Winnebago’s venture into caravans moves to the top of its class with the Mossman
Words and Pics by Gary Tischer
For images and the full RV Daily experience, read this story in our online magazine.
The name Winnebago has been associated with RVs for nearly 60 years. What you may not know though, is that the current line of Winnebago caravans sold in Australia are made in Australia and designed for local conditions.
The Brisbane factory uses state-of-the-art design and building techniques that produce a great quality caravan that is also light to tow. Each wall is a single-piece structural composite panel, as are the roof and floor. These combine to add to the strength, insulation and water-tightness of the construction.
With an overall length of 8.4m, the Mossman A caravan was easy to tow on the highway and narrow dirt roads. The dual AL-KO Independent Rubber Suspension (IRS) axles performed well over small corrugations and pot holes on the gravel road and the 10-inch electric drum brakes pulled the van up nicely when required.
There are three models in the Mossman range offering different layouts to suit your style of travel and the number of people travelling together. Each layout has the same bright and airy interior, which lends itself to our Aussie summers. There are various colour schemes available for soft and hard furnishings if you want something different.
The Mossman B has a slide-out towards the rear onside, which allows more room in the bedroom including a large dressing table. In the Mossman C, there is a family focus with double bunks providing sleeping for five with no slide-out.
As reviewed, the Mossman A has a very spacious interior with a 2.2m slide-out panel to provide room for the club-shaped dinette, which converts to a generous double bed. This would be a great caravan for a couple or family with one or two kids.
INSIDE
The interior is bright, due in part to the white gloss panel walls, giving a feeling of spaciousness. The queen-size bed is on the left-hand side, with storage space underneath. A neat design feature is that the bed can be shortened when not occupied increasing the room in the entry area.
Once the offside slide-out towards the middle of the van is operated, there is ample space in the kitchen and around the dinette. The large table can easily accommodate visitors for dinner.
Benchtop provision between the door and stove top is generous, offering plenty of space for meal preparation. The sink top includes a drain area and there is a water filter for drinking water, which is a nice touch.
The 190-litre three-way fridge/freezer is a good size for the van, and easy to use when switching from 12V to gas. The stove top has two gas burners and one electric element. This would be handy if you ran out of gas, although my preference would be for three gas burners, particularly when camping off grid.
Two items are only available for use when the Mossman is plugged into 240V mains power, one of these being the microwave. The other is the 3.6kW reverse-cycle air-conditioner mounted on the roof. With the number of windows and the insulation provided by the composite panel construction, not being able to operate the aircon shouldn’t be a big problem when away from power.
The ensuite is well located being at the back of the van and can be closed off to the rest of the interior.
A good-size shower is provided, with a separate toilet on the other side of the ensuite.
Between the shower and off-side is a small sink and large bench space with a plentiful amount of storage above. A 2.5kg top-loading washing machine is installed under the benchtop. A large linen cupboard is fitted in between the shower and the fridge providing plenty of room for essential linen, towels and other items that a family uses rapidly.
Above the microwave is the switchboard. The state of water tanks, battery, fuses, gas water heater switches and main switch panel are all located here and in easy reach when needed.
The sound system works well, easily allowing connection to Bluetooth devices and sending the music to the interior or exterior or both through quality sounding speakers. A 12V 32-inch LED TV/DVD is located above the dinette providing good viewing throughout the van except in the ensuite.
The inclusion of multiple 240V, 12V and 5V USB outlets throughout the van is excellent, especially with the USBs being essential these days.
There are two roof hatches in the main area which should be opened if using the gas stove. There is also a vent with fan above the shower, ensuring the moist air is extracted. All windows and hatches have privacy blinds with flyscreens fitted.
OUTSIDE
The Winnebago Mossman looks the goods on the outside, with its gloss white external panels and red Winnebago graphics. The upper front of the van is angled back to reduce drag while the checkerplate stone guard is located on the lower front wall.
There is a hot/cold shower with hand piece at the back of the van to wash off sand and mud after adventuring in the wilds. All the hatches have quality locks/handles providing security for external storage and access areas.
The tandem axle combined with the IRS suspension and 10-inch drum brakes ensure good towing characteristics on both tar and gravel. When full, the 164-litres of water storage will also provide a lower centre of gravity that will help with towing safety.
Up front, on the drawbar, are two 9kg gas cylinders as well as a water tap to empty the fresh water tanks. The grey water is channelled to an outlet on the offside rear of the van.
The standard 100Ah deep-cycle battery is charged via Anderson plug or the 150W solar panels mounted on the roof. There is an option of a second 100Ah battery which would be a good one to take for peace of mind if regularly going off grid.
verdict
The Winnebago Mossman A would be a great caravan for travelling with short stops and also setting up at a location for a few weeks. It has plenty of room with a light airy feel on the inside and a sizable awning with good speakers on the outside. It is also comfortable to tow although its large dimensions come into play when cornering
and reversing.
The layout, white gloss interior and large windows really give the Mossman A a tremendous feeling of spaciousness. It is a very pleasant place to be when not adventuring outside.
PROS
CONS
SPECIFICATIONS
Interior length: 6.7m
Interior width: 2.257m
Tare weight: 2180kg
Aggregate Trailer Mass: (up to) 2950kg
Price as tested: $73,710 on-road
