Patriot boss defends high-priced tent campers

The founder and CEO of Queensland's Patriot Campers, Justin Montesalvo has hit back at criticism of premium Australian-built campers being 'over-priced', or local manufacturers engaging in 'price gouging', especially when high quality local products are unfairly compared with cut-price, Chinese 'knock-offs'.

In a lengthy Youtube video titled 'What makes Patriot Campers worth the cost?', Montesalvo for the first time delves into many of the 'hidden costs' of locally designing, engineering and manufacturing what are generally regarded as some of the world's finest lightweight off-road tent trailers.

Launched in 2013, the first Patriot X1 tent camper bucked the industry trend at a time when many 'no corners cut' locally-built campers were being priced out of the market by much cheaper Chinese 'copy cat' models.

In 2016, for example, you could buy a top-spec Patriot X1 for $34,990, when well-equipped imported tent trailers cost as little as $15,490.

Instead of competing on price with the imports, he says Patriot over the past 10 years has been on a mission to build the toughest, most user-friendly and technologically advanced campers available, that are also fully built in Australia and use high-quality Australian sourced components wherever possible.

In the video (below) which had already attracted more than 13,000 views in less than a day, Montesalvo goes into great detail about the reasons why Patriot campers remain some of the most expensive on the market, including the latest GEN 2 entry-level X2 Tourer which kicks off at $48,990, or close to three times the cost of a bargain-basement imported bush camper of similar design and functionality...

"I'll attack the white elephant; we do hear it a lot we are expensive in the market, we are a premium product, but I think when you actually see what goes into a Patriot camper, from the products... technology... and our real focus on keeping the Australian made dream alive..." Montesalvo says.

According to the Patriot boss, it's the 'hidden costs' that set the final price of a Patriot camper, starting with the latest hot dipped galvanised Rigilite chassis that's engineered to withstand tough new 'destructive testing' protocols, and the long-term use of specially designed X-Cruise suspension that helps make the camper as light as possible.

Despite winning awards with its very first X1 camper, Patriot has not rested on its laurels with countless improvements made over the years, culminating in the latest GEN 2 camper with its 'world-first' patent pending 'weld-free' aluminium body panel construction utilising aerospace-inspired bonding techniques.

He also talks about the lengths that Patriot goes to ensure long-term durability of the campers, which has included thousands of kilometres of real-world testing over the years, often in public view. This also includes painstaking multi-stage preparation of the body panels to ensure a long-lasting powdercoated finish, and a specific dimple pattern on the stainless steel benchtops to prevent scratching.

He says Patriot also opts for the best locally-produced components, including custom Queensland-made rotomoulded water tanks, bespoke Cruisemaster suspension, Helm wiring harnesses and Redarc electricals, all designed to survive the toughest Australian camping trips.

"(The constant improvements are all about) Patriot Camper's theory of pushing the camper as hard as possible," he explains.

"We're constantly striving to make these campers lighter and lighter without compromising the strength.

"The lifespan of this new GEN 2 (camper)... I daresay this thing is going to outlast you and me."

The Patriot boss also touches on the company costs of moving into a new, all-in-one factory on the Gold Coast in late-2023, with new cutting-edge equipment including a first-in-Australia Salvagnini machine he describes as the 'Ferrari' of precision panel benders.

Patriot was also the first first Australian camper trailer producer to be ISO certified by the industry-leading SAI Global group.