Green machines swamp Supershow

If the 2024 Victorian Caravan & Camping Supershow was made into a movie, a good title might be '50 Shades of Green.'

After the retina-scorching bright colour phase of 2019, followed by the 'Back in Black' van trend a year later, Australian caravan manufacturers are all aboard the green train if this year's Melbourne Supershow was any indication.

There were countless exterior and interior green colour schemes on display across the Melbourne Showgrounds, depicting a variety of nature-inspired hues from the Pantone colour chart.

The biggest sea of green could be found on the Jayco stand, where the Melbourne RV giant's 'Green is the new Grey' mantra was reflected in a new olive green hero colour available on many of its more off-road oriented hybrid, camper trailer, pod, toy hauler and larger van models.

Meanwhile, Melbourne's New Age decided to give its new 19ft Manta Ray Expedition model a distinctive 'Ocker' theme, with an eye-catching new dark 'Forest' green and yellow splash exterior treatment for its latest off-road model.

More subtle 'Artichoke' , 'Laurel' and 'Sage' hues could be found adorning the smooth sides of JB, Titanium, Wonderland and Kokoda caravans, while Sydney's Cub Campers continued with a Teal-like exterior for its entry-level Weekender.

It wasn't just caravans... Also blending into the grass on the 23 Zero stand was a Sarge green Jeep Gladiator ute with matching 'camo' canvas roof tent, while a Bay Leaf and white Volkswagen ID.Buzz electric van was flying the colours on the VW stand.

The green theme also continued inside many display vans, with a matte Olive finish on cabinet fascias a popular addition on a number of luxury vans at the show, not to mention the odd matching green bed spread and associated furnishing.

Of course, 'Army' green has always been a popular choice for canvas camping gear, like this 'Wolf den' (above) also on the 23 Zero stand.

Love or loath the latest green caravan trend, at least the more subtle hues being used today are likely to age better than the often retina-scorching, glow-in-the-dark green exteriors used to attract caravan buyers in the not so distant past.