Bushtracker owner spends $70,000 on resto-mod makeover

Not unlike factory car restoration programmes, such as Land Rover Classic, Queensland's Bushtracker Caravans is capitalizing on growing customer demand for renovating an existing older Bushtracker instead of buying new.

The company, which started building low-volume bespoke off-road caravans in 1995 out of a factory on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, is sometimes described as the ‘Rolls-Royce of caravans’ and with lofty pricing to match.

However. with the big uptick in caravan power system technology advancements in recent years, Bushtracker has developed a nice side-business in updating older models with newer power systems including solar, battery and associated electrical hardware.

Bushtracker managing director Andrew Liddell said the process of retrofitting and renovating 'classic' Bushtrackers started about a decade ago, largely through insurance repairs.

“We were approached by the likes of CIL to repair our vans that had been damaged and required repair under insurance about 10 years ago, then from that progressed to servicing customer vans and then retro fitting and renovating," he explained.

Lidell said that many Bushtracker owners are loyal customers who want to keep their trusty van but also want to move with the times.

“Some bought their van 10 years ago and absolutely love it but now want to modernise it. While what we do is not to the specification of our new ones, it certainly brings them up to the 21st century," he said.

These 'resto-mod' style jobs now comprise “... a reasonable part of the business; we had to allocate a couple new sheds, and we’ve done hundreds of vans since the start. The combination of insurance, renovation and servicing jobs still accounts for about six vans a month".

While the sort of updates owners ask for are varied, most jobs include "... updating from old lead-acid batteries to the lithium systems, solar panels and so on”.

Often the van will be in for insurance repairs and owners use the opportunity to spend some of their own money on upgrades.

“With hail damage repairs, for example, we had a customer recently pay extra for fibreglass cladding instead of aluminium so they don’t have to worry about hail damage again.”

One owner of an older Bushtracker recently spent $70,000 on upgrades, which Liddell said included "a bit of everything” to modernise the van.

"Typically speaking, they’re spending $20k to $30k on a van worth anywhere between $80k and $150k," he said.

Some owners splash out on more significant renovations including an interior layout redesign and refurbishment.

“Because our vans are built so strong people bring them to us to change configurations, like renovating a house," he explained.

"Some vans are stripped right back to a shell, with new wall linings, new interiors, changing from double to single beds and so on.”

New windows and motorised awnings are other popular upgrades, with Liddell pointing out that the replacement items are often “vastly superior” to those fitted years ago.