RV REVIEW

INSIDE NEW AGE ' S LATEST POP-TOP

In late 2018 , New Age Caravans was bought by Walkinshaw Automotive Group , the same company behind HSV .

In that time , New Age has incorporated some of Walkinshaw ’ s automotive technology , beginning with the Walkinshaw-designed and engineered chassis that sits underneath every New Age Caravan .

The Road Owl pop-top is the latest addition to the range . It ’ s available in 16ft and 18ft variants . The 16-footer is a couple ’ s van , while the 18-footer is geared towards families . Both have a bathroom .

ROAD OWL EXTERIOR

The Road Owl can be purchased in a standard format , which includes most basic features , but you ’ d want to consider either the Comfort Pack or semi-offroad Adventurer Pack .

In standard format , the Road Owl misses out on items such as a battery ( provision only in standard format ), external speakers , a solar panel , etc .

The Adventurer Pack , which was fitted to our van , incorporates all Comfort Pack features , including solar , battery and external speakers , and adds Cruisemaster CRS2 , reversing camera , an external shower , a straight black bumper bar , 6in main chassis members with a 2in raiser , a tray in the A-frame , 16in wheels ( 15in wheels are standard ), and more .

The frame of the Road Owl is high moistureresistant meranti timber , which is clad with high profile , silver stucco aluminium and a 600mm lower waist of protective Raven Coat in lieu of traditional checkerplate . The roof is a one-piece fibreglass structure .

The Road Owl uses the Trailsafe break-away braking system , the BMPRO SwayControl system , and there ’ s a BMPRO Trek digital display inside .

Underneath , the Road Owl was fitted with two 110L water tanks , fore and aft of the axle group . Only one water tank is standard – a second tank is part of the Comfort / Adventurer Pack .

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