Always wondered about Wicked Campervans

[dmdigital]

Well no need to now: Wicked Campers fail roadworthy tests (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,26569536-3102,00.html)

Sounds like only 4 are now registered in Queensland. I know I've seen some really dodgy ones on my travels!

[CraigE]

Sad really. There will be no low cost alternative for budget travellers when these are pulled off the road. Not condoning unsafe vehicles, but not much different from a lot of old cars on the road and probablly most of our 4x4s. I do understand the liability thing being commercial rented vehicles. Will do a lot of damage to tourism. The Maui etc vans are not always that much nic, but most are better and a lot more expensive to hire. We see lots of Wicked vans in Esperance and they dont appear to be to bad. If they did the same with all private vehicles there would be a lot off the road. So I suppose all the backpackers will go back to buying cheap death traps instead.
As far as the vehicle being directlly contributable to accidents, I would like to see the factual data. Most of it is more from inexperience, overloading, bravado and stupidity.

[BigJon]

The vans might be dodgy but the contents are often excellent :p.

[seano87]

I must say I'm not surprised, or disappointed that it's happened!

I've seen a lot that look in pretty dire condition.

Just having a look at the website though and the pics they show of some of the available configurations, I don't think I've ever seen one anywhere as new as they show!

Seano

[V8Ian]

The vans might be dodgy but the contents are often excellent :p.
Dutch blokes with long hair smoking joints?:o;)
A lot of the slogans are decidedly dodgey.:(

[D-Fender]

I saw a few of these buckets in Surfers' Paradise two years ago (one of which had the back end smashed in, as if it had been rear-ended by a truck) and all I can say is.... what utter piles of crap.

And out of 86, only four buckets were 'safe', the company should be all shot.

And to think these piles of crap are being taken over the country, in the outback and off-road.

Quite sickening, but not surprising what some companies will do to make a buck, at the expense of others' safety.


A lot of the slogans are decidedly dodgey.:

To be honest I can't believe some of what I've seen written and drawn on those vans don't violate some law or something.

[midal]

Dutch blokes with long hair smoking joints?:o;)
A lot of the slogans are decidedly dodgey.:(

The wicked vans are extremely common up here with most of them heading to Broome in the tourist season and calling in to various places along the way up and back. There was a major kick up some months ago with a lot of caravan parks etc along the way in different towns banning them due to the "offensive and inappropriate" slogans written all over them.

I was looking at one closely when it pulled in to an isolated servo last year (Nanutarra)....what first caught my eye was that 7 people climbed out and it only had 3 seats in the front....the law here is that you can only carry the same amount of people as there are seat belts fitted (assume it's the same elsewhere). The back section consisted entirely of a foam mattress.
That's not necessarily the companies fault of course, but it sure highlights the safety issues that are being abused by individuals.

Cheers
Mick

[V8Ian]

The wicked vans are extremely common up here with most of them heading to Broome in the tourist season and calling in to various places along the way up and back. There was a major kick up some months ago with a lot of caravan parks etc along the way in different towns banning them due to the "offensive and inappropriate" slogans written all over them.

I was looking at one closely when it pulled in to an isolated servo last year (Nanutarra)....what first caught my eye was that 7 people climbed out and it only had 3 seats in the front....the law here is that you can only carry the same amount of people as there are seat belts fitted (assume it's the same elsewhere). The back section consisted entirely of a foam mattress.
That's not necessarily the companies fault of course, but it sure highlights the safety issues that are being abused by individuals.

Cheers
Mick
Strewth, a tank of fuel would cost more than the value of the old Mitsi Express, I used to deliver their fuel.
The backpackers' bus (note, not coach) that runs between Broome and Port is a worry too.

[BigJon]

Dutch blokes with long hair smoking joints?:o;)
A lot of the slogans are decidedly dodgey.:(

More like 18 - 25 year old female backpackers in bikinis... :twisted:

[D-Fender]

More like 18 - 25 year old female backpackers in bikinis... :twisted:

That would have made my christmas when I saw the vans in Surfers' last year.

When I saw the people sitting on a log leaning on the front of one of the vans, their description wasn't far off V8Ian's "Dutch blokes with long hair smoking joints" comment. :D I'm just not sure if they were Dutch :D

[BigJon]

You are looking in the wrong state... Most of the Wicked vans I see are in the NT.

[robzilla]

Cheap Wicked Campers campervan hire and rentals for budget travellers Australia/New Zealand van price guarantee | Cheap Campervan Hire Australia - Veh | Cheap Campervan Hire Australia (http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/features/safety.html)

that probably more accurately shows the condition of their vans :p

edit: there's a bunch of incident reports down the bottom of that page, most of them are from hitting kangaroos. but there's a few that would support poor car condition!

e.g. lol doesnt sound like a healthy car to me :p
http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/images/stories/accidents/ar004.jpg

[buggyrider]

Found this song 'Wicked Camper Blues' by a guy called Rob Imeson and I think it sums up what a lot of people have thought about Wicked Vans, particularly regarding the contents of the vans!

http://www.triplejunearthed.com/arti...artistid=32343 (http://www.triplejunearthed.com/artists/view.aspx?artistid=32343)

[robzilla]

Found this song 'Wicked Camper Blues' by a guy called Rob Imeson and I think it sums up what a lot of people have thought about Wicked Vans, particularly regarding the contents of the vans!

http://www.triplejunearthed.com/arti...artistid=32343 (http://www.triplejunearthed.com/artists/view.aspx?artistid=32343)
sounds about right :D except for the brand new tyres

[Bigbjorn]

A lot of the items on a Safety Certificate check list are quite minor and have little if any effect on the safe operation of the vehicle. If you get an inspection from one private sector inspector he may be a nit picker and give a long list of repairs to be made, another may have a more reasonable attitude, pass the vehicle but tell you that there are a few minor items that should be attended to.

You can be sure of this though. If the inspections were carried out by Qld. Transport inspectors, then the nit picking would be extreme to the nth. power.

[V8Ian]

A lot of the items on a Safety Certificate check list are quite minor and have little if any effect on the safe operation of the vehicle. If you get an inspection from one private sector inspector he may be a nit picker and give a long list of repairs to be made, another may have a more reasonable attitude, pass the vehicle but tell you that there are a few minor items that should be attended to.

You can be sure of this though. If the inspections were carried out by Qld. Transport inspectors, then the nit picking would be extreme to the nth. power.
Not in my experience, QT machinary inspections are the easiest/most reasonable to pass.

[LandieMan]

Wicked Campers are all over NZ too. A big issue here with all the budget campervans is that they park up and stay overnight in the picnic areas, then leave there rubbish and crap in the bushes. I think up until now the numbers have been manageable but now that the country is swarming with 1000's of them it's becoming an issue. Some areas have even banning "free camping" all together as a result which sucks for those who are more responsible. In some you can only free camp if your vehicle is "certified self contained" which means it retains all waste water and has a dunny.

Cheers, LandieMan.

[jerryd]

We followed this one for a short time on our way down to the Landrover Expo :D:D

[SmokyBear]

My fiance & I spent two weeks driving a Wicked Camper around Italy in August '07. In Europe a wicked camper is a great option for a budget holiday. We had an absolute whale of a time.

The vehicles supplied in Europe are much newer & in way better condition that what I've seen on the roads in Australia. I wouldn't hire one here.

Despite this, I still had some minor problems, specifically some blown light globes and a fractured exhaust pipe that I had to have welded up at my own expense, because their "24 hour, Europe wide roadside cover" meant speaking to someone in France that wasn't at all interested in helping.

- SmokyBear

[Bigbjorn]

Not in my experience, QT machinary inspections are the easiest/most reasonable to pass.

Have you been handing out gratuities? I have always found them to be pedantic, nit-picking, totally unreasonable. Although Victoria's are worst, closely followed by NSW.

A bad example of pedantism was the inspector at Five Dock motor registry who refused to grant a "permit to drive unregistered vehicle" because it only had one horn. It was a Holden Premier and they were supposed to have dual horns.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Here's a business idea... maybe they can sell them to the Queensland Police as they are looking for old vans to do up (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26553282-952,00.html).

:D :D :wasntme:

[juddy]

Would a MOT ( ie like the uk ) stop this kind of thing?