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First Hema Safe event held in Melbourne
Words Allison Watt Pics Ted Airey
Outdoor adventurers and caravanners were able to get sound advice and ask questions from a team of experts about safe 4WDing and caravan towing at the first Hema Safe day held in Melbourne recently.
Hema Group’s inaugural Hema Safe event, focusing on caravan towing and safety, was held in the grounds of Bosch Australia in Clayton and despite cold, blustery conditions, attendance was good.
The day’s program included masterclasses on weight definitions, weight distribution and hitching from mobile caravan and vehicle weighing company Weigh Station. Of the five rigs weighed on the day, only one passed.
Hema Group General Manager of Media Dominic O’Brien said the results were unfortunately not surprising.
“It’s clear that there’s still a lot of work to do to educate consumers about correct weights and weight distribution which is why we are planning more Hema Safe events over the next 12 months,” he said. “It’s a really great opportunity for caravanners to ask questions and get sound advice from the experts about their specific set-up and circumstances.”
Event partners Bosch Australia and REDARC Electronics gave tech talks on caravan safety systems such as sway control, tow assist and electronic brake controllers.
A number of other partners were on site with caravans and product displays, including:
- Wonderland RV
- Zone RV
- New Age Caravans
- Harvok Caravans
- Adrenalin Off Road - Pakenham
- MSA 4X4 Accessories
- Tough Dog 4WD Suspension
A weighty issue
Dion Henderson, Director of Weigh Station, has been weighing caravans, four-wheel drives, boats and horse floats for more than 20 years.
Five customers booked their rigs in to be weighed at Hema Safe, at a subsidised cost of $100.
Dion said that of the five rigs weighed on the day, only one passed. The results didn’t surprise him.
“Usually, eight out of 10 rigs I weigh will fail,” he said. “And I’m not seeing those numbers coming down.”
And when looking at the rigs that fail, Dion said the weight of the caravan is usually OK, but the tow vehicle is not set up correctly. Of the five tow vehicles he weighed at Hema Safe, three were Toyota LandCruisers, one of which had a GVM upgrade.
“Generally, a GVM upgrade is the solution for an overweight vehicle, but you have to make sure you get the right upgrade — an ARB upgrade will increase the GVM to 4015kg whereas a Lovells upgrade will increase the GVM to 4200kg. People get upgrades without understanding the different levels of upgrades.”
Reducing weight in caravans is also paramount.
“People tend to accumulate stuff in their vans over time,” Dion said. “You don’t need two hammers or cutlery for eight people if there’s only two of you travelling. These might seem like small things, but they all add up.”
Dion believes that education and regulation are the keys for improving caravan safety and he has been working with Victoria Police and Roadsafe on education campaigns around the state.
He also believes it should be mandatory for manufacturers and dealers to be honest with customers about caravan and tow vehicle weights.
Forefront of road safety
Bosch has been at the forefront of road safety for well over 50 years and generously allowed Hema Group to use the grounds of its head office in Clayton to host the event.
Bosch marketing and sales lead David Koh said Bosch was happy to get on board because of its expertise in safety technology around braking and driver assistance systems — not just in passenger vehicles but across all vehicle segments.
“Over the past 10 years, our engineers have brought their skills to the caravan segment, and we have been working with industry and government to improve towing safety ever since,” David said. “Having worked with the Hema Group on safety topics in the past, it was a no-brainer for us when Hema approached us to be the location partner for this fantastic initiative.”
While many people will be familiar with Bosch for its consumer goods such as power tools and home appliances, what they might not know is that most of its business is in vehicle technology.
“We were the first to bring to market life-saving technologies such as Anti-lock Braking (ABS), Traction Control (TCS) and Electronic Stability Program (ESP),” said David.
“Trailer Safety Control (TSC) is the latest and most advanced on-caravan safety system and incorporates functions such as ABS, Swerve Control and Trailer Sway Mitigation. It’s an intelligent system that uses an advanced array of sensors to detect critical safety situations.
“This might be due to poor road conditions, animals or other drivers — even strong crosswinds which can result in disaster on the road. The system will react faster and more accurately than humans can in critical safety situations, controlling the wheels and brakes to bring you and your caravan back under control, preventing accidents.”
David believes events such as Hema Safe are crucial in helping both the industry and consumers connect and understand that both parties want the same thing: safer roads and fewer accidents.
“I think the face-to-face aspect of a live event is also so different to looking up information online,” David said. “If we are to change the road safety culture in Australia, we need to see that we are not alone and that there is a community of caravanners that care deeply about creating safer roads for us and generations to come.
“Hema Safe is a unique event in that it’s a more relaxed environment and that everyone there is gathered around the core message of safety. A recent survey we did showed that consumers still value safety technology highly when considering their caravan: it ranked as the second most important feature after build quality — and ahead of features such as floorplan, warranty, brand and amenities. That tells us we need to be talking about safety more if we want to protect and grow the iconic Aussie caravanning lifestyle.”
Building safe caravans
Among the caravan manufacturers who brought vans along to display at Hema Safe was Wonderland RV, winners of Caravan of the Year 2024 presented by MSA 4x4 Accessories.
Many visitors took advantage of the chance to escape the cold winds for a few minutes by stepping inside the Wonderland RV and Zone RV models that were on display from the Melbourne dealership Outbound RVs.
Managing director of Wonderland RV Kevin Dani said he eagerly accepted the opportunity to contribute to Hema’s long history and Bosch’s commitment to safety.
“We take weights very seriously, and it is a prerequisite for our sales team to ask customers about their intended tow vehicle,” Kevin said. “This allows us to match a suitable caravan for them and advise if the combination will be suitable for their intended travelling.”
“Well-designed caravans should translate to safer caravans, as safety is an obligation for all vehicle manufacturers. Good caravan design involves more than just tare and gross weights; it also considers empty ball weight, water tanks and storage areas. These factors need to be integrated into the design to ensure the caravan remains within the required weight limits while also towing well,” he said.
Kevin said consumers today are more educated than ever, and this increased knowledge helps them make better decisions, ultimately leading to safer vehicles on our roads.
This is just the beginning
Further Hema Safe events are in the works for the coming months, so keep an eye on the website for details on themes, dates and locations.
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