Rhinomax ramps up hybrid range

Sunshine Coast’s Rhinomax is on a mission in 2019: to be Australia’s best hybrid camper and compact off-road caravan manufacturer.

“Not the biggest, just the best,” explained co-founder and former Rolls-Royce aero engineer, Andy Dean, who with fellow expatriate Englishman Steve Punton first started manufacturing camper trailers nearly eight years ago before moving into hard-shell hybrid campers.

To achieve that lofty aim in one of the most competitive areas of the Australian RV market, they have started the New Year running with a product offensive in a brand new factory located within 10 minutes of their original ‘shed’ in Maroochydore.

At around double the size, the new facility has allowed all facets of Rhinomax manufacture, from the chassis to cabinetry and even a customer showroom, to be brought under one roof for the first time.

Dean and Punton have hand-picked the 28-strong staff in the factory to ensure it all works as planned.

“People want to work for us because of or quality culture,” explained Punton. “It’s not just about money; more job satisfaction.”

Meanwhile, there are two new models on the production line that ultimately will take the Rhinomax range to five main models, four of them pop-top hybrids.

The first – a new 12ft Hybrid called the Renegade, which reprises the nameplate of their previous soft-floor camper – will go public at the upcoming Victorian Camping, Caravan and Touring Supershow, which takes place at the Melbourne Showgrounds from February 20-25.

The second new model – an all-new tandem-axle, hard-roof luxury off-road caravan called the ‘Lost Trax’ – was planned to be at the Supershow, but the pressure involved in moving factories and engineering two new models, has pushed its launch back to early/mid-March.

”We’ve bitten off a lot, but we feel it’s time for us to make our move,” said Punton, who manages the company’s Sales and Marketing, while Dean looks after product engineering and the factory.

“Some companies in this market are faltering, but our order books are full up to nine months ahead,” he said. “So obviously we're doing something right”.

The 12ft Renegade, which slots into the range above the 10ft Scorpion, builds on the entry model’s success that has made it made it the company’s best-selling hybrid alongside the Discovery since it came to market in early 2017.

It’s 120kg heavier, but has a larger living area and comes with more bench space than its smaller brother.

“The demand for the Renegade has come from owners of larger off-roaders wanting to scale down,” said Punton.

Rhinomax are also fussy about their suppliers, which include Cruisemaster (suspensions), Enerdrive (lithium battery systems), Thetford (kitchen/bathroom products) and Ark (jockey wheels and corner jacks).

“We want to partner with companies that are at the top of their industries and whose commitment to quality and product excellence is close to ours,” he said.

Interestingly, their insistence on quality isn’t always reflected in the price of their products. The Scorpion starts at $64,990; the new Renegade costs from $71,990; the 15ft Discovery is priced from $81,990 and the Defender Mk2 starts at $89,990 – in some cases below their direct market competitors.

No price has been projected for the new Lost Trax, but Australian Off Road charges $154,900 for its tandem axle Aurora, so expect prices to start in the $110,000-$120,000 range.

“Initially we were worried that customers were choosing us on price, but we did our research and that was not the case; they chose us for quality and our realistic prices were simply a bonus,” said Punton.

Dean said that every RhinoMax product built went into the factory’s showroom where it was ‘picked apart’ by those building it.

“We ask everyone to come up with ways that they could do their job better,” he said. “Not cheaper, better.”

Rhinomax has also made a deliberate decision not to examine competitors’ products.

“We don’t want to compromise what we do by seeing how others build theirs,” said Punton. “I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but we don’t want to dilute our standards.”