Aussie camper trailer on the wane

Top-spec Australian-built hard floor camper trailers are becoming an endangered species following the influx of cheaper Chinese-built campers arriving in recent years.

The evidence was plain at the recent Queensland Caravan & Camping Show, where former specialist camper maker Australian Off Road did not have a single example of its previously top-selling and award-winning Odyssey hard-floor foldout model (pictured) on display.

Instead the Caloundra, Queensland-based maker – like its NSW arch rival Kimberley of Ballina – is concentrating on its more lucrative and luxurious pop-top and caravan models into which most camper buyers eventually migrate.

Not everyone sees the same writing on the wall and there were still plenty of Australian-built high-end soft and hard-floor campers at the show, but the view of some is that they will have a declining market to fight over.

"We’re still making the full Odyssey camper range, but the demand is getting smaller,” AOR’s Sales Manager Luke Jackson admitted.

“The Chinese are flooding the market with hard-floor campers. You can buy a fully equipped one for around $20,000, but while it might look great today, I’m not sure that will be the case in a couple of years’ time. You get what you pay for.

“The Odyssey range is priced from $41,000 to $54,000 and those who buy it are well aware of its quality, but to the uninitiated it doesn’t look that much different to an import at around half its price.

“Sadly, it’s reality, but for us it’s not the future.

“Our experience is that most of our Odyssey camper buyers own theirs for 3-5 years before they want to upgrade to something with a little most comfort and a quicker set-up time. That’s when they start looking seriously at our Quantum pop-top.

“It’s an easy transition for them, as the Quantum’s slide-out kitchen gives them the full outdoors camper trailer experience, while the inside ensuite gets a big tick from women.”

Jackson said that the Quantum (priced from $89,900) had now passed the Odyssey as the best-selling AOR product, with the similar-sized Eclipse (from $77,900) and Meridian (from $83,900) pop-tops that have outdoor showers, but no interior toilets,  appealing to niche buyers.

However AOR’s Matrix caravan has had a surge in popularity, with production for this full-height all-fibreglass model recently stepped up at AOR’s new Caloundra factory.

Along with the new tandem axle Aurora luxury off-roader, a new ‘Elite’ limited edition Matrix was also on display at the Brisbane show, featuring upgraded leather upholstery, a Fusion multimedia package, a 600 Watt inverter upgrade and an extended two year warranty, priced at $97,900.

Externally, the storage box has been removed from the A-frame, while standard diesel heating supplements the van’s gas/electric hot water service and gas cooktop/grill.