Trakka Veneto

By Malcolm Street

As I write, I am treated to glorious panoramic views of New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua through three large windows. How much did this priceless sight cost? About NZ $10 for one night’s stay in a caravan park! I am sitting in the rear of a Trakka Veneto motorhome – numero uno off the production line – in its rear club lounge with wonderfully big windows.

Trakka’s first C-class motorhome was the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-powered Sandpiper. The Veneto, based on the Fiat Ducato, is its second. Developed by the New Zealand arm of Trakka (which is why I’m trying it out over here), it has been designed for both markets.

Outside

The Fiat Ducato cab is bolted to an Al-Ko AMC chassis. It is hot dipped galvanised, has torsion bar suspension, disc brakes, and a very low centre of gravity.

The Veneto’s moulded fibreglass exterior is very smooth. All windows except the rear are double glazed Seitz items with blinds and flyscreens. Even the Seitz door has a double glazed ‘stable door’ window, also with blind and screen.

Two 9kg gas cylinders are in an offside compartment, and there is a smaller, convenient space for the power cable. There are two external lockers, one at the rear and one along the nearside, and both are accessible from the inside. Hiding in one is a table that neatly clips onto a side rail.

Inside

In addition to the panoramic rear lounge, the interior of the Veneto features a mid station kitchen on both sides. Behind the driver’s seat is the shower and toilet cubicle and behind the passenger seat is a large cabinet with the fridge, hanging wardrobe and a towel and blanket cupboard.

All cabinet work is laminated Euro-plywood finished in a creamy yellow shade. The upholstery is a burnt orange colour and a big Seitz hatch above the dinette lets in an enormous amount of light.

The kitchen area is quite large. Along the offside are a Cramer three-burner cooktop and stainless steel sink, both with smoked glass lids. Under the cooktop is the oven and grill. The sink has no drainer but there is a useful hinged flap and Trakka NZ supplied a Leifheit folding drying rack.

There’s a cutlery drawer, two floor cupboards and two overhead lockers.

Lighting is slimline rangehood downlights and an Ellipse fluorescent globe. Opposite is a cabinet, good benchtop space and microwave.

The dinette has all-round flat foam cushions and will seat four comfortably. The table swivels and slides but can be locked in place, and is stored behind the driver’s seat when not in use.

There are six overhead lockers and under-seat storage, although part of the offside area is taken by the Truma hot water heater.

Lighting is three Ellipse fluorescent lamps plus four low-wattage globes fitted in to the Seitz hatch.

There are two sleeping choices: the generous Luton bed is 7ft 2in x 4ft 3in (2.2m x 1.3m) and the ceiling height varies from 2ft 2in to 1ft 10in (660mm to 558mm). There are windows on both sides, reading lights and two shelves.

The dinette is easily made up: the table and leg lift out and the roller shutter-style base is pulled from the back seat. Seat back cushions make the 7ft 2in x 6ft (2.2m x 1.82m) ‘mattress’.

The reasonably-sized bathroom has a shower with a fixed head, single mixer tap operation and the fold-out vanity sink has hot and cold water. There’s a mirrored door, vanity cabinet, swivelling Thetford cassette toilet, Fiamma fan hatch with two halogen downlights and a relatively large window.

Above the doorway are battery voltage and ammeter gauges, master switches for all lights and fans, hot water heater switch and Truma air-blown heater controls.

Lighting is a mixture of fluorescents and halogen fittings and worked very well with no dark spots. The house batteries are hidden under the false floor at the bottom of the wardrobe.

On the road

The low Al-Ko chassis improves general motorhome handling – cornering was handled quite confidently. The Ducato 2.8 litre turbodiesel is no slouch, although it slowed a bit going uphill unless you judged the revs with some precision. It otherwise kept the pace with general traffic very well.

The rear window is low enough for the driver to see straight out the back – that’s good because the standard Ducato mirrors are not quite far enough out.

Summing up

This is certainly an impressive little motorhome. It has a nice bright interior and I especially liked the rear panoramic windows. The Ducato provides enough power and the low Al-Ko chassis is a great handler. About the only disadvantage is the overhead lockers are too high for shorter people. Otherwise the Veneto will provide comfortable touring for two people.

For more information about the Veneto contact Trakka Australia, 9 Beaumont Road, Mt Kuring-gai, NSW 2080, (02) 9472 9000, email: info@trakka.com.au or visit www.trakka.com.au.

We liked

Smooth-looking motorhome

Roomy layout, with spacious feel

Fittings like the plate and cup rack

View out of rear windows

Hinged flaps at bench ends

We would have liked

Lower overhead lockers

More travel time