New Age Caravans

G’day Wayne, I put a ‘watch’ on your thread. I’m disappointed there haven’t been any replies. I’ve looked at them too and they’re the van I would buy today if in the market and if they handled some rough stuff.... not in the market yet.... still like my camper too much. The interior is like nothing else I’ve seen.
Myles.

My wife and I purchased a Big Red 19.6' van and within two weeks of purchase left the Gold Coast and headed on a 'shakedown trip' to Perth via Port Macquarie, Dubbo, Hay, Renmark, Nullarbor, Kalgoorlie to Perth, Perth to south western WA, to Wave Rock at Haydn, across to Port Augusta, up to Uluru, Kings Canyon, McDonnell Ranges, up to Alice, Tennant Creek, across to Townsville and back to the Gold Coast, a distance of 18,000 kilometres

The van withstood everything presented to it, two notable situations being a sand storm at Coober Pedy and corrugations along the 160 kilometre Mereenie Loop Road between Kings Canyon and Alice Springs - a road with unbelievable corrugations. The only dust that came in was through the vent at the back of the van allowing air into the ensuite and at the vent on the bottom of the door. A quick wipe down was all that was needed.

Travelling along dirt roads (probably around 1500klms in total) saw the van at times shaking at 60 - 80kph, saw it travelling across corrugations and through bull dust as well as through some rocky riverbeds. No damage was evident when we finished each trip. In particular, the Mereenie Loop Road was so rough at the end I got out to check damage and not even a cupboard door was open. The tow vehicle is fitted with the Haydn Reece Weight distribution system and there was no sway on dirt roads by the van. 15inch wheels, 6 inch frame and rock and roll suspension worked perfectly

At the end of the trip, two issues were evident, the first being we carried water because the water tanks tasted of plastic. This has been addressed by New Age. The second is all rough treatment has given the floor a squeak when you walk towards the bed, nothing that cannot be addressed with a normal service.

the Big Red is the 3rd van owned. It is well made for Australia's conditions and did not fail us once. Owning a Big Red does have one drawback though, you get people asking you about the van wherever you stop and you always let them take a peek inside. We had about 12 different instances across Australia.

Four suggestions for improvement.
1, put a handle inside the door to make it easier for people to enter and leave. 2. Some sort of device on the rear of the van to stop or reduce the sway that develops when a road train passes you. You get used to the sway but reduction would be perfect.
3. Relocate the external gas connection for the BBQ to an easier connection point, not under the van but near the gas bottles.
4. Have cameras installed on the rear of the van, one for parking, the other for rear view, similar to the rear view mirror. We have installed and they are perfect for seeing behind you when travelling.