Ready to hit the open road? See all this beautiful country has to offer? Caravans are a staple of Aussie culture, a way to escape and explore, and get into nature without compromising on comfort. They strike a fine balance between comfort, practicality and versatility.
You can take an offroad caravan just about anywhere you can get with your tow rig, from the Gibb River Road to Dirk Hartog Island, or spend weeks on an isolated patch of Eighty Mile Beach.
But if you’re in the market for a new van, it’s easy to be overwhelmed at the sheer range of options. Sporting different features, layouts, and covering a stunning range of price brackets it’s hard to choose, or even know what to look for.
When you’re looking for a perth caravan that can stand the rigours of the Aussie Outback, from the beating sun and scorching heat to the sand, salt and wind—you want reliability. You need something that’s built well, and built right.
When the going gets tough and the road gets rough (we’re talking unsealed, ungraded, corrugated and rutted to hell), your caravan is going to either rattle to bits—or not.
You might have asked yourself… What are the best quality caravans in Australia?
Short answer?
The best quality caravans are Australian-made.
Caravans have a reputation for being unreliable, poorly made things. While this can be true for many traditional caravans, and even the average van you’ll find at a conventional caravan dealership, not all vans are built equal.
While not every van built in Australia is built the same, Australian-made is the best place to start.
They’re engineered for the conditions.
There’s a huge difference between a quality caravan, and a poor-quality caravan—that isn’t always immediately obvious. The ugly truth of the industry is that it’s not necessarily a case of paying a premium price tag, and getting a premium product. The way a caravan is made plays a huge part in how long it lasts, and until the panels are peeled back there’s no way for the average van buyer to tell.
Aussie caravans, those made by a reputable, proven manufacturer, are engineered for our tough conditions. The Australian market demands reliability and a solid build quality. Imported vans just won’t cut it when it comes to the Gibb River, and a broken van stuck on the side of a dirt track in the remote Kimberlys just isn’t gonna cut the mustard.
Local manufacturers understand this, and they engineer their vans to meet these conditions. From tandem axle, dual shock and coil-spring suspension, through to a solid ladder chassis construction or all aluminium frame.
Checkerplate alone won’t make your new van up to the task, but the right stuff underneath it will.
Australian-made vans are built to last.
There are a range of ways to build a caravan, from the traditional ultra-cheap stick and staple to aluminium frame and top of the range marine grade ply. The way your van is made will play a huge part in how long it lasts. Whether it falls apart halfway home, or carries on like a troop through thousands of dusty k’s of dirt roads. Do you know what your caravan is made of?
Here at RV Solutions, we’re about vans that stand the test of time. Vans that you can drag behind you without keeping an eye glued to the rear-view mirror to see if all the panels are still on.
The stick and staple technique of building vans will get you something that looks schmick, but won’t hold up. Increasingly common in cheap, imported vans, they’re a timber frame held together with nothing more substantial than staples and sikka, sheathed in regular exterior panels.
We frequently find ourselves replacing whole sections of this frame when carrying out caravan repairs as a result of wood rot. The build quality just isn’t what it needs to be, leading to water ingress and hidden cancers.
You get what you pay for.
Earlier, we mentioned that paying a premium price-tag might not get you a premium product. Some caravan manufacturers understand how much they can charge, compared to how much they actually need to deliver and have no shame in capitalising on that.
While that’s true to an extent, and something all new caravan buyers should be wary of—the age-old saying of ‘you get what you pay for’, is also true at the other end.
Ask yourself what compromises a manufacturer had to make to come in $40k cheaper than its competitors. What shortcuts are hiding beneath that glossy new exterior? Cheap vans might cost you less off the lot, but they’ll cost you a whole lot more in the long term.
Building a quality van isn’t cheap, and it’s not easy. A cheap van can be fine if you’re only planning on using the van as towed accommodation, staying at caravan parks and sticking to the asphalt, using it purely as a road van a few times a year—and there’s nothing wrong with that!
But you might start to notice cupboards don’t quite fit flush any more, trimming start to come loose, or electrical issues as connections deteriorate. Be sure to check your suspension regularly, and carry spares.
Support Local.
We’ve always been a country built on the idea of community. Supporting Aussie manufacturers keeps Aussies in jobs, keeps the industry alive and means year after year, new vans are released that open new possibilities for adventure.
One of the best vans on the market right now.
We’ve got a small confession to make. Here at RV Solutions, we’re lovers of the great open road and the great outdoors. Our passion is exploring the roads less travelled, and taking our vans to remote corners of the country.
For us, a poor quality van just won’t cut it. A van has to last, and be capable of standing up to the challenge we’re throwing at it. After countless poor experiences with cheaper, less well-made vans, we feel pretty strongly about it.
If you’re looking for a van that has luxury, reliability and durability in equal measure, check out our Wonderland RV’s in our caravan sales Perth showroom. They’re built right here in Australia, for Aussie conditions. They’re built right, and built to last, and one of the best caravans on the market today.
Check out our socials to find out more on recent builds and to keep up to date with us.
