Review: Ex-Rental Kea Nomad M700 Three-Birth Campervan

As I type, I am sitting inside a secondhand Kea Nomad M700 three-birth motorhome. It’s a B class Sprinter-based conversion that has kept me dry and comfortable as I camped on the Paradise Beach, Vic, foreshore as winter descended upon the country.

Now, camping on the foreshore overlooking the Southern Ocean in winter has its challenges, particularly when it comes to your body temperature. But does that mean you shouldn’t do it? No! In fact, many places have a certain charm that really comes alive in the colder months. Besides, I had the opportunity to take this Kea Nomad on the road for a long weekend, and I took it.

This opportunity came courtesy of Apollo RV. You see, Apollo sells a line-up of ex-rental motorhomes, this Nomad M700 included. The opportunity for the public is to snap up a campervan and save literally tens of thousands of dollars.

If you’re buying on a budget, or would simply prefer to direct the $50K to $60K savings towards your travels or perhaps your retirement, the appeal is obvious. After all, you’re buying a fully refurbished rig with relatively low kilometres (although this will fluctuate depending on the ex-rental you’re buying). Either way, these are campervans with a great deal of life left in them, as I have discovered over the last few days and nights.

FEATURES

I don’t have a great deal of experience camping in B class motorhomes such as this. Some, sure, but they’ve not been my preferred mode of travel over the years. That said, I see the appeal. The Mercedes Sprinter is fantastic to drive. The seats afford a commanding view of the road ahead, the transmission selector on the steering wheel column is simple, and there’s a pretty decent infotainment system.

The only thing ‘missing’, or which I felt would’ve helped, was a reversing camera. Were I to buy this unit, I would see about fitting one. I managed perfectly fine – the side mirrors do a good job – but there’s no doubt a reversing camera would be of some benefit.

The 2.2L turbodiesel engine gets the vehicle going quickly enough from a standing start. At no time did I feel like the vehicle struggled. And I have to comment on the turning circle of the Sprinter. It turns on a dime. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it has a tighter turning circle than my personal 4WD!

But what about the living facilities of the Kea Nomad M700? Let’s start at the back, where you’ll find a club lounge comprised of multiple cushions. This lounge converts into a double bed. Simply add the ply bases that are supplied, use the back rest cushions as infills, and fit your sheets. I found myself leaving the bed made up during the day, but if I was travelling with a partner and had to organise more luggage, I would want to pack the bed down in the morning.

There’s a small kitchen on the nearside that includes a three-burner gas cooktop and a sink with hot and cold water. A small 110L fridge/freezer lives under the kitchen bench, and there are a few small drawers and a small cupboard here too. 

Directly adjacent is a fibreglass combo bathroom. It’s a relatively tight space but for me, it worked well. It includes a bench-style cassette toilet, while the shower is a hand-held unit connected to the tap for the small washbasin.

There’s also a small microwave, some overhead lockers with roller-shutter doors, as well as a TV that does not receive a television signal but does take DVDs and USB sticks (no aerial is fitted).

Between the driver’s cab and the main living quarters is a rear passenger seat that offers quite a neat trick. By releasing a catch, the seat will fold forward, revealing a hidden fold-out single bed that measures 2×0.6m. I didn’t sleep on it but the mattress is made of the same foam and upholstered in the same material as the rear lounge cushions, so I would assume it would be reasonably comfortable.

This seat is also, obviously, where the third passenger would sit. It’s crucial to understand that this motorhome is only registered to transport and sleep three people – the rear seat only has the one seatbelt.

Outside, you’ll find a slide-out hotplate towards the rear, and a wind-out Fiamma awning, the perfect place to relax as you watch the world go by.

KEA NOMAD OBSERVATIONS

I slept in the Kea Nomad M700 for three nights on a wintery foreshore in Victoria. Here’s what I realised. First, it’s essential to rug-up when you’re free-camping in the southern states during winter! That’s a given, obviously, but even more so when you’re not plugged into mains power.

The roof-mounted reverse-cycle air-conditioner would have been amazing to run on its heat setting at night time, when temperatures dropped to teeth-chattering levels. But this was Paradise Beach, a little spit of land in the Gippsland region where you won’t find a 15A outlet for love or money, and a diesel-fired heater isn’t part of the standard package with this rig.

I therefore had to make do with layers and blankets at night. And in all honesty, It wasn’t too bad!

The lack of mains power did mean, however, that I couldn’t run my kettle. I do carry a portable lithium battery on my travels but even with the inverter running in its ‘boost’ mode, it struggles to boil a kettle. But thanks to the stove and the on-board 9kg gas cylinder, I could boil water in a pot and drink warming soup and herbal tea.

A small observation: the switches are all centralised on a panel near the bathroom, from the water pump to the reading lights. When it’s time to fire up the gas hot water service, it’s simply a matter of opening the gas cylinder (which is in an offside locker), flicking a switch on that panel, and waiting for about 15 minutes. I had no issues getting hot water in the Nomad M700.

Another observation, which applies more generally to most B class campervans such as this, is that you do need to be organised in how you pack and travel. Space is limited, which is not a criticism of the Nomad M700, but a fact of life in all – or most – commercial van conversions. But by packing some plastic tubs, utilising the available storage spaces wisely, and developing a routine and system, I think two people, and perhaps a child, could do well in a rig such as this.

If you’re intrigued by the possibility of owning one, but you’re uncertain as to whether it suited your lifestyle, the best thing you could do would be to rent one from Apollo RV first. Head off for a few days with an open mind, experiment with the various storage spaces, and develop a feel for how the Sprinter drives.

SUMMING UP

I thoroughly enjoyed camping in the Kea Nomad M700. Sure, it was an ex-rental unit but again, it was refurbished and there were very signs, aside from the mileage on the odometer, that it wasn’t brand new.

I’m not trying to sell you on anything. All I can tell you is that this unit did everything that it promised. It kept me comfortable, it provided hot showers, a toilet, a place to cook (although I mostly ate food purchased from a nearby general store) and a place to eat and sleep.

The financial aspect is certainly appealing too. A quick look online told me that a brand new three-berth Kea Nomad M700 would run you over $160K, whereas a refurbished ex-rental unit has a price tag of around $105K – that’s a very healthy saving, money you could direct towards a big trip around the country. It also comes with a three-year warranty. But in terms of the cost, I would just note that the prices mentioned were roughly what they were at the time of writing.

That said, I definitely see the appeal and if I was in the market for a B class Sprinter-based campervan, I would have to consider this as an option. Besides the mileage on the clock, there was nothing about this unit that screamed ‘secondhand’ or ‘ex-rental’.

Sadly, it’s time for me to pack up and hit the road. It’s a 2.5-hour drive home, but the Sprinter is such a nice vehicle to drive that this travel time won’t feel like a drag at all.

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