Big hair, great music and an economic boom — there was plenty happening in the 80s.
We’re travelling back in time again to see what was happening in Australia’s caravanning world in November 1980. On first picking up the magazine, there were plenty of changes to note, namely the addition of the month and year to the front cover — an addition made in the mid 1970s that saved me a lot of time and a few layers of dust when I re-organised our archives room.
And the pages! At some point since 1970 the total count jumped from 44 to 76, with a price increase from 30c to $1 (approximately $5 by today’s standards). With so much extra space, the November 1980 Caravan World team packed in four reviews, eight features and travel stories, and an assortment of columns.
Windsor wanderings
The first review in the magazine was a popular Windsor Windcheater, in a 16ft 6in pop-top layout. The reviewer (I’m looking forward to when we introduced consistent bylines), approved of the addition of the Safety Tow Suspension System, which did its job well during their tow test in Bundoora, Vic. The van itself was described as being scientifically designed for minimum wind resistance and the combination of this with the independent suspension system makes it “a unit which is truly desirable performance wise.”
Review of the Windsor Windcheater in the November 1980 issue of Caravan World
Despite only being 16ft 6in (5m) long, the Windcheater featured a double bed down the back, a mid-kitchen with full oven, fridge, sink and plenty of storage space and a club lounge up front with a dining table that could be dropped down to create a second bed.
Build wise, the test model had an aluminium frame, but clients had the choice of a meranti timber frame if desired. The aluminium version was believed to be around $50 more expensive than the timber framed unit. The van weighed in at 19cwt (50.8kg), and the Falcon 500 pulling it apparently had “far more power than needed to pull this compact pop-top. All in all, it proved a most satisfactory unit, well made and finished, ideal for a couple putting in a fair amount of touring.”
“It has been interesting to watch the remarkable growth of Windsor Caravans over the past five years, from humble beginnings in the caravan boom years to Australia’s second biggest manufacturer of domestic caravans, while scores of other smaller manufacturers who came into being around the same time have long since disappeared,” commented the reviewer.
Roaming with a Roma
One of the other reviews that stood out was a 17ft pop-top by Roma Caravans. The reviewer headed off on a massive tow test — a round trip to Queensland from Melbourne — with the Roma van and a Renault TS250 tow vehicle. The review itself was more of a travel story, highlighting caravan parks, destinations and the best food along the way, but there was a brief wrap up of the van and car at the end.
Review of the Roma caravan and Renault TS250 in November 1980
The Roma van got the tick of approval, and the shower arrangement was a particular novelty during their travels. “Our particular van could have been considered overloaded with home comforts to the point where the excellent ‘E’ type independent suspension became more than an option.”
Roma Caravans was one of the oldest caravan manufacturers in Australia, dating back to 1928 when it was run by Bob and Roma Brown, then bought by Vittorio Palmarini in 1957. The reviewer commented that while Roma was one of the smaller manufacturers, it stayed in business “mainly because of the unvarying high quality, which is easier to build into vans with low volume production runs”. Sadly, the brand came to an end in August 2023, just five years short of reaching centenarian status.
The Renault TS20 tow vehicle was priced at $15,720 and the reviewer was won over by its splendid towing features and ability to tow a 1300kg van with ease — plus the fact that it won a European award for ‘Caravan tow car of the year’ that year.
(If you want to find out about some of the best tow vehicles in 2024, check out our Tow Car of the Year article.)
Feature highlights
There was a great mix of content in this issue, some following familiar themes we still discuss today, such as advice for solo-female touring, tips on ensuring you’re keeping your caravan park manners and a novel column on ways to stay active while on long haul trip.
(For advice on being a modern solo female traveller with a caravan in tow, read this article).
A story about solo touring
‘Future trends’ came into discussion as well, with a feature about the introduction solar panels in Queensland caravan parks. “The South East Queensland Electricity Board (SEQEB) and the sun have struck up a partnership to produce a cheap and constant supply of hot water for caravan parks, camp sites and other applications in the tourist industry,” the writer commented.
The specific park featured was Galaxy Caravan Park at Loganholme, Qld, which is a family-owned and operated caravan park. The Turner family has run it since 1974, and while its family history is now three generations deep, our content writer got to interview the original patriarch, David Turner, regarding the new solar trend.
A 'future trend' launched in November 1980
David commented that he enjoyed significant savings in fuel costs with the combination of low tariff off-peak electricity and 18 solar panels (1m x 1.5m) connected to five electric hot water cylinders. “I started saving big money from the moment I switched on the electricity. The savings have been proven over six months of experiments and the past five weeks of day-to-day operations. At present, and it must be remembered that we are still in the winter months, I am paying only about $18 a week for night rate electricity. That’s not bad for a park with an average of 150 people using 10 showers and three washing machines daily.”
The park still kept its old oil-fired boiler as a backup but was considering upgrading this to a complete electrical operation.
Final thoughts
For our first foray into the 80s, this was quite a fun magazine to flick through. A favourite in the office — and one we may petition to bring back — was the introduction of a monthly ‘Wine Cellar’ column. This issue showcased Hamilton’s Ewell Vineyards in South Australia, with a bit of background on the cellar door and location plus tasting notes on three different wines. Perhaps this could be a new angle for our gear reviews?
THE NEXT STEP
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Related articles:
Looking back: Caravan World's first magazine | September 1970
Looking back: Retro royalty in the second Caravan World magazine | October 1970
Looking back: Acceptable in the 80s | November 1980