“The caravan and RV market was already strong because of Covid, international travel restrictions, and or a lack of desire for Australians to holiday overseas – hence buying caravans and RVs for domestic travel was already strong,” he told the Herald Sun. “Most of the flood-affected cars and caravans/RVs will be statutory write-offs that are not allowed to be repaired and re-registered, so most of the lost vehicles to the flood won’t return to the market.”

He said, however, that it was yet to be see whether high fuel costs would slow demand down a little.

Tanim Ahmed, head of business intelligence and product for Datium Insights, told the Herold Sun that industry-wide stock shortages had consistently brought down the number of caravans available for sale, leading to price spikes in used caravans.

“The immediate impacts of the floods across the eastern seaboard are likely to further tighten stock levels and put pressure on prices to remain high over the next few months,” he said.

Steve Edwards, owner of Western Sydney-based caravan sales business Parravans, said used stock was sparse and that waiting lists for new caravan orders extend into late 2023.

“There’s just no product out there,” he told the Herald Sun. “The inquiry we’ve had for caravan hires since the floods have been through the roof … we hired our whole fleet out on the first weekend.”

• Have you been trying to buy a second-hand caravan recently and been shocked by the asking prices? Comment below.

Win! Win! Win!

Our new members’ section is offering subscribers a chance to win Scrubba Wash Bags, a Rescue Swag First Aid Kit … and a spooky ghost tour. Click here to find out more about our fantastic competitions.