Caravan Club chases new members

One of Australia’s fastest growing RV clubs is launching a campaign to try and boost its membership by around 20 per cent.

Formed in 2006, the Australian Caravan Club currently has about 4500 members, but hopes to attract another 1000 members to the group, which now has 47 branches located around the country.

"The more members we have, the more influence we will have when lobbying caravan manufacturers and all levels of government for the betterment of all RVers," ACC chairman Craig Humphrey said.

As part of the membership drive, existing members will receive a $25 fuel voucher for each new ‘recruit’, while promotional material extends to new branch banners, beer coasters, magnetic car signs and bumper stickers.

The Club recently added three new branches to the network  including the South West Wanderers -- its sixth branch in Western Australia – and Victoria’s Great Ocean Roadsters and Bushrangers, which caters to off-the-grid bush campers.

Despite the club’s name, annual membership which costs $50 is open to all RV owners.

"We welcome owners of caravans, pop tops, motorhomes, campervans, slide-on campers, camper-trailers, and 5th wheelers without discrimination,”  Humphrey said.

Some of the other benefits of club membership include discounts at many caravan parks and businesses. The ACC also produces a quarterly publication called The Nomad, and has special interest groups for families, solo and full-time travellers and owners of UK caravans. The Club also kicked off a new Farm Stay scheme recently.

Like the 60,000-strong Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia, the ACC is also increasingly politically active, advocating on a number of RV-related issues like availability of low-cost campsites.

The Club also claims its members provide significant financial benefits to rural towns.

"The RVer is becoming a valuable commodity in the survival of many regional towns,” Humphrey said. “Many councils and chambers of commerce underestimate the economic value of having affordable and accessible caravan parks and budget freedom camps in their communities.

"A survey of our Club members found that they spend an average of just over $100 per day when on the road with their RV. That can account for a lot of income for local businesses.”

The ACCC has also spoken out on the hot topic of freedom camping.

"When providing freedom or budget camps, I encourage local authorities to allow these camps to cater for all RVers, not just those that are fully self-contained, and to provide spaces large enough to accommodate a tug and van, not just a motorhome or campervan,” he said.  

"Councils that place too many restrictions will discourage or limit the capacities of many of our Club members and other RVers from staying in their regions, and businesses in those regions will lose valuable income.  If there are too many restrictions, RVers will seek places that will accommodate them elsewhere.”

"The ACC has a Code of Conduct for self-containment under its Australian Caravan Club Environmentally Sustainable Scheme (where) members must abide by the Code of Conduct and engage in lawful and environmentally acceptable practices but only at the level of containment prescribed for the specific area being occupied.”

The ACC will hold its 11th National Muster in Bingara, NSW from October 13-23, 2017.