Spotlight: Avan Supercentre

Tony Yall and Avan have brought their love of caravanning together in the Melbourne Supercentre

When Tony Yall sold his Melbourne IT business in late 2007 and suggested to his wife, Gina, that they and their young family should take a year off to travel, he was thinking of France, Italy and the Riviera.

But to his astonishment, she suggested a caravanning trip around Australia to ‘smell the roses’.

“It floored me,” the now-General Manager of the Avan Supercentre in Melbourne’s caravan heartland of Campbellfield admitted.

“Neither of us had ever been caravanning and I thought my wife was more a ‘five stars’ than ‘a million star’ traveller, but she meant it.”

So, while Tony was mopping up things after the sale of his business, Gina went out and bought a near-new 26ft Royal Flair caravan to put behind Tony’s former company car – a Land-Rover Discovery 3 V8.

“If this is going to be our family home for the next year, it has to be big enough so we don’t trip over each other,” she reasoned.

So, after a brief 20-minute hand-over and absolutely no towing experience, they set off with the van badly loaded.

“Because the van had so much storage space, we thought we could take everything we might need with us, so we did,” explained Tony. “We knew nothing about how to load a caravan and things like ATMs and ball weights.”

Yall soon found it was un-towable above 80km/h, but with lots of good advice from the friends they made on the road and in caravan parks, they eventually got it right.

“That’s the great thing about caravanning,” he said. “I didn’t even know how to roll out the awning when we first stopped for the night, but I scratched my head and people came running to help and then invited us to join them for drinks afterwards.

“We called ourselves ‘trailer trash’ and through our travels we made a lot of lifelong friends. So that’s the advice I now give customers: if you’re ever stuck, ask for help and you’ll get it. The caravanning community is so welcoming.”

Family bonding

Tony said the unexpected bonus they got from their year-long travels throughout 2008 was the family bonding they achieve with their two children, then aged 9 and 11.

“They still say it was one of their best holidays ever and often refer to the travel diaries they kept. My wife and I also got along a lot better than when I was running the business; there was so much less stress in our lives and we had time for each other as well as the children.”

Tony’s love of caravanning that the trip engendered was a key reason why he invested in the Caravan Supercentre at 1872 Sydney Road, with its 4000sq m. of indoor showroom, when they returned.

The Supercentre has represented various brands over the years, including Roadstar, Elite, Swift, Atlantic, Universal and Sunliner. However, when Avan approached them in 2015 to become Australia’s largest single-site Avan dealership, Yall said he and his business partners jumped at the opportunity.

“The Supercentre was the perfect facility to display the full Avan, Golf and Knaus model ranges under one roof, while it also had a separate service area and roof for a comprehensive parts and general caravan shop.

“Avan might be Australia’s second largest caravan manufacturer, but above all they are still a hands-on, 24-year-old family company and despite their size they remain keen travellers and caravanners,” he said.

“The Van Baardwyk family used to name their Avan models after their children and when the range expanded, their grandchildren. Then, came the children of some of their longest-serving employees.

“But now that the range of camper trailers, caravans and motorhomes has become so large following their purchase of Golf five years ago and the acquisition of the Australian distribution for Knaus caravans and motorhomes, they are using numbers to distinguish models.”

Tony said the Avan Supercentre filled a long-time need to have a major Avan dealership in Melbourne’s north.

“Before us, the only retail outlets in Victoria were the factory in Pakenham and dealers in Geelong and Albury,” he said. “It has filled a big gap in the market and many people are so pleased that there’s a factory parts and service facility in Melbourne’s northern suburbs without having to travel to Pakenham.”

The proximity of several other motorhome dealerships to the Avan Supercentre has also made it a motorhome ‘hub’ for country and even interstate travellers, he said.

“People make the trip knowing that they can shop around for exactly what they want, which is good for everyone.”

Volkswagen of caravans

Tony Yall says everything the Van Baardwyks build at Pakenham reflects their solid family values and their own experience as travellers.

“I call Avans the ‘Volkswagens’ of the RV world – the ‘people’s caravans’ – because they are honest, well-built, lightweight vehicles that are easy to tow and represent excellent value for money.

“I’m used to selling caravans that often have similar features but sometimes cost up to $20,000-$30,000 more. However, people who visit us are continually amazed at what they get for less money and when they tow them, they are really surprised at how much easier and pleasant it is to tow a lighter weight caravan.

“The other big difference at the Avan Supercentre is that it is staffed by people like me who are keen and experienced caravanners. I know of many caravan salespeople who have never spent a night in a caravan.”

Based on Yall’s very basic handover of his first caravan, it’s not surprising that the Avan Supercentre takes this critical first phase of caravan ownership seriously.

“We offer a comprehensive handover depending on the customers’ requirements. Some are experienced and only need a ‘refresher’ while others are complete novices and it’s not unusual for us to spend several hours with them. Basically, we gauge their capability and provide a handover to match.

'We are also in the process of completing a series of ‘how to’ videos that are available on-line and on USB. This provides an excellent back up for when they need to refresh what was demonstrated on the day.”

Of course, running the Avan Supercentre has meant that Tony and his family don’t have the time to do more big caravan trips at present, but they still get away regularly in motorhomes and recently did a camping trip in a Golf camper trailer.

“We tend to go on motorhome trips when time is limited, because they are so quick and easy to set up and go, but if we plan to spend more than a few days anywhere, a caravan is our preferred option,” he said.

Spotlight: Avan Supercentre

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