It’s no secret that various people, young and old, prefer a life on the road. Some of these ‘nomads’ choose permanent accommodation such as apartments, hotels, motels and cabins as their temporary homes.
Others take a temporary home with them – caravan, camper trailer or tent – with some choosing the convenience of having their transport and home in the one package, a motorhome.
Back in 1965, Bruce and Ruth Binns foresaw what was to develop into an ongoing demand for such convenience by going to market with Australia’s first slide-on camper, the type that were typically seen on the back of utes.
That soon developed into Motorhomes and in 1978 they launched the famous Australian Winnebago motorhome range.
Before long the potential for providing more space, comfort and convenience by building a ‘home’ onto a truck chassis was recognised and so began the Binns’ relationship with Isuzu.
Today, after a fresh new direction, the company’s name was changed to Avida and has become Australia’s largest motorhome manufacturer.
The Avida motorhome product offering spans more than 70 models, with the Longreach motorhome range using the latest Isuzu NQR 450 Premium cab chassis released at the start of this year.
The company’s manufacturing facility is located on a four hectare block of land at Emu Plains, New South Wales.
Currently Avida employs over 190 dedicated workers who produce approximately 600 Avida motorhomes per year. The company also has twelve Dealers in its dealer network throughout Australia and New Zealand.
According to Director and CEO, Ben Binns, the NQR 450 Premium is the best suited truck model for Avida’s Longreach range of motorhomes.
“We chose this cab chassis for the Longreach range because of our long-standing relationship with Isuzu,” Ben said.
“It is a brand we can trust, and have trusted for many years.
“Isuzu helps our commitment in providing high quality, sleek style, efficient designs and the best value motorhomes customers can find in Australia.
“We manufacture for Australian conditions so it’s important that the cab chassis’ we use are also tough and reliable – two things that Isuzu excels in.
“The NQR 450 Premium is just the right size and has a power output (139 kW @ 2,600 RPM) ideal for pulling the current Longreach motorhome body.”
Like most of the motorhomes in Avida’s range, the Longreach model is carefully specified to accommodate long trips away from home in comfort and style.
Taking up to six weeks to build, the Longreach motorhomes are fitted with a bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen, and can sleep up to 6 people.
For complete luxury, the bathroom includes a vanity basin, cassette toilet and an Avida shower system while the bedroom has a double bed and full length wardrobe. The motorhome also has solar panels for energy efficiency.
In the past under the Winnebago name, the company also used Isuzu’s NPR 400 AMT and NQR 450 Manual cab chassis’ for the older Alpine and Wilderness motorhome ranges.
Avida subjects its new models to a myriad of stringent tests, before putting them on the market. These tests ensure quality, performance and design.
“Isuzu has been with us almost from the start and we have had a strong relationship with the company ever since,” Ben said.
“Over the decades, we have worked closely with Isuzu during the development stage of any new ranges to ensure our products meet Isuzu’s high expectations.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Isuzu,” he said.
