Years ago we bought a new Adria and the model was the Adora.

For my money...a big mistake.

The van was a light weight and we did not realise it at the time,

It use to fish tale and rock and roll  when the double B 34 wheelers would pass us doing 100 klms. The single axle did not help.

Plus  that van only had a 55 litre water tank.

Very bright inside and had a number of features.

But !!!! we traveled from Brisbane to Cooktown to Tassie.

It was easy to move the van by hand around the yard, now you can see how light it was. 

Served us well but we are happy with our current rig

No regrets selling it and buying a dual axle Coromal, with 2x85 litres tanks.

Having said that I note that there are lots of European light weight vans on the road.

The above is just my view

Jay&Dee 

They must be pretty good because there are quite a few around & they've been in the market for a fair while.

We've looked at them & the finish/quality is excellent.

They are light with not much ground clearance but if you're not looking for adventure they are a good alternative to 3.5 ton so called ''off road'' caravans that rarely leave the bitumen & get washed/polished at every opportunity.

Fuel efficient too. Horses for courses.

jade46 wrote:

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You might consider jurgens caravans. They atre similar light weight but built in Aus with a australian chassis. Lots of video tests on youtube. They do things I would not do with any caravan.

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 Aren't Jurgens in financial difficulties at the moment?

I've had an Adria 402PH for two years now. I wanted something that had all the features of a larger caravan, but was light and small enough to tow behind an average SUV. It cost $40,000 new and into it's modest 16' length manages to fit two beds (permanent double and a dinette conversion for occasional guests), reverse cycle aircon, gas/electric hot water, TV/DVD/stereo, awning, 190L fridge/freezer, microwave, three burner gas stove, toilet/shower, for a fully laden weight of 1600kg and ball weight of 100kg. So they are definitely lightweight vans, but I suppose you can see that as a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. So far it has done everything I've asked of it and I'm very happy, but we have not retired yet so only do short trips, so can't comment on the longevity of it.

It is certainly a different experience than having a 'large' rig, and you have to compromise on space and the comforts of home you can bring with you as payload is only about 350kg, so I appreciate it's not for everyone. But there are advantages too - they are very well made (Adria are one of the largest RV manufacturers in the world and produce more than the whole of the Australian RV industry combined), cleverly designed for use of space, and are light enough to move around by hand and very fuel efficient. Mine is small enough to store under my carport at home, and I can squeeze into sites that are designed for only tents and campervans. They have full Alko running gear (hitch, chassis, axle, brakes), and so long as you distribute the load properly and respect the weight limits they are very stable and a breeze to tow. However, they are definitely not an offroad van, so look elsewhere if you're expecting to explore off the bitumen a lot. They've also had a bit of a chequered history in terms of dealer support in the past, but now the Apollo Group (rental campers) have got the sole distribution rights across OZ/NZ and are building a national dealer and aftersales network so things are improving. Apollo have also brought out specific models for Australia which address some of the shortcomings of the older models others have mentioned above - ie they now have 120L water tanks, upgraded chassis and higher ground clearance, and anti sway hitch as standard. Adria specific parts are still a long wait and expensive to come by though, as they need to come from the factory in Slovenia, but a lot of the small fittings are generic and can be sourced locally, and the appliances are all Australian sourced so local Dometic, Truma etc. service agents can deal with them.

I think the popularity of lightweight Euro vans will only increase as the next generation of suburban mums & dads with children and small SUVs seem to like the design, light weight, and ease of storage and towing, and there are a small but growing number of people already doing the big lap in Adrias who are doing just fine. If you want to hear more experiences I suggest you join the "Adria Owners Australia and New Zealand" Facebook group, they are a very friendly and helpful bunch, and two or three of the members are doing a big lap in their Adrias so would be better placed than me to comment on durability.