By Alison Huth
Buying a new van is not as easy as some people think. There are so many things that you need to consider.
Before you put your hard-earned money down, it’s best if you have an idea of why you want to buy something.
What do you want – a caravan, a motorhome or a camper trailer?
Where are you planning to go?
How long will you be on the road?
How many people will be there?
Are you sticking to main roads or planning on using outback tracks?
Can your current car tow a van and how much can it tow?
Do you need a new car to tow your new van?
If you get a motorhome, are you going to tow your car or is it too big to be towed?
The questions can go on and on. When Peter and I were looking at getting our first van, I must admit we didn’t ask ourselves the right questions and ended up with the wrong van. There was nothing wrong with the van itself, it was just that 20+ years ago a pop top wasn’t the best van to take to the tropics in summer and the snow fields in winter!
So, when we reviewed why we wanted the van we decided to sell the first one and get a full van, not a pop top. This meant that we could do what we wanted without worrying about the temperature outside making it almost impossible to be the area in our pop top.
We have been in the caravan industry for over 30 years now and have learnt a lot about the industry. We’ve never physically built a van but have met a lot of manufacturers over the years and gained some essential knowledge.
How to choose the right product to meet your needs and wants.
First Step is to work out what you want to do, where you want to go.
Second Step is to work out your finances and make sure you include a new car if you need one.
Third Step is to look at the models on the market, and which one delivers the things you want in the product you want.
Fourth Step might be a good time to develop a list of manufacturers that have a good reputation for building, warranty and service. It always helps if you go to a Caravan Show so you can check the models out in real time.
Some questions apply no matter what product you want. Do you want wood, aluminium or composite frame? Do you want gas and electric or just electric? How many solar panels do you want?
But there is one basic statement that should be guaranteed – I want a quality build.
Every manufacturer has many legislative standards that must be met to ensure that quality build. The biggest issue is how do you know, as the customer, if they are being met?
Well, there’s no choice about it. It must happen. The thing to remember is that it doesn’t matter if the product you choose is made in Australia or imported.
I remember that many years ago, good friends decided to buy a slide-on camper made overseas. When it arrived in the country it was taken straight away to have modifications made to bring it up to Australian standards. These included changing the gas system to use copper piping not what was approved in the country of manufacture. The electrical system had to be upgraded to meet Australian standards.
There are so many legal requirements that it is imperative that every manufacturer is aware of them all. Saying you need to know the rules and regs that apply to you can sound simple, but there are so many that apply, it helps to have a check list!
One of the most impressive aspects of the Caravan Industry Victoria is the development of that check list.
RV Masters was launched in 2025 and covers every aspect of the caravan manufacturing business. It’s not there to show any faults in the industry or just shuffle paper around. It’s designed to show the compliance of a manufacturer to every legislative and good business aspect of their work.
The way this works is a huge benefit to you, as customers, because any business that carries the RV Masters Brand has to meet the standards and undergo an annual assessment.
To give you an idea of the in-depth level of the RV Masters Accreditation Program here’s an overview:
To display the RV Master Manufacturers logo a business must meet five key business standards: Business Systems, Quality Management, Human Resources and Customer Service are all underpinned by the fifth standard of Compliance.
Business Systems: Business Procedures, Finance, Marketing, Risk Management, Insurance, OH &S
Quality Management: Quality Management Systems, Manufacturing Management Systems, Operating Procedures
Human Resources: HR Policies, Staff Training, Professional Development, Employment Contracts
Customer Service: Dealer and Sales Contracts, Customer Service Standards,
Warranty and Complaints, Handling Procedures
Compliance: Business and product compliance to regulatory rules including:
• Australian Consumer Law
• Fair work
• Workcover
• Road Vehicle Safety Act
• RVMAP
• Australian Tax Office
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission
This is a multi-facetted program because it helps you, as the customer, and the manufacturer. You both know the depth of the program and that gives you an excellent base to use when you’re looking for your new model.
The industry in Australia has grown considerable in the last 30 years. In 1997 Peter and I went to the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon in Germany, which is said to be the biggest in the world. We looked at vans, motorhomes, buses, tents all sorts of things.
We came away with the impression that, at that time, our industry was not as advanced in the design stage as the European industry. We saw drop down beds in motorhomes at that 1997 show.
In 2025 we went back to Dusseldorf Caravan Salon. It was still as big as we remember it, but there was a major change. Looking through caravans and motorhomes, our industry looked equal, if not way ahead of Europe. They still had far more models in the Motorhome range than we do. But everything we have here, looked equal if not ahead of the products we saw there.
Looking through more vans I started looking for the things that we take for granted in our vans, like the microwave and washing machine. Well, we did see them being made available in some brands as optional extras.
What that trip showed us was that our industry is amazing. The manufacturers have listened to the needs and wants of their customers. At the same time as they are designing caravans to include the customers’ needs and wants, they have to comply with legislation.
One of the problems people have today is dealing with the price of the van. They’re not cheap, but when you look at everything that must be complied with, you can start to understand why. If you ignored some of the rules and regulations, I suppose you might be able to reduce the price. But, at the same time you would be breaking the law and reducing the quality of the build.
While more people wanted new caravans during the pandemic, the build standard stayed the same, to access to essential products made overseas caused delays and price increases. Let’s just make it clear that there are some products in every make and model that are imported. Where from is up to the caravan manufacturer.
However, once the pandemic slowed down and overseas travel was an option a lot of secondhand vans appeared on the market. This slowed down the number of new vans being built and affected some manufacturers to the extent that they had to close down. Sometimes you just cannot avoid the bad news. It was very hard on everyone concerned.
However, the RV Masters program has the potential to help a manufacturer with the in-depth check list that has to be redone on a regular basis. While doing a lot of check list checking can seem like extra work, it can also highlight a potential problem.
What I really like about RV Masters is that the check list allows expert assessors, who are not part of the manufacturers team, to check everything and ask a few questions if needed.
The whole Caravan Industry in Australia is amazing. New ideas, designs, products always seem to be on the market. I can remember when, many years ago, one brand introduced a brave idea of having a range of cupboard door colours. Say goodbye to the white or wood doors and choose your colour scheme. It was novel and bought about a lot of changes.
The RV Masters program is designed so that existing and new ideas can be part of the industry as long as you, the customer, wants to see them.
