Coronet RV changes hands

One of Australia’s oldest caravan nameplates has had a change of ownership, with Coronet RV sold to Kevin Trotter of Melbourne business Caravan Country.

Trotter has been a Coronet RV dealer for eight years and has taken on the Coronet RV brand, with Coronet production set to move to Campbellfield, Victoria.

Established in Ballarat in 1959, Coronet founder Ian Farren initially produced Bondwood clad caravans before moving into silver aluminium and then white aluminium cladding when it became the industry standard.

During this period, Coronet grew to become one of the largest Australian caravan manufactures, with many of the earlier vans still in use and others becoming restoration favourites amongst enthusiasts.

Production of Coronet caravans was taken over by well-known Victorian caravan repairer Andrew Phillips in the early-1990s, with the manufacture of pop-top and full height on and off- road models moving to Bayswater Victoria and the range expanded to more than 50 individual internal layouts.

Phillips’ passion of building and repairing caravans started from his early teens and he now has decided to focus on his core business and spend more time with his grandchildren.

He remains at his well-established caravan repair business called The RV Repair Centre at its existing Bayswater North location, just a stone’s throw from Caravan Country’s Canterbury Road HQ and sales yard from where the new Coronets will continue to be sold.

The year 2021 is shaping up to be a big year for Trotter and his team at Coronet RV with new pop-top and full height caravans in both on- and off-road configurations being launched.

Meanwhile, Phillips’ personal project ­ - the total restoration of a classic 1965 Coronet Princess caravan – is currently nearing completion.