DIY woody caravan for under $20,000

Vintage and retro-style vintage caravans hold great appeal for many caravanners, but they can be on the pricey side when fully restored or built new as reproductions, and can make tricky, 'tinworm' and asbestos riddled rebuilds when tackled as backyard finds...

However, Gold Coast-based Woody Caravans is offering an appealing alternative: an unfinished version of one of their oval-shaped, vintage reproduction plywood vans, for up to half the cost of a fully kitted out new one.

Shane Hook, who runs Woody Caravans with his brother Morrie and nephew Kaleb out of a busy workshop in Nerang on the Gold Coast, said the DIY 'bare shell' option is priced from around $19,500 depending on the style of van chosen, which can range from a tiny 8ft body to the latest 15ft tandem axle.

“We get so many enquiries from people wanting a Woody caravan, but they don’t want to spend $30,000 or $40,000 on a finished one. So we decided to offer a painted bare rolling shell, built to a point where you can go and register it,” Hook explained.

The unfinished van includes all the basics, such as external white paintjob, aluminium trimmings, internal floor and walls, windows and entry door, trailer wiring and tail-lights, with the internal fit-out left to the buyer’s imagination, budget and competency on the tools.

“Buyers could do it up as a holiday, overnight style van, or an office, the options are pretty much endless," he said.

"We can also point the customer in the right direction on how to fit the caravans out properly, so we don't have Uncle Joe from down the road who was a builder 30 years ago having a crack at it, and it all ends in tears."

However, Hook said the basic construction of the Woody caravans, which includes timber framing with marine ply ‘cladding’ on a sturdy steel chassis, means they're strong enough structurally to be loaded up and used in their bare shell form, as a basic cargo hauler or stylish, bare-bones camping trailer.

Woody Caravans constructs around 20 vans annually; all custom-built and as the name suggests, with extensive use of different timbers for both the body and internal fittings.

While many go to work as food and coffee vans and other commercial enterprises, he said more buyers are choosing basic RV-style ‘holiday’ fit-outs, which usually include a dinette, kitchen benchtop and sink, bed options and cupboards

Just recently, Woody completed its first, holiday-style tandem axle 15ft van, that will be shipped to New Zealand and used as a rental B&B by a winery.

“Our holiday caravans are not fitted out like a Jayco with toilets and bathroom and also those sorts of things, they’re very much of that era that we’re trying to recapture,” he said.

Unlike most Australian-built RVs, a good proportion of the Woody  caravans built are exported, with a number of head-turning examples finding their way to the US, Europe, Pacific Islands as well as New Zealand.

“We’ve also got vans in every state and territory in Australia,” he said.

Further details: Woody Caravans