00:02Australian Offroad has gone offline. Its Sunshine Coast factory deserted. Its phone number disconnected. Its customers stunned.
00:11It's just one hell of a surprise to see it go like this.
00:15When this Victorian couple got wind the company was in trouble, they travelled nearly 2,000 kilometres to retrieve their
00:21caravan, which was being repaired at the Caloundra site.
00:24They arrived yesterday to find locked gates and no answers.
00:28It's surreal and it's frustrating and I just want to climb over and get it.
00:34They managed to collect their van this morning. Hours later the company confirmed it's gone into administration.
00:41In a statement, founder Steve Budden blamed challenging conditions for the demise, saying
00:46Competing against imported products while facing competitors with substantially lower manufacturing overheads has made it increasingly difficult to sustain the
00:55business in its existing form.
00:56It's not known exactly how many customers are affected.
01:00This comes less than a year after the collapse of another Sunshine Coast caravan manufacturer, Zone RV, which left hundreds
01:07of customers and suppliers millions of dollars out of pocket.
01:11Caravan in Queensland insists the industry is still in good shape.
01:14There are still hundreds of reputable solid caravan and RV businesses out there that are delivering consistently for consumers.
01:23This latest collapse, another high profile bump in the road.
01:26of a different regions like here, South Africa Ta-Rex, the project.
01:26We are still in a country-wide stature map.
01:26and what are still in a country-wide stature map.
01:29We are still in a country-wide stature map.
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