Why are Australian caravans so heavy?

Do large caravans really need to weigh so much and why can't local manufacturers build them lighter?

Aussie caravans are porkers these days. If you’re not shopping for a new caravan that weighs at least 2000kg, you must be looking at a camper trailer…

Back in the heady 1970s, when caravanning was almost as popular a pastime as watching the cricket or the footy, most vans weighed less than 1500kg. They had to be light so the family Kingswood could lug them along.

Back then, we also had a different idea about caravan necessities too, which helped vans stay light. Air-conditioning was those you-beaut wind-out windows (with flyscreens - can you believe it?), power was always via a 240v umbilical cord and the shower/toilet was at the amenities block.

Many three tonne-plus Aussie caravans are a chore to tow unless you're using a big American pick-up or similar

Everything but the kitchen sink...

Rolling forward into the mid-1990s, two things happened. The 4WD wagon became trendy, and any right-thing city worker bought one for the commute and to take the kids to see Nana in the next suburb on the weekends. These wagons had something else going for them -- they could tow heavy stuff.

About the same time, Aussies rediscovered the caravan after a slow climb back from the 1979 oil crisis that almost killed off the industry. Buyers started to want extra gear in their vans — if their 4WD came standard with air-con, why couldn’t they have it in their van? Come to think of it, what about a shower and toilet in the van?

Once you add the big fridge, spacious ensuite, enough lead-acid batteries to stay off the grid for two years and sufficient onboard water to fill a swimming pool, you’ve got a heavy van.

Soon enough, the timber frame, aluminium-clad van in a decent size (only way to get decent elbow room is with a 25-footer at the very least) was lumbering along at 2500kg or more.

These days, you’ve got other ‘basic’ necessities like a slide-out or a tough off-road chassis and suspension, plus of course checker plate protection. Add them in and your luxo-van will hit the scales at 3200kg-plus.

Short-lived Coromal Appeal's lightweight composite construction didn't attract many buyers

Chuck in the gennie and all other important payload and you’ll begin to click onto the local US-truck websites (6700kg towing capacity! That’s more like it) and do some research about pintle hooks.

Popular tow tugs no longer up to the job

Aside from dropping $130,000 or more to slide into a big yank truck, and set up both vehicle and van with pintle hooks or 70mm towball/coupling, you’re stuck with tow vehicles that have a maximum 3500kg capacity.

Some local caravan companies are trying to stem the tide. Lateral chassis beam cut-outs, composite frames and lithium batteries can all help to shave weight, but the savings are relatively small. Caravans, in the main, are getting fatter just like us Aussies are.

You only have to look to Europe and the UK to see that a van burger with the works doesn’t have to result in an obesity problem.

The typical big van with everything over there has a Tare of around 1600kg and an ATM of 2000kg.

Why can’t we do it?

This 19ft French caravan sold in Australia weighs just 1500kg fully loaded!

Euro vans on the nose

Oh, yes, I forgot. European vans are not built to Australian conditions. One little tour over an Aussie backroad and look inside your flyweight Euro van and you’ll see an unassembled Ikea flat-pack kitchen someone’s thrown around in disgust. That’s assuming that the body doesn’t disintegrate all over the countryside first.

What claptrap.

Have a look at the now defunct Geist brand. I can talk about Geist without being accused of being on the payroll of a Euro van importer because the brand doesn’t exist here anymore — the local Geist importer went broke in 2007.

Have a sniff around the forums, or go ask an owner about their Geist (which, if it’s one of the very last official imports, has to be at least 12 years-old) and see how many of them are whinging about how badly their vans are holding up under ‘Australian conditions’.

I have. Of the owners I’ve chatted to and those whose comments I’ve read online, not one has anything but praise for their van’s suitability for Aussie conditions.

And crickey, isn’t the interweb the steaming hotbed of people whinging about a product if it’s not up to scratch?

I don’t understand why the typical Aussie caravan has to be so heavy. I reckon the love affair with a strong chassis and relatively weak timber frame might have something to do with it, or maybe even those who build lightweight, composite interlocking frames are too nervous about market perception if they don’t whack 6in-deep rails of BHP’s finest under it.

I don’t doubt that there are some Euro brands that are tinfoil-tough, but there are also Aussie vans that are not built for any conditions, let alone Australia’s.Shoddy workmanship is a global phenomenon.
There’s no need for a heavy caravan for Australian conditions -- we’ve just talked ourselves into it...

Why are Australian caravans so heavy?

Everything but the kitchen sink...

Popular tow tugs no longer up to the job

Euro vans on the nose

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