CTOTY Preview — 2022

Camper Trailer of the Year (CTOTY), Camper Australia’s signature event, has grown to become the most respected camper trailer competition in the country. CTOTY will be returning for 2022 on Saturday 18 June at the battlegrounds of BIG4 Sawtell Beach Holiday Park. The competition this year will be as fierce as ever as entrants fight it out against a suitably stunning backdrop in the form of the form of mountains, national parks, creeks, and beaches of the NSW Coffs Coast.  

CTOTY Origins

The raison d'être of CTOTY is to provide adventurers with accurate, informed, and fully independent assessments of the camper trailer options out there in the market. Buying a camper trailer can be confusing to say the least, and there are plenty of options. But which ones are the cream of the crop? This is what CTOTY strives to answer. 

We understand the importance of independent reviews, and we know that our readers want unbiased reviews and judgements. People want expert opinions to reflect a genuine assessment of the pros and cons of a camper trailer in question, and of the market as a whole. By reporting honestly and providing independent reviews of camper trailers, we can help Aussie adventurers to more easily get out there and explore this incredibly beautiful and diverse land. 

Hearteningly, our policy of honesty is welcomed by a majority of camper trailer manufacturers and certainly by all of those within these pages. Like us, they credit our readers and their buyers with intelligence. They know that, because of our reputation, the unique selling points that do earn praise from our reviewers will be taken seriously by readers.

The Process 

The event is a celebration of the very best camper trailers in Australia. Of course, all celebrations require a lot of background logistical work to happen at all. For the event, we organise all hospitality for manufacturers, from food to accommodation to entertainment during downtime. We run off a carefully considered schedule that encompasses a location for judge assessment of camper trailers while set up, to one where the judges can tow the campers offroad. 

As for the process itself, it’s pretty straightforward. Our panel of four expert judges rate the entrants on a 10-point system. We award campers by style as well as by category standouts, and winners are the highest overall scorers.

The categories are:

• Folding campers
• Expedition
• Hybrids
• Slide-on and Compacts
• Best for Value for Money
• Innovation
• Build Quality
• Self-sufficiency
• X-factor

We’ve put these criteria to use for over 10 years in Camper Australia and for nine years at CTOTY. The 2021 event saw a record 21 entrants — something that posed a major challenge in terms of location and hospitality, as well as ensuring we had the staff to capture everything that went down.

Of the 2022 event, Emprise Group CEO Rob Gallagher said “The CTOTY event is a fantastic opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their latest products to both our respected judges, who critically assess each van, and the local community who are seeking inspiration from the best products on the market. “