For many people, the best type of holiday is a camping trip and the best type of camping trip is done in a camper van in which one rolls through vast open landscapes with a group of friends.
The global market for the sale of recreational vehicles (RV) and camper vans is currently projected to expand from $8.20 billion in 2025 to $17.60 billion by 2035. Along with the United States, countries with some of the biggest camper van sales and rentals include Canada, Spain, Portugal and Australia.
But despite the market seeing overall growth, many of the individual companies producing them have faced multiple challenges as orders soared during the covid-19 pandemic and rise of people working remotely while global supply issues restrained what the manufacturers were able to produce.
High interest rates and rising manufacturing costs have, in some cases, created situations in which individual camper companies got into a financial hole that only got deeper when post-pandemic orders ebbed.
Maverick Campers and Caravans collapses in liquidation, no refunds
Australian camper van manufacturer Maverick Campers and Caravans was the most recent player in this space to collapse and go into full liquidation after efforts to renegotiate a $500,000 AUD debt with its financiers collapsed at the eleventh hour.
A judge granted the creditors a winding-up order and, as of Oct. 1, the company has been ordered to liquidate. The legal process in Australia is the equivalent closest to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Yulia Petrenko and Malcolm Kimbal Howell of Adelaide-based Jirsch Sutherland were assigned as liquidators overseeing the process; according to Petrenko, the camper van manufacturer was approximately $6 million AUD in debt.
Related: Company behind holiday parks insolvent, to be dissolved
In an emotional video posted to the company’s Facebook page, Maverick CEO Matthew Winen classified the situation as a “nightmare” that left it with “no choice but to go into liquidation.”
“As you can imagine the bombshell hit when we thought we were all good,” Winen said in an address to customers. “We were absolutely blown away.”
“The other retailers in the industry must be nervous”: Maverick Campers and Caravans CEO
Winen went on to say that they had approximately 72 orders for its vehicles currently on the books. As the company is now in the process of liquidating its assets, it is unable to provide refunds for uncompleted orders.
While Winen encouraged affected customers to contact the liquidators, individual customers are considered unsecured creditors who are last on the list behind major banks and lenders to get compensation through a court-ordered liquidation.
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“The other retailers in the industry must be nervous because they are all going through financial stress and they see a financier do this,” Winen said further. “We will be reaching out to customers, particularly those who have paid more than 30 to 40 percent deposits.”
In September 2026, another Australian camper van manufacturer, Australian Off Road, also entered voluntary administration with more than $9 million AUD in debt. Both companies struggled with similar issues around rising costs and supply issues alongside high competition.
Related: National park closes camping and tent locations until 2027