A'van Applause 500

By Ros Bromwich

Since its appearance on the caravan building scene 11 years ago with the now familiar A-shaped low profile folding caravan, the team at A’van Caravans and Campers has engaged in a continuous process of innovation and improvement to its products.

Never content to rest on their laurels Jeff and Marion Van Baardwyk, joined in the business by sons Scott and Jeff Jnr., have developed the A’van range so that it now includes a variety of pop-top caravans, models with slideout bed-ends, a luxury full-height caravan, the Euro Star, and some interesting new designs featured at this year’s caravan shows.

At the same time they have streamlined production processes, increased factory floor area considerably a couple of times and developed the technology of building A’vans through the use of sandwich panel walls for the caravans, and other innovations.

What has never been forgotten in all this growth, however, is what the end product is all about: travelling and leisure time, spent comfortably and economically by the user.

It was a mixture of these philosophies – a desire to broaden the product range and a focus on the enjoyment of leisure time – plus a keen eye for where there was an increasing interest on the part of buyers, that led A’van to developing its own motorhome.

Launched at the beginning of 2005 after a gestation period lasting several months, came the A’van Applause.

“The decision to use the Fiat Ducato as a base model was not too hard,” says A’van’s marketing manager Eamon Bowler.

“It’s the vehicle of choice for two thirds of campervans in Europe, plus the Fiat distributor over here has done a great job making sure there is a good supply of vehicles and developing the network of local service agents around Australia – an important factor for us,” Eamon told MHG.

“It’s icing on the cake that it’s such a great vehicle to drive – being a five-speed manual it has a terrific gearbox. Its width means we could fit a good-sized bed across the rear and the internal headroom – 6ft 2in (1.8m) – is also good news for many.”

The A’van approach has been to keep things simple. There are five models available, designated from 100 (single beds, no shower) to the top-of-the-range 500 (double bed, shower) in which every feature comes as standard. The interior style of all models echoes that of the high-end caravan, the Euro Star, with stylish looks and quality fittings throughout.

Clap your Hands

The Applause 500 featured here is an eye-catching campervan, with the Ducato’s looks enhanced by decals announcing its branding. The doors are as supplied on the original body, with new Dometic double-glazed window/blind systems to maximise interior space and ventilation.

Up front in the cabin the seats are leather-clad. A’van’s changes include the fitting of neat integral full-blockout blinds for the windscreen and cabin windows – they look good and eliminate the need for flappy curtains for privacy at night.

The manual gearshift is indeed easy to use, and the Ducato zips along very nicely – too nicely actually: without cruise control (please, Mr Fiat) the needle slips over 100km/h with disconcerting ease.

There are storage pockets in the doors and the walk-through to the ‘house’ part means a big gap between the seats (the handbrake is on the right of the driver’s seat) – this has an obvious role but is one element you have to get used to if a centre console is your usual driving companion. The awning and roof-mounted air-conditioner give the clue to its role as a mobile home, and there’s also an integral power cord on the side.

The sliding door opens to reveal a switch for the electric step, and the internal light switches are handily accessible on the left of the entrance. There is a definite family feel abut the Applause’s interior, with Rezilience stain-resistant interior wall panels creating a warm ambience as well as offering a hard wearing surface.

The layout is rear east-west double bed, centre offside shower/toilet, kitchen on either side of the door, and dinette tucked up behind the driver’s seat.

The two cabin seats swivel to make the lounging area for four. The Applause is licensed to carry four passengers, and the rear seats have seatbelts and headrests. The removable table has a brushed metallic finish and the area is cosy rather than spacious.

The 90 litre fridge opposite has a 17in LG LCD television mounted onto a swivel bracket above, which enables viewing from every part of the van and outside. Additionally, there’s a six-speaker DVD/CD/radio home theatre system.

The stainless steel and glass finish continues in the kitchen, with two-burner Cramer cooktop and large sink, both with glass lids, and rangehood over. With this floorplan there’s not a huge amount of bench space available, but storage is reasonable, with a slideout pantry behind the passenger seat and in the attractive overhead cupboards all round the interior.

Customers’ desires for hanging space were heeded: a wardrobe has been provided under the sink, accessed from inside and outside, with the sliding door open.

A contemporary styled interior lighting system enables ambient variation with either a 12V or 240V supply. The 100 amp in-house battery system charges from the vehicle during travel but switches off to ensure the car battery cannot be flattened and has a transformer so 240V mains can be used on site. The double-glazed and flyscreened windows open to 90° and, with the ceiling-mounted Dometic air-conditioner and fully insulated walls and roof (25mm), the Applause offers maximum all-year-round comfort.

Centrally fitted on the offside the shower cubicle, with mirrored door, has plastic moulded walls and fibreglass base similar to that found in Euro Star. There’s a corner basin and the chemical-free Dometic VacuFlush toilet unit, with ventilation via a hatch.

Across the rear is the 6ft 3in (190cm) queen bed with innerspring mattress. Lifting up easily with gas struts, the bed has a heap of useful storage underneath, which can also be accessed via the rear doors. Curtains are fitted on the bed area windows and slide-rail halogen reading lights add to the comfort level.

Summing up

A’van’s entry into the motorised RV world has been enthusiastically received by buyers and it’s easy to see why. The proven ability of the Ducato combined with A’van’s skill with interiors add up to a very good mid-sized motorhome package. The addition of alternative layouts is a good thing too, providing buyers on different budgets with some flexibility in terms of features and fittings while still buying an A’van.

Prices start from the single bed/no shower model Applause 100 at $69,990 rising to the fully optioned 500 for $10K more. Dealers have been appointed in Qld, NSW, SA and Vic so far. We look forward to seeing future developments in the A’van motorhome range.

A’van Caravans and Campers, 7 Webster Way, Pakenham, Vic 3810; (03) 5941 6488; email admin@avan.com.au; www.avan.com.au.