Big Bird Has Loads Of Appeal

Newcastle Herald

Saturday March 15, 2008

Stephen Williams

IT is sobering to step into a motorhome that is more stylish than the house you lavish your home-improvement skills on every weekend.

My house has never stopped pedestrians in their tracks well, not for reasons of admiration at least.

The Trakka Jabiru motorhome, on the other hand, received admiring stares on a regular basis on a recent trip up the NSW coast.

The basis for the recreational vehicle is the Volkswagen Crafter, which NSW-based company Trakka then converts into the Jabiru.

The dimensions of the Crafter are imposing: 7.47 metres long, 1930mm wide and 2720mm high.

When driving off for the first time one is conscious of a great bulk of material aft of the driver's seat.

Yet the vehicle is so well engineered and drives so easily that, in the absence of strong winds at least, you soon relax.

Indeed, for highway driving, the vehicle is a pleasure, such is the commanding view out the windscreen, the comfortable seating position and the loping turbo-diesel with cruise control.

The VW Crafter, as the foundation of the whole edifice, was an excellent choice.

With a five-cylinder 2.5-litre engine, it could not be called overpowered given the total weight of the vehicle (3550 kilograms). But I would not call it underpowered either.

A balance has been struck between performance (100 kilowatts; 300 Newton metres of torque) and economy (somewhere around 12 litres per 100km) that seems about right for its purpose. Suffice to say, cruising at highway speeds on a touch over 2500rpm was no problem.

The six-speed "Shiftmatic" transmission (a kind of automatic manual with no clutch pedal) was particularly impressive.

In short, it is hard to fault the performance of the rolling stock.

Bulk invites problems such as turning circles and bottoming out on dippy driveways, but these are essentially unavoidable: the Crafter is not an off-road vehicle.

The other problems inherent in a large vehicle have been all but tamed, with things like parking sensors and a reversing video camera with dash-mounted screen.

Then there is the caboose: the motorhome conversion.

Trakka has been in the business of motorhome and motorcamper conversions for more than 30 years and obviously knows its onions.

A basic motorhome must have a bed, galley, fridge, shower and toilet.

In the case of the Jabiru, add microwave oven, independent diesel central heating, a motorised toilet that hides itself away under the hand basin (a big space saver), a king-sized bed (motorised to convert from bench seating), TV with DVD player, large awning, external hot shower as well as internal, automatic grey-water pumping, optional photovoltaic panel, central systems control panel . . . you get the picture.

How some of these features will stand up over the years on Australian roads is uncertain.

Yet some of the best features of the Jabiru are not high-tech, just well thought-out.

They include roller doors instead of hinged doors and sophisticated galley drawers: seemingly minor things but appreciated in use and less likely to come loose and rattle with age.

On the negative side, some refinements have a delicate look and feel to them and it is reasonable to wonder how they will perform over the years with regular use.

Even here, though, one can appreciate the intention behind the designs.

The overall finish and style quality of the conversion is high.

If I had been supplied with a few brochures during my trip there is a good chance I could have sold a few Jabirus such was the interest the craft aroused and perhaps received a tidy commission.

The base model starts at about $110,000, with lots of optional extras available if the wallet is willing.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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