New Age boasts caravan chassis excellence

Melbourne's New Age is advancing further down the road in its pursuit of caravan perfection, with the big-selling caravan manufacturer ticking off another 'engineering excellence' box with the achievement of global certification of the manufacturing process of all New Age caravan chassis.

All welded steel chassis for the New Age range of caravans, pop-tops and camper trailers are designed by parent company Walkinshaw and engineered, tested and manufactured by Dandenong South, Victoria-based precision metal specialist Hilton Manufacturing, which now boasts international accreditation in quality management systems, quality requirements and welding quality.

After recently achieving complete Australian Design Rules (ADR) approval of its entire caravan range, New Age Managing Director, Chris Polites, said it's another example of the lengths the 'Top-3' selling RV manufacturer will go to ensure industry-high standards in quality, compliance and safety.
 
“When we look at how New Age Caravans chassis are designed and manufactured, we want to ensure that they are of the highest quality in all aspects," Polites said.

“It’s not something that's mandated or monitored within the industry, but considered essential for us. The chassis is the main connection point between a caravan and the road, so all New Age owners should have peace of mind every time they are towing a New Age caravan.”

International certifications used on the New Age Caravans chassis, which also go through a anti-corrosion hot-dipped galvanising process, include the ISO 9001 international standard quality management system; ISO 3834 global welding quality requirement benchmark; DIN 2303 quality requirements for production and maintenance companies for military products; as well as International Welding Specialist and International Welding Engineer accredited staff.

The New Age boss said precision robotic welding and rigorous in-house testing are other examples of above-standard processes implemented by the 14-year-old caravan manufacturer.

“The rigorous testing at every stage is there to make sure once it rolls off the line, we know the chassis has passed every possible challenge. It’s an extensive process that is impressive to witness,” he said.

New Age also recently celebrated another manufacturing 'milestone' with the rollout of its 20,000th production chassis at its Epping, Victoria production facility, where around 300 employees produce more than 2000 caravans and pop-tops annually.

Meanwhile, New Age has hinted that a limited run 'Walkinshaw Edition' version of its Wayfinder camper trailer will be released soon, after the Melbourne factory put the brakes on production of its Jayco rival after launching a motorised roof version in late 2021.