A long time ago it was the dream of many Australian families to have a holiday home somewhere near a distant beach. A block of land in many choice spots cost just a few hundred dollars and building that holiday shack was usually the task of the family and their friends. The outgoings by way of council rates were a mere fraction of the prices charged in the city.
Today, that situation has changed dramatically. Land anywhere near a beach has at least a hundred thousand dollar price tag and country councils demand the same building code requirements as the city. The rate charges are similar and holiday home owners now need rental income to cover the overheads.
When owning a holiday home became the prerogative of the wealthy, ordinary Australian families embraced the caravan holiday with enthusiasm. The caravan industry produced comfortable vans with all mod cons at very competitive prices and this delivered the ability to reach a range of distant locations and enjoy different holiday themes. Towing a mobile home behind the family car became a common sight on Australian roads, catered for by a vast range of caravan parks.
Today, owners of caravans who do not have off street parking are coming under pressure to remove vans from the street outside their homes. Providing space where vans can be parked legally is now a new industry but the prices charged are nearing extortion levels. Those same charges that escalated to make holiday homes unaffordable are slowly bringing about the death of caravanning. They are becoming less prevalent in the holiday traffic stream.
Now a new definition in the road toll system is about to make that caravanning holiday even more expensive. If the car doing the towing and the van behind it are greater than 12.5 metres in total length and the height exceeds 2.8 metres it is defined as a " Class B vehicle ". That's puts it in the same toll category as a B-Double truck !
Until now, cars towing caravans were classed as " Class A vehicles " and the toll cost of using M2 and M7 on a journey from Sydney to Canberra was sixteen dollars. When that new classification came into effect earlier this year that charge increased to $ 47.75 for the same journey.
Simply getting a car and caravan in or out of Sydney is now an expensive proposition. This " Class B " definition is already in force on Sydney's other toll roads including both the cross city tunnel and the Lane Cove tunnel - and a host of new roads under construction will be subjected to a toll when finished. The mass of those tolls put together is a frightening figure.
There is an old Chinese curse that says " May you live in interesting times ". That is certainly an apt definition for those planning a route to get their caravan out of Sydney without the need for an overdraft. It seems the dream of a cheap caravan holiday just crashed - and burned !
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