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Winnebago!
First Australian Review…
Life’s a Beach!
Winnebago’s Airlie has much to offer,
no matter where you like to holiday…
by Malcolm Street
2 | Day Test: Winnebago Airlie
The Airlie is available as a two-berth B-class or four-berth C-class, as tested. The Luton peak is streamlined, but trades
aerodynamics for over-bed headroom. Like many things in motorhome design it’s a compromise that will suit some
buyers and not others.
I
'm thinking I should start this review of the
Winnebago Airlie with some clarification of
the Winnebago name in Australia. In recent
times there have been at least three different
manufacturers/importers simultaneously selling
motorhomes with the Winnebago name on
them, but now there’s only one – and that’s the
way it looks like remaining.
Winnebago RV Pty Ltd is a wholly Australianowned subsidiary of Apollo Motorhome
Holidays. It has exclusive rights to use “Certain
Winnebago trademarks on motorhomes,
campervans and caravans across Australia and
New Zealand,” according to its press release.
Apollo Motorhome Holidays also owns Talvor
motorhomes, which these days are basically
just for its Apollo motorhome rental fleet.
Winnebago RV Australia Pty Ltd now
manufactures a range of motorhomes in
Australia, as well as importing fully assembled
Winnebago caravans from America. The Airlie
is part of its ‘launch’ motorhome range and is
manufactured at its Brisbane plant, alongside
Talvor vehicles.
The Vehicle
W
hen I first saw the new Winnebago
motorhomes, I thought they looked
very much like re-badged Talvors
– badge engineering of course being nothing
new in this world. However, I've been assured
by the very helpful marketing people at Talvor/
3 | Day Test
Fibreglass mouldings add a
touch of style to the body, while
there’s certainly no mistaking the
brand name from behind!
Winnebago that all the
Winnebago motorhomes have
had at least a makeover and,
in some cases, input from
Winnebago USA.
Underpinning the Airlie is
the very familiar Fiat Ducato
Multijet 180. Measuring 7.88
m (25 ft 10 in), the Airlie has
an Al-KO chassis bolted to its
Ducato cab and is available
as a B or C-class unit. In this
case it’s the latter, having
an over-cab Luton peak for
an additional two berths as
it does. Body construction
is all fibreglass: composite
sandwich panels for the
walls and mouldings for the
front and rear. Dometic has
supplied the windows (Seitz)
and entry door, although the
door isn’t a security seen unit.
For a change, the awning is a
Thule Omnistor.
A surprise in the Airlie is the
amount of external bin space
– two along the kerb side, one
on the driver’s side – and all of
good size, along with tunnel
storage accessed from the
driver’s-side rear. Also using
space along the kerb-side
side wall is an entertainment
unit, cassette toilet door,
external shower and gas
cylinder bin. Inside this last
4 | Day Test
A surprise in the Airlie is the
amount of external bin space.
one are two gas cylinders,
one 4.5 kg and the other 2.0
kg. Longterm bush campers
might have a problem with
gas capacity, but for most
travellers having the smaller
cylinder as a back-up should
be okay and is much better
than just a single cylinder.
Water tanks don't often get
a mention but the Airlie has a
100 L fresh water tank and a
larger 150 L grey tank. That's
interesting because most
manufacturers have it the
other way around, although
in New Zealand legislation
requires the grey tank to be
larger. It might seem odd, but
in environmentally sensitive
areas fresh water taps are
often more common that
dump points.
The low riding AL-KO chassis
allows a surprising amount of
external storage. Not sure about
the drop-down rear bin door,
which could be damaged it it
came open while travelling.
On the Road
N
o real surprises in the
handling department
I have to say. Certainly
the 3.0 L 132 kW turbo-diesel
delivers the goods, while the
6-speed automated manual
transmission (AMT) works as
expected.
In my short travels in the Airlie I
discovered one real advantage
5 | Day Test
The front lounge/dinette provides a secondary living area, while the over-cab bed
ladder is wide and study. It’s a shame through-cab access is compromised by the
fixed bed-base and bulkhead, while the bed curtains look a bit basic.
of Fiat's oft-maligned front-wheel drive. It had
rained heavily the night before and the narrow
track I headed down to get some photos was
surrounded by wet, boggy grass – including
where I was planning on turning around!
However, I realised that by carefully keeping
the front wheels on the firm track as I reversed
around it didn't matter if the non-driving rear
wheels were on the boggy grass.
Living Inside
S
Lounging Around
S
itting back and relaxing isn't too difficult
in the Airlie. Apart from the previously
mentioned rear club lounge, there is a also
a sideways facing lounge behind the driver's
seat, while the cab seats themselves swivel
around. Naturally, the lounge comes with a table
but it can't quite be reached from the cab seats.
One of the assets of using a Fiat Ducato is that
the cab area can easily be integrated into the
rest of the motorhome. However, the Airlie –
like all the Winnebago/Talvor line-up – has a
fixed shelf/bed above the driver's cab. Most
manufacturer's either use the full Fiat cut-out
or have a bed that can be lifted out of the way
if not needed. For some reason Winnebago/
Talvor don't do that, making cab access a bit
too much of a crouch over/head banger for me.
o what do we have inside the Airlie?
Stepping through the front door reveals
a dining/kitchen area up front, a split
bathroom mid-motorhome and a lounge/
sleeping area in the rear. There are two beds,
one above the cab and the other across
the rear, with the latter being an electric rolldown bed above the lounge. With a little bit of
compromise you get the best of both worlds:
This is another reason the rear area looks so
An NZ-style club rear lounge with windows all
round and a bed that does not have to be made good: Even with the elevating bed there is
plenty of head room and, more importantly,
up every night!
Underpinning the Airlie
is the very familiar Fiat
Ducato Multijet 180.
7 | Day Test
Top: The large U-shaped rear lounge is great for entertaining
or just kicking back with your feet up and enjoying the view.
Strangely, it doesn’t have a table, but you could easily add a free
standing one. Insert: Under-lounge storage is limited to the one
side. Bottom: The kitchen’s overhead cupboards include the
electrical controls all conveniently grouped together.
there's either space to put the feet up or have
guests over. With the elevating bed there aren't
any overhead lockers, but the rear tunnel boot
has a large floor hatch for access. Also, the
driver’s side seat cushions can be removed to
give access to the external bin space below.
On the opposite side of the lounge most of the
under-seat area is occupied.
Between the driver’s-side lounge and shower
cubicle is a small cabinet that can be used
equally well as a cupboard or a bedside cabinet
by night. Part of the space above also has a
small locker.
Time to Eat
C
atering can be handled reasonably well in
the mid-sized kitchen, which comes with
a three burner cooktop and a grill/oven.
Adjoining the cooktop is a stainless steel sink
with a flick mixer tap. Winnebago has dodged
around the benchtop space problem by not
having a sink drainer. Bench space is better
here than some RV kitchens I have seen of late
and using a removable plastic drainer is a good
compromise.
A couple of overhead lockers, four good-sized
drawers, one cupboard and a wire basket slide-
8 | Day Test
The kitchen is well equipped and includes an oven and grill. There’s reasonable bench space
(the long table is close too) and good cupboard space for all your cooking essentials.
out pantry supply the storage. However, part of
the cupboard is taken by the hot water heater,
while part of one overhead locker is taken by
the essential electrical panel.
I should mention the 190 L, 2-door fridge
of course, fitted in between the driver’s-side
lounge and the shower cubicle. It's size means
the microwave oven fitted above is set at a fairly
user-friendly height, which is nice. Not really a
kitchen item but still essential is the multi-media
Fusion radio unit fitted above the microwave,
which will connect to something like an iPod.
After Hours
A
s noted, you get a choice of two beds
in the Airlie: the elevating bed that
measures 2.03 m x 1.52 m (6 ft 8 in x
5 ft) and the over-cab bed that measures 2.05
m x 1.4 m (6 ft 9in x 4 ft 7 in). Lowering the
elevating bet is easy, requiring just the press of
a button. Well almost. To get it down to user
friendly height the lounge seat backs have to be
removed. That’s not a difficult task I should point
out – just lift them out and place on the floor. I
mention that because although it might sound
fiddly, I have seen others in which it was not an
easy task at all. An additional feature is the fold
out step in the nearside cabinet for easy bed
access – a nice touch! Getting the bed down
to lounge level also means the windows can be
fully used for ventilation purposes.
Something Winnebago has done well is the
LED reading/room lights around the bed. Again,
I've seen a few designs without any at all, but
two on each wall seems a bit of overkill, not that
I’m not going to complain!
9 | Day Test
Clockwise from top: The main bed lowers easily into
position over the rear lounge, whose backrest cushions
are equally easily removed to accommodate it. The
bathroom is split across the aisle, with a separate shower
on the driver’s side and the toilet and vanity on the other.
Keeping Clean
H
aving the split bathroom with the shower
cubicle on one side and the toilet cubicle
on the other does seem to work quite
well. Measuring 0.78 m x 0.76 m (2 ft 7 in x 2 ft
6 in) the shower is large enough to turn around
in. Across the aisle the toilet cubicle contains
not only a cassette toilet, but also a vanity
cabinet with wash basin and a mirror-door
shaving cabinet above. Ventilation is by both a
largish roof hatch (similar to the shower’s) and
a small window. A concertina curtain can be
used to close off the bathroom and bedroom
areas from the rest of the motorhome, providing
welcome privacy.
Specifications
Manufacturer
Winnebago Australia
Model
Airlie
Base Vehicle
Fiat Ducato 180 Multijet
Engine
3.0 L turbo-diesel
Power
132 kW @ 3500 rpm
Torque
400 Nm @ 1400 rpm
Gearbox
6-speed AMT
Brakes
ABS Disc
Tare Weight
3780 kg
Gross Vehicle Mass
4490 kg
Towing Capacity
1500 kg
Licence
Car
Approved Seating
4
External Length
7.88 m (25 ft 10 in)
External Width
2.43 m (8 ft)
External Height
3.06 m (10 ft)
Internal Height
2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)
Rear Bed Size
2.03 m x 1.52 m (6 ft 8 in x 5 ft)
Luton Bed Size
2.05 m x 1.40 m (6 ft 9in x 4 ft 7 in)
Cooktop
Thetford 3 burner & grill/oven
Fridge
Dometic 190 L AES 3-way
Microwave
Camec
Lighting
12 V LED
Batteries
1 x 100 AH
Solar Panels
1 x 150 W
Air Conditioner
Truma Aventa
Space Heater
Optional
Hot Water
Truma 14 litre gas/electric
Toilet
Dometic cassette
Shower
Separate cubicle
Gas Cylinders
1 x 4.5 kg, 1 x 2.0 kg
Water Tank
100 L
Grey Water Tank
150 L
Price on Road QLD
$149,575
Pros
• Elevating rear bed
• Rear club lounge with
surround windows
• Reasonable size kitchen
• Good external storage
• Easily moveable rear seat
backs
• Separate shower and toilet
Cons
• Fixed bed/shelf above
driver's cab
• Swivelled cab seats don't
fit well with table/lounge
• No security door
• Luton ceiling quite low
• Single house battery
Contact
Winnebago RV
Pty Ltd
Click for
Google Maps
698 Nudgee Road
Northgate Qld 4013
T: (07) 3265 9243
E: info@gowinnebago.com.au
W: www.gowinnebago.com.au
For more iMotorhome
Road Tests click here
11 | Day Test
What I Think
I
n many ways the Airlie layout ticks quite a few boxes. It looks a bit like a
rental motorhome layout in some ways, but one that has been highly tuned
for the private market. Undoubtedly the winning feature for those who like
an NZ style motorhome is the rear club lounge with wrap-around windows.
Coming as it does with the elevating bed above, it means to some extent you
can have your cake and eat it too!
Additionally, as a C-class motorhome the Airlie can easily be used for a family.
All-up, an interesting and well thought-out layout from the Winnebago team. If
only they'd do something about that fixed shelf above the driver's cab.....
12 | Day Test
By carefully keeping the front
wheels on the track as I turned
around it didn't matter if the
non-driving rear wheels were
on boggy ground.
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