RVSC Roller Team 747 review

The Roller Team Auto-Roller 747, with spacious living areas, six belted seats and three double beds is an excellent entry-level family motorhome from the Trigano Group in Italy.

Fiat’s wide axle low chassis provides a very stable driving platform

Although this motorhome looks like new, it’s not. It has clocked up just under 16,000km during its time working through last summer in the ‘Just Go’ rental fleet in the UK.

Drive time

The Auto-Roller 747 is built on a Fiat Ducato chassis, a favourite motorhome base for both experienced drivers and newbies as it provides car-like driving qualities. Fiat’s low chassis with the wide rear axle provides a very stable driving platform.

The 130HP turbo diesel motor driving the front wheels through a six-speed ATM auto gearbox provides ample power for most New Zealand road conditions.

First impressions

Lots of light from the panorama hatch over the cab

Roller Team have made clever use of wave-shaped decals to energise an otherwise standard white motorhome body. The look is carefully understated, and it works. This is an entry-level product so it is steel wheels and plastic trim rather than alloys.

Nevertheless the habitation door has a window; there is a rear storage locker with hatches on both sides and a four-cycle bike rack on the back. So the money saved on the alloys has been carefully spent elsewhere.

Layout

A clear walk from lounge to dinette with a small step up to the cab

There is a distinctly Kiwi feel to this layout with the daytime lounge/night-time bedroom at the rear, the kitchen and wash room amidships and the dinette/drop-down bed at the front behind the cab. It can sleep six; two in the rear, two in the dinette, and two in the drop-down bed.

Going in

It is easy to get in and out of the Auto-Roller 747, partly because of the low-line Fiat chassis, but also thanks to the clever step-well design that gets the bottom step really close to the ground.

Decor

All upholstered cushions, including the cab seats, are covered with durable faux leather in shades of ‘coffee and cream’. The overhead locker doors, with their dark timber frames and white in-fill panels, hark back to earlier times but this retro feel is still appropriate today.

Sleeping

The drop-down bed offers a space-saving alternative to the bed-over-the-cab models, and it’s simple to operate. One button for up, the other for down, and the bed stops automatically at the top and the bottom. It can be halted in any position in between, which is handy if the dinette is being used as a bed.

Eat and go

Separate dinette seats four and all have seat belts

Well shaped and padded, the four dinette seats should be reasonably comfortable for journeys of moderate length.

The dining table is small but adequate and it doubles as part of the bed base when the dinette is converted to sleep mode. The single side seat opposite also forms part of the bed base. A Truma water heater and fresh water tank occupy the space under the dinette seats.

Kitchen

A compact kitchen with the essential appliances needed for meal prep and cooking

The kitchen, beside the entry is very compact. It is standard fare; a three-hob LPG cooktop beside a rectangular sink. However, the sink is without a cover so even with the hob lid lowered and the bench extension raised there’s not a lot of workspace.

Below the bench is an oven to the left, with a cupboard below that, and a 90-litre fridge with a small freezer compartment to the right. Beside the bench below a hanging locker are two more drawers, one dedicated to cutlery.

There are two large lockers above the bench. In summary, it’s a compact kitchen with the all the basics you need for meal prep and cooking.

Showers forecast

The shower stall has a decent sized hand basin moulded into the end wall

After decades of evolution, RV manufacturers still wrestle with the problem of how, in small washrooms, to keep the toilet and vanity from getting a thorough soaking each time the shower is used. In the 747, Roller Team have come up with as good a solution as I have seen thus far.

The generously proportioned rectangular shower stall has a decent sized hand basin moulded into the end wall. Sure, the basin gets wet when the shower is used but it only takes a minute to give it a wipe down so it is pristine for the next user.

With the three-piece folding shower door in place, the rest of the washroom remains absolutely dry. A timber panel drops into the shower tray to level up the floor when the shower is not in use.

It is so well executed, I am sure many first time users would not realise they are standing in the shower stall when they use the hand basin. The basin faucet handpiece pulls out on an extension hose and clips into a wall bracket to serve as the showerhead. Storage is limited; just a small overhead locker plus a space behind the cistern.

Back to the future

A great place to chill out, watch TV, read, talk, entertain or take a siesta

A decade or more ago, most motorhomes built in New Zealand – whether factory-built or DIY – had a U-shaped rear lounge. Lately, this layout has drifted out of favour, replaced by an island bed, but it is still popular with many buyers. If you are one of those and in the market for a motorhome, the Roller Team could be for you.

The lounge space is a great place to chill out, watch TV, read, talk, entertain or take a siesta; take your pick. At 1880mm, the side settees are long enough for me to stretch out on and wide enough to sleep on. And there is a healthy gap between the side settees so you can avoid playing footsie with the person sitting opposite.

The drop down bed can be left made up while stowed away

With windows all around you can keep up with what is going on outside, too. A large central ceiling hatch lets in lots of light and keeps the air flowing. A ceiling light and LED strip lighting under the overhead lockers provide night-time light.

These lockers, eight in total and each with a mid-shelf, offer heaps of storage. While there is more storage under the settees, this is mostly occupied by the cushions needed to convert the lounge to a double bed.

This bed conversion is simple to do. When the bed base slats hidden under the end seat cushion are pulled out they bridge the gap between the settees, forming a base for the centre cushions of the newly created double bed.

The nitty gritty

With a lounge, a dinette and three double beds the 747 is an excellent entry-level family motorhome

At 7350mm long, the Roller Team Auto-Roller 747 is an excellent option for those seeking an entry-level motorhome that will accommodate up to six people. Built on a Fiat cab/chassis it is easy to drive, store, and manoeuvre. With its spacious rear lounge, innovative bathroom and drop-down double bed, it is a very good value motorhome.

But it could just as easily appeal to a couple who will value the spacious lounge and handy dinette by day and then climb into the already made up drop-down bed when the sandman calls. Whether exploring or touring, the Auto-Roller 747 will provide everything you need.

A 4-cycle bike rack on the back is part of the package

RVSC Roller Team 747 specifications

Price as reviewed: $114,990

Bodywork detail blends in with that on the cab.

Pluses

• The drop-down bed offers flexible sleeping arrangements and lower overall height.
• Hand basin in the shower stall... brilliant.
• Having a dinette as well as a rear

Minuses

• A cover for the sink to increase benchtop workspace in the kitchen.
• An extractor fan over the hobs.

As reviewed the Roller Team Auto-Roller 747 retails for $114,990 including GST and on-road costs. For further information contact the RV Super Centre sales team on 0800 52 00 55 or visit rvsupercentre.co.nz.