Compact Windsor Daintree RV offers a drop-down bed, smart design, and off-grid capability.
Drop-down or electric beds have been a feature of several motorhome designs over the last 10 years. In some layouts, the drop-down provides an extra bed; but in other layouts, it forms the main bed. Such is the case with the Windsor Daintree motorhome built by the Apollo Group. It has an external length of just 6.58 metres (21ft 7in) and is a relatively small motorhome. Using a drop-down bed as part of the layout design therefore makes a good deal of sense.
Built on a Renault Master Chassis
Having a little bit of French appeal about it, the Daintree rides on a Renault Master cab chassis. The Renault Master is built in Normandy, France, and the Daintree in Melbourne, Australia. It has a GVM of 3,800kg and a Tare Mass of 3,194kg, resulting in a good payload of 715kg. The Master has a 110kW/350Nm 2.3 litre turbo diesel and a six-speed AMT gearbox. It is not entirely up to the standard of its competitors, with eight- and nine-speed full automatics. For all that, the Daintree powered along well enough. Like its Euro competitors, the turbo diesel technology is well sorted. It has a 100 litre diesel fuel tank, so attention needs to be paid to the locations of Outback fuel stops.
Durable and Reliable Body Design
In constructing the Daintree, Windsor has opted for a fibreglass composite body structure – walls, roof and floor. The Windsor/Apollo team has long used fibreglass as a reliable body material. All the components are single-piece 22mm structural composite panels with an XPS insulating foam core. XPS is excellent for insulation because it’s lightweight and resistant to moisture and mould.
The engineered steel sub-floor chassis has a black powder coat finish. Not all motorhomes have a chassis frame above the vehicle chassis, but the Windsor/Apollo design team will tell you that it helps the overall structural stability, better supports the cabinetry weight, and reduces the problem of floor sag as the motorhome ages.
The Camec security door is located midway along the nearside wall; and all the windows are double-glazed acrylic, complete with blinds and insect screens.
There are two external bins, both directly behind the driver’s cab, which appear quite large but aren’t as good as they look. A water tank is fitted into the offside bin, and the nearside bin is home to the battery, charger and other electrical components. Easily accessible, which is always handy, but a separating panel wouldn’t go astray – to keep things secure if nothing else. Also fitted into the offside wall is the gas cylinder compartment with one 9.0kg cylinder and the toilet cassette hatch. A little different from usual, the grey tank drain is located at the nearside rear. There’s a Thule Omnistor awning, picnic table and gas bayonet fitting for al fresco living.
Energy and Off-Grid Capability
In standard form, the Daintree has a single 96 litre freshwater tank and a 55 litre grey tank. The 12V supply comes from a single 100Ah AGM battery, which is charged by a Projecta 25A mains charger and 180W solar panel. There’s an option for either a second AGM battery or an upgrade to a 100Ah Lithium LiFePO4 battery – but as is, the Daintree is good for a couple of nights off the grid, living off the 12V components and gas, which can supply the cooking hob, fridge and BBQ (if there’s one aboard).
Spacious Interior with Flexible Living Areas
Inside the Daintree, behind the driver’s cab, are two sideways-facing lounges with a table in between. The drop-down bed is located above that. The kitchen just above fills the mid-area, leaving the rear for the full-width bathroom. Laminated ply is used for all the benchtops and the drawers all have metal sides. Apollo, builder of the Daintree range, has plenty of experience building rental motorhomes – which shows somewhat in the interior fit-out. A benefit of the drop-down bed is that it does allow for a reasonably spacious layout.
The ceiling height is a generous 2.08 metres (6ft 10in) but under the bed the frame reduces it to a minimum of 1.77 metres (5ft 9in). Showing its Apollo heritage, the cab roofline is retained and doesn’t lift out of the way to make it easier to get to the front seats. Apollo seems reluctant to change this feature, but it still provides a decent cargo area. Both cab seats swivel around, offering extra and convenient seating. What’s great is that the turned seats mesh with the sideways lounges, so it’s straightforward to stretch out in comfort with raised legs.
The front lounge/dining area is generously sized. With a combination of the sideways-facing seats and the swivelled cab seats, there’s plenty of room to spread out, especially for two people. The TV is mounted on the wall adjacent to the habitation door, so it is easily seen from either seat.
Between the seats, there’s a height-adjustable Maple Nuova mounted table. It doesn’t quite match the seat lengths but does swivel around easily. Fitted to the seat base on both sides are a 240V power point, USB charger hub and sound system speaker. Care is required when moving to and from the seats if there are trailing leads. Because of the drop-down bed, there are no overhead lockers above the seats; and the under-seat storage is limited on both sides.
Above the seating, the drop-down bed is easily lowered into position. Before that, the Velcro-fitted wall cushions must be moved to get the bed low enough. It measures 1.9m x 1.34m (6ft 3in x 4ft 5in) and can be accessed from either side – a helpful feature at bed-making time. Mostly, the bed can be left made up, even when in the raised position. Illumination for the bed is from the lights built into the roof hatch –neat idea except that you have to get out of bed to turn the lights off.
Kitchen and Bathroom Built for Comfort
The Daintree’s kitchen area is, for a motorhome this size, quite spacious. There’s plenty of drawer, cupboard and overhead locker space and that includes the cabinet that sits adjacent to the fridge on the opposite side. It makes up for the shortfall in the seating area and includes a wire basket pantry under the kitchen bench top. All the drawers have easy-to-use latches and the overhead lockers have the ‘hidden’ variety.
Fitted into the kitchen bench are a round stainless steel sink and a Thetford hob, with four burners – three gas, one electric; and a separate grill. The Camec microwave oven occupies its traditional space in the overhead lockers. Like the front seating, the kitchen has a 240V power point and a USB charger hub. However, the location means that the power leads for things like a kettle or toaster trail behind the sink – not really ideal.
Above the fridge (a 188 litre thee-way) is where the electrical control panel is located. Included are the hot water switch, Projecta charger control panel, 12V fuses, 240V circuit breakers and the Fusion radio unit. Everything is quite easy to get at.
In the rear, the bathroom is a bit compressed … but otherwise, it is a standard arrangement with the shower cubicle on the nearside, the Thetford cassette toilet on the offside, and the vanity cabinet in the middle. Completing the bathroom fittings is an NEC front-loading washing machine that’s mounted on the wall above the toilet. The vanity cabinet offers cupboard and shelf space, which is certainly enough for all the bathroom essentials. At first glance, it looks like there isn’t a 240V power point, but it’s just hidden in the lower cupboard. There’s a fan hatch above the shower cubicle and a small window above the toilet for ventilation.
Both the toilet and the shower cubicle have a similar minor problem. The toilet is slightly cramped; and in the shower cubicle there’s a protruding column for the height-adjustable shower rose and flick mixer tap. In both cases, a bit of care with elbows is required.
The Bottom Line: Compact and Capable
There are compromises in any small motorhome design. In this case, a minimal amount of external storage space, a single gas cylinder and no fixed bed. However, that’s all outweighed by the drop-down bed’s benefits. This results in a spacious layout that doesn’t feel cramped and has a decent-sized kitchen. The Daintree can be used for limited off-grid stays as long as a bit of care is taken with energy usage. Best of all, it’s not a particularly large motorhome to drive around in. And although I didn’t have the motorhome long enough, I suspect that French turbo diesel is quite economical on the road.
Specifications
VEHICLE
MANUFACTURER WINDSOR (APOLLO)
MODEL DAINTREE
BASE VEHICLE RENAULT MASTER
TARE WEIGHT 3,085KG
GVM 4,000KG
PAYLOAD 715KG
LICENCE CAR
PASSENGERS 2
MECHANICAL
ENGINE 2.3 LITRE TD
POWER 110KW @ 3,500RPM
TORQUE 350NM @ 1,500RPM
GEAR BOX 6-SPEED AMT
BRAKES ABS DISC
DIMENSIONS
EXTERNAL LENGTH 6.58M (21FT 7IN)
EXTERNAL WIDTH 2.32M (7FT 7IN)
EXTERNAL HEIGHT 3.11M (10FT 2IN)
INTERNAL HEIGHT 2.08M (6FT 10IN)
REAR BED SIZE 1.77M (5FT 9IN)
UPPER BED SIZE 1.9M X 1.34M (6FT 3IN X 4FT 5IN)
EQUIPMENT
COOK TOP THETFORD 4-BURNER AND GRILL
FRIDGE DOMETIC RUA6408X 188 LITRE 3-WAY
MICROWAVE CAMEC 25 LITRE
LIGHTING 12V LED
BATTERIES 1 X 100AH (AGM)
SOLAR PANELS 1 X 180W
AIR CONDITIONER DOMETIC IBIS 4 ROOF MOUNT
TOILET THETFORD CASSETTE 18 LITRE
SHOWER SEPARATE CUBICLE
HOT WATER SWIFT 20 LITRE LPG/240V
HEATER NO
WATER TANK 96 LITRE
GREY TANK 55 LITRE
GAS CYLINDERS 1 X 9.0KG
PRICE (ON ROAD) $175,990.00
OPTIONS FITTED
NCE 3.0KG WASHING MACHINE
Supplied by:
Sydney RV
9-20 Lemko Place
Penrith NSW 2750
Ph: 02 4722 3444
Web: www.sydneyrv.com.au
