Millard beefs up Sydney-built caravan range

Four years after releasing its first full off-road 'van, Sydney's Millard Caravans has beefed up its build process with the introduction of a new '3AL' three-point aluminum construction method for its 2026 models.

Millard was one of the first to adopt aluminium framing more than 50 years ago, but its new 3AL construction takes it up a notch, with extra reinforcement and insulation for the sides, roof and floor on its more off-road and off-grid capable caravan range.

To reduce the chance of the one-piece roof cracking, particularly over bumpy roads, Millard has gone to a more durable 42mm thick roof structure, comprising an XPS foam core, 1mm aluminium outer layer and 1mm fibreglass inner layer.

"You can now walk on the roof because it's a lot stronger," explained Millard Caravans' Justin Jones at this year's NSW Caravan Supershow where the new 3AL 'vans were on display.

Millard has also used aluminum checker plate on the exterior, with a new fibreglass backing designed to 'block' the transfer of heat inside. There are also fibreglass inner walls across the range for an extra layer of insulation.

"Checker plate usually gets to 60 to 70 degrees in the sun but we've put in a fibreglass backing... so it's not transferring the heat through into the caravan (like before)," Jones said.

Also new is a thicker multi-layer sandwich-panel floor comprising XPS foam, a honeycomb panel and fibreglass inserts.

The aluminium framed side walls also boast better insulation with XPS foam now routed for the electrical cabling, and rubber grommets fitted to prevent rubbing.

With the composite body sides up to 52mm thick, he said "the panels now make the whole caravan construction stronger".

Millard has also beefed up the J-moulds with a new four-layer process for better sealing where the panels meet.

"When we glue and screw the roof on, we seal it, put a waterproof tape over it, and put a rubber seal over the top, so it's not going to leak," he said.

"We've also made our H-moulds deeper so they're a lot stronger too."

He said the new panels are manufactured in-house, and have been extensively tested to make sure they do the job out in the real world.

Other MY26 enhancements include new fully lockable external battery and water filler boxes to deter thieves, and a move to Enerdrive off-grid power systems across the range, located in external lockers where appropriate.

Meanwhile inside, Millard has come up with a neat under-bed sliding mechanism that turns the front walkaround queen bed to a legs-out lounge in seconds; freeing up some interior floorspace without messing up the sheets or cutting into underbed storage space.

He said the European design memory foam mattress that easily folds was chosen due to it being "super comfortable".

"Normally it's difficult to sit up in bed in a caravan due to (the upright front wall)," Jones explained.

"When you pull the bed down it's 6ft 6in long and when you get up in the morning you can push it back, which creates a massive amount of space around the bed as well another place to sit at."

The convertible bed is standard in some Millard models, or can be ordered as an option for around $2000.

Also new is a separate touchscreen located in an overhead cupboard that displays a range of caravan-related information including individual trip and total kilometres travelled, date of next service due, internal/external temp and humidity, tyre pressures and real-time weight from a tow bar scale.

The system was designed by current Millard owner QFlow Australia, which is a company that specialises in furniture fit-outs for hotels and serviced apartments.

The iconic Millard brand dates back to 1947, with the RV manufacturer reaching a peak in the late-'60s when around 250 workers churned out thousands of caravans a year at the Sydney factory.

These days under the ownership of QFlow Millard builds around five to six 'vans a week, with the focus more on quality than quantity.

You can find some of the latest '3AL' dealer 'vans for sale on caravancampingsales, as well as quite a few well used examples built in the 1970s -- the period when Millard was a pioneer in aluminium frame construction.

Speaking of blasts from the past, Jones also told us he's close to signing up 56-year old Glenn McGrath as a Millard Caravans' 'grey nomad' ambassador.

In the 1990s before he became a famous Test cricketer, McGrath spent a year living in a Millard caravan at a Sydney caravan park; a stint that earned the legendary fast bowler the nickname 'Millard'.