Time to Roam Magazine Issue 3 - June/July 2013 | Page 27

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tried + tested caravan review

Sure to float your boat
Water leaks are the biggest enemy of Caravans. As Michael Grealy
reports, this relative newcomer to our roads has a water-tight
reputation that is hard to beat.

John Haines

A widely-respected boat building and
fishing identity, John Haines had talked
about building caravans for years with
his son, also called John, but they always
seemed to be inundated with boat orders.
The Haines Group has been in the boating
business since John Haines Snr AM and
his brother Garry first started building a
fiberglass version of tinnies in their backyard
back in 1959.
John passed away in 2009 and it wasn’t
until two years later that son John, now
heading the family business, was able to
pursue the dream.
By then the Haines Group had grown to
become Australia’s largest fibreglass trailer
boat builder with a major manufacturing
plant at Wacol, south of Brisbane.
But a downturn in the boating industry
in 2011 gave Haines the opportunity to look
for new ways of diversifying off the back of
their half century of experience in delivering
marine-grade leisurecraft .
Push came to shove thanks to John’s
uncle, Hank, who believed a reliable range of
light-weight off-road caravans would be a hit
with buyers.

Hank Rojek knew what he was talking
about. He happened to be managing director
of Ipswich Lifestyle Centre, Queensland’s
largest caravan dealership west of Brisbane.
“It was a logical move, if we were to
continue in manufacturing, to look at
caravans,” John Haines said. “We have a
9000 square metre undercover factory on
a 10 acre site and we had under-utilised
capacity.”
Then there were the synergies that
made the transition easier. Not only the
capabilities of its plant and machinery,
but also the Haines Group research and
development expertise and its staff – expert
boat builders and cabinet makers – as well
as a full metal fabrication shop that allows
it to build its own welded