Camperman Australia Review

First time in a campervan we were so excited and we had a great holiday but the campervan experience was dreadful. So I was due to collect it at 1pm, got a call at 10am saying I had to rush to get there from work, I understand Covid etc But had to get permission to leave and rush there.

Got there did the quick inspection as they were trying to leave. Got it home the campervan was dirty, stank of smoke, had a vent missing that leaked when it rained. I had to wipe down the steering wheel for stains and everywhere you go in the van was damage noted. I then emailed them to notify them of this with photos and didn't get a reply so got on with the holiday.

I then returned it and they emailed blaming me for the vent and asking for $200! I referred them to the email sent previously and they removed this fee. To date I am still waiting for my deposit to be returned which they now claim they have done with a very rude woman saying I had to speak to my bank,
I suspect Camperman have made a mistake even though they charged and scanned my card and I am still minus $500 and having a negative end to my experience.

I would definitely avoid this company at all costs, go with Britz their vans look really nice. They have been nothing but a pain and their idea of a clean van is basically the standards of how it was brought back, I don't believe they clean it at all. I understand they go through a lot of people and mileage but the grime on the steering wheel was unbelievable.

If you are looking for a campervan look elsewhere to make sure you have a better time. This company is a disaster.

No refund. dirty vans rude staff. avoid.

I will consider revising if I am contacted to sort my due refund.

Rented a campervan from Brisbane to cairns. Lovely vehicle, spacious had everything we could want including linen towels etc. excess only $500. No nasty extras and a small family owned business. Highly recommend.

We had arranged a camper to be picked up Saturday morning, all paid for in advance. On the Friday night we received am email stating the van was unavailable, with the only option being to pay an extra $300 a week for an upgrade (to a family van with a shower, which we didnt want). No refund available.

We waited 3.5 hours after the arranged pick up time, and the van wasn't even cleaned. As we left, there was no oil, no fuel and no gas. We were told we had to pay for them.

The bumper fell off and the bed was terrible, it was a cushion push together bed in the "upgraded van" instead of a mattress. We cut our trip short by a week as we had to sleep in hostels due to the bed and went over budget. My girlfriend is still going to physio, her lower back and hips had lost alignment due to the "bed". The bed was also over 12 inches too short.

It's now 5 months after my trip, and I finally got my deposit back... Except $130, for an unknown reason. I had been phoning once a week and the customer service was woeful. I'll never use camperman again

Terrible customer service - since lockdown I have continually tried to get my money back off these people for my booking. I offered for them to keep the deposit as long as they refunded me the money they took immediately out of my visa account once I let them know that it was unlikely that I would be able to travel due to Covid19. I have tried everything with them but they insist on retaining the money as a credit for a future trip. I will now not be going to Australia in the future - I could understand if I lived closer but let's face it it's not exactly a short trip away for me - but I am still unable to get anything back from them and because they have held it in credit I can't even claim off my insurance, so I'm about £900 out of pocket for nothing!

Avoid at all costs. Very poor customer service. Definitely avoid if you don't want to get stung with big charges for nothing - recommend you use one of the many other providers available.

We had to cancel our booking because of the fourteen day self-isolation restrictions introduced in Australia due to the COVID-19 outbreak (with less than 12 hours notice given by government). Under this last minute legislation, it would have not only been impractical but entirely illegal for us to make use of our booked campervan when we were due to arrive in the country 2 days before. Camperman not only refused to return our deposit, but took extra money without authorisation to cover 50% of the outstanding cost. This charge was taken even after providing them with a clear and reasonable explanation of the situation (within 24 hours of the legislation being announced), with 9 days notice of the cancellation and then after they were expressly refused permission to add the extra charges onto our card.

In short, Camperman seem happy to force their customers to either break the law, spread a pandemic and risk imprisonment or to cash in on their misfortune by stealing large sums from their accounts for providing nothing whatsoever. Again, just avoid at all costs.

Juste un petit mot pour remercier l’équipe de Camperman Australia pour leur professionnalisme et pour leur support durant notre aventure australienne ?
Pour notre voyage de Sydney à Cairns, nous avons choisi le model de camping-car Paradise 5 Shower / Toilet. Pour notre famille avec deux petits de 4 et 6.5 ans c’était une parfaite solution qualité /prix de déplacement et de séjour. Les sièges auto, le linge, tous les accessoires de cuisine sont fournis par agence. Au départ de Sydney nous avons reçu les instructions d’utilisation du véhicule. Le personnel a été de très bons conseils pour les visites et les activités de notre itinéraire.
Les enfants ont adoré le concept d’habiter et de voyager dans « la petite maison ». Inoubliable.

We hired a camper van in November from this company and i wouldn't recommend. Van was a lot smaller than originally advised. We were told that they had checked the vehicle over however when we questioned about a tyre that looked flat and the mechanic came over he said it was a slow puncture, despite being told several times it was completely checked. There was no storage for luggage and it wasn't well looked after. They had put black take over the oil light to hide the fact it was on. They weren't even advertising there brand on the side of this 1 particular van which says a lot. They weren't even great dealing with or resolving the complaint. Not a good company to deal with

We collected the van from Townsville, the location was miles from anywhere and cost a fortune in a taxi. The lady here was lovely and she was very helpful whilst going through the van and how to use it.
It was easy to drive, we had a free upgrade but it wasn't the cleanest inside and it was a little tired in decor. However it was well equipped.
We returned it in Cairns, this was more centeay based to the airport.
The company took $500 deposit, the usual practice is not to actually process this payment however they did and were VERY slow in returning the full payment. I felt the staff who dealt with the emails were not helpful or polite. This did cause frustration and would not recommend the company or use it again.

Van drove well, a bit tired and scruffy, smelt of cigarettes, customer service not great- no orientation to the van and had long wait to pick up

The people that work at this company are extremely rude and should probably not work in customer service. They intentionally mislead us with the booking of a van and then we're extremely difficult to deal with when we wanted to cancel. On top of that they seem to be the only rental company that charges on a per day basis, rather than 24 hrs, therefore if you pick a car up at 2pm and return it at 10am the next day, this is counted as 2 days.

Hired a hitop van for 5 for 4 weeks. The problems already started on the first day. Our tyre popped after one hour. We didn't have a jack, so couldn't change it by ourself. So they sent us a RACQ and told us, they would pay for it. Now we have to pay for it. On the second day the oil lamp lighted up, 24 hour hotline couldn't tell us what oil number we need. We went to a garage, to get a new tyre and a oil. Camperman told us they will pay for it. Our aircondition didn't work from the delivery on. After more then a week, they organsied a garage to fix it, but we lost 5 hours.
Also it was raining into the camper (we know of two other people with the same problem), the lower bed didn't work, it's not possible to build it up, the camper already had 550.000km, we needed 4 litres of oil, for 4000km,...
Camperman told us they will pay for the tyre and oil and will give us a compensation for the lost hours. Now, 4 weeks after returning it, we still didn't get all of our money. They don't answer to any emails. Our german agency contacted them 1,5 weeks ago and don't get any response aswell.
Will never hire a camper of Camperman again!!!

Booking enquires seemed automated, repeated emails from them, didn’t listen when trying to change the hire dates, multiple emails for a simple change.
Other than above the vehicle was great, suited our needs, it was an older van with a few very minor problems which was all over come. Rang the company once with what I thought was an issue ( it wasn’t ) but instance service to resolve my issue.
I would use these guys again

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We thought we were getting a 2014 camper we got what felt and looked like a 20 year old camper . We had to go buy a mattress topper for the bed sept on it the one night it stunk and was uncomfortable we got no sleep.

The customer service was great, the price was good and the engine was in superb shape!

Two things to note: Interior battery (ie fridge) was not up to scratch and if it was fully charged it was flat by morning. Fair enough battery quality is a tough thing to check for both staff and customer. Even if the battery reads ~13volts you'll only know the longevity of the charge a day or two later when you're out on the road with no chance of getting it replaced. My only ideas would be a) for the customer (or staff) to switch in/out their own pre-tested battery before/after the trip? b) stay a night before leaving and try your best to discharge the battery? These ideas may not work for everyone.

My other advice is to make sure you have another set of keys!!! If the staff don't or can't provide a duplicate set then you should probably get the car key duplicated before you go. The cost of a locksmith in an outback area could easily be in the thousands of dollars. We did snap the key in Alice Springs so the cost of locksmith was only $200. Not covered by terms of rental.

All around camperman were good to us, but think carefully, as the hirer you have a lot to consider.

We hired one of their HiTop (reg#: 636KAX) from them for 2 weeks in March 2018

- MOUSE living for delivery: noise at night, had to empty the cupboard every night to hang the food as it was digging into it, smell, bed board was impregneted with mousse urine... We manage to capture the beast after 5 days.
- 3 TYRES with SLOW LEAKS we only had a doubt from day#2 but only got confirmation on the day before last since we did not move the van much once at destination.
- FRIDGE NOT FUNCTIONAL until we traced the problem down to a fuse not being correctly fitted in it slot
- Cigarette 12V SOCKET NOT FUNCTIONAL until we found the fuse was blown... no spare 15A fuse available... not possible to charge our phones... finally used the 10A fuse but not ideal
- Gaz stove had one of the 2 burners that did not hold fire when not pushing the button, making it not operational...

These issues are only due to poor maintenance and checks...

Their helpline has been useless, appart from telling us that
- we had to go back to the Sydney depot to get the fridge issue fixed... we were in the Warrumbungle NP and would have meant
- to fumigate the van to kill the mouse... that mean having a dead and rotting mouse below your bed and kitchen...
- to look for a repairer to get the burner fixed... sure! when we asked them to give an address where this could be fix we got no anwser.

We did ask the customer service for a partial refund of the rental fee... but Camperman does not even reply to our emails!

AVOID!

Thank you for such Perfect Camping Holliday as the Van was set up PERFECT for aTrouble Free Run,very comfortable and easy to Drive. Very Nice People to Deal with inTownsville . I wll reckamend Camperman to all my Friends.

We hired a Jade-3 campervan from Adelaide to Melbourne to explore the Great Ocean Road. The staff were really helpful giving us loads of tips on the campervan as well as places to see on our trip, and their website has suggestions on where to stay in campervan friendly campgrounds along the way. We went for their cheapest model (it was the cheapest deal we found in Australia) and everything functioned well. We had no problems on the way. The beds were comfortable and our daughter slept in the upstairs bed. The campervan is stocked with everything you need like towels, pillows, dish washing supplies at no extra cost.
We would recommend Camperman!

we Hired the camper for 12 days and had great fun doing a winery tour from Melbourne to Adelaide. It was well maintained and drove well . Service from pick up to drop off was fantastic . Especially when I got a call from the head office first thing the next morning that I had left my wallet in the Van .. We will certainly be hiring one of their vans again

My family of 3 rented a 5 berth campervan from Camperman for a week in January 2018 and were extremely dissapointed with both the vehicle and how they addressed (or didn't) our issues.

Keep this in mind when looking at reviews, there may be less poor ones because the renters are bound by a confidentiality agreement.

Summary:
Shower/toilet and ladder to upper berth both broken on delivery. Check engine light and fuel light on when delivered. Van smelled like garbage due to rotting waterfowl in front grill on delivery. Blown head lights.
When van died (fuel pump) they sent tow truck with 2 passenger seats (family of 3 and van for 5). Did not replace van for 2 days, and sent a car instead. Promised to reimburse for accommodations and vehicle down time and did not. Asked to sign release and confidentiality agreement.

Details:
We tried to book a standard 3 berth Camperman camper on-line and were told they only had one option left which was a significantly more expensive 5 berth camper with shower and toilet. Since we only had one choice we accepted the premium van. We picked the van up from Gypsy travel in Airlie Beach, Rich was great and provided us with advice on what to see along our travels. He walked us through the vehicle where we pointed out that the vehicle had 500,000KMs, the check engine light was on and the fuel light was on. He logged the check engine light and said "hopefully you have enough gas to get the gas station". We did the walk through in the side ally and assumed the garbage smell and flies was from the ally, not the van and thought nothing of it. Our first stop was a beach in Bowen for lunch and a hike. While sitting outside the van eating lunch we were overrun with flies and a terrible rotten/garbage smell. We were starting to think Australia smelled and was full of flies. We overnight and while setting up we discover the door to the toilet/shower does not work which basically makes this expensive upgrade non-functional. When it's time for bed we pull out the ladder for my son to climb up to bed and discover the rungs on the ladder are broken. So we need to help him up and down. The next morning we stopped in Townsville to swim in the public pool. Once again we are overrun with flies and the continuous garbage smell. After a closer investigation we discovered a large, dead waterfowl rotting in the front grill! After some work we were able to remove the bird and dispose of it. Smell and flies solved. We continue on with the non-functioning shower/toilet and ladder but we are able to make due by paying for campgrounds that have shower facilities, an added cost we didn't plan on but we manage. The next night in Babinda is uneventful. The following night we stop in Yungaburra make camp and then drive into town for dinner. When we return to camp in the dark and had difficulty seeing the road but drove slow. When spotting the van into the campsite we notice that one of the headlights is out. At this point there are too many issues and I contacted Camperman via email and outline the problems we discovered. We did not expect perfection (especially from a vehicle with half million kms) but we did wan the premium features we were forced to pay for at least work, and all safety equipment (lights) be functioning. For our troubles they offered us a refund for one days rental on the condition we sign an extensive release and confidentiality agreement. With no printer in the van I waited to sign the release. Two nights later we stay in Cape Tribulation (no cell service) and when we wake up the van won't start! We call Camperman and they say they will send roadside to investigate, I ask how they will handle the down time. They immediately respond with "don;t worry you will be compensated from any down time." to which I respond "good thing I didn't sign the release." We left on a tour in the morning and when we returned roadside had been and gone but did not update Camperman. We called Camperman and they had no update or plan to get us moving. Eventually they sent a flatbed tow truck which arrived late afternoon. It was getting dark and the driver wanted to get on the road but there was an issue. The tow truck only had 3 seats and there were 4 including the driver. We were faced with splitting up the family or one of us driving unbelted in the cab. Why send a tow for a camper that holds up to 5 and you know was rented by a family and not think about how to transport them safely? The two was instructed to tow us to Wonga but after explaining we needed to be in Port Douglas for another tour they arranged to have the van towed to a campground there. When I asked what was the plan for the following day, would we get a replacement, or a rental car they said they would be repairing the van in the campground. I wasn't confident that would happen and didn't want to spend another day waiting around for a tow and asked what the back up plan was. I was very specific that I didn't want to waste another day waiting around in a campground for them to come up with a plan. I was told by a hostile manager that I had no input and to trust that they had it all under control. So we camp in Port Douglas but have to eat out because our food spoiled in the non-functioning fridge and had to pay for cabs around town. "Don't worry, we will reimburse you". We called Camperman the following morning during our tour to get an update. They inform us that the van has been towed (with all our belongings) to a service center and to wait for an update. When our tour ended we called again to see if we should walk to the service center (near where we were) or go back to the campground and wait. The hostile manager told us that they couldn't fix it, they would send a car and to "wait by the van". After several clarifying questions he finally told us it was not at a service center but at the campground. Turns out they lied and never took it to be serviced and instead wasted the morning. The tow truck with the loaner car arrived at 4:30 in the afternoon, and as suspected we burned another day. Now that we have no campervan we needed a place to stay for our last night, they offered accommodations up to $100, despite paying $385/day for the van. We had a night booked at a hotel that was $109/night in two days and felt it would make sense to stay there and not waste more time moving between hotels. Camperman promised to reimburse us if we paid for it because it was over their $100 limit. "Don't worry your will be compensated". When we returned the loaner car, which turned out to be the managers my son left some pictures from a Koala experience in the back of the car. They informed us we could pick them up from their Cairnes office. We asked them to forward them by mail to our final hotel in Sydney instead, they did not. After another follow up they promised to send them to our home address in Canada, to date (March 23rd) we have not received them and assume we never will. Since we returned on a Saturday there was no manager on staff to address our promised compensation and we were assured that we would get a proposal on Monday. We did not. The following Thursday I proposed two days rental refund plus the $100 for hotel. Which I thought was reasonable, 1 day for the broken toilet/shower etc, one day for the two days of breakdown, and $100 for the hotel as promised. They flat out refused and only offered 1 day refund, no more than previous despite the additional problems and commitments.

To date this is not resolved and since I have not signed the release I am free to share. Our experience was awful and to cap it off when they sent the final inspection of the vehicle none of the issues we identified were logged. This means as soon as they got it running again it was put back in service as-is for someone else to deal with! I'd rather tell everyone my story and forgo the $385. Keep this in mind when looking at reviews, there may be less poor ones because they are bound by a confidentiality agreement.

Good luck if you decide to rent with these guys, you will be on your own.