Event Recap: OnlyVans.com.au 2024 Caravan and Camper Excellence Round Up

An hour from Brisbane, in the hinterland just beyond the Glasshouse Mountains, sits Rosedale Estate, 76 acres of green hills and wooded valleys. Here, behind the small country town of D’Aguilar, parrots fight in the treetops and deer graze in roadside paddocks, retreating placidly into the bush when the few cars that travel this road get too close.

I am in one of these cars, and here for OnlyVans.com.au’s inaugural Caravan and Camper Excellence Round Up. For the next two days, representatives from some of Australia’s leading caravan manufacturers will make Rosedale Estate their home, along with 15 of their latest models. Their campsite is a lush grass terrace on the banks above Delaney’s Creek that has been closed to the public for this event, and as the afternoon heat dies off and the croaks of the creek’s resident frogs pick up, a procession of 4WDs pull through the gate and onto the grass, hauling their latest models.

Many of the attendees are familiar with one another, all of them regulars on the gruelling, months-long schedule of trade shows and field days that see them criss-crossing the country. But familiarity soon gives way to friendship, and for the next two days, they are not competitors but colleagues, peers, and above all else, fellow campers.

Around the campfire, the conversation quickly turns towards trip reports and the sharing of fishing spots, and after a while, the inevitable rig rundown takes place: who’s towing what, where did they take it, and most importantly, how did it hold up? Campers and caravans are set up, pop-tops and slide-outs are extended, and everyone is content to spend the next few hours touring each other’s setups and talking shop.

This laid-back atmosphere is a constant throughout our time at Rosedale Estate, and although the attendees are all competitors, this is not a competition. They are all members of OnlyVans.com.au’s dealer network, and while there is a clear focus on off-road models, Wayne Park, one of the event organisers, tells me the real uniting factor between the brands is “excellence in many different categories.”

When asked about the event's genesis, event organiser and Only Sales CEO, Michael Rojek, said, “It’s about getting industry leaders together and giving them an opportunity to talk about their products… and showcase why the market considers them to be industry leaders.”

“We’re also about trying to give back to the dealer network as well, and not be an award that pits everyone against each other to try and say that your one particular product is better,” says Jerry Hughes of Credit One, another of the event organisers.

Giving back involves more than just giving everybody a place to sleep for the night, however. The next morning, we gather around the smouldering remains of the campfire, coffees in hand, ready for a content shoot organised by OnlyVans.com.au. 

After a week of heavy rain, the sky is blue and cloudless, and the air is clear. As the group splits off for the respective halves of the shoot, I join two of the photographers at the top of the hill, taking my place in the shade of a gum tree. Within minutes, our walkie-talkies are crackling, and one by one, the vehicles start climbing the hill, followed by the grey speck of a drone behind them. 

At the summit, each asset is photographed and filmed against the backdrop of the valleys, where the hilltops of the distant mountain ranges meet the bright blue skyline before the attendees cross the road to join me in the shade and talk about what they’ve brought with them. 

What they’ve brought is a wealth of the industry’s most innovative models, from compact camper trailers to large, dual-axle caravans. Despite the diversity, everyone I speak to shares one similarity: passion.

These brands and the people behind them live and breathe the outdoors, and for many, their entry into the industry came on the back of years, even decades, spent as customers, enthusiasts and adventurers. They know their product, they know what customers need, and it is that which is allowing them to find success, even at a time when the industry as a whole has slowed down.

By lunchtime we are all done, and it’s back to the campsite to cool off before the evening shoot. As the sun sets, the 15 models on site are set up once more. Awnings are unrolled, lights are switched on, and fresh logs are thrown onto the fire as the camp chairs are unfolded.

A creek crossing is scheduled for the next morning, offering everyone a final chance to put their models to the test in front of the cameras. It is also the chance to win bragging rights, as several people start eyeing up the steep, chewed-up bank next to the ‘official’ crossing point. Within minutes, the rocks reverberate with the roar of V8 engines, and we gather on the bank to see what these vans are capable of. Within an hour, all is quiet again. 

As the photographers pack up their gear and we prepare to go our separate ways, the valley is filled with the enthusiastic double-beep of car horns. 15 cars snake away down the single-lane road, their drivers’ hands extended out the window in an unmistakable gesture of departure.

“See you next year” I hear them call.

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