Australians are being urged to stay vigilant and thoroughly inspect their caravans before hitting the road this Christmas holiday season, following a shocking near-miss experienced by an east coast family due to a manufacturing defect.
Victorian man James Coates, from Bendigo, was travelling with his partner and young children in their family caravan earlier this month, on their way to Queensland via Dubbo. Speaking to Yahoo News, Coates said it was just after midnight, about an hour out of Dubbo when he heard a sudden “bang”.
After pulling over, the father of two realised the solar panel attached to the roof of the vehicle hadn’t been properly installed, missing screws and a silicone adhesive in the front, meaning only the back was correctly attached. After a gust of wind, it flipped and broke in half, dangling over the rear window and resulting in “thousands” of dollars worth of damage.
It comes after a harrowing incident in 2020 in Tasmania, which saw three people lose their lives and four hospitalised, after a driver lost control while attempting to avoid solar panels that had come off a caravan being towed in the opposite direction.
Thousands of dollars worth of damages were inflicted as a result of the solar panel not being installed properly. Source: Facebook/James Coates
Father’s warning to Aussie caravanners this Christmas
Coates said his situation could have been far worse and noted it was fortunate they were travelling late in the evening, as there were few cars on the road behind them.
“Pretty much the strength of the solar panel was holding it down in the front end, but once a gust of wind came up, it got under the panel and flipped it up and bent the solar in half and smashed it,” Coates told Yahoo News Australia.
“If it was a bigger gust, it could have ripped the screws out and gone flying onto a car behind us. That’s our reason for trying to get the word out straight away. We’ve had this happen, and obviously it’s lucky no one got hurt. But we just want to make people aware.”
Coates said he is working with the manufacturers, who are correcting the issue under warranty. But, he expressed frustration at the lack of communication from the company’s management, which he said he preferred not to name while insurance claims are processed.
He said he originally posted on the company’s affiliated Facebook page to ask if others had experienced the same thing and to raise awareness. He wrote that the family would be reaching out directly to the manufacturers first thing on Monday.
“[But] the following morning, the post had been deleted and I was removed from the group,” Coates said. “Then we followed up with another post, and the same happened.”
In the end they were able to get ahold of the manufacturers who are now organising to have the caravan repaired in Bendigo. “The staff have been really accommodating in trying to rectify the situation. But we haven’t had anyone from management reach out to us to apologise,” he said.
“It’s a manufacturing issue and they’re culpable — the panel wasn’t actually fastened properly. The other two panels [on the caravan], they’re fastened on both sides.”
The dad said “the big takeaway” is to always double-check a vehicle’s road-ready before driving.
“How are we supposed to know if objects aren’t secured properly, that are meant to be done by the manufacturer?” he asked. “[The message is] just to be vigilant, and be aware of those sort of things that are on your roof that aren’t always looked at. That’s the big takeaway.
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