By Di Stanley, Emerald Today
When Emerald’s Lewis Sutherland first hooked up his Jayco Swan 35 years ago and took off on the open road, it began a lifelong love affair with caravanning and camping.
Although the kids are now adults, it was a family affair fondly remembered over the years.
“It was the one where the beds pulled out at the end and the roof lifted up,” Lewis said.
“We went for miles in that one, all over the east coast of Australia and the kids still talk about all the good times we had.”
While he and wife Susan have upgraded to Lotus van, the two of them take off three or four times a year to meet up with friends and Lewis swears by the WikiCamp travel app for its traveller reviews of low-cost and free camping sites.
Queensland has the highest number of registered recreational vehicles across the country (201,477 in 2022), beating out Victoria (185,507) and New South Wales (182,764).
Registrations of RVs have increased by more than 20 per cent in the past five years in the Sunshine State, with an average of 2333 new RVs hitting the road each month throughout 2022.
Caravanning Queensland, in partnership with the Queensland Government’s StreetSmarts program is hosting an educational VANSafe event in Emerald at the Emerald Tourist Park on 17 May, with workshops, displays and masterclasses on road safety.
In 2022, Queensland police said nine out of 10 vehicles towing caravans were found to be overweight.
“I will be there for the weigh-in checks because I’ve tried a couple of times to get my caravan weighed,” Lewis said.
He said his top tips for towing a caravan were to drive safely and avoid fatigue.
“Just drive sensibly and don’t try and do a 10-hour driving day,” he said.
“Because we’re old and we don’t have to be anywhere in a hurry, we try to do probably four hours, five maximum towing and then we pull up and try to get off the road by 2pm.
“We also don’t go anywhere in school holidays anymore, because we don’t’ have to.”
According to recent Google search trend data, Queensland RV owners are hungry for information with a significant spike seen in searches relating to caravan safety, weight, towing and payload over the pst 12 months.
In 2022, 297 lives were lost on Queensland roads, the highest number in more than a decade.
Caravan Trade and Industries Association of Queensland chief executive Jason Plant said the data indicated the need for, and importance of, road safety programs.
“While all RV owners and drivers have a responsibility to educate themselves on safe caravanning practices, the more we can do to support both new and seasoned drivers, the more confident and compliant they will become and the safer our roads will be for all road users,” Mr Plant said.
For more, go to www.caravanqld.com.au and click on the What’s On tab.