Are new caravans over-priced?

At a time when that question can be asked of everything from house prices to fuel and groceries, it's a very contentious subject.

The short answer is ‘yes’, but there are some qualifications.

Hidden and not so hidden costs

On-road caravans are basically a flat trailer with suspension and a body on top, but it’s how and where they are put together, and what they contain that really influences the price.

Older caravans were once built by home tradesmen, so they were quite labour-intensive and generally built to last, but the innovation of timber-framed walls, composite cladding and composite-panelled walls, cut production costs and opened the factory doors to relatively unskilled tradespeople.

Today’s laser cutting machinery has reduced the time and skill required further, so modern caravan construction can be carried out by casual labour, although the way the panels are joined for maximum rigidity and how they are fixed to the steel chassis (must be Australian!) to withstand thousands of kilometres of road vibration remains the different between brands with reputations at stake.

This is why many overseas-built on-road vans have proved popular in Australia, as they have relatively low manufacturing costs and are built to withstand generally good road conditions.

What boosts the price of these fully imported vans is usually the equipment they come loaded with, as many ancillary domestic components we now consider ‘essential’ in modern caravans like fridge/freezers, cooling fans, air conditioners, fresh water tanks and cooktops, are also made offshore to supply world markets and are hence quite economical to include in vans built overseas.

The general rule is if a fully imported van is fully ‘loaded’ with equipment, it will usually be well priced and work well as a touring caravan using major Australian roads. But don’t spend too much time out of its comfort zone on typical local inland roads and tracks, or its weaknesses may show.

Finally, it follows that cheaper caravans and camper trailers will sell in higher numbers, meaning that fewer expensive off-roaders will be sold and that their unit cost will usually be cheaper than imported off-roaders.

Not all about the price

So just go on price – right? Not really...

Reputation, or lack of it, counts for plenty in this market, so find out if those makes on your short list have an owners’ forum or similar means for owners to share experiences, then get online and ask some hard questions about reliability.

Relatively few locally-made caravans fall into this category, as their low used value works against their survival, but exceptions include some of the volume makes as well as some of the brands that have been around for years. The fact that they have survived so long counts for something here.

Survival instinct

Off-road caravans are a different story, where price can be a guide to the van’s ability to survive harsh Outback conditions and allow its inhabitants to live comfortably ‘off-grid’ for extended periods.

This is because of the real-world experience that going into building and warranting such a van or camper trailer. For this reason many of Australia’s best off-road RVs are built Queensland, where 'real world' testing takes place on their doorsteps.

Some of the toughest off-road vans and campers on the market have also been developments of the personal caravans and camper trailers of their founders, or in some cases, been honed this way by the demands of military contracts.

Look carefully at overseas products offering ‘off-road’ models at relatively cheap prices. If something looks too good to be true, it may be, but if this is just a one-off trip or semi regular annual trip you're planning, then it may hold together long enough. Plan on a discounted re-sale price though.

Major suspension component specialists including tyre and shock-absorber manufacturers, hitch makers and steel suppliers all co-operate with RV manufacturers to develop their products locally, so take comfort from their association with a specific caravan or camper. The makers of one of the most popular off-road caravan suspensions in Australia does annual 'torture testing' in remote areas of Australia before offering their components to manufacturers for series production.

Discovering which designs and components survive repeated punishment is a lengthy business that few imported products can replicate, given that time is money and that product endurance and service life has to be established and factored into the retail price.

More durable products are usually made of superior grades of raw materials too, so naturally this impacts cost.

Quality costs

So, are many caravans and camper trailers too expensive? In some cases, ‘yes’, but these are usually those that pay lip service to the term ‘off-road’ by simply bolting on tested components, rather than conducting their own endurance testing.

The best advice here if you are planning an extended Outback trip, is to do your own research first and then look to reputations beyond the glossy brochures. Then buy the best that you can afford.

You will then mostly likely be rewarded later at re-sale time.