Aussie Wide Caravans claims electrical safety first

In what is being claimed as an industry first, a Melbourne-based caravan manufacturer is supplying an electrical compliance certificate with all new caravans sold.

The director of Aussie Wide Caravans, Ross Mafrici, said he had employed an A Grade electrician to certify each new caravan manufactured at the company’s Campbellfield factory, even though there was no legislative requirement to do so.

The certificate covers 12 volt as well as the more dangerous 240V increasingly being used in RVs, and will be supplied with all caravans in the Aussie Wide range, including its latest 20ft Destination touring model.

“Every job we supply our own electrical certificate that we made in-house and our electrician signs it off with his A Grade electrical number just to prove to people that we have an A Grade electrician that wires up our caravans,” Mafrici explained. “We don’t know of anybody else that supplies an A Grade electrical certificate.”

“It’s only because I want to do it, I’m not forced to do it,” he said. “I supply an electrical certificate as well as the gas (compliance certificate) which we are required (by legislation).”

Currently, all caravans sold in Australia should comply with Australian Standards as well as state-based registration requirements. The gas compliance certificate must be issued within the last three months from a licensed plumber, but there is no equivalent requirement for electrics although some states do require a certificate if a caravan is connected to 240V at a caravan park.

“It’s not just a sales tool; to me safety is a big thing in the industry,” Mafrici said. “There have been examples where the electrical side of things is not up to standard. The gas side of things gets sorted out every three months, to see that the gas complies, but there’s nothing to cover the electrics.”

Mafrici stressed that it was important that a qualified person installed electrical wiring and appliances as “if you don’t use the right size cables or right size fuses and that sort of thing you can create havoc”.

As a case in point of the potential dangers of incorrectly fitted electrical systems, Jayco recently issued a recall of a small number of its pop-top caravans after fears that 240V wires going through the fridge baffle may not have been fitted with protective conduit. Jayco said that the insulation could be damaged causing the safety switch to activate.

Around 13 caravans (chassis number M55787 and M55824) are believed to be affected by the recall, and owners have been requested to contact their Jayco dealership for inspection and rectification if required.