THE SHOWS GOES ON
Melbournians proved they love getting out by turning up in their thousands to the recent Victorian Caravan Camping and Touring Show. Held at the ageing Sandown Racecourse for probably the last time, the show attracted most of the leading lights of the caravan industry as well as a good representation of campers and motorhomes.
Saturday’s post on the event page was telling. The show was sold out, but with a limit of 7800 people at any one time, even those with tickets were advised they might have to wait in a holding area until someone left. Another post suggested that umbrellas were welcome, something I should have heeded when showers on Thursday afternoon cleared the event pretty quickly.
The big crowd numbers and the genuine enthusiasm to check out the displays proved there is no slowing in the converts to a caravanning lifestyle now that overseas travel is still a distant dream.
By all accounts, the punters turned up to the track with open wallets, ready to place their bets on their favourite. Like they have been for the last year, sales were brisk, with some builders suggesting that it’s almost an auction atmosphere as buyers bid for the next available van off the line. It’s clearly not a buyer’s market, and those hoping for a slowdown in sales to bag a bargain later on only see delivery times continue to blow out.
A couple of trends became apparent as we wound our way around the outdoor area of caravan row. The first was the nearly total dominance of off-road and semi off-road caravans, most of which tipped the scales at the upper end of the 3500kg limit of most tow vehicles. The second was the vast number of family vans — and the significant number of families checking them out.
I also noticed movement to larger single axle tourers. Vans around 18’ with ensuites and north-south beds in the popular rear entry style. It seems there are still couples wanting a simple van but with enough room to spread out for longer times on the road.
We had two days to devote to the caravan side of the show, and it took that
