Millard Toura

As one of Australia’s oldest caravan brands and Sydney’s only major caravan manufacturer, Millard has brought a fresh look to its mid-level range with the new Toura.

The Toura sits under Millard’s premium model, the Grand, and is a broad offering in terms of size and layout, from a 17ft 6in single axle through to a 22ft tandem bunk model.

Here we’re looking at the Toura 2100 CD, a 21ft two-berth tandem full-height van.

NOT AFRAID TO GET DIRTY

The Toura is not an off-road van, but it appears to be ready to handle rough roads and the occasional dirt road foray. Decent rubber in the form of all-terrain, light truck tyres and the excellent Cruisemaster independent suspension are promising.

The chassis is hot-dip galvanised in the popular RHS size of 50mm x 150mm. The key longitudinal and lateral inner supports are 50mm x 50mm RHS, with a few of the outliers galvanised steel angle bars.

The drawbar is also a solid 50mm x 150mm RHS with a centre mount jockey wheel and mounts for the two 9kg gas bottles. The centre-mount jockey wheel and unfettered drawbar beams give plenty of room to play with to get a weight distribution hitch set up just right.

At the back, a small steel bumper supports the single spare wheel, although there appears to be room on the right-hand upright to fit another spare if you’re so inclined.

The 100Ah AGM battery is installed in a dedicated aluminium checkerplate box on the offside, ahead of the wheel set. It’s set high enough and far enough back that it won’t get caught up on anything, provided you’re not doing anything silly.

The rest of the underside is a clean design, with vital components tucked up out of harm’s way and the water tanks encased in steel protection.

WON’T STAND OUT IN THE CROWD

The body is the familiar ribbed aluminium sheeting in white. With the checker plate dressing the lower sides and the front, plus the bright decal work, the Toura looks clean and not too conservative. It’s a look that should stand the test of time much better than some more adventurously styled vans that have been released lately.

The external features include a picnic table on the nearside, ahead of the entry door, and just above the table are the outlet sockets for 240v power, 12v power, and the TV aerial connection.

To the right of the door is a handle with an integral light, and there’s also an LED strip light set up high about midway along the nearside.

The front tunnel boot is a large space, with a locking hatch at both the nearside and offside, and there’s a boot light in the offside end. This is surprising, given most would access the boot from the nearside, either when on the side of the road at a rest stop or when set up.

HOP, SKIP OR JUMP

You get into the van past the two-section door, which separates to give you the option of having a security mesh door. It’s quite a step up into the van, so it really needs a pull-down step, or one of those portable plastic steps that sit inside the van when travelling.

Once inside, you’re greeted by a clean, attractive interior layout. The Toura has a front bedroom, centre nearside kitchen, centre offside dinette and a bathroom at the rear.

In the bedroom, all the bases are covered for relaxation and rest. There’s a fair amount of room to get around the end and sides of the 1900mm x 1550mm bed (not always a given in a caravan) and you’re treated to a large window each side to enjoy the view.

There’a small bedside table on each side, and a LED reading light on each side wall of the bed as well as a large, three-stage LED light on the ceiling above the bed.

Storage is well covered with a hanging wardrobe on each side of the bed, as well as a small storage space in each bedside table.

There are also three above-bed lockers, and at the bedroom entrance on each corner there’s a small triangular table and enclosed storage, with a map pocket on the wall above the offside table. On the nearside in the same space, is the TV wall mount.

There’s more space to store gear under the bed, accessed by the usual forward-hinged bed base supported by gas struts.

PREPARATION IS THE KEY

Moving back to the centre of the layout, on the nearside you’re presented with the kitchen area. It’s a spacious, neatly executed space, attractively finished in a marble-look benchtop and splashback.

One of the greatest packaging dilemmas facing a caravan manufacturer is how to allow for enough kitchen bench space. Anyone who has prepared food in a caravan kitchen can tell you that it either makes cooking a pleasure or a pain.

In the Millard, there’ll be smiling faces all round, because it provides generous bench space in the kitchen. You have enough space to prepare a meal on the bench adjacent to the door, without resorting to using the cook top lid or the standard cutting board that fits over the single-tub, mixer-tap stainless steel sink.

Of course if you’re cooking up a storm, you can use these additional food prep areas as well, and the triangle shape of the sink area is a great feature for boosting bench space too.

The only thing missing for foodies is an oven -- but at least there’s a grill under the cooktop and a microwave above the sink. The microwave is set too high though — heating up something like a bowl of soup is going to be tricky, because you have to retrieve it from such a high position.

The kitchen is blessed with a fair amount of storage too. There are lockers above, and cupboards and drawers below. The big Dometic fridge/freezer is set against the offside wall, opposite the sink.

A TABLE FOR TWO?

Opposite the kitchen the two-person cafe dinette has a tri-fold table to increase floor space, especially handy when the cook is beavering away at a meal in the kitchen and you want to get past him.

There’s a small oddments shelf under the table on the offside wall, plus three lockers above the dinette and two under the seats. LED reading lights are offered, one for each person seated, on the offside wall.

Centrally located in the ceiling is the reverse-cycle air-conditioning outlet and roof hatch. There are LED three-stage lights up here as well, which can really turn night into day in the Millard on their highest setting.

REAR DELIGHTS

Up the back, there’s the bathroom, accessed past a sliding door. The first thing you notice is the abundant space — it would put some domestic bathrooms to shame.

There’s a separate cubicle shower stall on the nearside wall, and then the vanity unit on the rear wall, and the cassette toilet on the offside. There’s also a large mirror above the vanity, and the ceramic bowl sink is a nice touch.

The jury’s out on actually using the sink, because some like the raised lip, because it reduces splashing onto the vanity bench, while others are put off by the way the bowl seems to get in the way of arms and clangs when you bump it.

A first-world caravan problem!

Almost a requirement in caravans these days, a washing machine is neatly stored under the vanity bench, and there’s quite a bit of enclosed storage space, with a cupboard below and to the offside of the vanity and lockers above it.

VERDICT

The Toura could do with a larger battery for extended bush stays, the high ball load (250kg) at Tare is not great and it could do with a step to get in and out.

However, it’s a really neat package inside with its pleasant decor, great bathroom space and outstanding kitchen, with the peace of mind that comes from a well-established manufacturer.

WE LIKED:
>> Kitchen bench space
>> Large bathroom
>> Pleasant decor

NOT SO MUCH:
>> High towball mass at Tare
>> Lack of door step
>> Could do with larger battery

MILLARD TOURA 2100 CD

Travel length: 8265mm
Body length: 6560mm
External body width: 2445mm
Travel height: 3135mm
Interior height: 1980mm
Tare: 2170kg
ATM: 2700kg
Ball weight: 250kg
Body: Aluminium frame, fibreglass roof, aluminium cladding
Chassis: 150mm x 50mm RHS galvanised steel
Suspension: Cruisemaster CRS trailing-arm independent, coils, dampers
Brakes: 10in electric drums
Stability Control: No
Wheels: 15in alloys on LT235/75R15 tyres
Fresh water: 2 x 95L
Battery: 1 x 100Ah AGM
Solar: No
Air-conditioner: Gree ceiling mount
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Truma 14L gas/elec
Cooking: Swift 500 series 3 gas +1 hotplate, grille
Fridge: Dometic 186L fridge/freezer
Microwave: NCE
Toilet: Dometic cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12v LED
TV: 24in LED 12v/240v
Price: $66,490 (on-road, NSW)
Options fitted: Leather seating $1500
Supplied by: Camden Caravan, Elderslie NSW
Website: Millard Caravans