The meteoric rise of RV sales in Australia over the past decade has not been solely fuelled by retirees and aged Aussies taking to the road.
While these so called “grey nomads” contribute significantly to the numbers of motorhomes traversing the country at any one time, more and more young families are taking advantage of the freedom and opportunity offered by travelling at their own pace in a motorhome.
Australia’s leading motorhome manufacturer Winnebago, provide one of the widest range of motorhome configurations available on the market and has long recognised that the younger generation is taking to the road.
Winnebago Industries‟ Ben Binns said an increasing number of families were discovering the joys of taking extended travelling holidays with kids.
“Winnebago‟s designs have long appealed to family travelling but the new Free Spirit 2115 offers the ultimate configuration for families to get away,” Mr Binns said.
“The Free Spirit 2115 has been designed with a generous floor plan, including superbly planned living and sleeping areas and clever and abundant storage space, features that are particularly important when travelling with children,” Mr Binns said.
With families and kids in mind the Winnebago design team have cleverly fitted two bunks in the Free Spirit 2115, while a large cab-over double bed and comfortable lounge fold-out bed maximise sleeping accommodation and allow trouble free travel for a family of four or more.
Based on the super reliable Fiat Ducato Alko chassis, the Free Spirit 2115 offers a keen combination of performance and driveability making it perfect for long summer holidays or lengthy sojourns on a family adventure break.
Inside a spacious dinette to seat four combined with ample kitchen storage allows easy meal preparation that can be enjoyed inside in comfort, or in the shade of the external roll-out awning.
The kitchen includes a mini grill, recessed three burner stainless steel stove and a range hood with exhaust fan. The flip down stove lid maximises the food preparation area and a 110 litre three way fridge and freezer combination allows plenty of room for food and refreshments.
Easily accessible storage for cutlery, crockery and large pots and pans means families can enjoy home cooking at any time while exploring Australia.
The bathroom is built to Winnebago‟s finest standards and will withstand the punishment smaller members of the family can deliver. Featuring a cassette toilet and resilient moulded shower with screen, the bathroom also has a large vanity complemented by numerous towel rails and toiletry storage areas. An external shower can be fitted making it the ideal option for beachside holidays.
The interior is finished with typical Winnebago style and high attention to detail utilising quality fabrics on lounges and chairs as well as privacy curtains and hard wearing vinyl flooring.
Wide body windows provide panoramic views, while the superbly insulated body construction and free flowing ventilation via cabin air conditioning that allows easy temperature control in any climate.
As with all Winnebago motorhomes, the interior is finished with immaculate workmanship including cupboards that are screwed together not stapled, metal draw runners and quality timber or vinyl finishes applied. Overhead cupboards all feature spring strut doors and are detailed with satin finish cabinet hardware.
Importantly for family getaways the Free Spirit has an ADR approved child seat restraint.
“We’ve tried to pack in as many features and options as possible to make family motorhoming as comfortable and enjoyable as possible,” Mr Binns said.
Central locking, power windows and driver and passenger bucket seats with arm rests make driving the five speed manual Fiat easy for novice and experienced motorhomers alike.
The Fiat‟s 2.8 litre turbo diesel engine develops a handy 300 Nm of torque at 1800 rpm providing plenty of get up and go to keep up with traffic flow, while four wheel disc brakes add solid stopping power.
The Ducato Alko chassis has a 3600 mm wheelbase and provides a total body length of approximately 6750 mm and 2250 mm width, making the Free Spirit 2115 a manoeuvrable motorhome able to be driven on a standard car driver‟s licence.
The Free Spirit range is available in a range of configurations to suit individual motorhomers needs.