Winnebago Leisure Seeker

Business is good for Australian motorhome hire companies, with plenty of touring overseas visitors and more Australians out on the road.

The list of campervans and motorhomes for hire is lengthy, including Toyota Hiace campervans, Mercedes Benz Sprinter campervans, Toyota Hilux light truck-based motorhomes, Mazda, Fiat Ducato and Iveco truck-based motorhomes – from two to six berths.

One aptly-titled hire company, Around Australia Motorhomes (AAM), has a great selection of campervans and motorhomes.

We borrowed its latest addition: an 18ft Iveco-based Winnebago five-berth motorhome known to AAM fleet as the RV5, or the 2155 Leisure Seeker to Winnebago. It’s a standard factory design, like all of AAM’s motorhomes.

Outside

The Iveco cab looks good for a truck and has a welded aluminium frame with foam-insulated roof, walls and floor and Filon fibreglass finish. Windows are the Hehr hopper variety and the Hehr door has a separate insect screen.

Using the Iveco chassis, Winnebago has raised the motorhome’s floor level and expanded storage area underneath.

Two big side doors give access to huge bins, connected with a pass-through across the middle.

The extra floor-height allows water tanks, both fresh and grey, to be fitted above the chassis in the rear offside corner for easier access.

The batteries are stored behind the passenger door, and in an offside compartment is the 9k gas cylinder and Suburban hot water heater.

Inside

The 2155 layout includes a cabover bed, mid-section four-person dinette on the offside and three-person day/night lounge on the other. In the rear offside corner is the bathroom, and between that and the dinette is the kitchen area. Opposite is the fridge and cupboard space.

Step-down access to the driver’s cab is easy. There’s underfloor storage in the kitchen accessible by a floor hatch, but it could do with a light. Unclip the top step for another general storage area.

There are five seatbelts and five can also sleep (with a squash) if both the day/night lounge and the dinette are used. Hidden in the rear cupboard is an extra table.

The cabover bed lifts out when not in use, and roof height above the foam mattress bed is about 2ft (610mm). There’s a reading light at either end of the bed but late-night TV viewers would need their heads at the nearside end, as the TV is above the dinette.

AAM supplies all the necessary bedding requirements – and there’s a box to store spares. Lighting is incandescent fittings above the dinette and day/night lounge, with a fluorescent lamp under the kitchen overhead lockers and additional dinette reading lights.

The almost L-shaped kitchen has a Smev three-burner stove and oven against the wall and the stainless steel sink set at right angles to it, behind the dinette seat. The hinged smoked glass cover prevents water splashing, but there’s no sink drainer.

Opposite is a Dometic 110-litre fridge with microwave above and bench space. Essential cooking and eating tools are also provided.

There’s a separate shower/bath, cassette toilet and vanity unit. The bath is 31in x 18in (787mm x 460mm), which can be used by both children and short-legged people! Two vents, rear windows, plus lights in the shower and above the vanity supply ventilation and illumination.

Storage includes overhead lockers and a rear wardrobe as well as the area underneath. Lighting is 12V with Fiamma twin incandescent fittings. There’s a single centre-mounted light outside and hidden on the roof is a Winegard TV antenna.

A roof-mounted Fiamma hatch and an RVP air-conditioner provide ventilation.

Water is 12V pumped or has a mains pressure connection with an internal start 22.6 litre Suburban gas-fired HWS.

On the road

Driving through a six-speed gearbox, the 2.8 litre turbodiesel pushes the Iveco along very well. Some motorhome companies use automatic gearboxes where possible, but Tom Newsom, an AAM Business partner, said they prefer manual gearboxes. Driving the slick six-speeder really isn’t difficult.

The driver’s seat is easily adjustable and all the controls and instrumentation are close at hand.

All the regular gauges, speedo, tacho, fuel and temperature are there, plus a host of warning lights.

Being a Euro truck, the indicator switch is on the left and the wiper controls are on the right. Both driver and passenger doors sport good-sized map pockets, and there’s also a medium-size glove box.

Summing up

If you like to try before you buy, one of the advantages of hiring a motorhome from a company such as AAM is they are exactly the same as standard Winnebagos – what you see is what you get!

For new travellers, the Iveco-based Leisure Seeker is very easy to drive and a good introduction to the recreational vehicle lifestyle. Anyone hiring a motorhome will always receive a thorough briefing on its features. The RV5 comes with five berths – this probably means either two adults and three children or four adults who are happy to live in close company.

Around AAM has depots in all capital cities but its main offices are: 11/10 Pioneer Ave, Thornleigh, NSW, freecall 1800 637 958; 2023 Sandgate Road, Virginia, Qld, (07) 3216 5166, or visit <a href="http://www.aamotorhomes.com.au/"><span><u><font color="#0000ff">www.aamotorhomes.com.au.</font></u></span></a>

We liked

Driving the Iveco

General layout

Excellent under-floor storage

Kitchen setup

We would have liked:

Light above entry area

Sink drainer

More travelling time!