New Age Caravans Factory Tour

This month we were very lucky to be given the opportunity to tour the New Age Caravans' factory and see firsthand how these very popular caravans are made. These tours are conducted at 12:30 (by appointment) and are available to New Age owners and those who are about to purchase a New Age Caravan. Tours are conducted during the worker’s lunch break to ensure safety for visitors and reduce any impact on the flow of the construction process.

What a great way to see the thought, precision and care that goes into the construction of this great Australian made RV.

After you don your high visibility vest and attach the visitors pass you are escorted into the factory to begin your tour of the manufacturing process. The first part of the van you will see sits in the outdoor area - the chassis that have arrived for the day’s production.  These look to be extremely sturdy with lots of supports running in both directions to make sure the caravan remains intact when travelling along some of our bumpy Australian country roads. 

As you enter the factory you will see cabinet carcasses ready to be installed into new vans.  These are shrink-wrapped in a bundle lot for each van.  The cabinetry is cut on site in the factory (to ensure accuracy) and then assembled off site before being delivered back to the factory ready for installation. This process provides New Age Caravans with industry leading cabinet quality and strength. 

Next step is to add the floor and vinyl.  The floor has sections of PVC added to places that may experience extra exposure to water – drain holes, front of van, power outlets etc. 

When the walls are added to the chassis, you will be see firsthand the care that is taken to ensure these caravans remain strong and sturdy. Ready for a long life, touring around Australia. All timber supports are minimum a 42mm wide with an average 230mm centres – amazing detail. 

The aluminium cladding or aluminium composite panels are attached to the outside of the van in sheets and then cut along the curves to make sure that seals are accurate.  New Age Caravans are so precise in construction that the roof fits perfectly in place at the end of the process.

The care and detail does not stop here. Once the van has been fully fitted out with cabinetry, kitchen, bed, lounges, etc., it is then taken to ‘quality control’ and tested by several teams of workers.  The new Caravan is then taken to one of many water bays where they are submitted to a series of water tests to ensure there are no leaks. 

Next step is to place the newly made New Age Caravan over a weighbridge that ensures compliance plates display the correct information.  We were told that this process is very accurate and weight includes gas bottles (empty) water tanks (empty) and all fittings including mattresses and internal furnishings.  Great to know as we often hear stories about TARE weights of some other brands which do not include ALL the equipment and furnishing delivered.

New Age Caravans is always looking at ways to improve their caravans.  In fact, some models have undergone several internal changes due to customer feedback.  New Age Caravans use owner surveys and actively speak with existing customers at caravan shows and meetings to discover ways to improve any detail of their caravans. This feedback is used to make new models more comfortable and enjoyable. 

Most New Age Caravans can be built with a variety of features to suit an individual’s requirements – just speak to the dealers and they will endeavour to help. Customer service is so important to New Age Caravans they have a New Age Assist program which provides new caravan owners with roadside assistance for 12 months plus a technical advice number to speak directly with a New Age expert – manned from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 pm.  The technical expert has been with New Age Caravans for many years and is very keen to help. The perfect person for the job.

Another recent addition to the New Age innovations is a Service Log Book given to each new caravan owner.  I personally think this is a great idea to keep a track of what has actually been done to your caravan during a service.  We have our van regularly serviced but after 12 or 24 months I forget what has actually been done and rely on the service agent to keep a record.  The log book would jog my memory and allow me to give information to a different agent when travelling. The log book also contains a range of tips for towing – hitching the van, reversing, safety checklists, tyre pressures and the advantage of becoming a New Age Tribe Member. 

Once you own a New Age Caravan you can join the New Age ‘tribe’ for invitations to special events, workshops and club meetings where you can talk to other owners about travel tips, places to go, etc.

New Age Caravans are now available in New Zealand and they have been well accepted by the RV community in our neighbouring country. 

We found this tour very interesting and a great way to learn more about the construction of these very popular caravans.  Remember you will need to book for a tour through an authorised New Age Dealer who will make the necessary arrangements with the factory. Tours start at 12:30pm.