Iveco Voyager

By Malcolm Street

These days there’s a good range of vehicles for builders to choose from to produce a comfortable large campervan or small motorhome that is also easy to drive.

Italian truck builder Iveco, a common base vehicle for European van conversions and coachbuilts, is gaining popularity here. The Iveco Daily van is an ideal RV at 22ft (7m) in length and nearly 6.5ft (2m) wide.

Brisbane Iveco truck dealer Black and McFadden has teamed up with a well known motorhome builder to produce a range of units based on the Iveco Daily.

Brian Peters heads the motorhome team at Black and McFadden and is enthusiastic about the project. The Voyager, a C class design, is available, as well as a couple of van conversion layouts. It was one of the latter, the Series II, that we reviewed.

Outside

The Iveco is white with a lower skirt of grey. There are no external storage lockers except a gas compartment for two 4kg gas cylinders at the nearside rear. Opposite side is the Thetford cassette toilet door plus another little hatch for an external shower. On top is a roof-mounted Carrier air-conditioner and single solar panel.

There’s also a slideout step and a Fiamma F45 awning for protection from sun and rain.

Inside

The roomy Series II layout has a double bed across the rear with a kitchen bench along the nearside. Opposite is a large cabinet area with a wardrobe, fridge and bathroom. All the cabinet work is ply timber, with light laminate top surfaces with moulded timber edges. Green curtains finish it off.

In the kitchen, a fair size benchtop working space can be increased by a hinged flap on the end. Bench fittings include a three-burner Smev cooktop with combined stainless steel sink and a separate grill.

Underbench storage includes two cupboards, a slideout pantry, floor locker and three drawers, one for pots and pans. I would have liked a window behind the kitchen bench.

Opposite and beside the shower cubicle is the Dometic fridge, LG microwave and an overhead locker for electrical controls.

Kitchen lighting is an overhead Ellipse fluorescent fitting plus a downlight fitting. An extra light above the front end of the bench would be useful.

At the rear, the 5ft 10in (1.8m) x 4ft 4in (1.3m) foam mattress is not suited to tall people, although the company is considering changing this. Under the bed is a large storage area.

Up front, there’s an instant dining and lounging area with both seats swivelling and a table in between. The sideways facing lounge behind the driver’s seat has potential to be a day/night lounge but in its current form really cannot be used properly with the swivel table.

Storage is plentiful: there are overhead lockers in the lounge and driver’s cab as well as space under the lounge to store your travelling possessions.

Lighting is an Ellipse fluorescent, a single swivelling halogen downlight above the lounge and there’s another downlight above the sliding door entry.

In the bathroom a flexible hose shower also serves as the water supply for the moulded fibreglass vanity sink. There’s a Thetford cassette toilet, towel rail, a few cupboards, and a halogen downlight and a fan hatch for lighting and ventilation.

Lighting throughout the Series II is 12V, supplied from the house battery fitted at the rear. Most light switches are conveniently located at the end of the kitchen bench. A 240V powerpoint is at the front end of the bench but another might be handy behind the driver’s seat. Hot water is supplied by a Truma gas-fired unit.

On the road

General truck driving and comfort has improved remarkably over the last few years, thanks in part to European truck manufacturers now in Australia, and the Iveco is no exception.

Most of the driver controls are just where you want them and about the only niggle I had was with the pedestal location of the six-speed gearshift; it’s a little in the way when moving to the rear.

Keeping up with the traffic flow was no problem. Large mirrors of the flat and convex variety give a good view.

The 2.8 litre turbodiesel pushes the Iveco along well and works well in tandem with the six-speed gearbox. Maintaining the speed limit in most conditions is not difficult.

The Iveco doesn’t have the feel of a big vehicle either when driving or manoeuvring and is easily handled in a variety of conditions.

Summing up

Although the Black and McFadden crew might be new in the motorhome world, this design certainly shows they have done some serious research and added their own innovations.

The double bed length won’t appeal to taller people and better things could be done with the sideways facing lounge.

That said, there is a single bed design available but I like the front setup of this model. This Series II Iveco Voyager motorhome will suit people who are not keen on a coachbuilt unit, but still desire a reasonably comfortable motorhome.

For more information contact Black and McFadden, 1430 Newman Road, Geebung, Qld 4034, (07) 3630 8800 or email <a href="mailto:brian@dailycentre.com"><span><u><font color="#0000ff">brian@dailycentre.com.</font></u></span></a>

We liked

Effective use of front area with swivelling seats

Relatively large kitchen bench

Hinged shelf at end of kitchen bench

Rear under-bed storage area

Driving the Iveco Daily van

We would have liked

Window behind kitchen bench

Light above kitchen bench

Reading lights for driver and passenger seats

Overhead lockers above kitchen

Better lounge seat