restraints).

Behind this, the Coachman Travel Master 565 kitchen only lacks for worktop space. It’s otherwise comprehensively equipped – full cooker, decent sized circular sink – as well as having extensive storage, with handy travel catches for the lower-level trio of drawers (the upper one is for cutlery, the lowest houses to removable plastic bins) slide-out section and drawers.

Over on the nearside, there’s a large-capacity (171 litres) Dometic fridge/ freezer, with automatic energy selection and dual-hinged doors. The microwave oven set above the fridge will be too high for many.

Washroom facilities are split between a fully-lined shower cubicle and a toilet room, with the solid door to the latter also able to act as a shut-off for complete privacy from the kitchen and lounge.

The toilet room is just as spacious, offering an inset basin and swivel-bowl toilet, plus good locker storage (high and lower-level) as well as the usual towel, clothes and toilet roll holders etc. Surprisingly, there’s no window.

Another slight anomaly – the fresh water tank (at 87 litres, not the largest) is slightly smaller than the waste (90 litres).

The only other niggle is the size of the drop-down bed in the Coachman Travel Master 565 motorhome. It’s a generous enough 1.98m long but width tapers from 1.09m to 0.84m.

Overall, though, this is a highly impressive motorhome with a huge inventory of specification. Do note, also, that those prices are for the 2022 season. The model goes into 2023 pretty much unchanged – but, like every other new motorhome, price rises are very much in the pipeline.

Verdict: Coachman makes a motorhome splash

Plus: Top-drawer build quality, amazing heating and insulation levels

Minus: Heavy, limited kitchen worktop space, narrow drop-down bed

In-a-nutshell: Swede success beckons

There’s more information on the Travel Master range on the Coachman website. Find out more about insuring this or your current motorhome on our motorhome insurance page.

Alternatives: Dethleffs Globetrotter XXL A 9000-2 EB, Hymer B-Class MasterLine T 780, Swift Kon-Tiki 884