Caravan home deliveries on the menu

Many caravanners are old enough to remember when it was a big deal to get a dial-a-pizza delivered in minutes to your front door. Then came the internet and ‘click-and deliver’ books, clothes, and virtually every other small good you could think of delivered quickly and conveniently to your home address...

Now with the coronavirus crisis puting a stop to window shopping 'click and deliver' has extended to larger items including cars, with some dealers now offering sanitized home test drives and demonstrations along with home delivery of new cars...

Following suit are some larger RV dealers like New Age Melbourne, which is replacing the traditional in-dealer new caravan hand-over with home delivery that in some cases involves a six hour round trip from the New Age dealer's Hume Hwy, Somerton address.

“We would much prefer customers come here and pick it up and we can run through the proper hand-over as well as show them the facility, but in the current environment a lot of customers have been ringing the local police and asking them if they’re allowed to pick their caravan up and they’re saying 'No, they can bring it to you but you can’t go and get it,” explained New Age Caravans Melbourne General Manager, Adam O'Sullivan

“I’ve had that discussion about 10 times in the last week.”

Using a Ford Everest tow vehicle, New Age Melbourne has recently delivered new caravans to Victoria residences as far as Brimpaen (near Horsham), Charlton (close to Bendigo), and the outer Melbourne suburb of Monbulk, where the return trip also involved a free pick-up and delivery of a customer van for servicing, from nearby Warrandyte.

O'Sullivan said the home delivery hand-overs are less comprehensive than the usual dealer hand-over that can take a few hours depending on the RV and customer.

“It’s an abridged hand-over; I tend to not spend too much time in the van with them,” he explained.  “I can take them around outside and show them how everything works, but I only do a very basic tour inside with face mask and gloves on obviously, and with the promise that when this has all cleared we’re happy to do a more comprehensive hand-over at the dealership.

"Or we can do it virtually, where the salesperson goes into a similar van at the dealership and takes them through as much detail as they would like via a video call.”

“For some people we’ve charged a small fee, just to cover petrol and a little bit of time… In reality some people would have spent a few hours driving to get here, and spent time, effort and money, so they're happy to pay for us to come to them,” he said.

He said the home deliveries are also a chance to keep staff at the yard employed during the coronavirus shutdown, as demand for new caravans and servicing dropped dramatically in recent weeks.

Home deliveries are just one of many incentives introduced by RV dealers to combat social distancing measures, including online caravan shows and pre-recorded or live chat virtual tours of dealer stock. Other dealers like Perth Caravanland are also promoting ‘buy from the comfort of your home’ options for buyers keen to get a new van before travel and camping restrictions are lifted.

Bayswater, Victoria-based Sunliner dealer Melbourne RVs is currently trying to entice new motorhome buyers with a free freight delivery service anywhere in the country, border restrictions permitting.

“We will freight your vehicle to your door for free and don't worry we can complete your handover via a Facebook call,” the dealer said on social media.

A spokesperson from Sunliner HQ told caravancampingsales: “I know that they have had to deliver at least one unit to Tasmania since the border lockdowns.

“(Sunliner is also) working through a remote pre-delivery system that will aid dealers with delivering units remotely.”

Also read:

Online caravan shows on the rise

FAQs: RV buying and COVID-19