Torture testing first for New Age
Walkinshaw rolls out industry-first, auto-style lab durability testing for caravansDurability testing of caravans is a mixed bag in the Australian RV industry, with some manufacturers like Jayco making use of auto-testing facilities like Victoria's Anglesea Proving Ground, while others like Queensland suspension specialist Cruisemaster known for its real-world 'Rat Runs' designed to test new products to breaking point.
Other Australian caravan manufacturers simply rely on short trips and feedback from customers when it comes to ways of making their products better last the distance.
But now New Age under new owner Walkinshaw is trying to pull caravan testing into the 21st century with the use of an automotive-style four-post 'lab testing' rig at its Clayton, Victoria design and engineering facility.
As part of its desire for 'fault-free' auto-style production across the New Age range, New Age Chief Operating Officer Oliver Lukeis recently showed the multi-million four post test rig in action, replicating the ‘pounding’ that might be experienced during an extended Outback trip on one of its XU toy haulers.
Lukeis told Caravan Industry News that various data was collected from sensors attached to a New Age XU toy hauler van during an earlier, 'round Australia trip.
"The four post rig can replicate 20,000 kilometres of the driving that we did around Australia, in pretty much two days," he said.
"It's hard to replicate real world environments, time and time again... (but) giving it now to our engineering teams... gives us an accelerated testing that would take us months and months of (real world) durability(testing) to see."
Lukeis said the four-post rig can be used on a range of vans of different weights with single or tandem axles.
"I think we're the first manufacturer in Australia and possibly the world to have a caravan on a four post test rig," he said. "Putting it through that durability and engineering and accelerating the torture on the van really gets us to an advanced stage (in a quicker time)."
The lab testing is another step in the HSV-style automotive design and engineering makeover of the Melbourne-built caravan, pop-top and camper trailer range since Walkinshaw fully took over the business in late-2018.
"The level of reliability and engineering design in automotive has really climbed and we want to lift the caravan into that same space and create a benchmark for the industry," Lukeis said.
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