By Malcolm Street
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Motorhome manufacturers are often started by people who don’t necessarily have a background in motorhomes, but rather in some allied trade such as boat building or cabinet making.
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Billabong Motor Homes, a Brisbane-based company owned by Jay Nicholls, fits into the latter category – his trade experience in cabinetry led him into the motorhome business.
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For the most part, the company does fit-outs on vehicles that customers have already purchased – everything from Sprinter vans to ex-coaches. However, Billabong does convert one vehicle as a new motorhome – the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. 
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It’s one of the more popular vans for motorhome conversions and there are several reasons for this. One is that the three-pointed star carries a certain amount of prestige among many customers. Another is that the first generation Sprinter really was the first of the larger light commercial vans that set the trend for motorhome conversions.
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Another reason is not solely to do with Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, but rather that the size of the four-tonne European vans means that no major body work has to be done by a manufacturer to produce a good sized motorhome.
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We should point out that although this motorhome is based on the old model Sprinter, any latest Billabong will be on the new Sprinter. 
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One of the benefits of a van conversion is that not a great deal of external work is required on the van. Cut-outs are required for the Seitz hopper windows, Thetford toilet cassette door, Suburban water heater and fridge vents.
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Then it’s a matter of adding the other essentials, such as the Fiamma F45 awning, external light, 120W solar panel and TV antenna. A roof-mounted air-conditioner isn’t fitted, but the van is pre-wired for an easy fit later, if required. Out of sight and underneath the van are the 110L fresh and 85L grey water tanks. 
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Once all that is done, the rest of the work is on the inside.
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Built with class
For the interior layout, Billabong has adopted a tried and trusted setup – rear sideways-facing lounges, which can be made into two singles or one double bed, nearside kitchen and bathroom behind the driver’s seat.
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All the cabinetwork is made of ply timber, lamiwood and laminate, which results in a somewhat plain, but practical, interior. There are a few additions to the norm that are very practical.
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Up front, the driver and passenger seats swivel and a small table can be attached to the corner of the bathroom and used to create a small dining area. It’s a bit cramped, but if you like to keep the bed made up in the rear, then it is not a bad alternative.
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A ceiling-mounted fluorescent gives general light in this area and above the driver’s seat is an enclosed shelf that can be used to hold books and maps.
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Bathrooms in Sprinter-sized motorhomes aren’t going to be particularly big and this one is no exception. However, it does contain the usual items: flexible hose shower, Thetford cassette toilet and a small wash basin in the corner.
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High up on the front wall is a mirrored shaving cabinet and, an item that will please many, a small window on the outside wall. Outside the bathroom cubicle on the ceiling is a slightly incongruous winder and key-locking mechanism: this is actually the winder for the TV antenna.
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Next to the bathroom is a full height wardrobe with two levels of hanging area. This isn’t particularly big, but enough for all we’d imagine taking in this sized motorhome.
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By the sliding door, the kitchen bench has a combination three-burner Smev cooktop with a stainless steel sink. The latter doesn’t have a drainer, which makes for a larger benchtop area, which is already a reasonable size thanks to a simple fixed extension over the rear lounge seat.
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It’s not a bad idea to use the ‘empty space’, but it means that people who like to use the end of the kitchen bench as a back rest might have to find an alternative! There is also a matching corner shelf on the other side of the motorhome as well, giving each bed a sort of bedside shelf.
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We note the powerpoint at the rear end of the kitchen bench – handy for both kitchen use and if you want to power up the laptop at the dinette table as well. Bench lighting is courtesy of both the halogen lamp fitted in the recessed fume extractor and the under locker-mounted fluorescent light.
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Behind the kitchen bench ‘stainless steel’ laminate-covered wall, which does make a good splashback, we’d have preferred a window given the interior size of the motorhome.
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Under-bench storage is generous, with four drawers, cupboard, floor locker and a slide-out pantry. In the space above are two overhead lockers.
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The rest of the kitchen is found on the opposite side of the motorhome in the form of a 156L Waeco compressor fridge. Above that is an empty storage area which can be used for either a microwave or a TV (it’s wired for both 240V and 12V), depending on your preferences.
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Between the fridge and the rear seat is another cabinet containing a cupboard and four drawers, so there is no shortage of storage space. 
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In the rear of the Sprinter, the two lounges measure 6ft 2in x 2ft (1.88m x 610mm) – a comfortable size for two single beds, or they can be made up into a 6ft 2in x 5ft 4in (1.88m x 1.62m) double bed. Lighting in the dining/lounge/bedroom area comes from halogen reading lamps in each rear corner, plus an overhead fluorescent.
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There are the usual under-seat storage areas, also accessible from the back, plus overhead lockers along each side. Part of the offside seat area is occupied by the hot water heater. As in similar designs, there is the problem when side cushions are used to make up the bed – low seat backs.
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Summing Up
There is a temptation to look at this Billabong motorhome as simply one more Sprinter conversion – but it isn’t. 
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The general fit-out and finish is quite good and the Billabong’s price includes just about everything that’s needed for motorhome touring, including the almost obligatory solar panel.
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Then there is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter itself, a van that is easy to drive and manoeuvre, yet still be of a comfortable size for living in, whether it’s used for short or extended trips. 
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This is especially true with the new Sprinter 315 model, which is both better performing and slightly larger than the superseded 313 van, on which this particular Billabong is based. 
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I liked

The general fit-out and finish of the motorhome
That a reasonable amount of storage area had been achieved in a van this size
Corner shelves above each lounge seat plus the bookshelf above and behind the driver’s seat 
Good kitchen benchtop area
Good general lighting with battery-efficient fluorescents
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I would have liked

Adding a window behind the kitchen bench
Reading lights for driver and passenger seats would be a handy inclusion
A drainer with the sink
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Billabong Motor Homes, 2/31 Kremzow Road, Brendale, Qld 4500, (07) 3889 8907, email: aljaycabinets@powerup.com.au, web: www.billabongmotorhomes.com.au
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Billabong Sprinter

Base vehicle Mercedes Sprinter 313CDI

Engine 2.2L turbodiesel

Brakes Disc all round

Gearbox Sprintshift automated manual

Max power 95kW@3800rpm

Max torque 300Nm@1600-2400rpm

Tare weight 2900kg

GVM 3550kg

External length 21ft 7in (6.6m) 

External width 6ft 4in (1.93m)

Internal height 6ft 1in (1.86m)

Cooktop Smev three-burner

Fridge Waeco Coolmatic 156L

Gas 2 x 4kg

Lighting 12V

Hot water Suburban 23L

Fresh water 105L

Grey water 85L

Price $105,000 
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Billabong Sprinter

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