The Covid pandemic has triggered a surge in domestic tourism … and left plenty of wannabe grey nomads facing a longer than expected wait to get their hands on their dream rig.
Many caravan buyers are now facing a wait of up to 12 months, but appear generally happy to be patient.
Caravan and Camping Industries Association of SA chief executive Stuart Livingstone told Adelaide Now that, while some dealers could offer immediate delivery, the high demand was also resulting in long order times.
“Some delivery times are now out to 12 months but the interesting thing is the public knows the demand is there and are happy to wait for the van of their choice,” he said. “Dealers are running low on second-hand stock, too, because people are selling vans privately very quickly, they really have good resale value … it is hard to buy a second-hand van at the moment.”
The popularity of last month’s South Australian Caravan and Camping Show offers a clue to what is happening across the country. The show saw record crowds of almost 30,000 flock in, and around $22m of sales done in a single weekend.
“The show saw about 300 RV (recreational vehicles) sold, at an average of around $60,000, plus loads of accessories, and the biggest one-day crowd in eight years,” Mr Livingstone told Adelaide Now. “We are seeing a resurgence in young people, 25-to-30s, wanting to hit the road as well as families and grey nomads.”
Department of Infrastructure and Transport figures show the number of registered caravans in South Australia has jumped by more than 40% in a decade, rising from 37,600 to 52,712 between 2010 and 2020.
“The boom will continue for a long time yet, as people do take delivery of their vans then get out to explore regional centres and stay in caravan parks and spend money in towns,” said Mr Livingstone.
I went to the Gold Coast caravan show on Friday. There are vans on sale that are so big and heavy that you would sensibly need a prime mover to tow them.
I can see some significant increase in accidents as people who would normally holiday in Bali or somewhere overseas buy these vans, load them to the hilt and take off into the blue yonder towing them with vehicles that might say can tow 3.5 tons but shouldn’t. A lot of these are people who normally only drive a few kilometres a week in city conditions. There is a reason that European law says that you can only tow to 80% of your tow vehicles GVM, Something to do with the tail wagging the dog.
Interestingly a lot of vans still do not have anti sway devices and inexperienced drivers, narrow roads and B Doubles are a dangerous combination.
Unfortunately some sales people will say anything to make a sale.
Yeh mate your Nissan Navara should have no trouble towing 3.5 tons and your boat can go on the roof and put the 30HP outboard in the back.
Oh dear.
Bugger!
There goes the neighbourhood.
When I went into Caravanland in Cannington WA back in 2012 to order a new caravan, I pulled up in a 2008 Prado. The salesman asked me what i was going to tow my new van with because the Prado was only warranted to tow 2500 kgs and my new van aggregate was 2723 kgs. We had a new 5 cylinder Ranger on order. That salesman knew his weights. I usually don’t stick up for sales people as they know how to bend the truth but this bloke I will.
I had my caravan pick out during lockdown. First day out of radius lockdown [9th Nov 20]went straight to see it . Brought it on the spot thinking it would be ready around Feb/March to do the big lap was told no ready in June 2021. Disappointed but i said we leave in July now and do a short trips. Now have been told not ready until October 2021 ??? { Cannot get the appliances etc}. So now i’m thinking small trips first again and hopefully leave and do the big lap 2022. Hopefully the big Caravan makers don’t get all the appliance first . Wish me late Boys and Girls
Ordered a new Jayco Silverline, today. Probably won’t take delivery until late December early January. We will keep our trade until we take delivery of the new van. Happy couple, probably our last.
It’s frustrating to have to wait, but I’d be cautious about pressuring manufacturers to hurry up: that would probably lead to a decrease in quality. Remember, they didn’t create COVID.
Yes, yes, yes. We were told we would take delivery on our motor home mid September,2022 then October then November then maybe December more likely January and now the end of February. We have now missed 2 summers of traveling and at this rate I hope we’re not too old to enjoy it!! We are suppose to collect from Jayco, Newcastle. It is now ridiculous and Covid can’t be an excuse over 12 months after ordering!!