Queensland Supershow caters to caravan buyers

Many visitors to this year’s Queensland Caravan & Camping Supershow at the Brisbane Showgrounds from June 2-7 should be able to experience something new in these COVID-restricted times: to purchase and then tow away a new caravan.

Sounds what you’d expect in normal times, but it’s been a pleasure denied many prospective new caravan buyers in recent months, with few of those displayed at the Victorian Caravan Supershow earlier this month available for immediate delivery. Instead, many caravan manufacturers and retailers displaying at Sandown Park, could only take deposits on vans for delivery in mid-2022.

Equipment shortages, from windows to interior hardware, has kept many new caravans from being completed in Melbourne’s RV heartland of Campbellfield, while open/shut ‘screen door’ border closures have taken the wind out of many travelers’ plans to hit the road.

In this market vacuum, used caravans have been the clear winners, with prices on caravancampingsales rising by 10 per cent and more to meet the demand.

But Queensland is different and so will be the Queensland Caravan & Camping Supershow. For a start, the Sunshine State is vast, with many places north to which to escape the southern winter chill. And to meet the demand from both locals and interstaters, the local caravan and camper trailer manufacturing industry has been thriving.

Queensland’s newest RV retailer, Redcliffe’s Caravana, established by prestige car industry partners Martin Roller and Marvin Burke, believes it will have the largest selection of new caravans at the Brisbane Show, with up to 30 individual models on display.

Of these, 19 will be products of it latest brand, Crusader, with six of these available to purchase and ‘tow-away’ from the Supershow. Others on a separate stand, will come from rival Campbellfield, Victoria brand Roadstar, while Caravana will also display NSW-built Suncamper motorhomes.

Roller said demand for new caravans was clearly there, as he said Crusader had just seven caravans on display at the recent Melbourne Supershow, but sold 37 new caravans off them during the show.

“As a new Queensland dealer, we have been able to negotiate a guaranteed supply of eight new Crusaders a month to sell and deliver (from the start of 2022) and as soon as component supplies get back to normal, this will rise to 20 per month,” he said.

During COVID, Brisbane has become Australia’s largest RV market, with many buyers coming from interstate including the West Australian couple that recently picked up their brand new $260,000 Kedron six-tonne caravan.

Part of the reason is the many unique caravans built for use in Queensland, which is the preferred holiday destination for many Australian caravanners.

Sunseeker and Marvel caravans, for example, are not built in Queensland, but those sold on the Sunshine Coast by Sunseeker Caravana differ in many unique ways to their cousins built interstate by the same makers.

Others have always been proud Queensland manufacturers, like Bushtracker, Kedron, Spinifex and Sunland with caravans;, Patriot is a standout in camper trailers; in motorhomes there is Paradise, and in exploration RVs, SLRV and Bruder.

At this year’s Brisbane Supershow, Sunseeker has doubled its previous Supershow display space to 1800sq. m. to show off up to 25 caravans representing its Sunseeker, Marvel and Vision brands.

It will be Vision’s first Brisbane show and a highlight will be the as-new 16ft pop-top hybrid featuring a unique indigenous external graphic theme by noted Aboriginal artist Daren Dunn, a Gamilaroi man from Coonabarabran in NSW.

Sunseeker said it will donate $1000 for each Vision sold with his unique design to the Shoreline charity, which creates employment pathways for Aboriginal children.

However, it won't be a 'full house' of Aussie caravan and RV manufacturers at the Brisbane show, with Jayco and Kedron among the major brands not taking part.

2021 Let’s Go Queensland Caravan & Camping Supershow

Where: Brisbane Showgrounds, 600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills