Roma call for off-road ratings

After specialising in custom-built on-road caravans up to 11 metres long for many years, one of Australia’s oldest caravan makers, Roma, is about to join the ‘off-road’ bandwagon.

The new Roma ‘Special Vehicles’ – a tilt at Roma’s previous association with Ford in V8 Supercars racing –  will employ the company’s 50 years-plus experience to build a range of mainly tandem axle caravans designed to withstand the rigours of  sustained, all-roads Australian touring.

In doing so, Roma hopes to establish a set of guidelines for what co-director Mark Palmarini believes to be a missing definition for ‘off-road’ caravans in Australia.

“Everyone has an ‘off-road’ caravan in their range, because like a large 4WD it’s a look that many people want, even though they may never venture off a gravel driveway,” he said.

“Most co-called ‘off-road’ vans are merely jacked-up, cosmetically enhanced versions of what underneath are really just bitumen vans and the buying public is rightly confused.

“They think that some checker plate armoury and some tough-looking wheels and tyres will take them along the Gibb River road and back, but often they are in for an expensive shock when things start breaking.

“Most manufacturers have a let-out clause in their brochures and warranty, but we think that there should be a heightened standard for caravans branded ‘off-road’ that really reflects the type of touring that their owners might reasonably subject them to.”

Things Palmarini has in mind are higher chassis and axle ratings that will take into account the full water tanks, extra supplies and equipment like generators that people will want to carry for remote area travel.

Payloads also need to be significantly higher on ‘off-road’ caravans than the 400kg for tandems and 300kg for single axle vans that are currently the accepted minimum ‘dry’ weights before water, gas and personal supplies are added.

He’s also keen to see ‘off-road’ caravans meet some ‘green’ standards, such as their ability to carry grey and black water when in environmentally sensitive areas, like National Parks.

His sentiments are endorsed by other experienced caravan industry professionals, such as Peter Wright, who is currently with Coronet Caravans after previously serving as CEO of the Caravan Trade & Industries of Victoria for 10 years until his retirement in 2011.

Wright believes that the direction for this definition to carry any weight needs to comer from the RVMAA – the Recreational Vehicle Manufacturers Association of Australia – but moves to set standards in the past have been unsuccessful.

“It’s hard to get agreement and there are a lot of vested interests,” he told Caravancampingsales. “I kept pushing for a standard while I was with the CTIAV, but there was little enthusiasm.”

Wright believes the only hope is for manufacturers to adopt a voluntary code and Roma’s new range may provide an opportunity for the industry to agree in principle.

The new Roma SV range was originally due to break cover at this week’s Victorian Caravan, Camping & Touring Supershow, but the Show’s earlier mid-February date and the arrival of Roma’s new lightweight Canadian built ‘Alto’ hybrid caravan worked against this.

The RSV models are now set to make their debut at the Sydney Caravan, Camping RV & Holiday Supershow from April 11-19.