Virus stalls RV innovation
Cutting-edge camper designs put on hold as factory production takes priorityCOMMENT
It's not just Australian RV production that has been put on hold during the past six months of COVID-19 disruption.
Product development including the roll out of new cutting-edge designs has in many cases been put on the backburner as local RV businesses struggle to keep existing production lines going and in some cases, stay afloat.
It's a change from recent years which have seen Australia become a hotbed of groundbreaking RV design, with some of the most innovative and advanced caravans and camper products built in Australia, often in Queensland.
After a promising start to the year at the Victorian Caravan Supershow, local new-model releases have dried up like a farm dam in summer; not helped by many Melbourne factories forced to shut for weeks at a time and the widespread cancellation of outdoor shows, resulting in financial hardship for some well-established businesses.
As a result most of the action has been in the largely coronavirus-free Sunshine State, with the likes of Patriot's new range-topping X3, Sunseeker's new off-road Vision hybrids, Zone's entry-level Base, AOR's Sierra ZR box camper and Rhinomax's first expedition vehicle.
Elsewhere, we've seen a couple of new pop-tops from New Age and fresh upmarket campervans from Trakka.
After launching a new off-road campervan and teasing a JPod toy hauler at the Melbourne Supershow, Australia's largest RV manufacturer Jayco (celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2020) has been relatively subdued, apart from making some tweaks to its entry-level camper trailer line-up.
Other exciting new models slated for release in 2020 appear to be delayed, like AOR's tandem axle off-road 'Synergy' caravan and a hybrid caravan from Bushtracker, along with an entry-level box camper from Kimberley and Earthcruiser's LandCruiser 70 Series campervan.
NSW's Cub Campers has also been slow to roll out its new Drifter II family tent trailer, which will take the fight up to Chinese rivals albeit with a heftier, circa $50,000 pricetag.
Smaller operators like Trailblazers RV have also had their hands tied, with the Melbourne manufacturer missing a deadline of the Victorian Caravan Virtual Show for the unveiling of its 'world first' hybrid off-road fifth-wheel, pop-top camper.
Then there's the South Australian inventor of the unique DekPod, James Knight, who told caravancampingsales that "COVID has delayed progress by up to six months" of a production version of his clever drawbar-mounted, fold-out undercover kitchen/bathroom design.
"Despite very positive feedback and interest from the public, unfortunately we haven’t had any established brands take on the concept, hence product development will be an organically grown process," he explained.
Knight is now working on a new, Transformer-style camper trailer concept, with some initial drawings shown on the HUT (Hybrid Utility Trailer) RV website.
"Our prototype caravan has recently been sold so over the next six months we will be investing in further development of a production ready module," he said.
While fresh homegrown models have been scarce on the ground in 2020, the regular arrival of new imported products from overseas is making up for some of the shortfall, from full-size touring caravans and blow-up campers, to off-road hybrids, cheap box campers, and lightweight teardrop trailers.
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