Millard MFlow 2020 Review

There's a growing trend in the caravan industry to build bigger, more luxurious and heavier vans, preferably stocked with full off-road kit such as mud-terrain tyres, lifted off-road suspension and of course miles of checkerplate.

That’s all good and well if you can afford to splash out on your dream caravan, but what about those of us (an increasing number by all accounts) who want an affordable family caravan to serve as home while we haul our tribe around the country?

Here’s where Millard’s new MFlow enters the scene. Introduced at the Homebush, NSW show last year, the Millard MFlow is a new range intended to pack a road van with as much gear as possible while keeping the sticker price sensible.

There are four floorplans in the range, starting with the 17ft 6in two-berth MFlow with an L-shape dinette; a 19ft 6in two-berth with cafe dinette; a 21ft two-berth with cafe dinette and the 22ft double-bunk van with L-shaped dinette (or with a triple-bunk option, as reviewed here).

Fully built in Sydney

All models have a north-south front double bed and full ensuite at the rear, and feature Millard’s own in-house 4in galvanised chassis and aluminium frame with one-piece fibreglass composite front/roof panel, fibreglass composite rear panel and aluminium sheet sides. The MFlow even has black checkerplate lower panels on the sides and rear!

Other key features across the range include a 160watt solar panel, 110Ah AGM house battery, Finch RV CD/MP3/USB player, 24in LED TV/DVD, two 95-litre water tanks, an external awning, reverse-cycle air-conditioner and 15-inch alloy wheels.

A front-loader 2.5kg washing machine, four-burner hob and grill and a 190-litre three-way fridge/freezer are standard inclusions for all but the 17ft6in model (for which the washing machine is an option).

There are five different colour options for the fabric/splashback, vanity, kitchen bench and cabinetry doors and a choice of gold, red or blue for the external side decals.

Well equipped for $60K

The Millard MFlow 22 foot triple-bunk van reviewed here is $59,890 (drive-away in NSW), The only option fitted to this van was the three-bunk layout in place of two.

External storage boils down to the tunnel boot, but it does go across the body and can be accessed on either side via locking hatches. Also, the boot’s internal walls are not impeded by obstructions to accommodate other features as you find with some layouts.

Key electrics are housed in the offside boot area, including solar charger, AGM 240v to 12v battery charger, breakaway unit and 12v fuses. There’s one boot light, on the offside ceiling, but it would be handy if one was also fitted to the nearside access point which is likely to be used more often.

The doorside exterior is fairly well equipped for outside living. There’s the signature Millard picnic table with a map of Australia on the wall plate and a 10amp 240volt and 12v auxiliary outlet, plus a TV antenna jack above the table. External speakers are available on the options list.

There’s also a gas bayonet tucked under the nearside boot hatch and a single LED strip light above the dinette window. There’s also a coach light on the recessed grab handle adjacent to the entry door, which splits into a separate screen door when required.

The underside has water tanks well positioned (just ahead of the axle set) and well protected in sheet steel, although some of the plumbing at the rear appears exposed to damage. If you tour on sealed roads (as is the intended purpose of this van) then this shouldn’t be an issue -- but be warned if you venture off the blacktop for extended periods.

The offside wall is fairly sparse, with just the boot hatch, water tank filler and toilet cassette hatch (all of which are lockable).

Modern, clean interior design

A pull-out step eases entry to the interior fit-out, which is a modern, clean design that follows a pretty standard bunk van layout.

So you've got the north-south double bed up front, centre offside kitchen and nearside L-shaped lounge, and rear offside bathroom with bunks opposite. A wall cupboard lives on the rear wall, below which there’s a bench with the front-load washing machine underneath.

As you step inside, you'll see the RV Electronics water/power gauges and key light and main power switches on the side of the dinette locker.

The front bedroom is unremarkable in design for the most part, with generous storage including side wardrobes, centre upper lockers and a big space under the the gas-strut assist bed.

A neat feature on each side of the bedhead area is a cut-out into the side wardrobes, where you can store phones and reading material and the like.  A double USB port and a two-pole 240volt outlet are also found in these lower side wardrobe areas.

Room to cook up a storm

Moving to the kitchen, once again there's a good amount of storage, from upper lockers to under-bench cupboards and an under-bench slide-out pantry (albeit a rather small one).

If you have the (four-burner) cooker on the go and are also using the sink, there’s not much bench space left for food prep. But at least the dinette table is large and close by to do some prep if required.

The fridge is large enough to keep most families stocked with perishables while the 25-litre microwave, fitted high above the fridge/freezer, is not in the best position for retrieving hot liquids but this is a common complaint with many modern vans.

The L-shaped dinette features an adjustable table and there’s an additional cushion supplied to turn the dinette couch into another bed. There are three lockers above the bench, two slide-out drawers below the seat and a magazine pocket on the back wall in the dinette area.

Three bunks and bathroom up back

The three bunks each have an opening window with blind and mesh screen incorporated, and middle and upper bunk space is pretty good, although the lower bunk seems a little claustrophobic and really only suitable for littlies. Like most bunk layouts, it’s a situation where you’d want the kids to try it out first.

The single cupboard and bench space on the rear wall is probably not going to be enough for three kids' clothing and gear, so you’d realistically be distributing the kids stuff though the storage space in the front half of the van.

The bathroom has ample room, with a large separate shower and more than enough storage space for the essentials.

If you’re cosidering some off-the-grid camping with the Millard MFlow, the 160watt panel, 110Ah AGM battery, 180 litres of fresh water capacity and two 9kg gas bottles should see you though a week or two if you're careful to conserve supplies and get a good amount of sunlight into the solar panel.

If you’re planning some longer bush stays, an additional solar panel is on the options list (as is a grey water tank - which you could re-purpose for fresh water) and aftermarket additional battery options are plentiful.

Summing up

The 22ft Millard MFlow has great appeal as a simple, no-nonsense and good-value family caravan. While more space and storage around the bunk area would be nice, the reality is the kids are hopefully not going to spend much time in there and there's suitable storage in other areas of the van.

There's an argument, anyway, that if you’re going camping you don’t need to bring every toy and item of clothing, and a bigger van is only going to cost more. As it is, the MFlow 22ft bunk van is a clever compromise between space, features and price.

2020 Millard MFlow 22ft bunk van

Travel length: 8830mm (28ft 11in)
Body length (open length): 6900mm (22ft 7in)
External body width: 2380mm (7ft 9in)
Travel height: 2939mm (9ft 7in)
Interior height: 1930mm (6ft 4in)
Tare weight: 2519kg
ATM: 3150kg
Ball weight: 205kg
Body: Aluminium side cladding, fibreglass composite roof/rear, aluminium frame
Chassis: 150 x 50mm galvanised steel
Suspension: Roller-rocker tandem leaf springs
Brakes: AL-KO 10-inch electric
Stability Control: No
Wheels: 15-inch alloy with 235/75R15 LT tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95L fresh water
Battery: 1 x 110A/h AGM
Solar: 1 x 160watt
Air-conditioner: Gree rooftop reverse cycle
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Dometic 22.7L gas/electric
Cooking: Dometic four-burner gas hob/grill
Fridge: Dometic RMDX21 190L three-way fridge-freezer
Microwave: NCE
Toilet: Dometic cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12V LED
TV: Finch 24-inch HD LED TV/DVD
Price: $59,890 drive away NSW
Options fitted: Front loader washing machine, third bunk
Supplied by: RV Connection, St Marys NSW
More info: Millard RV