Great Aussie Campers closing

[Fun Police]

Another Australian manufacturer to go.  not sure if it is end of this month or next.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to go into the details or not, so I won't.

Suffice to say that it's not a good thing.  Especially for us with warranty (which shouldn't be needed....really).


Anyway..........

[McGirr]

As much as I hate to see an australian business to go broke I cannot justify , personally , $18, 999 for a box trailer camper trailer for the specs these days.

Yes I understand costs involved etc building a camper but you could see the writing on the wall with imports coming in. Yes the imports are not the quality but australian camper trailer manufactures need to think out side the square.

Why not all get together, box trailer camper manufacturers ,  I am talking about and get one company to manufacture the camper as a standard model and then add their own extras. This would bring the costs down dramatically.

How many camper manufacturers are making pretty much the same off road box trailer with the same machinery. Keep the over heads down.

Unless they adopt a system similar to this a lot more will go under.  Yes there are a lot of different options available but keep it simple and the costs down then add the extras which make money.

Take on the Chinese companies at their own game !!!

Would you buy a $5000 wheel barrow or a $100 one that does the same job. All campers, the majority, get taken off road and after a good use get scratched , chipped etc.

I bought a good second hand australian camper for $8000 and it serves the purpose for what I want. I have added extras and it still comes under $9,000. I took it to the Cape and took it on the otl all the way. Yes I did some damage but that's why I bought it to use it.

I would never buy a camper to say I won't take it there in case I could scratch it or do some superficial damage.  Why buy one if that is the case. 

Mark

[Bird]

As much as I hate to see an australian business to go broke I cannot justify , personally , $18, 999 for a box trailer camper trailer for the specs these days.

Yes I understand costs involved etc building a camper but you could see the writing on the wall with imports coming in. Yes the imports are not the quality but australian camper trailer manufactures need to think out side the square.

Why not all get together, box trailer camper manufacturers ,  I am talking about and get one company to manufacture the camper as a standard model and then add their own extras. This would bring the costs down dramatically.

How many camper manufacturers are making pretty much the same off road box trailer with the same machinery. Keep the over heads down.

Unless they adopt a system similar to this a lot more will go under.  Yes there are a lot of different options available but keep it simple and the costs down then add the extras which make money.

Take on the Chinese companies at their own game !!!

Would you buy a $5000 wheel barrow or a $100 one that does the same job. All campers, the majority, get taken off road and after a good use get scratched , chipped etc.

Some good points right there. I know 2 more melbourne manufacturers in deep Shit right at moment...

Reading most new member threads, *MANY*, not all are only going on price, screw quality... Or are expecting $50,000 trailers with top shelf quality and top shelf accessories fully loaded for $5000.

Thats why theres so many 100 selling weekly - just look on Ebay!

But it isnt just Campers in this boat.

[Fun Police]

I've often wondered how the likes of Mountail Trail and Complete Campsite keep going, talking about price...

[Bird]

I've often wondered how the likes of Mountail Trail and Complete Campsite keep going, talking about price...

Go and price some offroad caravans at 100k+....

... one of the camper mobs has an online calculator - pick your accessories, adn it gives you a price..
For fun one night, I played, and with my options, it was north of $85,000

[BigJules]

I don't think the price of Australian campers are inflated. And going on what's happening to Australian manufacturers, clearly there is not enough profit in those prices to allow them much leeway in business.

Mark, if there were little differentiation I believe you'd see a situation where it was all about margin, or lack of it to secure a sale. As many of us have found out, a bargain on a new product might not be such a good buy if the manufacturer/retailer then goes out fo business, affecting after sales service and support or worse, resale price. Look at Mitsubishi; made and make good vehicles, but don't try to sell one second hand. Want a bargain, grab a 380.

I believe what we're seeing here is a rationalisation of the market. We've become a disposable economy; buy cheap and replace regularly. If your kettle dies, big deal, it was $10-20 and you can get another quickly at BigTarColeCrazyBingWoolvey's. Remember a time when we saved for longer, spent a packet on buying something of quality that we then expected to last a bloody long time?

As I've posted many times, I sell Chinese manufactured tractors and implements. These are pretty good, and represent terrific value, but I would never say they're the same quality as some of the older established brands, for which one pays at least twice as much. And that is tractors, which the Chinese actually use and understand and have an ENORMOUS internal market for. There is no market for campers within China, so they're only guessing about what we need, how we use them and the conditions we face. Of course, there are some Aussies having a go and providing their input and this will be reflected in the outputs, which will likely also represent good value, if not the highest levels of quality.

[dazzler]

Whilst ever we are obsessed with having the newest and cheapest option, regardless of the actual "true value" then this will continue.

A second hand Tambo at $9k is better value than any of the poorly built imports. A bit of Ali tread plate is not engineering just lipstick on a pig.

Until we see and understand this the rot will continue. It will change eventually. Just look at gmc tools. That crap changed the tool industry yet quality is now selling again as we learn our lesson by throwing tools to the tip.

Cheers.

[dazzler]

Oh, and bigjules is actually big yoda. 

[whitedg]

Sad to hear. We purchase our Great Aussie 2 years ago and have loved every holiday in it ever since. Never had a problem with it. Shane even came around and picked it up from our house when they realised that the bike rack was not strong enough, had an extra support welded on, and then dropped it back off again. Talk about service.

We did much searching around whilst looking, even many of the cheaper chinese brands, but kept coming back to the Aussie quality every time.

Good luck in your future endeavours Claus and Shane.

Cheers
whitedg

[xmasbaby67]

Very sad to see another Aussie small business go under....

Aussie made = Aussie jobs @ Aussie pay rates.....

It's that simple...

Yep they don't make them like they used to    I hate this disposable society we live in because eventually it will all be landfills if we keep it up...

[xcvator]

And that's the main reason I bought an "outbackcampers" camper.3 times the price of a "chinaus",but all made here locally and built like a brick s**thouse

[GeeTee]

yeah as a maker I have displayed side-by-side with Klaus and Shane often shows...they weren't at Dubbo or Henty last week. It is a shame and yes the undermining of the once-proud specialist Australian camper trailer market due to no-tarriff/cheap imports is a big factor just like it has been for all sorts of product that we used to proudly and easily manufacture here, from fence posts and rope to kids' scooters and garden spades to bras and underwear and shoes to car tyres to electronics.

We make none of those products here now.

There is another related aspect (or phenomenon) some of us have noticed, to: when these cheap trailers break or fail it also drives the owners away from camping/travelling. Many/most of them won't admit they bought poorly; they tell their mates 'camping is not for us, ohh it's too dusty', or whatever, and the net result is, instead of them trading up into a new bigger/better unit and at the same time releasing a good quality unit to the second-market for another traveller to buy, they find another hobby/recreation activity.

we all lose

[johnmm]

Interesting as GAC were on our short list. I was waiting to see how the issues mentioned in another post were resolved, as I think the after sale service is a critical decision point that needs to be given some serious thought..".

Hmmm let's hope it works out for the best.......

[Squalo]

There is another related aspect (or phenomenon) some of us have noticed, to: when these cheap trailers break or fail it also drives the owners away from camping/travelling. Many/most of them won't admit they bought poorly; they tell their mates 'camping is not for us, ohh it's too dusty', or whatever, and the net result is, instead of them trading up into a new bigger/better unit and at the same time releasing a good quality unit to the second-market for another traveller to buy, they find another hobby/recreation activity.

we all lose

That's a very interesting observation.

The way things are going, soon the roads will be filled with Australians driving secondhand European cars (because of depreciation and hey we all secretly want a European car to impress the neighbours) and towing cheap bodged up Chinese camper trailers. And the only people driving secondhand Australian cars (because there won't be any new ones) will be European and Chinese backpackers...

[Sixtys Guy]

More dissapointing news on the camper trailer scene....... Apart from having to compete with low cost low quality chinese imports, the fact that the Australian economy isn't real flash at the moment either is a real battle for small business at the moment.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Don't forget though, its not always about the cheap chinese products that send a business to the wall.

In good times, lots of money equals good sales etc, so even the biggest dufus can make money, often very good money, but not everyone puts anything away for the quiet times.


When we had our own business on the Sunny Coast, we couldn't pass wind without making money... times were great.
We bought boats, choppers, Harley trikes etc, nut hey, when the bubble went pop in 2008, money got tight, real tight.
We managed to stay afloat etc and it was a separate reason in 2010 (Mum-in-laws health) that we decided to sell up, even if it meant taking a bath on the house and business to sell quickly in a quiet market.

Now we are on the Fraser Coast and when we should be morgage free, we're not.

Hence, we have sold off some stuff/toys and still have a chopper and a trike to go.

All you often hear from folks is, the GFC or chinese imports f*#@ked my business and yeah, maybe it did to a degree, but if we are really honest with ourselves, we are to blame as much as anyone.... IMHO.

From my experiences, Aussies (yep, i'm Aussie) don't like to change and i think a lot of times, in place of adapting to changes in the market, we push forward with what was working last year or the year before even if its not working this year.

I'm not saying its all the business owners fault either, same as its not all the cheap imports fault.

OK, thats my 2 cents worth, i'll go back to my corner now.

 

[kylarama]

Camper manufacturers arn't the only ones competing against imports, so it's a bit of a cop out to use that as the main excuse.  I'm tipping many have gone down because of over price products, the product itself (just because its made in OZ, doesn't mean its good), poor handling of their finances and poor marketing.


I've spent the last few weeks looking a 2nd hand campers (OZ made of course ) and Jayco's.  The reality is our economy is bad and nobody is buying.  For many sellers I'm the first call they've had in 2-3 months and it's sad to hear quite a few of them are selling due to losing their jobs.  It's the new camper market thats stuffed too, went to Page Bros Jayco in Seaford last weekend for their 'pre summer sale'.  Nice sunny Saturday and the place very thin on the ground for buyers/lookers/dreamers.

[truckie trainer]

disagree with the theory buy cheap and replace often, buy quality and buy once, i just ponied up $51k on a kimberly kamper hopefully it will last me out (or at least till im too old to camp), buy aussie and keep us all in jobs

[steve223]

Hm I think GAC had definitely one of the best CT designs on the market in that price segment but unfortunately they did not go with the time, to nowadays ignore the Internet and just rely on "show sales" without giving the buyer a chance to find and research you online well beforehand is just bad and will not give you the numbers you need, especially at difficult times and in a difficult market.

Yes they have a web site but they do not rank in the top 100 for any of their keywords.

In my 3 month of online research I did not once come across GAC and it was pure chance that I started to chat with Shane on the second day of the show which switched me from a 360 to a GAC.

I actually looked briefly in to purchasing GAC but it just wasn't a viable business and to turn that around would take a year or so of throwing more money at it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[shrek4]

Internet marketing is so important these days! With the rise of iPads, smart phones, laptop computers etc so many people are turning to the Internet to either do their research or purchase or in many cases both.

I'm amazed by the number of Camper Trailer websites I've been to recently looking for a replacement for our stolen camper, that quite honestly don't come close to cutting it. They often have limited information and/or photos, lack of detail regarding the specifications etc. and no pricing.

These days having a good website and leveraging Social Media is as essential in my opinion as having a phone line for the business. I wonder how many $$$ companies spend on marketing and advertising at shows (fees for a stall or space, travel to and from, local accommodation, meals etc etc) then spend little on their online marketing.

I've been involved with a few (unrelated industry) online marketing campaigns and know they work well, they take a bit to set up, but once going can be a great way to get your brand and message out there.

Happy to help anyone who is interested!

[Fun Police]

In my 3 month of online research I did not once come across GAC and it was pure chance that I started to chat with Shane on the second day on the show which switched me from a 360 to a GAC.

I agree with this 100%.

We were all set on a Customline or Lifestyle until we visited the Queanbeyan show and saw the GAC offerings.

In the end it was touch and go between Lifestyle and GAC, I really liked the Lifestyle after doing my research, but the guy on the stand at Newcastle really pissed my wife off....bad call there!

So we bought the GAC. And don't regret it!

[Chris F]

I believe part of the problem is that this segment of the CT market (box trailers with soft floor tents) is over saturated. There are so many small companies out there selling a similar product I am amazed. I started off looking for a soft floor CT and the choice is bewildering.
It appears to me the hardfloor market is a different story with a lot less to choose from. Although often a lot more expensive, enough people are still buying them to keep them all in business through this GFC. It must be hard for new companies manufacturing hard floor campers like Southern Land Campers to get a foot hold in the market at the moment though.

[steve223]

I'm amazed by the number of Camper Trailer websites I've been to recently looking for a replacement for our stolen camper, that quite honestly don't come close to cutting it. They often have limited information and/or photos, lack of detail regarding the specifications etc. and no pricing.

yes I can only agree, we do e-commerce development for the past 17 years and operate several online stores since 1995, I yet have to find a CT manufacturer web site which would comply with our design, seo and user friendliness guidelines of a site we would release and would be happy with.

If you don't have a budget for extensive online marketing that is ok but if you have a well designed, user friendly and seo on-site optimized shopping cart with frequently updated, useful and quality content google will rank you.
 
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[GeeTee]

we're getting a little OT but despite working in media for two decades I found it very difficult knowing where to begin with building/buying/organising my site. All I wanted was an on-line brochure (not a shopping cart jobbie; no bling) with products pics, features/specs, pricing and contact details. Even that simple formula or framework took months of to-ing and fro-ing with a web dude. Maybe we should have coffee/beer Steve223

[steve223]

Hi GeeTee, yes sure happy to talk, I know how frustrating it is and unfortunately
there are far to many people in the web industry who grossly under deliver or don't know what they talking about

I'm a apprentice in the whole CT and 4x4 department but web development and running online stores I do for a long time so know a thing or two in that area.



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