Do you need an extended caravan warranty?

In recent years, caravan manufacturers have increased warranty periods beyond the industry-standard 12 months, with one Queensland brand even offering a 20 year warranty on its caravan chassis.

Industry leader Jayco is the latest brand to increase its warranty, doubling it from one to two years and introducing a five-year structural warranty at the same time.

The boost to warranty periods and free after-sale services such as roadside assist has no doubt been prompted by increased competition and to address consumer concerns about quality.

Booming market

The number of caravan and camper trailer brands on the Australian market is now climbing past 150, and while sales numbers are rising, competition has never been stronger.

Consumer concerns about manufacturing quality from the increasing number of RVs (mostly camper trailers but increasingly caravans) sourced from China has seen many such products offered with a long warranty to allay concerns.

The car industry began to move beyond the once standard three year/100,000km warranty in 2007 when Hyundai introduced a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for private buyers.

Kia (and MG, for some models) now offer a seven-year/unlimited km warranty and many other vehicle manufacturers have four or five years’ warranty cover. The industry standard is three years/100,000km.

Longer RV warranties

The RV industry’s standard is a lot lower than that at 12 months, but there is a growing number of warranties that are longer than that and more comprehensive.

Bushmaster, Coronet and Sunland provide a five year warranty, while Bailey, Avida, JB, Nova, Jurgens and Zone RV give three years’ cover. Adria, Bushtracker, Crusader and Jayco provide a two-year warranty.

A one year warranty covers brands such as AOR, Coromal, Elite, Goldstar, Kokoda, Millard, Royal Flair, Supreme and Coromal/Windsor.

Of the camper trailers, Track Trailer and Blue Tongue provide a two year warranty, while for the bulk of the rest including Eagle, Opus, and MDC, it’s a one-year warranty.

Know your rights

Irrespective of how long or comprehensive the warranty is, the question many buyers have is whether a caravan manufacturer will adequately honour the warranty. Given the growing number of complaints about lemon caravans on social media, it appears some manufacturers have a way to go.

It's also important to know that a warranty can’t exclude your consumer rights under the Australian Consumer Law legislation. It’s a good idea to know what your rights are under ACL and you can find all the information on the ACCC website here. 

Structural warranties

There is also what is called a ‘structural’ warranty (although not all call it this), which basically covers the main components of the RV, usually body and/or chassis, but often excludes direct cover of cabinetry, doors, windows and so on (unless affected by water damage where such a warranty is provided).

Bailey’s Alu-Tech body is covered for 10 years in case of damage from water ingress while Adria covers water ingress for seven years.

Jayco’s five-year structural warranty covers repairs for water leaks, composite wall/roof cracking, pitting, delamination or warped cladding and also defects in chassis and its J-Tech suspension.

Lotus and New Age also offer a three year structural warranty. Crusader doesn’t have a structural warranty, but covers its drawers, hinges and cupboard struts for 10 years.

Sunland has a 20 year warranty, covering its chassis against rust or failure, while Bushtracker provides a 10 year warranty on its chassis.

Warranty sweeteners

While not a warranty provision as such, another sweetener offered by some brands (again, an idea taken from the car industry) is roadside assist. Three years’ roadside assist is provided with each new Coromal, Windsor and Jayco sold and one year for New Age caravans.

These manufacturers of course don’t provide the roadside assistance themselves; they sign you up with a roadside-assist provider and absorb the cost.

Bailey offers roadside assist and hooks you up with the provider, NRMA, but you have to pay $250 a year.

It’s well worth reading though the roadside assist conditions carefully (as it is for the warranty conditions). If you need your caravan towed after a breakdown, for example, the roadside assist package might cap towing distance to just 20km, or to a certain nominated value. You’ll likely have to pay out of your pocket if the tow is for a longer distance or the fee is higher than nominated in the roadside assist package.

Warranty exclusions

Even though warranty periods appear to be following the longer ones offered in the car industry, RV warranties have a lot more exclusions.

Some exclusions are obvious. Warranty won’t cover components that deteriorate due to carelessness or improper use, poor maintenance or overloading or what the manufacturer considers normal wear and tear.

Modifications or repairs not undertaken by the manufacturer or their agent also won’t be covered, and neither will RVs used for commercial purposes.

That all makes sense, but from there you’ll have many more exclusions that you might not have thought of. For example, most brands will not provide warranty if you live in your RV full-time.

Not transferable

Some RV warranties are not transferrable – that is, the warranty only applies to the original buyer. For example, the warranty on Jayco caravans and campers, Eagle campers, Skamper campers and Black Series campers expires when the original owner sells the RV.

You might think that’s fine when you buy your new van, but if you have to sell-up unexpectedly, a transferrable warranty would likely add value to your van and make it easier to sell.

RV warranties also don’t extend to the components not made by the caravan manufacturer, where those components have their own warranty. For example, fridges, stoves, ovens, microwaves, hot water systems, solar equipment, air conditioners, transformers, pumps, TVs, toilets and awnings won’t be covered by the RV manufacturer. Instead, the warranty has to be honoured by the manufacturer of that component.

However, if such a component fails in your RV, the RV dealer and/or manufacturer should act as the ‘middleman’ for dealings with the component manufacturer, and ensure that the removal/install costs are covered.

Most components have a one-year warranty but Dometic, for example, offers a three-year warranty on selected RV air conditioners, fridges and cookers.

Off-road use

While your new van might have raised suspension, chunky all-terrain tyres and be clad in enough checkerplate to cover the floor of an industrial workshop, that doesn’t mean its warranty will cover off-road use.

Elite, Kokoda and Jayco, for example say they won’t warrant off-road vans where they have suffered hard impacts or heavy landings (from a dirt road or track) or towed over severely rutted roads or tracks. Water crossings above floor level are a no-no too.

Queensland's Kedron says that it offers full off-road cover (although like all warranties, they won’t cover for misuse or abuse).

Aftermarket warranties

Aftermarket extended warranties are available for RVs just as they are for vehicles but we’re reluctant to name the providers. Some have such onerous exclusions or conditions that make them next to worthless if you actually need to make a claim.

Needless to say, do your homework before signing up to such a warranty.