JB Caravans stand
The annual Melbourne Caravan & Camping Leisurefest at Melbourne’s Sandown Racecourse is one of the biggest industry events in the country, and this year was no exception.
Ninety manufacturers, 40 dealers, 86 exhibitors, 180 brands in caravans, RVs, camping and 4x4 gear and 29,000 visitors over four big days in early October.
The popularity of the Melbourne Caravan & Camping Leisurefest didn’t wane this year despite the economic downturn, school holidays and Melbourne’s fickle weather.
For the Caravan Industry Victoria (CIV), this year’s Leisurefest was the opportunity to publicly launch its RV Masters Manufacturers Program — a stringent set of standards to be met by all participating manufacturers to protect consumers and instil confidence in the sector. The media launch of the program was held the week prior to Leisurefest and attended by Caravan World’s Robert Crack and you can read more about it here. All 13 participating manufacturers were in attendance and proudly displaying RV Masters signage and other collateral.
Wonderland RV
My partner and I attended Leisurefest on the Sunday afternoon and business was still brisk.
Protected from the showers in the undercover exhibitor’s hall I noted a number of companies offering a caravan weighing service — which is a great thing that every caravanner should invest in. I report in this edition about the first Hema Safe event held in Melbourne in September and that there’s still a lot of public education required around weights and safe towing.
Tech companies such as REDARC Electronics and iTechworld were also doing a brisk trade — clearly customers want power systems in their vans that will take them to remote off-grid locations in comfort.
REDARC’s gear was popular
iTechworld was on display as well
While you may never run out of power in the bush, you will fill your toilet cassette — quickly — and there may be nowhere to dump it, which is why more manufacturers are choosing composting toilets as standard in their latest models. Nature’s Head, OGO and Cuddy composting toilets were all represented for those interested in retrofitting their existing cassette toilets. We installed a Cuddy in our van before a trip to the Kimberley this year, so it was great to finally meet Michael Hann, the Australian distributor.
Caravan interiors are becoming more luxurious — gold tapware, mood lighting, marble-look benchtops, induction cooktops and a move away from the standard neutral interior colours. And as more folks travel indefinitely — living and working on the road — they want to be comfortable. I bought some goodies from Melbourne-based small business MeanderWild which makes sheets and mattress protectors specifically to fit the rounded corners of RV mattresses.
Many RV manufacturers seemed to be doing good business.
The ever-popular Jayco and Snowy River were gaining a lot of attention at the budget end of the scale. Camper trailers were also popular — Austrack, Ezytrail and Ultimate Off-Road Campers among them. Serious offroaders were spending time at Titanium, Wonderland RV, Lotus and Urban to name a few. I noted a number of manufacturers opting for all-white caravan models, perhaps because they are cooler in hot climates.
The Jayco Base Station Toy Hauler
Crusader won the best caravan stand and it was easy to see why — it had brought in massive marquees to showcase all its new 2025 models with more indoor plants than a nursery.
Crusader’s winning stand
The RV Master Stage was the place to learn from industry experts and get inspired by the latest and greatest in the RV world. Among the most popular talks was one provided by Justin Gill, the national product manager of Hema Maps, on the dos and don’ts of remote outback travel. Justin has done some serious outback travel over the years and crowds love to hear his first-hand account of his remote adventures.
Hema Maps spec’d up LandCruiser 70 Series was on show
The new Off-Grid Campground showcased the joys of off-grid living and top-notch tech such as solar solutions, offroad suspension and composite construction methods.
Live free demonstrations at the Adventure Zone were popular and included presentations on basic offroad towing and empowering female travellers. Being school holidays, the little ones loved the Kids Zone with its petting zoo and rock-climbing wall to burn off some energy.
If you missed a demo at the camping show or couldn’t get there, you can catch up on the CIV livestreams.
The next event on the calendar is the 2024 Bendigo Caravan & Camping Leisurefest which will be held on 22–24 November at the Bendigo Racecourse in regional Victoria.
Ticket prices are returning to pre-COVID numbers of $15 for adults, $13 concession and children under 15 are free if accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets are only available online here.
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