Budget Kenworth motorhome makes sense

There's no need to fork out $1milion-plus for a Kenworth truck-based home-on-wheels, with a Queensland manufacturer offering a range of heavy-duty apartment-style modules that bolt onto the back of different trucks including the latest Kenworths for around half the price, or less.

Flexihome Australia started off in the former factory of Swagman Motorhomes on the Gold Coast but is currently in the process of moving into a new factory in Queensland's Hervey Bay.

With a background in the building and shop-fitting industries, proprietor Alan Teal began building towable mobile accommodation units before deciding to focus on similar-design motorhome bodies that can be mounted onto the back of various truck models from the likes of Hino, Fuso and Kenworth.

Teal said many of his customers are either ex-truckies or those wanting to live in an RV full time, and are looking for a more affordable and utilitarian option than a more conventional shiny touring motorhome.

He said the dent- and hail-proof Flexihome bodies are built to last, comprising a hand-built, aluminium frame, together with vinyl/aluminium profiled side cladding with styrene insulation, and a one-piece, 50mm thick insulated composite roof.

The exterior panels are available in nine colours and come with a 50-year fade warranty, with each motorhome body weighing in at around 1500kg depending on size and specification.

Because the motorhome units are bolted to the truck chassis, with no internal access to the driver's cab, there's no need for second-stage manufacturing certification as is the case with most other Australian-built motorhomes.

"The bodies are built separately and lifted on using a crane, then plated and bolted to the chassis before finished off with tanks and truck boxes, etc, so you could actually remove the body later on if you wanted to," he said.

The interior fit-out also has an airy holiday cabin feel, with a 2.2m high ceiling and separate rooms for the main sleeping area and bathroom. There's also the option to add personal touches, like a queen sofa bed or drop-down wall bed, to the open-plan lounge and kitchen area.

Other Flexihome touches include a powered awning with built in LED lighting and instantaneous LPG hot water system, and the larger Kenworth motorhomes can be fitted with up to 410 litres of fresh and grey water tanks, as well as six 415W rooftop solar panels, four 100Ah lithium batteries and a 3000W inverter; enough to run the Fujitsu split-system air conditioner.

Teal said the last few Flexihome RVs he's built were for new Kenworth trucks, including one that was fitted with a ($6000 optional) heavy tow bar set-up that would allow the owner to tow a 20 tonne trailer.

Prices start at $210,736 for the smallest, 5.0m long, M50 body suitable for a car licence friendly, 4995kg GVM, Hino 616 Wide Cab chassis model, up to $495,224 for the 8.0m long M80 body on a 15,500kg GVM, Kenworth T360 4x2.

Meanwhile, for those who can't wait for the new Hervey Bay factory to get up and running, there's a near-new Flexihome M80 motorhome based on a 2023 Kenworth T360 currently listed for sale on caravancampingsales. Located in Victoria, the 36ft twin berth motorhome has just 4910km on the odometer and boasts a Cummins 8.9 litre engine, rear airbags, satellite TV and two leather recliners.

It's priced at $550,000. It's a lot of money but a lot less than the 2023 Kenworth Dreamliner also currently advertised on caravancampingsales, with similar mileage and a hefty $1.19m price tag.