Caravan repairers battling to stay afloat as travellers stay close to home

Sharlene Anthony says she and her staff are going without just to keep their RV repair business afloat. Caravan industry experts say RV mechanics more than two-and-a-half hours from major city centres are losing up to 50 per cent of their usual sales due to the fuel crisis. In Port Lincoln, one caravan repair business has cut eight hours from staff rosters to make up for the revenue shortfall. Calls are being made for the federal government to extend the fuel excise past the July 1 deadline for businesses that rely on RV travel. Link copiedShareShare articleNormally at this time of year, Sharlene Anthony is helping travellers get their recreational vehicles (RVs) ready for the trip north to escape the bitter South Australian winter. But this year with the fuel crisis, customers have dropped off. "People are too scared to make their trips to Darwin, to Perth," Ms Anthony said. "They think they'll get stuck somewhere without fuel, or that fuel will be too expensive and their budgets will blow out." Thousands of travellers trade the winter chill for the tropics every year. (Supplied: Instagram/Jonny Dustow) Ms Anthony has managed a RV repair business in Port Lincoln in South Australia for seven years. She said with the ongoing fuel crisis, amid Iran's chokehold of the Strait of Hormuz, sales at her business have plummeted 50 per cent from this year to last. Ms Anthony has managed a caravan repair shop for seven years. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden) "I've been telling suppliers that we just need a bit more time to pay our bills." Ms Anthony and her colleague Dylan Parks have started to close up two hours' earlier Monday to Thursday, meaning a day's worth of pay is being lost every week. "It's really hard for me, it's hard for my staff," Ms Anthony said. The usual 4pm finish Monday to Thursday has been shortened by two hours. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden) For 30-year-old Dylan Parks, the cuts have made him rein in his spending habits. "I've had to budget more for bills, stuff like that," Mr Parks said. With three months left on his rental, he fears the rent will go up afterwards. "I'm just trying to prepare for the future, which is a bit hard at the moment," he said. Port Augusta caravan repair shop owner Shannon Page reported a 20 per cent downturn in demand, despite the city's ideal location for travellers. Port Augusta is known as the "crossroads of Australia" where the Stuart, Eyre and Princes highways converge, north to Alice Springs, west to Perth and east to Sydney. (ABC News: Will Hunter) "A normal Monday for the last 10 years, we'd normally have six or seven caravans lined up, we've noticed that hasn't really been happening," he said. "We're not doing as many over the counter sales and we're getting a lot of cancellations." He said customers have said they will come back later, so he has hope the revenue will pick back up. Shannon Page runs a RV mechanics in Port Augutsa, SA. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden) Peter Clay, from the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA), said businesses more than a two-hour drive from major city centres were struggling, while those nearer were reaping the rewards of closer-to-home travel. Peter Clay is the general manager of research and insight at Caravan Industry Association of Australia. (Supplied) Mr Clay said RV travellers were choosing to stay longer in one place. "The challenge for a place like South Australia or regional New South Wales is that they're transit states for seasonal migration and big lap travel. So if people are staying closer to home, more remote businesses will feel the impact," Mr Clay said. In April, the federal government reduced Australia's fuel excise to help people pay less at the pump amid the spike in petrol prices due to war in the Middle East. With no extension outlined in the federal budget, that tax reduction is due to run out on July 1. Shannon Page works on a caravan at his Port Augusta workshop. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden) Back in Port Lincoln, caravan repairer Sharlene Anthony said she doesn't know how her business will cope if petrol prices hike further. Industry body, the CIAA, has made calls for the fuel excise to be extended. "We'd love to see it continue until we see a more stabilised [caravan and motorhome travel] market," Mr Clay said. The government halved the fuel excise in April, reducing the cost of petrol and diesel by 26.3 cents a litre. (Adobe Stock) "We appreciate that excise pays for roads and infrastructure which is key to our industry. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated the government will assess the situation closer to July. But for small businesses they want assurances sooner rather than later. Many thousands of people are employed in the caravan and camping industry nationwide. (ABC Wide Bay: James C Taylor) "We're just going to try and stick it out for as long as we can. I'm relying on a wage so we're just hoping something w

Caravan repairers battling to stay afloat as travellers stay close to home

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