As the popularity of the camping lifestyle surges, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group, Choice, is continuing to shine a spotlight on the issue of caravan quality and safety.
In November last year, the organisation published an article that drew attention to a series of faulty caravan stories.
It says that, in recent years, it had heard from more than a few caravan owners ‘whose vehicles have experienced major design and quality faults, and who’ve been given the run-around by caravan dealers when trying to get the problems fixed’.
An ACCC survey conducted last year found 1300 complaints had been received from caravan owners over the previous five years.
Many grey nomads are worried that fuel availability could be an issue in the Outback.
In a follow-up article published this month, Choice says that the CEO of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA), Stuart Lamont, was standings by his previous positive assessment of the industry in Australia.
He told the advocacy group that the ACCC complaints were ‘likely to be the result of targeted consumer incentives encouraging the reporting to the ACCC rather than a growing trend’.
Mr Lamont said Australian consumers used their caravanning products in ways and on terrain which is not commonly used anywhere else in the world, and that caravan construction standards in the US and Europe was ‘far inferior’ to those made in Australia.
The CIAA’s trademarked RVMAP badge on a caravan is meant to certify that the manufacturer takes part in an annual inspection process and can deliver products that adhere to Australian design rules and federal compliance regulations.
However, Choice reports that the badge doesn’t mean that every caravan that has the badge has been inspected.
Mr Lamont told the group that the CIAA’s RVMAP team had conducted 3186 caravan inspections across 257 local and overseas manufacturers in the four financial years to 2020. He says most of the failures to adhere to the 250 federal compliance requirements the RVMAP inspectors look for have been found with smaller or overseas manufacturers.
“Over the past four years we have seen a 40% reduction in compliance issues identified amongst RVMAP manufacturers in full RVMAP audits,” Mr Lamont said. “While RVMAP does not inspect every product rolling off the production line, and we cannot offer a guarantee, consumers should have far greater confidence in dealing with an RVMAP badged product than one which is not.”
He said the program was initiated by the caravan industry ‘in the absence of government inspections’.
Quoting data from the Caravan Council of Australia, Choice reports that the most common caravan faults and failures are:
Maybe the ACCC investigating will do some good but I very much doubt it
ACCC is just a toothless tiger. In it’s current form just a waste of tax payers money. Same as small claims office in QLD.
Couldn’t agree more Ron. The majority of Caravan builders don’t employ suitably qualified Trades people. While this Industry remains self regulated we all have to beware ! I purchased a new Jayco Starcraft 1961.2 in 2011 & first trip out, I had 19 warranty issues, & whats more, about 30% of them Couldn’t be fixed properly by the Dealer.
What a load of rubbish.ACCC complaints are ‘likely to be the result of targeted consumer incentives encouraging the reporting to the ACCC rather than a growing trend’.
I read this as ‘ CIAA does not recognise the complaints raised and documented to the ACCC. Therefore, there were no faults in the caravans manufactured and delivered by our RVMAP members.’
I believe the CIAA RVMAP system to be of little help (useless) to the consumer in purchasing an RV and provides no support to the consumer once a faulty/defective RV has been purchased.
One only needs to look at the self regulation of the building industry and what has come to light. The RV industry is the same with self regulation.
Ron you are right fancy the ceo of ACCC saying targeted consumer incentives as reporting faults on caravans.is this bloke in the real world a complaint is a complaint.i like to meet this bloke in the pub he sounds like a pen pusher and a complete tosser.the ACCC needs to do there job and do it properly.rant over.
The person who is attributed with these comments was Stuart Lamont, CEO of the CIAA not the Chair of the ACCC and it would be expected that Mr Lamont would defend the industry that employs him and pays his wages irrespective of the abysmal performance of the industry.
Long case 7 month case with NCAT
I agree just because they have RVMAP on them does not mean you can get warranty work done. I have major defects with independent x 3 reports on the motorhome. Including an expert witness report and just because you are told you have warranty 3/5 years does not mean you do not have to fight to get the major warranty acknowledged. I couldn’t get a answer as to warranty even after returning the vehicle to both manufacturer and dealer.
As it’s in Court I can’t name the defects but granted a Solicitor so I won’t say too much but please we need to keep fighting or nothing will change in the industry.
You just have to read the cases against manufacturer or dealers in NSW NCAT and see the precedents but of course it’s not without major stress to take this action.
I almost see the RVMAP sticker as an insult. I worked for an engineering company whose Quality control was over the top. It had to be just to be able to tender for government contracts. I know what quality control is and believe me caravans don’t have it. Besides how can a voluntary membership organization maintain wages if they upset the people who pay their wages !!!!! A huge conflict of interest I think
I understand now why so many people are making the old franklin caravans and vans a like from the 60s70s80s because 40 years later there still 1000s on the road and still strong with care free travelling.
When the Australian manufacturers know that their vans are sorely tested on our roads and conditions, why do they make vans that are shoddy and not up to the task. Dirt road vans should be able to handle our out back roads. 4 wd vans should be able to follow the lead vehicle anywhere. I do believe most of them are capable. Not everyone drives to conditions. Some people push their luck. I would like to see vans made to over spec standard to cope with this abuse. Sure they will cost more, but will give the industry the reputation it needs. Make it more of a you gets what you pay for, not the wanna highly rated expensive units out there.
When we bought our 6 years ago we insisted it be speced up for the Gibb River Rd. Totally clueless!we got there. With lots ofcommunication that I would have thought un neccessary
Not to mention the weight of a van that is built for the conditions, most vehicles available to tow such a van in Australia will be at or over their limits.
I was fortunate that the manufacturer of my off-road caravan fixed every failure without question under warranty. My assessment of the cause of the failures was mostly a mixture of poor design and poor workmanship. The end result was that I effected my own repairs to improve on the repairs done by the manufacturer so that the caravan is as robust as it needs to be.
Thing is, if you modify a van or attempt to repair a fault yourself, which may be necessary when in remote areas, this will most likely effect any warranty claim
Not surprising.
Poor quality workmanship…..
And the prices they sell at is just ridiculous.
I pity those who own these mobile fireboxes
What seriously bothers me is you buy a van your vehicle can safely handle, Referring to the limits set by the tow vehicles manufacturers, then with due diligence a suitable van is purchased according to the caravan manufacturers compliance specifications assuming as a consumer you are compliant generally under the maximum load limits allowing extra for all you need on the road.
Then you find the caravan specks are not as stated on the compliance plate as to weight tow ball loadings, tyre sizes etc ,And you wonder why there are so many role overs.
When Manufacturers and sales yards can register New vans in house without a weigh bridge ticket on the completely fitted out van, the weight based on a empty shell being what’s on the registration papers and stamped on to the compliance plate is a deliberate down right dangerous deception.
When Truck drivers can be fined for being slightly over weight on one axel and still be within the all up limits of their truck due to the nature of the load some thing is seriously wrong when caravan manufacturers can get away with a false misleading weight deception even if it’s still within maximum weight limits for that type of caravan when it effects ball loadings, tyre sizes and the overall stability of the caravan and tug.
It’s a must to weigh a new van for the first trip including ball weights loaded with all that is needed for your first trip so you can make any load adjustments in the van and the vehicle, bare in mind it’s the driver that is responsible for the actual overall weight and safe operation of the entire rig.
Regard’s
Years ago caravans were predominantly used on bitumen roads. It has now become trendy to take them on all sorts of unsealed substandard roads & tracks. If they fall apart in the process it’s the owners fault. Why not take a tent to these places rather than trying to do them in a luxury lifestyle manner.
Caravans have been popular since the 1950’s. Most roads were unsealed in the 1950’s. For example the Princes Highway was only fully sealed by 1965. The Stuart Highway by the 1980’s. The Barton Highway by 1960. Therefore most country roads were unsealed in the 1950’s and 1960’s when caravanning was very popular. We should expect caravans of today to be at least as good as those of the 50’s And 60’s and be able to cope with unsealed roads.
Small component quality will be a major long term disaster for owners. In many cases external screws used to retain fittings are of the steel self drilling type with low grade ‘rustproofing’ such as sputtered zinc. I make a point of replacing every screw I can find over time with stainless steel (304 grade) and am always shocked at the level of deterioration found on the original screws. Secondly the current carrying capacity of heavy load circuits (fridge) is often borderline. A3 way fridge will draw approx 12-15 amps on 12 volt d.c. As I noted in a recent Wanderer magazine the quality of terminal connection at points of attachment are woeful when with a small extra level of care long life can be assured.
I thought the 3way fridge draws more like 25amps. Our new caravan then tried to connect this through the 12 pin trailer plug which is rated at 35amp on the big pins. Narva etc should be made to rate their plugs after fair usage when the pins come loose. We melted ours. I now use a 175amp Anderson plug. I believe to avoid trouble you can’t go too big with wire of plug size.
I measure the current with my Fluke multimeter and it is usually around12/15 amps as I stated. Measure the resistance in ohms of your 12 volt element , then use Ohms Law (volts div by resistance )to calculate the correct draw. I would suggest if it is higher than 15 amps the element is presumably faulty. A 50 amp Anderson plug is adequate provided you properly solder or crimp your cable.
This is what the dometic operating manual for our upsize fridge (216L) says about power consumption
420 Ah/24 h (12 V). It also says Power input: 275W (12 V) , 325 W (240 V)
Thank you for the list. It becomes a what to look out for when you get the van.. We are awaiting our new van. Our last van had some of the problems listed but they were resolved over time.
As a purchaser of anything,you are entitled to get what you paid for without fault or defect. The attitude seems to suggest that the badge is like something that wards off defects. By having it on a van a manufacturer is less likely to feel that your complaint is genuine.Too often in the industry jobs are rushed through and I know from talking to truckies who transported vans that many need fixing when they reach the dealer. They didn’t survive intact the trip on a flatbed from Melbourne to the dealer .
We have a new 4 week old full off road van from a large manufacturer who won major awards in 2019 & 2021. We have 5 major faults and 12 smaller faults. The air bag system leaks, it was obvious the day after I took delivery. Blinds & flyscreen on every window are put in upside down…..the list goes on. Not sure what planet Lamont lives on.
Maybe whoever fitted the blinds and screens came from Europe or the USA and we are downunder LOL
Brought a new caravan for our retirement from a dealer in Brisbane. It leaked water for three years and over a half dozen visits to the dealer.
Still leaking so a return to the manufacturer in Melbourne. They had it for a week to repair damage and supposedly water proof it.
On collection we started our touring.
First heavy rain several leaks again.
Returned to Brisbane repaired at our expense and sold on Gumtree.
Consumers seem to at the mercy of unscrupulous delers and manufacturers.
Just another issue regarding actual caravan weights, I like many others have attended numerous Caravan shows to see the latest designs and innovations and come away with handfuls of advertising..
the one thing I have never seen is one of these vans with a set of scales under each wheel and draw bar, I have often looked at the weight compliance plates in horror, seems like caravans these days are considerably heavier built stronger with much better suspension options and bigger wheel diameters that trade off stability for unnecessary higher ground clearance that promote extra drag and higher fuel consumption.
It would be interesting to see the differences in weight of some of these show display vans from the left hand side to the right hand side.
Regard’s
Yeah. My caravan was made by a member of the CIAA, the chassis welding by Neanderthal, the wiring by Australopithecus and the joinery by Cro-Magnon. Enuff sed!
it seems like the ciaa is about as powerful as fuel watch.. not a lot gets done..
I think caravan builders should use professionally skilled tradesmen eg electricians and maybe waterproofers instead of making fancy looking vans but vans that are fit for purpose.
Anyone who has spent time in the RV industry knows the CIAA’s accreditation process is the fox looking after the henhouse. Dealers swap stickers from van to van. The ACCC survey only asks questions they already know the answer too & the questions they should have asked are the ones they deem in the too hard basket.
It is one thing to have a manufacturer’s warranty to cover for a fault and another to get it fixed. I have had a number of faults in my 2020 caravan that I have had varied success in getting fixed. Most of the issues I have actually fixed myself, like replacing the refrigerator seal, replacing an exhaust fan switch, correcting the wiring in the outside aux socket (reverse polarity), refitting the faceplate on two drawers, and so on.
However, there were a couple of repairs that I could not do myself! One was one the window sash guides fell off. After a lot of organising the window manufacturer replaced part, the caravan manufacturer provided ZERO help, even as little as helping identify the window! Then there was the missing boot on the TV antenna, which was discovered when water leaked into the cavan. The manufacturer accepted that this was a warranty issue, but I could not find a caravan repairer close to me to do the repair, they told me that they could not get manufacturers to pay up, so I had to take the van to the dealer where I bought the van. This involved a 4-hour drive with the van to get there and a 3-hour drive home, then return a week later to collect the van to do the travel in reverse!
Over the whole time the dealer has always helped me in every step, but the manufacturer has been totally missing in action!
I find it totally unacceptable that RV manufacturers provide so little support of their product once it leaves their factory. Manufacturers must be prepared to support owners by allowing warranty repairs to be done by any proper RV repairer, no matter where they are – just like getting a car fixed at a dealer!
To me IVMAP means nothing. Next time I buy a caravan it will be a manufacturer with an Australia wide network!
As far as I am aware dealers are responsible for the warranty repairs not the manufacturer. I took my van from ACT back to Geelong to get the few items fixed, which they did without an issue. The dealers are the main area that I find is the problem. Some think that once they have sold a van, that’s the end of their responsibility.
Over many years of caravanning in new vans from Europe and Australia I have no issues with overseas vans. I found them of a higher standard of finish than the local product as the industry in Europe has been going a lot longer. The failings of European vans is when taken off road, in Europe the roads are all sealed unlike Australia, on road they perform better than local vans. I recently purchased a local van just before COVID broke out and recently, 18 months later was able to use it and had an issue with it. The local dealer refused my claim immediately as it was only 12 months so I went to the builder in Victoria who reversed the decision immediately. I cannot thank the warranty manager of Snowy River vans enough for her prompt response.
I do not understand why you can purchase a tandem van for $65,000 and get a 12 month warranty when you can purchase a vehicle for the same price and get 7 years warranty.and the vehicle will get a lot more use. It is a reflection on the lack of confidence in their product.
If all caravans had to go over the pits like they used to to get initial rego and transfer of rego then the builds would be better, weights would be compliant and manufacturers would have to do what they get paid for. The cost of them has gone through the roof especially since Covid and they aren’t getting better . Bells and whistles don’t make them better it’s just marketing.