New Age camper unveiled

Home-grown $29,990 Road Tripper provides 'stepping stone' to caravan range

New Age Caravans has surprised its rivals by entering the crowded Australian wind-up camper trailer market with its new premium-priced Road Tripper. The first model of the new range is set to make its public debut at Melbourne's Leisurefest expo, to be held at Sandown Racecourse from October 6 to 9.

In doing so New Age is taking on formidable and well-established rivals such as Jayco, Goldstream, Golf and Coromal, in a segment that by most estimates represents less than 15 per cent of the total Australian RV market.

The other surprise is that the first Road Tripper will be a 'couples camper', carrying a $29,990 price tag. This virtually matches Goldstream's Crown, which sells for around $29,500, but more significantly is well above Jayco's similarly specced Penguin, which is priced from $22,550 in touring guise.

Jayco effectively drove Roma's composite-walled Cruza camper trailer off the market several years ago with an aggressive pricing war, while Jayco and New Age have recently disagreed publically on which of the two produces more full-height caravans.

Jayco is understood to have more than 80 per cent of the Australian wind-up camper trailer market with its seven-model range, which presently starts with the $17,987 (delivered in Victoria) Swift and extends to the Swan and Flamingo pull-out bed models that both sell for a retail price of $25,368 in touring trim.

Having said that, the New Age Road Tripper on first acquaintance looks a cut above its competition in terms of its presentation and features. It is also 100 per cent Australian built by New Age's 200-strong Campbellfield (Victoria) workforce from locally sourced products – something not all its rivals can truly claim.

Featuring smooth and colourful Alucobond aluminium composite cladding in the buyer's choice of white or four bright colours (red, grey, green and blue) attached to an aluminium frame, the Road Tripper breaks no new ground in wind-up camper trailer design, but is an attractive, well-finished and well-equipped alternative to its market rivals for cashed-up couples.

According to industry insiders, $30,000 is the price barrier that camper trailers need to remain below to gain volume.

"Young buyers can find $20,000 to $30,000 from savings, but above that they often have to add to their mortgage and that is a serious roadblock for many," one well-known caravan manufacturer said to caravancampingsales.

The Road Tripper will come standard with a beefy 150mm Duragal Preston chassis with a 100mm A-frame, AL-KO corner drop jacks, AL-KO hollow-axle leaf spring suspension, a one-piece fibreglass wind-up roof, a huge front tunnel boot, an exterior picnic table, a two-part solid Camec entry door, a 93-litre three-way fridge, a microwave and a transverse double bed. It will tip the scales at around 1100kg.

It will also be available as an 'Enduro' model, with full AL-KO Enduro Outback trailing arm suspension, 12-inch off-road AL-KO brakes, lower body checkerplate that includes stone shielding for its A-frame mounted tap, a double folding aluminium entry step, DO-35 off-road hitch, beefy 245/75-16 alloy wheels and off-road tyres and will have a tare weight of around 1300kg.

Both versions come with wind-out awnings and a two-year structural warranty and can be optioned with a hot water service, outside shower, additional checkerplate cladding, grey water tanks and optional roof-mounted solar panels.

New Age Director Gabby Montagnese (pictured) said the 'couples' camper was the first of a family of Road Trippers to be introduced over the next 12 months. Next up will be a 'family' model with pull-out beds at each end that is expected to sell at around $38,990. This will pitch it well above Jayco's Swan and Flamingo, but comparable to some wind-up camper models from Goldstream and Golf. Like the entry-level Road Tripper, it will be available in Touring and Enduro specification.

"We are not entering this market based on making money," Ms Montagnese told caravancampingsales. "Wind-up camper trailers are more complex and take longer to build than a small conventional caravan.

"However, we need to give New Age customers an entry point to our caravan range that currently consists of 10 separate model ranges with 35 different layouts. It will also allow us to appeal to younger buyers," she said.

Ms Montagnese said the Road Trippers would initially be built on a separate line at New Age's Campbellfield factory, but production would move to a new 1800 square metre factory currently under construction next door when the range expanded.

"This is the first of a number of products that we will be launching in the near future," she said, adding that the use of a smooth composite walled construction will soon be extended to New Age's caravan models, commencing with a major remake of its popular Big Red range.

New Age National Sales Manager Chad Kanj said the flood of cheap Chinese imports was damaging the market.

"We believe that the Australian RV industry has been losing credibility with many buyers because of their quality issues and low re-sale value.

"This is affecting the entire market," he said.

"We believe there is a demand out there for a quality, all-Australian product, which the Road Tripper is."

New Age camper unveiled

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