Credibility of caravan reviews questioned
Caravan magazine reviews should be more about safety than soft furnishings, argues industry expertReviews of caravans by journalists working for online and print magazines have "very little credibility" in the eyes of many caravanners, according to the Caravan Council of Australia.
The independent body says despite ongoing issues with non-compliant caravans, RVs featured in magazine reviews rarely get a "bad write up" and focus too much on "layout, style and finish" rather than more critical items like compliance and safety.
"After speaking with many caravanners, it is perfectly clear that regrettably, very little credibility is given to reviews of new caravans conducted by journalists for caravan publications," the CCA's Colin Young said.
"The general opinion is that manufacturers and dealers, who advertise in the publications, never get a bad write-up of their 'vans, or at the worst, maybe just a brief mention of a couple of minor blemishes."
Young said that many readers believe that the 'review' caravan is a "hand-picked blue-printed 'van" rather than one that has been randomly selected.
"It is strongly suggested that in order to gain the public's believability of being a genuine and honest assessment, that the test personnel choose one caravan from several being offered for sale," he said.
Young said caravan reviews should also focus more on whether "the caravan is legally compliant and safe" rather than "concentrating mainly on the assessment and personal preferences of the lay-out, style, and finish of the caravan".
"The most common complaint by caravan owners is that the actual (empty caravan) Tare mass is much more than stated," he claims. "This means that the caravan cannot carry as much luggage as was anticipated and stated.
"In addition, quite often the actual empty ball-loading is appreciably different - either much higher, or much lower - than that stated."
Young said all caravan reviews should include a certified weigh-bridge ticket as part of the assessment, which could then be compared with the Tare and empyy ball loading figures stamped on the van's official build plate.
"The Tare mass and the empty ball-loading need to be accurately and independently measured to see if they are, in fact, the same as advised, and the certified weigh-bridge ticket included in the write-up of the caravan, along with a photo of the trailer plate," he said.
Young added that "much credibility would be gained if the review included an assessment of compliance," using a checklist like the Basic Compliance Checklist or Pre-delivery Checklist found on the CCA website.
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