Sparks fly for Aussie camper builders

The few remaining brands representing a once-thriving Aussie camper trailer manufacturing industry, are letting the sparks fly and waving the national flag to mark Australian Made Week (May 15-21), an annual celebration of locally-built products that wear the official 'Australian Made' logo.

Around 15-20 years ago there were upwards of 80-plus Australian camper trailer manufacturers dotted around the country, but a flood of much cheaper imported copies has reduced their number to around a dozen or fewer.

Some like Queensland's Lifestyle campers have been forced into different market segments to counter the threat posed by imported 'knock-offs' while many others including much-loved brands like Queensland's Aussie Swag have fallen by the wayside.

The Australian Manufactured Camper Trailer Guild was formed in 2011 with 29 manufacturer members, but now counts only 10 homegrown camper trailer brands on its website, some of which like Pioneer no longer offer a camper trailer model.

The Guild's website currently lists more industry suppliers as members than camper manufacturers, including local canvas manufacturers Defab, Bradmill and Wax Converters, portable fridge company Evakool and Queensland coupling and suspension specialist Cruisemaster.

Although its traditional wind-up camper trailers are still largely made in-house, Jayco is no longer listed as an ACTG member, instead promoting its local manufacturing credentials via Australian Made logo stickers on its RVs.

The handful of local manufacturers still building traditional canvas-roof trailers have mostly moved into the premium end of the market, with buyers of Mountain Trail's EDX electric opening trailer, and the NSW-built Kimberley Kamper and Ultimate fibreglass camper now paying upwards of $70-$80K for one of the latest off-grid versions.

NSW's Marlin Campers with its no-frills tent trailers, is one of few local builders still trying to steal sales from the big-selling importers, in the cut-throat sub-$30K camper market.

So it's no surprise to see Albury, NSW-based Mountain Trail RV; Gold Coast-based Patriot Campers and Sydney's Cub Campers, recently posting fiery welding and uplifting brand videos on social media, appealing to cashed-up buyers who don't mind paying for locally designed attention-to-detail.

Patriot which has retails outlets around Australia as well as overseas went so far as to post an emotive video with a soundtrack of 'Still Call Australia Home'; a tactic also used successfully by Qantas Airways.

Of course, many other RV-related products and accessories are also made in Australia, from Redarc electronics to more cheeky offerings, not to mention most of the 20,000 or so large caravans sold down under each year, many of which are built in the countless caravan factories hidden away in industrial estates in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

A few local caravan manufacturers have also been celebrating Aussie Made week including Lotus Caravans which has not been afraid to use the odd homegrown Hollywood heart-throb or locally born and bred élite athlete to promote its Australian Made-stickered off-road vans.

Most motorhomes sold in Australia are also largely constructed of locally-built bodies and fit-outs using imported van or truck chassis as bases, from entry-level campervans to world-class expedition vehicles.