Who We Are

Early Days

As Covid closed down Sydney businesses, I moved Wotpods to Lismore NSW. Following a bout of fires we moved to another workshop. Then Lismore flooded! We moved again into a workshop up the highway and away from rivers!

Hover images to navigate sliders.

Lismore Days

Despite some great innovation, smart jigs and a legend builder Myles at the helm, we were simply unable to keep up with the growing demand for Wotpods.

We built these in Australia for 4-years, but I wanted to take it to the next level, with machinery that could bend steel and metal in ways we could only dream about. After a lot of research, I decided to partner with a Chinese manufacturer.

It took us months of approval red-tape and months on the prototype before I was satisfied with the quality. We have in place a Quality Management System approved at federal level that demonstrates we maintain control on quality and adherence to Australian standards. We have a proper import/dealership licence.

I stepped into this strategy with trepidation, also aware of the reputation of Chinese built products, even accepting that more and more is coming out of China every year (What are you sitting on? What are you reading this on? What do you drive and where were its parts manufactured etc.)

This said, yes, you can get a cheap import, but be careful because every cost-saving corner-cut may have been taken and you might be disappointed with things a few years down the track. It was actually quite the challenge for me to get our partner to buy the most expensive, high quality materials etc., I suspect a commerce-cultural thing.

I can hand-on-heart say that after our manufacture costs, shipping/transport, taxes , insurances etc., even with extremely low overheads our margins are much lower than you might guess. Indeed my accounting mate even had a laugh at me the other day over a beer about exactly this. I want everyone to be able to afford a pod.

We don’t go to the shows, we don’t have showrooms and we don’t stock lots of pods that gather dust. Instead we show prospects pods before handing over the pod to its new owners. Our customers are also always happy to show off their pods.

I don’t run a workshop anymore, and instead can offer a national warranty service (your closest RV centre) rather than back-to-shop. Our product is all steel and aluminium and built for Australian conditions and expectations. We were the first teardrop to introduce a TV that can be watched inside and outside. Our batteries are all lithium as standard. We offer multiple kitchen configurations, including 2 x 30L fridges so you can have one on freeze. Up to 450w of solar. Chassis bitumen sprayed for added protection… our innovations go on, some kept a surprise to avoid our copycats.

Introducing Aluminium

We built these ourselves for a few years, so I knew what we were doing and what to look for. Most of our materials we used in our Australian workshops were Chinese import anyway, even the best teardrop caravan doors in Australia are made in China.

Today I personally inspect every pod by video before it leaves China (jump up and down on the guard, push that door closed hard, try to lift the storage box lid when it’s latched etc.) and we inspect again on arrival. I am in constant contact with my team over there, communicating at least a dozen exchanges daily. And meeting in person is also important for that relationship.

Once the pod arrives in Australia, we install all accessories (batteries, fridges, stove, gas bottle etc.) to ensure seamless turnaround on any accessory warranty issues that may arise.

We’ve been around for over 5 years now and will be around for another 50… but this has been an enormously challenging journey with plenty of learning along the way, living and breathing pods. I didn’t wake up one day and just decide to import caravans with zero building experience.

I’m proud of what we offer and truly believe we are the best bang for buck in Australia.

I invite you to catch up with me in Melbourne, or one of our agents in Lismore or Darwin, to inspect first-hand how I define quality.

Today

So many teardrop caravans, so little time!

We get it. This is a big investment and you want to get it right. We intend to become Australia’s most popular teardrop caravan.

Submit the form below to receive an email showing how we compare against 21 other competing Australian teardrop camper brands. This includes information such as models, specs, features and prices (PS – check your spam).

See more examples in our gallery page:

Or if you want to go the next step and you’ve already cleared the space in your garage…