Call for caravan industry royal commission

Outspoken repairer wants shonky builders exposed by an official enquiry into the caravan manufacturing industry

Former caravan builder and leading RV repairer, Barry Davidson, has stepped up his attack on shonky caravan builders, calling for a royal commission into the multi-billion dollar Australian RV manufacturing industry.

A 40 year industry veteran, Davidson designed and built the original Phoenix off-road caravans in the 1990s before running Queensland’s Caboolture Caravan Repairs, one of Australia’s biggest RV repair shops with an annual turnover of $4.5 million.

More recently Davidson has spoken out publicly about dodgy caravan manufacturing practices via his ‘Rogues Gallery’ on the

Caravaners Forum website, which highlights dozens of examples of questionable build quality on relatively new caravans that have been through his workshop (Two examples are pictured).

Now semi-retired, Davidson blames some of the current industry woes on a flood of new manufacturers entering the industry, some of which are cutting corners to compete on price.

“Some of them haven’t got a clue. They buy themselves a glue gun and a screw gun and call themselves a caravan manufacturer,” he says.

The result, he says, has been a rise in warranty claims on new caravans, some of which are dismissed by the manufacturer or dealer, while others pay for the warranty work but not enough for a proper fix.

“They can promote (a warranty) all they want but when it comes time to make a claim, it’s an entirely different kettle of fish,” Davidson claims. “Of the stuff that comes in under warranty, we can provide a quote for a fix, but we won’t do the fix (unless they pay for it).

“Say there’s a leak in a caravan because the joint wasn’t sealed properly in the first place. All (some manufacturers or dealers will) cover is a finger-full of silicone, swiped over the leak and it’s finished, but in a year’s time there’s no roof left because the van was made out of Meranti and it’s rotted away.

“(For example) we might quote $500 for the job, whereas (the manufacturer or dealer) only allows for $97.10. We’ll tell the client, ‘Yes, we can fix it properly, but you pay us and then go and claim against the warrantor, which might be the dealer or the manufacturer. It costs too much for us to chase the warranty money.”

The Caravan Council of Australia’s Colin Young, who deals with disgruntled caravan buyers and appears as an expert witness for some in court proceedings, also believes there's been a significant rise in warranty issues across the industry.

“There's a high percentage of vehicles going back for warranty… it can be as high as 15 to 20 per cent I’m reliably told,” Young says. “(There’s an attitude of) just get the 'vans out… we'll worry about fixing problems later, if the buyers continue to complain.

“A lot of the warranty claims are eventually resolved, but a few take a few different visits and very vicious communication between them (before they are resolved).”

Both Davidson and Young also point the finger at a lack of industry regulations and enforcement and the use of untrained or unskilled staff.

Apart from water damage, Davidson says other common issues he finds are chassis/A-frame breakages, incorrect wiring and electrical component failures, missing insulation and sagging roofs due to inadequate structural support for an air-conditioner.

“The other day we took away 31 A-frames, and that was just six months’ collection out the back; they were too light, too thin, too under-structured, or just poorly designed,” he says.

Problems can also be traced back to the caravan’s design, such as an entry door not wide enough to allow replacement of a big fridge, resulting in extra labour costs to push the fridge through a window or other gap.

“These are the incipient idiocies that go on in this industry,” Davidson says. “The industry needs a royal commission. It’s a $4.2 billion industry and it needs a massive shake-up.”

The ex-cop said he’s received “three or four death threats” over the years but believes it will all be to no avail.

“I can go to my grave complaining as much about this as I can but it won’t make any difference. The dealers and builders won’t change their processes…”

He estimates as many as 400 RV manufacturers now operate in Australia but “only 30 to 35 manufacturers can afford to put out a decent unit”.

“A lot (of new manufacturers) come into the industry without a building background, they’re lawyers or financiers,” he says.

He advises buyers to undertake their own due diligence to avoid problems down the track, including taking a building or construction expert on a tour of the factory to see how the caravan is built.

“My advice to people when they ask me what caravan to buy is first, you don’t take your missus when you go to buy a caravan, you take your engineering mate or your mechanic, and look at how it’s built,” he says.

“They sell eye candy, and if you’re after the prettiest van it can often make for a bad end-choice.

“Also ask for a warranty document that specifies certain responsibilities, even if you have to pay a solicitor a fee to write it up.

“Another thing you can do is stand under the (roof) air-conditioner and push as hard as you can on the outside edge where the supports should be and see if the air-conditioner moves. If it moves 1 or 2mm, there’s no (steel H-frame or other reinforcement) there.”

Call for caravan industry royal commission

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