The caravan industry is in the crosshairs, with the ACCC dishing out fines and launching legal action against some of Australia’s biggest names. After years of complaints about misleading advertising, warranty nightmares and unsafe builds, the regulator is finally cracking down on dodgy caravans, and it’s hitting the industry where it hurts.
Fines and Legal Action Mounting
In just the past couple of years, caravan makers and retailers have been fined for misleading waterproofing claims, misrepresenting vehicle weights, and advertising off-road capability their vans simply can’t handle. Big brands have been stung, and others are still facing court action. These penalties follow years of warnings from the ACCC that the sector’s treatment of consumers wasn’t up to scratch.
Buyers Left Out of Pocket
It’s not just fines. The collapse of several caravan businesses has left customers tens of thousands out of pocket, sometimes losing their entire savings. Others are stuck with vans that don’t live up to the promises, whether it’s suspension that can’t cope with corrugations, leaky joints that rot from humidity, or payload figures that are impossible in the real world.
Why It Matters
Australians are travelling further and harder than ever, with more than 900,000 registered caravans and motorhomes now on the road. Our conditions are brutal compared to overseas markets. Corrugations, bulldust, high heat and coastal salt air expose weaknesses fast. When vans aren’t properly tested, it’s the owners who end up footing the repair bills, sometimes in the tens of thousands.
Weak Standards, Heavy Costs
At the heart of the issue is a lack of robust national standards. Vans can be sold after only minimal testing, sometimes just a few thousand kilometres of road use. Yet plenty of buyers are taking them straight into the Outback, expecting them to survive the big lap. Without stronger design rules, the industry risks repeating the same cycle of failures and fines.
What Caravan Owners Should Know
Australian Consumer Law does offer some protection, giving buyers the right to a repair, replacement or refund when things go wrong. But enforcing those rights can be a battle. The ACCC’s recent crackdown shows regulators are finally starting to take consumer complaints seriously, which may give buyers more leverage against dodgy operators.
The Road Ahead
The caravan boom isn’t slowing down, but the industry is under more scrutiny than ever. Regulators are watching, fines are being handed out, and the cowboys in the sector are on notice. For buyers, the message is simple: do your homework, understand your rights, and be wary of big promises that don’t stack up. Because while caravanning is supposed to be about freedom, the last thing anyone wants is a dodgy van turning a dream trip into a legal and financial nightmare.
14 comments
I understand you cannot put a name to the article, its best left for ACCC and courts to do that. Pat, if a manufacturer has an employee/s on full time to trawl through social media for the purpose of obtaining ‘defamatory comments’, it would justify the ACCC starting with that manufacturer. So many companies.do not achieve a QA level, or have an employee occupy that role, it would be a fair reason why Australian purchasers are left in the state as per your article – out of pocket, harmed and frustrated.
I do wonder why caravan makers who have been fined or otherwise forced to make repairs or changes can’t be named. A simple reference to ACCc without comment beyond what has been made by the ACCC or in court surely can’t be defamatory. I am not a lawyer but to quote a legal finding does not seem likely to be able to be argued against.
Suggest you cannot make comment on product quality of Australian Caravan Manufacturing without Acknowledging and respecting the monumental effort of a disgruntled consumer, Ms Tracey Leigh and her tenacious efforts via her ‘Lemon Caravan’ site to name and shame and subsequently embarrassing the ACCC into action. Gutsy lady.
It’s up to the government to legislate minimum van standards and change the registration criteria to reinforce these standards
One of the main problems I have seen within the caravan/camper/motorhome industry is non ownership of the whole product they are selling. You often hear of stories where owners are asked to contact the maker of a product fitted by the caravan/camper/motorhome manufacturer for warranty. This to me is totally unacceptable considering the cost of caravans/campers/motorhomes. When you purchase a motor vehicle and something goes wrong during the warranty period, you take it back to the dealer for them to rectify. You are not asked to contact another company. This is where there are many issues that need to be addressed within the caravan/camper/motorhome industry. The caravan/camper/motorhome Manufacturer should take ownership of the whole product and for them to deal with suppliers of the goods they fit, not the buyer.
Another issue is when purchasing a caravan/camper/motorhome and changes or upgrades are made to the caravan/camper/motorhome. There is a lack of or no discount for the change or upgrade. An example is very common with toilets. The caravan/camper/motorhome may come with a cassette style toilet. When upgrading to a compost toilet, you may still pay the full retail cost of the composting toilet and its fitment. There is no reduction/discount of price for the cassette toilet.
Yes the industry has a problem but sometimes the problem is the customer.
Jayco Newcastle only charged for the upgraded item and discount for standard item. eg lithium batteries, pillow top matress, 216 litre compressor fridge, etc etc, I did not ask, they just do it.
The old Adage “you get what you pay for” is a myth, too many buyers are not educated in the product they are buying, have their head in the clouds and the sellers (providers) exaggerate the products capabilities and value.
This applies to any purchase in life really. What really applies is the old Adage “buyer beware!!!”
Do your homework, get comparisons, reviews, seek advice/opinions from established groups/businesses and make an informed choice. (The last person I would believe is the salesman)
vsb1 version 6 was meant to eliminate some of the issues like wheels stud shearing off in one brand of 12 inch electric brake trailer hubs also the fact that some wheels have no concentric mounting on hub so they are held on only not centred by wheel studs is still aparently an issue theres meant to be approval numbers on apropriate tested and engineered parts which apparently hasnt happened when a large van looses a wheel it makes a mess of the vans inderframe and also can potentially kill someone on the road when they get hit by a wheel
$96000 we paid for a van brand new that was never fit for purpose from day one. A chip of wood slid under the toilet to level it which we didn’t notice for some months and only did because I was doing a thorough clean.
Uneven surfaces, scuffs on the side of the van, a whole drilled in the checker plate under the ensuite which we believe was known to dealer. Some weeks later the ensuite shower leaked and we couldn’t get anyone to fix it. Nobody wanted to touch this very well known company’s vans because they didn’t pay their bills. No wonder they rebadged.
I’ve bought 6 camper vans/caravans from new over my life. Always conducted research and learned a heap along the way. Warranty claims on every single one of them. The warranty work is undertaken by the distributor not the manufacturer and the repairs are often substandard or not attended at all. For the last two caravans it took up to 6 months to get the van booked in to get the work done on the warranty items. When i picked up the van half the items were not attended. I had to wait another 3 months to get it booked in and this went on and on. The distributor blames the manufacturer and vice versa. No one takes accountability.
Many caravans now are very well made. There may be issues with a very few construction faults in the odd van, but warranty claims for the greatest part relate to fittings and equipment, mostly sourced from- you know where. I agree with some other commenters that the dealer should source the replacement part and install it as part of the warranty cost component included in their sale price.
The body responsible for the caravan industry should devote attention to ensuring that imported and local components meet proper standards.
Please tell who the “Regulators” are ??? Other than proceeding with VCAT & all that entails, the Industry is “Not” policed, there is no authority to turn to for unscrupulous caravan builders !!!
Sadly the upsurge of vans and campers manufactured overseas make a mockery of Australian warranty laws!
Made in China, Korea and similar locations see poor copies made of high quality parts made at extreme low costs and modified to slightly different dimensions from original brands that have been fitted in Australian brands for years only available in large packs from groups like Ali Baba and Temu with attached freight costs when the inevitable fail occurs!
Think latches, locks and metal fittings as examples!
Who looks at bed fittings like mattresses? Try it and find mattress made of unglued sheets of foam of low quality foam ?
Queries and trying to get action on failures of any system take weeks to months and any usage of the company website or owners results in bans and abusive language!