Cheaper Chinese-built Essential caravans break cover

The first pieces in the puzzle of Essential Caravans' restructure have emerged, with new Chinese-built Essential composite caravans breaking cover at some recent Victorian caravan shows.

Essential had produced more than 7000 Australian-made vans since its inception in 2015, before making the call to shift manufacturing offshore.

While the Somerton manufacturing facility in Melbourne's north is to be closed down, owner Jamie Johnson still has skin in the Australian manufacturing game with his stake in Design RV, which has a factory in Pakenham, Victoria, and his recent acquisition of Queensland-based Zone RV.

We were keen to see the Chinese-built Essentials for ourselves and headed out to the recent Traralgon Outdoor Living and Caravan Expo, just outside Melbourne, where Charly Doyle from Design RV walked us through the range.

“The new Essentials are not your average Chinese caravans as they are built in the same factory as Chery cars," Doyle explained. "They are built to the highest standard and represent incredible value, packed with many features as standard.”

The imported Essential line-up has been streamlined; down from five to two key model ranges. The semi-off-road Cruiser is targeted at travellers who prefer caravan park stays, with the off-road Ranger aimed at those who prefer to travel further afield.

Both line-ups boast a full composite build, unlike the previously popular, locally built offerings which had traditional meranti frames for the entry-level models.

The MY27 Essential Cruiser range delivers the sharpest pricing and correspondingly more basic spec, with torsion suspension, 50mm ball coupling, 300Ah lithium battery and 190W solar as standard.

The Cruiser range starts with the petite 13-footer priced at $67,990. The twin single bed set-up doubles as the dining area, making room for a corner bathroom and rear kitchen.

More conventional front queen bed/rear ensuite couple’s 'vans are available in 16.8ft and 19.6ft variants, while an 18ft variant serves as a family bunk layout.

The MY27 Essential Ranger has more firepower with double wishbone suspension, a DO-35 coupling, 600Ah lithium battery and between 950W and 1200W solar depending on available roof space. A 3000W inverter and diesel hot water are also standard, making many of the options available, fully gasless.

This is a big step up from the previous locally-built Ranger, which had around half the battery and solar capacity.

There are five couple layouts ranging from 17.6ft through to 22ft, plus four family 'vans ranging from 19.6ft to 22ft.

In addition, there's a new 17.6 ft and 19.6ft toy hauler caravan in the Ranger line-up, following the classic front bedroom, rear garage layout.

While specs have gone up, prices have effectively come down in the now fully imported Ranger line-up. For example, the fully loaded 19ft 6in Ranger comes in at $94,000; under-cutting an equivalent locally-built 'van by at least $10K.

Looking to the top-of-the-range Ranger, a 22ft rear club model on display was priced at $107,990.

If you can’t beat them, join them, may be a new trend for embattled Australian RV manufacturers, with talk that some other established local brands are looking to move production overseas.

Others are hedging their bets; opportunistically bolting on an imported brand to existing local factory and dealer networks.

Essential Caravans has not provided any further official updates on its website since the October 1 statement, when it announced it was conducting a "broader business restructuring to ensure long-term sustainability and adapt to evolving market conditions".

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