Australian made VERSUS Imported – OPINION PIECE

I want to state up front that I am somewhat biased towards Australian-designed and built caravans – we have some amazing manufacturers in this country! I also want to state, that overseas imports have a genuine and important place in the market in terms of consumers, and to a lesser extent manufacturers. I do however question the ‘love affair’ sometimes with these overseas products…. So, please don’t hate on me for what I have written below, this is just my opinion based on our experience in the repair and modification business, along with years of caravaning. So, knowing how passionate people get about this subject, the views expressed in this article are just an opinion – not FACT.

Let’s list the positives with the overseas-made vans first:

• Lots of features, which is very attractive to buyers
• Often good-looking; there are some great-looking hybrid vans on the market today
• Some good design ideas, innovation is great and drives the industry forward
• Affordability for the features provided; the amount of ‘kit’ is quite amazing to be honest
• Strength, they are built tough but not in all areas*
• Availability for delivery, these vans are typically in stock and ready to go
• Ever-improving build quality; the more we see them through the shop the more we note the improved build quality.

Now let’s look at the negatives:

• These vans often have many features leading complex & sometimes less than-reliable systems
• Electrical components are mostly on the cheaper end of the scale to keep price down, which can lead to reliability issues
• Some of the good design ideas are unfortunately often direct copies of Australian made products
• Affordability, with rising freight costs these vans are getting close to double the cost of what they originally entered the market at, bringing them closer to an Australian built equivalent
• Weight, you’ll see that these vans look very stout in the chassis and over engineered for the size, the issue is that whilst they are strong, they are often over-done in size and steel thickness to compensate for poorer quality steel.
• Fit and finish, it can be hit and miss and your experience can therefore come down to after sales service.
• Quality of components, they tend to either contain a lot of unbranded components (connectors, lighting, solar, batteries & charging systems) or have been locally fitted with products on the lower end of the quality scale. This can lead to poor performance and reliability issues.

As with everything it is horses for course so to speak, and of course being Australian made doesn’t guarantee quality. For me the key take away from the above is as follows, and is not limited to one make or brand of vans – it applies to ALL:

• Ensure you include aftermarket service and support in your product research
• Check to see what parts support & availability is like in Australian
• Ensure you know your weights, is your vehicle capable of towing a heavy van? Remember, towing weight on road is one thing, towing in off-road conditions is another level when it comes to fuel usage, wear and tear. For example, towing 2.6T in sand is very different to towing say 1.8T.

Do you think I am wrong, or am missing some relevant points, if so feel free to comment. Are you in the market for a new or used caravan, consider booking a pre-purchase inspection with us. For more information: https://revotek.com.au/buyinganoldcaravan/