25 Dec, 2023

Sparkling 60th anniversary for Evernew Caravans

by Allison Watt

When it comes to longevity in the caravan industry, it’s hard to beat Preston-based Evernew Caravans which, in 2023, celebrated 60 years in business. In fact, Evernew is the oldest custom caravan builder in Melbourne.

From humble beginnings in the Melbourne suburbs, the brand has built a loyal, almost cult following of customers due to its boutique offerings, commitment to customer service and quality, custom-built caravans that last for years. In fact, some 30 and 40-year-old Evernews are still out on the road going strong.

Humble beginnings

The oldest custom caravan manufacturer in Melbourne, Evernew Caravans had humble beginnings.

It was started by 19-year-old Bruce Bailey who, in 1963, joined his father selling new caravans from the front yard of their rented property in Bell Street, Heidelberg Heights.

The pair started the company by purchasing brand new caravans with plywood sides and aluminium roofs from a local Heidelberg manufacturer, branding them ‘Evernew,’ and selling them to eager purchasers for approximately £300 — the equivalent of $600.

By the late 1960s, the caravan industry was thriving, but when the company supplying him with new caravans got into trouble, Bruce decided to manufacture his own under the Evernew brand, which had gained a loyal following.

Back then caravans were made mostly from unpainted silver aluminium, however the first Evernew caravans, built in leased workshops in Heidelberg in the early 1970s, were finished in white, making them stand out from the crowd.

In the 1980s the introduction of the pop-top caravan, new materials and the availability of a broader range of comfort features broadened the options available to the caravan consumer, but Evernew chose to remain a custom builder.

Until 2017, Evernew remained a family business, with Bruce, his son-in-law, Darren, and daughters, Amanda and Leanne, all playing significant roles in the day-to-day operations. Bruce remained a regular face in the Evernew yard until his retirement.

Dani Bib purchased the business in 2017, coming to Evernew Caravans through his experience in the motor vehicle industry. Dani, along with his wife, two sons and daughter-in-law, took over the Evernew brand with a clear aim to provide a fresh perspective to the caravan market while retaining the heritage, quality and brand loyalty that the Evernew founders had built over decades.

He introduced a new modern logo that pays homage to the former brand elements and about two years ago moved the business from Bell Street to the nearby current location in Reserve Street, Preston, with a modern showroom, offices and a small factory where final detailing takes place.

The main manufacturing facility is still located in the neighbouring suburb of Heidelberg Heights where it has been since day one.

Boutique builder

Evernew Caravans are custom designed and built by their very own skilled tradesmen to meet the needs of customers. From the interior colour scheme and layout to the suspension and fabrication, they design caravans to meet customers’ desires whether it be a rugged, all terrain off-roader, or a comfortable tourer that will stay mainly on the black top.

Every customer’s needs are different, and Evernew can meet them.

There are up to 13 Evernew caravan models on the company’s website, each with several different layout options. However, Evernew prides itself on being a custom builder where clients can input their own ideas and needs.

Models range in length from 13ft to 22ft. There are couples’ vans with a north/south bed or an east/west bed, single beds, family bunks in eight different layouts, lounges, dinettes … the options are too many to list.

Each Evernew Caravan is available in PT (Premium Tourer), RT (Rugged Tourer) or RT-X (All Terrain) versions depending on the customer’s intended type of travelling. The RT-X, for example, is fully specked up with Cruisemaster ATX (off road) independent coil spring suspension system, DO35 articulated off road coupling; 265/75R16 light truck tyres on alloy wheels and a truck mesh stone guard with heavy duty mudflaps.

Among the flagship 60th anniversary Evernew models is its RT-X 35 series 21ft gasless caravan which was reviewed by Caravan World Creative Director, Tim van Duyl, in September 2022 (issue 637).

Dani said every caravan that leaves the Heidelberg factory is a labour of love for the entire team. A detailed quality assurance process ensures that every caravan satisfies their stringent requirements before customers pick it up and take it out on the road.

“Every component is checked regularly in our workshop during the manufacturing process to ensure that the highest possible standard is achieved,” he said. “Each journey consists of several stages, from placing an order to obtaining the chassis, building the walls to attaching the frame, choosing colours to finalising the delivery. Each step closer to the finish line is photographed and communicated to our customers.”

It’s this quality control that has given Evernew its reputation for producing one of the strongest caravans on the Australian market, with many owners coming back time after time to purchase many Evernew caravans throughout their lives.

Customer loyalty

Dani says that over six decades, the Evernew brand has built up a loyal, almost cult following of customers and repeat customers.

“Evernew is a trusted brand,” he said. “We have longevity in the industry, so people are not just buying a caravan, they are buying a piece of history. We get a lot of repeat customers. Evernew customers who upgrade will rarely go for another brand.”

Evernew has no dealers in Australia so every inquiry, whether by phone, website or in person comes past Dani and his team. This enables him to provide a personal service and spend time with his customers. Often the initial discussions about their caravanning requirements can be anything up to six or seven hours.

“It’s really important to spend time with customers and be open and transparent with them, and to set expectations. I am not going to build a caravan for someone that will potentially be unsafe once out on the road, so I will be very clear about what we can and can’t achieve for them.”

“And we will also set expectations about quality, delivery and cost,” he said. “We want them to be comfortable with the process of designing their own van — choosing colours, refining layouts — so they can take real ownership of the process."

“These days, personal service is important in an industry which is saturated with manufacturers.”

Between 12,000 and 13,000 Evernew Caravans have been built over the past 60 years and, with some of them still travelling, their quality speaks for itself.

Future focused

Evernew has seen many changes to the sector over the past six decades and the future also looks bright with more innovations arising and an increased focus on safety and compliance.

Dani believes gasless vans will become more common as customers turn to more sophisticated battery and solar systems to power their vans and stay off-grid longer.

Evernew makes vans that stand the test of time, and this quality is reflected in its warranties which includes five years on the structure, three plus two years on the Cruisemaster suspension, and five years on the G&S AL-KO chassis which is made from Australian Bluescope steel.

Evernew has RVMAP accreditation and is committed to consistently making and supplying caravans that stick to relevant Australian Design Rules and Federal Compliance Regulations

Regardless of the warranties, customers can be assured that they will not be left stranded on the side of the road in the rare event that something goes wrong.

“We always look after our customers,” Dani said. “It doesn’t matter how big or small the issue is we will look after them. If they need to call me at 10pm about an issue, that’s fine – I’m there to help.”

Dani is always looking at innovations to keep his vans at the forefront — side cameras, quality fittings and fixtures, new exterior colours, composting toilets over the traditional cassette toilets, just to name a few.

With increased enforcement of caravan weights in other states, Dani believes caravan and tow vehicle weight compliance will be a challenge for the sector going forward. The team at Evernew dedicates a great amount of time in ensuring that their protocols align with new standards which were implemented in July of 2023. They acknowledge it is their responsibility to be sure that each caravan complies with the most updated rules and regulations in order to provide safe caravanning for all of their customers.

“People want more luxuries and comforts in their caravans now,” Dani said. “They want a home away from home.” And that is exactly what they get when purchasing with Evernew as they are provided with the opportunity to create a versatile layout and hand pick their very own internal colours and materials.

When I asked Dani what makes Evernew Caravans such a success in a crowded market, he attributes it to three things: History, personal customer service and a quality product.

“We are really proud to have been in business for 60 years and I hope we are still around in another 60 years.”