What brought this on ? As mentioned in the previous issue of GoRV , a caravan customer up north took its manufacturer to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal after being provided with a $ 90K caravan that contained a list of minor failures . Twelve , to be precise . Each problem was fixable on its own , but in combination with one another , they were considered a major failure of the caravan .
As the tribunal found , “ A reasonable consumer would not expect a new caravan , in this price range , to have this many faults at the time of supply .”
As a lifelong caravanner who loves the lifestyle and who has made a career writing about it , stories such as these bring me no joy . But is it all doom and gloom ? Absolutely not !
AFTER-SALES SERVICE IS ALL-IMPORTANT
For every story I hear about someone ’ s negative purchasing experience , I hear multiple positive ones . Take heart : the Australian caravan industry is home to plenty of manufacturers who understand their obligations to their customers and to the law , and take them seriously . While I am fully aware that some people will scoff at that statement , I believe it is true .
Hilltop Caravans is one such company . The feedback from Hilltop ’ s customers – and I have spoken to more than I can count – is beyond glowing . Does this mean that from time to time there isn ’ t a problem that needs to be rectified ? Of course not . But neither is there with Toyota or Yamaha . That ’ s the nature of manufacturing .
What counts is the after-sales service , which is informed by the company ’ s culture . Hilltop Caravans owners Dham and Dula pride themselves on this , and it shows in the feedback from their customers . Now , I use Hilltop as but one example of an Australian caravan manufacturer that does the right thing . It starts with building a quality , compliant van that has gone through a rigorous quality assurance process designed to ensure there are no ‘ minor failures ’ in the first place .
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