I experienced mixed emotions as we pulled into the Discovery Parks Woodman Point Caravan Park, just south of Fremantle, WA. It was the end of an epic cross-country adventure and, while I was a little relieved we weren’t facing another 600km drive the next day, I was also sad to be handing back the keys to the Avida Birdsville that had been our home-away-from-home throughout the journey. 

After travelling 3900km and spending seven days in the long-standing manufacturer’s latest Birdsville C7436, we had our touring routine down pat. The four of us – Caravan World editor Laura, videographer Steve, photographer Matt and myself – had set out from Melbourne one sunny morning, ready to put the Birdsville to the test on our Cross-Country Epic, all the way to Perth, via one of Australia’s iconic touring routes, the Nullarbor.

And through it all, the Birdsville carried us ably. We split the hours of driving among us, providing the opportunity to do extensive testing of every seat in the motorhome: two up front in the comfortable Fiat Ducato cab and two in the back on the sideways-facing lounges. 

While the rear lounges don’t have heaps of back support, it was a great way to travel, with plenty of space to spread out, and you can seat four back here on the road, if required. The dinette table in the middle allowed us to catch up on emails and play some fairly lax games of Travel Scrabble during our many hours on the road. The large windows either side mean you don’t miss out on the ever-changing scenery, either.

The Fiat Ducato engine handled well throughout hours of highway driving

TOP TOURER

We carefully negotiated our exit route out of Melbourne in the 3.125m (10ft 3in) high moulded fibreglass Birdsville and cruised on to the freeway. The 180hp turbodiesel engine proved excellent for highway touring and the six-speed automated manual gears switched smoothly in automatic mode. The only time we used the manual feature was when tackling steep declines, such as the winding road into Alligator Gorge in the southern Flinders Rangers, where we found the automatic mode required heavy braking to stay at low speed. 

I was surprised at how easy the 4250kg GVM Birdsville was to manoeuvre and handle around corners, and at the power the engine was able to maintain, even up hills. The long rear overhang does mean you need to be pretty careful coming out of any dips, though.

It may be partly a reaction of how well many of the towns along our route have been set up to accommodate RVs, but despite its 7.39m (24ft 3in) length, we found the Birdsville a pretty easy vehicle to park. We even managed to reverse it into a spot in a downtown Fremantle carpark!

The turning circle is also surprisingly good, and we had plenty of opportunities to test that out while our trusty camera crew were taking their driving shots, which required numerous U-turns as we travelled back and forth along certain stretches of road.

Moulded fibreglass panels make up the Birdsville's body

HITTING THE ROOF

Our C-class Birdsville was set up to sleep six; however, there are also two and four berth layouts available. The main double bed lowers from the roof above the rear lounges at the touch of a button and when it’s in its raised position you don’t really notice it’s there.

The bed can conveniently stay made up when raised, but you need to remove the backrests from the lounge in order to lower it fully into its nighttime position. If you are using the two lounges below as single beds, the drop-down bed can be lowered just halfway. Although not fitted in our review model, you can opt for memory foam mattresses on the single beds/lounges.

The Luton peak bed lifts up on struts when not in use for easier cab access

It’s a no-fuss system but it does mean everyone needs to be ready for bed at roughly the same time as, once the bed is lowered, the lounge area can’t be used and the rear bathroom is a little tricky to get to.  

The second double bed is in the Luton peak over the cab. Access is via a clip-on ladder and two small windows keep things breezy up top. It sleeps two, although larger people may find it a little cramped, as the curved front of the motorhome’s peak cuts into the space. There’s a curtain you can pull across for privacy and a mesh cargo net that clips up to keep you or anything else stored up there safe and in place.

Consensus was the firm foam mattresses afforded an excellent night’s sleep at the end of a long day of driving.

The Luton bed lifts up on gas struts to make moving in and out of the front cab easier, something we didn’t make the most of as we were storing camera gear up top, but probably should have, given the almost constant bumping of heads that went on.

MAKING FRIENDS

Inside, the Birdsville is bright and fresh, and the light-coloured timber and white interior, combined with the neutral tones of the upholstery, is really easy to live with. There’s plenty of big windows that provide a good flow-through breeze when opened up, something we appreciated on the hot summer evenings. 

Aside from a small incident on our first night, when we neglected to keep the mesh-screened door closed while preparing our dinner on the campfire (resulting in a gathering of insects of plague proportions inside the Birdsville), the screened door and the split-screen mesh and block-out blinds on the windows were effective in keeping out insects and the ever-so-friendly flies, ubiquitous in inland Australia.

EASY LIVING

We started each morning with coffee, toast and a debrief around the adjustable, single pole-mounted dinette table. The lounges comfortably seat four and probably six, although you’d be hard-pressed to get six meals around the table at once. 

There’s a good storage space under each lounge, but you need to remove the seat cushions and backs to access it properly, so it’s best used for storing gear you don’t need to access too often. 

Our long days of driving meant we weren’t too keen to do much cooking – to be honest, I’ve never eaten so many pub meals and roadhouse pies in all my life! That said, we did put the kitchen to good use preparing numerous breakfast cook-ups. The combination of a bit of bench space, the glass cooktop lid and the stainless-steel sink’s drainer means food prep is easy. 

As a bonus, there’s a drop-down bench that hinges down across the entry door, behind the kitchen, so if you have a lot of veggies to chop, you can chat with your travel companions outside while you do it. Just keep in mind that once you set up you’ll probably be appointed bartender too, as you’ll be blocking the entry door.

Cooking is handled by a combo (three gas and one electric) four-burner cooktop and a gas grill, plumbed into the two 4kg gas cylinders stored in an external locker on the offside. There’s also a Samsung microwave located above the 190L Dometic three-way fridge-freezer. We managed to set the fire alarm off on a daily basis cooking our toast, so can confirm it was present and in good working order!

Storage-wise, the kitchen has a good selection of drawers, cupboards and overhead lockers, for all your crockery, cutlery and pantry supplies. There’s also a decent amount of cupboard space towards the motorhome’s rear, featuring an array of hanging space, shelving and drawers for your clothing, and a rear vanity and more overhead lockers in the bathroom.

The external storage isn’t quite so generous. There are lockers along the motorhome’s lower edges, which can hold your hoses, electrical cords and some of your camping gear, as well as two small access hatches into the under-lounge storage cavities. You’ll have to access larger items stored there from the inside, though. 

ROADSIDE CONVENIENCE 

Scoot past the (removable) dinette table and you’re in the rear bathroom, where there’s a separate shower cubicle on the offside and a Thetford cassette toilet on the nearside, as well as a vanity with a sink in the middle. Having these conveniences on-board during a long day on the road simply can’t be understated. Pitstops were aplenty! 

Hot water for your shower is blessedly delivered via the Truma 14L gas/electric heater, and handy rails above the toilet allow your towels to air dry while travelling to your next destination. 

The television is mounted on an extendable arm against the bathroom wall, at the end of the offside lounge. You can see it from either lounge or from the swivelling front cab seats, although you may need to pack your glasses for that.

Light switches for the 12V LEDs – both directional and ambient strip lighting – are conveniently located near the entry door, along with Avida’s own electrical control panel, which monitors battery and water levels as well as the water pump and lighting. Separate light switches are mounted at a low height throughout and by the beds, useful for managing the ambience.

At camp, 12V power is provided by the 100Ah battery and, when you’re plugged in at van parks, you can keep things cool inside via the Dometic air-conditioner, mounted on the roof just ahead of the bathroom door.

There’s a couple of USB charging points and 240V outlets in small cut-out shelves at either end of the nearside lounge, which is really handy for charging your phones and other small devices.

THE BOTTOM LINE

You could be somewhat concerned about the prospect of spending that many hours (approximately 168, but who’s counting?) in a small, enclosed space with three of your colleagues, but the Birdsville never felt cramped. 

The layout is practical and comfortable, and I particularly liked the rear lounge setup – for travelling, as well as at camp. I’d say this layout is well suited to a couple who occasionally have visitors along, a family, or even a bunch of work mates! 

The drop-down bed does require a bit of compromise at night, but I think it’s worth it for the excellent space it allows for daytime lounging.

Sitting under the awning with beer in hand on our last night in the Birdsville, we all agreed the C7436 was a great motorhome to travel and live in, even for four people and all their gear. In fact, we would have been more than happy to hold on to the keys and just keep on driving!

Category: Reviews
Written: Thu 01 June 2017
Printed: June, 2017
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