The rising cost of caravan ownership

Caravanning has traditionally been an affordable pursuit that feeds the soul, offering a chance to escape the daily grind and explore new horizons.

But the rising cost of caravanning presents challenges to both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers, and is pushing the experience beyond the average family budget.

The purchase of any new or used caravan is a serious financial outlay for many, but there are plenty of other costs involved. While the caravan is the most significant slice of the pie, there are many other expenses you’ll want to include in your 'touring' budget, such as accessories, insurance, registration, fuel, servicing and caravan site fees.

The tow vehicle eats up a substantial slice of the pie too. When we drove our new tow vehicle into our driveway, there wasn’t enough change out of $100,000 to buy a coffee on the way home. But included in the long list of extras was a GCM upgrade, bullbar, side rails, driving lights, electric brake controller, and so on.

We decided to invest more money into a fully kitted-out 4x4 that was not only capable of towing a 3.5-tonne caravan comfortably if required, but act as our expedition vehicle for short trips away from the van. For the most part, our caravan will be our base station. We’ll tow it to a site and set up camp for a few days. So with this in mind, we didn’t require a full-blown, off-road-style caravan.

Off-road caravans tend to have a heavier tare weight, primarily due to their heavy-duty construction, and consequently attract a higher price tag. For example, a new 2023 JB Caravans Scorpion Sting Air is around $159,000, while the Dirt Roader version is about $40,000 less.

So a highway/semi-off-road caravan is more affordable if you don’t intend to explore the rugged Outback, or are looking for a cheaper option to test the caravan scene.

We saved even more by opting for a second-hand semi off-road caravan, which had the added bonus of a tunnel boot full of useful accessories supplied by the previous owner.

But even so, we added several additional accessories of our own, including a Ziggy Nomad BBQ with flame-out protection ($499), a portable 18-volt vacuum ($248), 18-volt blower ($156), and a Delonghi coffee machine ($249). Luckily, our old trusty camper trailer was well stocked with chairs, tables, kitchen utensils, etc, which we transferred into the caravan.

We opted for the RACT roadside assistance Ultimate cover, which covers a range of items but, importantly, unlimited kilometres of caravan or trailer towing ($234/year).

We also went with full comprehensive insurance with RACT ($1300/year), and Tasmanian registration is $161.78 annually.

As our van is a few years old and we use it regularly, the kilometres are adding up quickly, so we’ve allocated $1000 per year for servicing.

We have a large block with ample room to park our caravan when we’re at home. But if you don’t have room to park your van, storage fees for a caravan up to seven metres can cost around $85 or more monthly.

In Tassie, we’re blessed with a generous selection of free camping sites with access for larger dual-axle caravans. Many of the Tasmanian National Parks have camping, which cost around $13 per night. You'll generally pay around $50 for a powered site in Tassie, except over the Christmas/New Year holiday period when prices can jump by close to triple.

Then there are the road tolls...

Recently, my wife and I made a 2500km trip from Brisbane to Tasmania. Before setting off, we’d been advised to register our caravan with our toll provider, which we did.

Interestingly, Queensland and Victoria don't charge extra for the caravan or trailer; only charging a toll on the towing vehicle based on its class.

In NSW, it's a different story with the car and caravan classified and charged as an HCV (Heavy Commercial Vehicle). If you’re a resident of NSW, you can apply for the Large Towed Recreation Vehicle Toll Rebate via your toll tag provider’s website.

But for interstate travellers like us, toll charges that averaged $5.45 in Queensland and Victoria quickly jumped to $28.06, $14.04 and $28.53 for the NSW toll roads we drove on to bypass Sydney. 

Fuel-wise, our Isuzu D-MAX isn’t shy when it comes to drinking diesel with the caravan hooked on the back. Our average fuel consumption when towing was 16.95L/100km, although for the entire trip which included towing and exploring with mixed driving including the van on and off, economy improved slightly to 14.06L/100km.

Our overall fuel cost to drive from Brisbane to Tasmania was $814, which included punching into some strong headwinds along the coastal road. But back before COVID-19, the same journey cost us $470 in fuel.

A return ticket booked for the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for a night sailing in 2024, which includes a private cabin for two and our 13.5m long towing rig, cost $2100. The caravan component of the total fare adds roughly $500 each way to the ticket price.

For mainlanders coming to Tasmania for a week or two, the high cost of bringing your caravan across is a real deterrent. However, the abundance of free camping sites available in the Apple Isle go a long way in softening the blow to the hip pocket.

We stopped off at several coastal caravan parks on our trip down the mainland east coast, including staying at a few 'premium' sites with private ensuites and beach views. Overall, our overnight campsite fees ranged from a $10 donation in a rural budget park to $90 at upmarket BIG4 and Reflections holiday parks.

It's difficult to come up with an easy formula for budgeting caravan park stays because the nightly rates vary so dramatically, depending on demand. Many caravan parks also impose minimum stays of three to seven nights, especially in peak holiday periods.

The rising cost of caravanning is becoming a concern for both caravanners and the industry in general. The most obvious example of how much expenses have gone up is a comparison of national average diesel prices; they've risen by 86 per cent in three years, from $1.234/litre in 2020 to $2.299/litre in 2023.

This not only deters newcomers from entering the world of caravanning, but it places financial strain on existing caravanners, potentially reducing the frequency and duration of their trips.

Higher costs also push caravanners into more cost-effective alternatives, such as camping or renting holiday accommodations, which impact the caravan park and campground industry. We already see evidence of this, with some older caravan parks converting their caravan sites into chalet-style accommodation; for example, the popular Swansea Beach Chalets now only offers chalets and caravan parking for permanent guests.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Cooking at camp helps save the pennies when travelling, with the added bonus that the meal you prepare yourself is probably healthier than the one down the pub. With the cost of a cafe cappuccino around $6 a cup, it shouldn't take us long to pay off that fancy coffee machine either.

On our recent East Coast excursion, we picked up two dozen fresh oysters directly from the farm for $23 per dozen. My wife then made a wicked Kilpatrick mix and cooked them on the BBQ. By comparison, a dozen oysters Kilpatrick at the Drunken Admiral down the road cost $61. The other advantage of home-cooked oysters was the sensational view out our caravan window. 

While caravanning remains a popular way to explore the country, addressing the challenges created by soaring costs is essential to ensure that this favored Aussie pastime continues to thrive. Whether through government support, industry innovation, or more cost-effective options, finding solutions to mitigate the financial burden of caravanning is crucial for the future of this beloved national pursuit.