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When caravan manufacturers go bust
After recent caravan manufacturer insolvencies in Australia, how can buyers protect themselves?
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9 min readDrive
After recent caravan manufacturer insolvencies in Australia, how can buyers protect themselves?
Published
7 min read
Text size
Published
Text size
During the summer holiday period in 2025, Australian caravanners were shocked by the sudden closure of Zone RV with a staggering $42 million in debt. Easily one of the most prestigious (if not expensive) brands in the land, many were left wondering how a company that builds $270,000 caravans runs out of money.
But Zone isn’t the only high- or low-profile closure to leave prospective Aussie caravanners out of pocket.
Back in 2017 Kimberley Kampers entered voluntary receivership, was resurrected, then in 2018 entered voluntary liquidation and was eventually resurrected, but not without significant reputational damage.
In 2019 we saw the shock closure of The Motorhome Conversion Company, leaving $3.6 million in debt. Prestige caravan builder Complete Campsite closed in 2020 citing COVID restrictions (but has since been resurrected).
South African-owned Jurgens Australia closed in 2022 following years or financial strife. Other established brands have followed suit. Sunbuster Caravans closed its doors in March 2023 leaving about customers in the lurch.
Around the same time, Gold Coast-based Infinity Motorhomes was closed by the Supreme Court after it was established it had never been solvent. Melbourne-based Tango Caravans closed in August 2024 leaving around 80 creditors, including customers around $3.2 million out of pocket.
Off-road builder, Highline Caravans closed in May 2024 leaving about $1 million in debts. Collectively, consumers lost millions on deposits, or in some cases, full payments. Even one of Australia’s longest serving camping brands Track Trailer was forced into voluntary administration in 2024 but has successfully restructured.
Over the pandemic years, caravanning was in boom. Because we couldn’t go overseas (or even leave the state), road trips became one of the only viable ways to escape, and it was hard to argue you’d be at higher risk of catching COVID in a campsite than an office block.
Everyone suddenly wanted a caravan, but manufacturers both couldn’t build them fast enough and couldn’t get the staff or supplies even if they could. That created its own crisis, with a steep increase in complaints about serious defects in new caravans.
In an interview with Autocamp BtoB magazine in June 2023, Gerry Ryan OAM and founder of Jayco caravans said, “We are currently seeing an oversupply of caravan product in Australia with many new brands and smaller dealerships opening up.” Stuart Lamont, CEO of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia has also said the barrier to entry for caravan manufacturing is too low, especially compared to the barrier to entry for building a house.
Around 150 manufacturers compete for a market of around 20,000 to 30,000 caravans (this spiked at around 50,000 over COVID).
Look more closely, though, and we find that one manufacturer builds around a third to half of them (Jayco) so in reality, around 149 manufacturers compete for a market of around 14,000 to 20,000 caravans. That’s a lot of competition for a reasonably small market, and so, many, many caravan builders are likely over committed or running on very tight operating margins.
There is also a flow on affect from the spike in popularity during the pandemic years. A lot of people bought caravans. Now a lot of people are selling reasonably new second-hand caravans at the same time as many dealers are overstocked with new vans. Each are competing for a contracting market as the people who may never have considered caravanning are now not considering caravanning.
How long can it last?
This all begs the question. If I put a deposit on a caravan, will I get my caravan (or at least my deposit)? The good news is, the caravan industry, as a whole, has a good track record. Even accounting for the businesses mentioned earlier, many more haven’t gone into voluntary administration and trade ethically and successfully.
We asked Carol McCraken, CEO of Caravan & Camping WA about this and she agreed, saying, “The majority of the business failures referenced are not industry-wide issues but are more often the result of behind-the-scenes relationship breakdowns or poor business practices. When viewed against the wide range of options available to consumers, these failures represent a very small proportion of products entering the market.”
There are a few things you can do to make sure you have the best outcome, even in the worst of scenarios.
Instead of buying new, you could always consider a late model second-hand caravan. They come with their own risks, but at least you won’t have to wait months for it to be built, will be purchasing a product that’s better for the environment and likely the current owner has gone through the rigmarole of sorting out any warranty issues. And although the risk of administrators getting involved is probably not zero, at least it’ll be very low.
If you really are keen for a new caravan, walk away from any deal you aren’t 100 per cent comfortable with. We are sure many caravan sellers (and owners) would disagree, but caravans are all pretty similar. If there is a caravan you like from a seller you’re not sure about, there is certainly another similar caravan from a seller you can be sure about. Second, buy from a reputable dealer that deals with reputable manufacturers.
Caravan & Camping WA’s Carol McCraken says, “Purchasing through a retailer can provide greater visibility of an established service network and, should a manufacturer cease trading in the future, may offer the option to transfer to another brand. Looking at it the other way, if a retailer were to close, manufacturers will often assist customers either through factory-direct support or by facilitating service through another retailer within their network.”
For Western Australians in particular, McCraken says that buying local can add peace of mind. “We recommended buying through a trusted Caravan & Camping WA member, as these businesses have access to greater training on their legal obligations and generally demonstrate a more professional, consumer-focused approach.”
Avoid large deposits and don’t pay the final amount until you have personally inspected the finished caravan. McCracken notes, “It is common industry practice for contracts to require a small holding deposit, with full payment made closer to handover.” In many of the news stories about people losing lots of money to broke caravan manufacturers, customers have been pressured into paying final amounts well before the delivery date.
It should have been made clear well before your caravan is ready how you can pay and when, so if this changes, that could be reason to suspect something is not right. McCraken agrees. She says, “Any request for additional payments outside the agreed deposit schedule should be treated as a serious red flag.” As an example of good practice, Jayco dealers have all the details on each of their websites. They also accept cash or bank cheques on the day of handover, or electronic transfers as soon as the money has cleared.
One exception to this could be if you are buying a boutique custom caravan. In these instances, your purchase contract may include progress payments to aid cashflow as your van goes through the line. For example, Zone RV asked customers for a 5 per cent deposit, 40 per cent first instalment, 35 per cent progress payment and the final 20 per cent on delivery.
In these cases, having clear progress milestones is important, and you should check that the manufacturer has completed what they said would be completed before the next payment is made. Don’t deviate from the contract and negotiate clear milestones (not just dates) that must be met.
The good news is, you’re much more likely to end up with a caravan you’ve paid for than not. And once you have it, there’s really no better way to explore Australia than by road.
