Swagman Signature

By Malcolm Street

Swagman’s Signature range of motorhomes might be considered the ‘base vehicle’ of the company’s luxury range, but the well appointed Isuzu-based 29ft Signature is anything but basic.

Outside

Signature motorhomes start life as a stripped-down chassis. A steel frame is built on the chassis and covered with a fully insulated one-piece fibreglass roof.

Above floor level the frame walls are covered by one-piece side panels of fibreglass/urethane foam sandwich construction, which has both thermal and sound-proofing properties. Below floor level there’s aluminium panelling, and a two-pack epoxy is used to paint the entire body. It’s a very smooth looking motorhome, complete with a well polished alloy bullbar.

Other outside features include the awning, external light, grab handle light and rear stainless steel ladder for the roof.

There is no shortage of external storage on the Signature, even though some of the lockers are already occupied by items like the house batteries, 3.6kVA generator, water heater and washing machine.

Inside

Our Signature had an option C layout: a rear bedroom with a north-south double bed, mid station kitchen on the offside, nearside mid station bathroom and a very comfortable large front lounge area.

All the windows, mostly hoppers, are fully screened and curtained, and some have blinds. A roof mounted Wren air-conditioner supplies cooler air.

The Signature’s timber cabinet work is striking. Made from Tasmanian oak, all the doors have stainless steel piano hinges and positive flush push locks.

The kitchen area appears to be almost in the passage way between the rear bedroom and front living area, but it’s not true, because the kitchen bench is a spacious area in its own right. It features a very large four-burner cooktop with convection microwave underneath.

Alongside is a stainless steel sink, with Flick Mixer tap. The sink is set at an angle and creates a reasonable amount of bench space. There are two power points and lighting is excellent. In addition to the rangehood, a fan-driven hatch provides extra ventilation.

Storage is provided by overhead lockers, slideout pantry, a double cupboard under the sink, an angled cupboard and five drawers. A two-door 220 litre fridge sits opposite the kitchen bench.

The driver and passenger seats swivel around to form an L-shaped dinette on the offside and a two-person lounge on the nearside. The lounges are quite comfortable but taller seat backs would be nice. A long narrow table can easily be fitted to the dinette and be used from the driver’s seat as well. The table does have a single leg, but I would prefer twin legs for more stability.

Halogen reading lights are everywhere but there is no powerpoint near the table. The hinged flat-screen TV on the side of the fridge cabinet can be seen easily from anywhere in the living area, and overhead lockers are in abundance.

The bedroom area is quite spacious. Windows on three sides and a ceiling hatch give abundant light and ventilation. The large innerspring mattress bed offers plenty of walkaround room and there’s absolutely no shortage of storage.

Of all the alternative Signature designs, the option C layout has the smallest bathroom, but it does have all the necessary features: swivelling Thetford cassette, vanity sink and angled glass door shower. Careful manoeuvring is required when opening or closing the shower door.

There are two cabinets, a mirror and a towel rail. Halogen downlights supply the light and a fan hatch the ventilation.

A luxury motorhome like the Signature has all the necessary inclusions for self contained living. Two 80W solar panels on the roof keep the two 130ah house batteries charged, as does the Onan 3.6kVA generator. A 1500 sine wave inverter supplies 240V when not connected to mains power. Lighting is 12V throughout.

A Winegard antenna supplies reception to the TV and a satellite dish is an option. There’s also a radio/CD player and VHS/DVD unit for onroad entertainment.

On the road

The Izuzu 4.8 litre intercooled turbodiesel unit drives through a six-speed manual gearbox. Power-assisted re-circulating ball steering turns the Signature’s wheels and electro vacuum exhaust drum brakes do the stopping.

The Isuzu chassis might not be as classy as the Roadmaster used in Swagman’s more upmarket Australis and Dream motorhomes, but its advantage is in servicing – there are a good number of Isuzu dealers throughout Australia.

A hatch between the driver and passenger seats gives access to the front-mounted Isuzu motor.

The driver’s seat is a leather Captain’s chair and is very comfortable: nothing truck-like about it. All the necessary controls and instrumentation, including a rear view camera, are before the driver. The only oddity is that the gear change is on the driver’s right rather than the usual left, and that takes a little while to get used to.

Summing up

Although the Signature has a truck base, features such as totally revised seating, suspension modifications and optional air bags make it a much more comfortable travelling prospect. Nearly 30ft of motorhome provides a spacious living area. The Signature is fully equipped with all the essentials (and quite a few luxuries) for living on the road and it’s not surprising that many long-term travellers happily tour the country in one.

For more information contact Swagman Motorhomes, 245 Brisbane Road, Labrador, Qld 4215, (07) 5500 9000; email: info@swagman.com.au or visit <a href="http://www.swagman.com.au/"><span><u><font color="#0000ff">www.swagman.com.au.</font></u></span></a>

We liked

Spacious layout, especially lounge area

Kitchen set-up

Excellent storage

We would have liked

Large dining table

More space in bathroom

Higher seat backs