Base vehicles for campervan and motorhome conversions
In Australia, there are a limited number of light commercial vehicles used for campervans and motorhome builds. European manufacturers dominate, but Japanese and Chinese competitors are also in the mix.
Base vehicles used in campervan conversions and motorhome builds are pretty varied. A little differently to the rest of the vehicle market in Australia, several European manufacturers have a good chunk of the motorhome niche, primarily for vehicle design reasons. Japanese manufacturers have long been around in several categories and a Chinese manufacturer is starting to have an increasing presence. American truck manufacturers have little representation, mainly since there are very few A-class motorhomes around, either imported or manufactured here.
CAMPERVANS
Volkswagen has long been associated with the small campervan market. Going back almost to the T2 Transporter, VW’s van has always been ideal for a campervan conversion, especially when swivelling cab seats were introduced. That little addition gave the campervan designer extra seating without using valuable storage space in the rear.
VW Transporter
Another vehicle long associated with the campervan sector is the Toyota HiAce. Cheaper than the VW, it’s one of the mainstays of the retail and rental market and is a popular choice, but its disadvantage, until the most recent semi-bonnet model, has been the lack of a flat floor in the cab area and the inability to use swivel seating. Unlike the VW, no AWD version is available except on grey imports.
Toyota HiAce
A new contender for campervan conversions is the Renault Trafic. Similar in size to the VW and HiAce, it offers European chic without the VW's price tag and is very car-like to drive.
Renault Trafic
LARGE VAN CONVERSIONS
A couple of decades ago, the motorhome market consisted of either campervan conversions or cab chassis builds. The arrival of the Mercedes Benz Sprinter van, closely followed by the Fiat Ducato van, opened up a whole new sector in the RV market, which has a very strong following.
Mercedes Sprinter
The Sprinter and Ducato are still very popular for van conversions, but other contenders exist, such as the Renault Master, the LDV Deliver 9, and the Volkswagen Crafter. Although commonly used in Europe and, to a lesser extent, in New Zealand, Ford's Transit is not currently used here in the motorhome world. Another little mystery is that while Japanese vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota have a large part of the vehicle market, they have never built a light commercial vehicle like the Ducato.
Fiat Ducato pop-top
UTE-BASED MOTORHOMES
Ute-based motorhomes are mostly sought by people who want a smaller motorhome. The most common base vehicles are the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger. Both require a GVM upgrade, usually organised by the motorhome manufacturer, to get a satisfactory payload. The advantage of the Hilux and Ranger is that both are relatively small vehicles and are available as a 4X4 chassis; they are favoured by those who like to do a little offroad exploring. The disadvantage is that the motorhomes have limited interior space and internal access to the driver’s cab.
Toyota HiLux
MID-SIZED MOTORHOMES
The European truck manufacturers have the lion's share of this market. Mercedes Benz's Sprinter, Fiat's Ducato, Volkswagen's Crafter, Renault’s Master and Iveco's Daily are all well represented. All offer easy-to-drive capability and driver cabs that are well-suited to motorhomes. Indeed, manufacturers like Fiat have a special production line just for vehicles designed for motorhome use.
Iveco Daily
At present, the Japanese manufacturers have only a small presence, but a newcomer on the scene, the Chinese LDV, may well become more common. It certainly has a price advantage over the Europeans but lacks some sophistication. Because of safety considerations, it must retain the original cab profile, including not using swivel seats.
LARGER MOTORHOMES
For motorhomes with a GVM over 4500kg, the Iveco Daily is often the vehicle of choice, but the Japanese Isuzu NPR is commonly in use too. It's an excellent vehicle on all counts but lacks a cab that has a walk-through. Both the Daily and the NPR have excellent payload capacity. In Australia, some cab chassis (Mercedes Benz and Iveco in particular) are derated to 4495kg, so the motorhome fits into the car licence category. Fresh out of the factory, said vehicles can have a GVM of well over 4495kg without any changes to the design. The downside to this is the loss of payload.
BUS AND COACH CONVERSIONS
In Australia, because of the lack of A-class motorhome manufacturers, the next best thing is converted buses and coaches. The motive power is very varied but at the smaller end are vehicles like Toyota Coaster or Mitsubishi Rosa 22-seater buses. Generally speaking, the conversions are on second-hand vehicles.
MOTIVE POWER AND TRANSMISSIONS
Almost all light commercial vehicle manufacturers in Australia use turbo diesel power, with engines between 2L and 3L litres. European manufacturers, in particular, don't go for big block engines. Instead, they use sophisticated technology to squeeze every last kW and Nm out of their motors, all while complying with strict European emission laws.
Just about all campervans and motorhomes have automatic gearboxes, either six- or nine-speed. They are mostly torque converters, although some are dual-clutch, and they are smooth in operation. This is a far cry from the automated manual gearboxes, which were often clunky. For those who like their driving experience, there are some manual gearbox vehicles available, but it's likely to be a special order.
FRONT OR REAR WHEEL DRIVE?
A little campfire debate that can go on forever is whether a vehicle is better with front or rear wheel drive. Almost all Mercedes Benz vehicles are rear-wheel drive, as are Iveco, Toyota, LDV, Volkswagen, and some Renault models. Fiat leads the charge on front-wheel drive vehicles, but Renault uses them too. Front-wheel drive isn't the scary bogey it's often made out to be and is very common in Europe. One advantage is that a purpose-built AL-KO ™ chassis can easily bolt to the Fiat cab.
SERVICING
As with many modern vehicles, servicing intervals are pretty lengthy but when purchasing any campervan or motorhome, it's a good idea to check on service intervals and where a vehicle can be serviced or repaired. Not all service centres can handle a large vehicle and Australia is big.
WHO’S WHO?
Anyone unfamiliar with the light commercial vehicle world might be confused about who owns what. Mercedes-Benz is very much a manufacturer in its own right, and Volkswagen is too. However, in the past, the latter has used the former’s Sprinter bodywork while using its own engines and transmissions. Benz also has some history in the USA with both Dodge and Freightliner. Renault is a separate entity, but it is in alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Japanese Toyota and Isuzu are separate manufacturers, as is LDV in China. LDV once stood for Leyland Daf Vehicles and was once part of the Leyland empire. However, in 2010 it became part of the Chinese SAIC Group, which also owns names like MG.
Fiat is a little more complicated. Owned by the Stellantis Group, it also has Peugeot, Citroen Opel and Vauxhall in its stable. Hence why the Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Jumper, Opel Movano, Vauxhall Movano and Fiat Ducato vans/cab chassis, which are all running around Europe, all look similar. Talk about badge engineering! We only see the Fiat Ducato here in Australia as motorhome motive power but there are Peugeot-powered motorhomes in New Zealand.
Just recently, Toyota signed a deal with Stellantis to produce a Toyota-badged Ducato van in Europe. Whether we get to see said Toyota ‘Ducato’ in Australia is very much the subject of conjecture, but apart from anything else, it would have the advantage of Toyota having quite a few service centres.
CAB CHASSIS CHOICE
Most motorhome manufacturers do not offer a choice of the base vehicle, but some do. Either way, it's good to be informed about the driver's cab you'll sit in as you tour Australia.
THE NEXT STEP
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