New Age Oz Classic

Up until recently Melbourne’s New Age Caravans has been focused more on the inside than outside.

Established in 2009 and now a Top-5 caravan manufacturer, New Age was one of the trendsetters in creating ‘apartment style’ caravan interiors.

Now the Epping, Victorian-based builder is playing catch up with the latest push towards ‘smooth’ exterior panels, following most of its rivals who are already offering smooth aluminum cladding over timber or aluminium frames, or one-piece aluminum or fibreglass sandwich composite panels.

The first stage in New Age’s move to smooth sides is the replacement of traditional ribbed aluminium cladding with 4mm thick Alucobond aluminium composite panels, applied over a traditional screwed and glued Meranti timber wall frame.

Previously offered on the range-topping Blue Diamond as well as the odd custom van, the Alucobond panels are now being rolled out on the more popular Oz Classic and Big Red caravan modelss, along with a number of other upgrades for 2017.

Gloss all round

Now glossy on the outside as well as inside, the new models are currently only available with white or red exterior colours, with black Alucobond used in lieu of checker plate on the lower body sides.

It’s a good move from our perspective, with scratches to the painted aluminium less likely on a dedicated bitumen tourer like the Oz Classic.

One of the downsides of fitting the smooth panels, along with fitting more standard features across both model ranges, is a significant increase in weight – up to 250-300kg on some models.

The 21ft Oz Classic van reviewed here has a Tare of 2710kg and 3110kg ATM. However, It’s not the heaviest Oz Classic, with the top-spec 24 footer with club lounge and 7kg washing machine boasting a 2940kg Tare, and requiring the fitment of a 4500kg-rated DO45 hitch.

While our Mazda BT-50 tow tug coped well with the almost three tonnes out back, you’ll need a similar sized dual-cab ute or even better, a 200 Series LandCruiser, Discovery or American pick-up to safely tow this apartment on wheels…

The latest 21ft tandem axle Oz Classic certainly has plenty of external storage, including the A-frame mounted toolbox that holds the 9kg bottles, big gal-lined tunnel boot and stacked vertical rear lockers, external entertainment locker and drop-down picnic table, but it’s the internal storage options that really impress.

These include plenty of cupboards and storage areas around, above and under the bed, good-sized overhead lockers throughout the van, a row of cupboards along the dinette wall, some deep, pull-out drawers in the kitchen for storing larges pots and appliances, and a bathroom vanity that could almost double as a linen closet.

Benchspace is also plentiful in the kitchen and bathroom, with lots of USB/12V/240V powerpoints thoughtfully located throughout the van to cater for portable devices and other electrical equipment.

If you like travelling with plenty of stuff, this is the van for you, although with the big fridge and water tanks full there won’t much left in the 400kg maximum payload and it would be good to have a bigger carrying capacity on a van like this, to better provide for extended travelling.

Laid back layout

The other New Age ‘speciality’ is their attention to detail in interior fittings and finishes, with the bespoke touches extending to soft leather magazine ‘pouches’ along the dinette wall and monogrammed coat hooks, 'power box' and soap dispensers; not to mention the big mirrors in the bed and shower area that all add to the upmarket, B&B feel.

Also adding to the clean, modern look are the curtain-less Dometic windows throughout, although there's a handy, full-length privacy curtain to close off the bedroom area and solid sliding door for the ensuite.

This particular layout with its two leather, recliner chairs in lieu of more traditional, fixed café dinette seating is unique in the Oz Classic range, and something we’re starting to see more of in Aussie caravans as comfort becomes even more of a priority for older travellers.

In this case, the recliner bases have been fixed to the floor (we’ve seen them unfixed on other caravans) which ensures they won’t move around in transit. However, it does restrict the number of positions which you can swivel around and get fully reclined without hitting something.

The other potential issue is the backrest won’t hold in a fully upright position, so the seating position might be a bit too relaxed for some when dining.

Also part of the kit is a pair of portable, matching foot-stools to really stretch out when viewing the big 28in TV, though the stools take up a bit of storage space under the queen-sized bed when not in use.

However, the recliners do add to the spacious, apartment-style feel, which extends around the bed to the class-leading 2.2m interior height, all the way to the 1.5m deep, full width rear ensuite.

About the only thing missing is digital switching ‘smart’ technology like that now fitted to some Jayco and Swift vans, although New Age does plan to offer that in the future.

The kitchen is also well-equipped with a four-burner cooktop, grille and fan-forced oven, rangehood, 184 litre fridge and microwave,
while the bathroom gets a moulded fibreglass shower with smoked glass door, ceramic basin, porcelain toilet and wall-mounted washing machine.

While the fitment of a ‘mini’ washer fits in with the ‘uncongested’ feel of the rest of the van, there’s certainly enough room to fit a bigger capacity top-loading washing machine in the ensuite vanity, if you ask the dealer nicely…

Not so much:

>> Recliners not great for dining

>> Small washing machine

>> 400kg payload not enough

Verdict

Priced almost $90,000 and with a loaded weight above three tones, this New Age van is aimed at cashed-up couples with powerful tow tugs who enjoy the finer things in life, whether at home or on the road.

Given the amount of storage available, it would be good to see a greater payload capacity than 400kg, and the recliners are not the best option for dining.

But if you can live with that, this is a very well-equipped, smartly finished and thoughtfully designed caravan for extended travel.

New Age Caravans Oz Classic 21RS3
Travel length: 8964mm

External body length: 6300mm (21ft)

External body width: 2500mm

Travel height: 3030mm

Interior height: 2200mm

Tare weight: 2710kg

ATM: 3110kg

Ball weight: 350kg max.

Body construction: Meranti timber frame, with Alucobond aluminium cladding

Chassis: Preston 150mm steel, hot dipped gal

Suspension: Leaf spring roller-roller

Brakes: 10 inch Al-Ko electric

Wheels: 16-inch Westlake alloy wheel with 265/75-16 AT tyres

Fresh water: 80L & 60L tanks

Grey water: 110L

Battery: 1 x 120AH
Solar: 1 x 150W roof-mounted panel

Air-conditioner: Dometic Freshjet

Gas: 2 x 9kg bottles

Hot water: 23L Suburban

Stability control: Al-Ko ESC

Cooking: Thetford Caprice MkIII 3 + 1 cooktop, grille and fan-forced oven

Fridge: Thetford 184L three-way
Microwave: Samsung

Toilet: Thetford porcelain cassette toilet

Shower: Separate one-piece fibreglass cubicle

TV: 28in TV
Lighting: LED
Options fittedL Grey water tank $345
Price (As reviewed, ex-Melbourne): $89,335 
Supplied by: New Age Caravans, Epping, Victoria