Millenials drive hybrid camper sales

The largest emerging RV market is not for caravans or camper trailers, according to industry experts, but hybrids.

It’s being driven by Millennials aged in their 30s and early 40s, not grey nomads, with many manufacturers missing this lucrative hybrid camper market because they’re too slow to react.

Unlike their older counterparts, younger buyers are usually cashed-up, often mostly debt-free and ready for premium lifestyle experiences, compared to more traditional caravanners.

Steve Punton, co-founder of Rhinomax, which like fellow Sunshine Coast Hybrid specialists Australian Off Road and Northcoast Campers, stepped away from camper trailers to embrace compact pop-top off-road caravans several years ago, said the industry was not embracing the trend fast enough and was missing a valuable market as a result.

“These younger buyers are chasing new experiences, whether as couples or as couples with young children,” he said. “But they’re not prepared to start at ground level with a windy tent; they view adventure camping like a holiday resort and want a premium experience, so they seek out high quality products and often load them with optional features.

“Cost for them is not as much an issue as it is for traditional caravanners. Often these buyers have high combined incomes; they’re not weighed down by huge home mortgages, because it has become a lifestyle choice to bypass home ownership and finance is cheap, so they can easily afford the best.”

Jayco’s National Sales Manager Chris Hooper agreed.

“We’ve just expanded our new Work and Play range to three models with the addition of a new 10ft model at $29,990 specifically designed to appeal to this market, because they have told us they want something fun to carry their toys at weekends,” Hooper said.

“Millennials are clearly the  market for new and innovative products and we have several people working on new ideas in our design department at Jayco. They’re active; they enjoy outdoor experiences and they’re adventurous. They want it  and they want it now and if they don’t have the money, they’ll borrow it.

“In many of these respects, they’re not the traditional caravanner that the industry is used to dealing with, but these Millennials are going to push us in new directions to create new and exciting products.”

Hooper said areas like vehicle assistance technology and communications were among areas that Jayco was working on.

“Our CEO, Garry Moore, is very much behind us moving in this direction. and our founder, Gerry Ryan has children and grandchildren who are confirming this trend,” he said.

Henry Sayers, the Senior Project Manager for the Preston Motors Group, which has a major stake in New Age caravans, said the company’s new Wayfinder camper trailer designed by Walkinshaw, reflected this forward thinking.

“Camper trailers have been around for more than 40 years, but what we have done is to bring a new, modern and stylish concept to the market that appeals to younger buyers and commands a higher price,” he said.

“Younger buyers are speaking and the industry must listen.”

Also reacting to the trend is Swift Group Australia, which has been selling Australian-spec UK caravans since 2013 but recently launched a new range of Melbourne-built 15ft hybrid off-road caravans, complete with island queen bed, kitchen, lounge/dinette and shower/toilet, under their new Trail brand.

“There is quite a drift (in the Australian market) towards smaller vans,” explained Swift’s Edward Kammerlocher. “We have quite a few customers who have our bigger vans who now want a smaller van, but with all the features of a bigger van, and that they can take to places they can’t take a bigger van.”

He said the plan now is to introduce an Australian-built Trail version of the compact UK-market Basecamp week-end camper, with more off-road capability and more ground clearance to cater to bush-bashers and beach-goers.

“The bigger vans are still selling, but here at the (Melbourne Leisurefest) show 80 per cent of the people on our stand are looking at the Trail hybrids,” he said.

Related reading:
Top-10 hybrid campers