Patriot Campers is an Australian-based manufacturer of high-quality, off-road Camper Trailers. Since their inception in 2013, the company has experienced tremendous growth and success, expanding its product line and market reach. Patriot facilities now span across four manufacturing sites, totalling over 14,000 square meters, with industry leading professionals at the helm of each one.
The company’s founder and CEO, Justin Montesalvo, started the business as a passion project, building high-quality camping trailers for his own use. As demand for his Camper Trailers grew, he decided to turn his hobby into a business, and Patriot Campers was born.
QUALITY
One of the keys to Patriot Campers’ success has been its commitment to quality. The company uses only the best materials and components in its camper trailers and employs skilled craftsmen to ensure that every detail is perfect.
In 2021, Patriot Campers obtained an industry-leading certification in quality systems; ISO 9001. This certification formalised the control processes within the business, and assisted the team in enhancing the quality processes they already had.
MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
As demand for Patriot Campers’ products grew, the company quickly outgrew its original manufacturing space. To keep up with demand, the company embarked on a major expansion of the original factory, adding precious floorspace which enabled them to bring in more advanced tooling and equipment.
Over time, Patriot Campers acquired more manufacturing sites in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, which brings us to now, a time when Patriot Campers facilities span over a total of 14,000 square meters.
Today, Patriot Campers is one of the most innovative manufacturers of off-road equipment in the world. The company continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the off-road market, and its commitment to quality and excellence remains strong.
MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
Coil steel is the heart of Patriot’s hard-wearing camper trailers. It is received in either sheet or tube form – depending on the part – and from there it is either CNC Laser Cut, or punched into its profile shape with a repeatable tolerance. The profiles are then formed through state of the art CNC Bending techniques to ensure accuracy and repeatability. At each stage the parts are inspected for quality assurance.
PLC controlled pulse welders and welding robots are used for pinpoint accuracy and heat disbursement of alloy materials. The production facility utilises powder coating, rather than spray painting, to achieve a more consistent and durable finish. Powder coating is known as the gold standard in protective coating in automotive assembly plants around the world in relation to steel components. The powder coating process itself is friendly to the environment too, thanks to the lack of toxins and waste produced during the application.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Patriot Campers is determined to keep manufacturing in Australia, despite the higher cost, because it has such a profound impact on the Australian economy. It’s not just about the Patriot workforce; it’s also about the workforce of each supplier, and their families. When you purchase from Australian companies, you keep Australian money in Australia.
It’s this supply chain that’s made up of thousands of moving parts, and to control it all, the systems team at Patriot Campers has built a bespoke system to control the workload and parts in the business. This software allows Patriot Campers to take a look into the future, and make smart business decisions quickly when a market change demands it.
Once all the parts have been prepared, they are transferred to a parts warehouse where they are picked for preassembly. International automotive “just in time” management processes are adopted to manage the material flow within ERP planning software, throughout all of their plants. Parts are sorted by location and arrive at pre-assembly stations where sub assemblies are built next to the main production line. The line pulses in sequence, consuming the sub assemblies right as they are needed. Thanks to this carefully planned sequencing, Patriot Campers has the ability to flex the production line to produce more or less camper trailers as market demand changes.
ENGINEERING
Patriot Campers are proud partners with Redarc Electronics, and have been since the very first X1. Not only do they manufacture the brains of the entire X-Range right from their HQ location in Adelaide, but they also assist with optimising product designs to complement one another. Experts in their field, Redarc are another proud Australian company at the forefront of global touring electronics, and Patriot Owners can count on them for electronics support across the globe.
All tents fitted to the X-Range are made exclusively from Australian made Canvas, which is renowned for being the best in the world. No other material breathes like Australian canvas, or is as durable, as the conditions we expect our canvas to survive in are particularly harsh. To manufacture tents from this canvas, sophisticated CNC plotting machines paired with highly skilled machinists are utilised to ensure all tents are just as precise in their form as the metal components of the camper trailer. This repeatability means that customers can be sure of the quality, and any repairs or replacements provided throughout the life of your camper trailer will always be to factory standard.
The construction of our the hard lids, and other composite components, are crafted using silicone vacuum bag technology which can handle complex 3D geometry moulds. Resin flows through the vacuum bags, forming the perfect seal over the mould, to produce hard-wearing parts with near perfect repeatability. This industry leading plastics forming method eliminates unnecessary waste and increases accuracy when compared with forming technologies of the past. Driving innovation within the business, our research and development team focuses on both new products and the refinement of existing product lines to ensure that Patriot Campers meets and exceeds both local and international automotive engineering standards. Products are created and then refined utilising 3D scanning technology, and are then subjected to a range of specialised tests including FEA testing, wind tunnel analysis and more.
And if the electronics are the brain, the harness is the nervous system. Local supplier HELM Wiring provides all wiring harnesses, which are manufactured in Australia for enhanced quality. Helm Wiring pride themselves on delivering highly repeatable harnesses for mass production. This assists in fault finding and replacements if a problem ever arises. Patriot Campers only use the best components in their assembly factory. The structural rivets and chemical adhesives used are borrowed from the aerospace industry to form a monocoque construction with minimal welds, for strength and longevity. Every camper trailer is built upon a hot dipped galvanised chassis foundation for low weight strength with the fusion of steel and marine grade aluminium.
DEALERS
Each year, more Patriots are on the road than ever before. Patriot knows that the key to servicing their growing owner base is to onboard Dealers that can support new and existing customers in their local area. Because of this, they have spent the last five years onboarding authorised dealers that share their vision for off-road adventure, customer service, and family-owned values. These businesses are set up all around the country, ensuring that Patriot Campers owners are never too far from a dealer, so they can access servicing, spare parts and customer support with ease. The network is always evolving, and the Team at Patriot Campers hope to bring even more Authorised Service Centres into the fold as the Patriot Family grows.
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INSIDE THE PATRIOT CAMPERS FACTORY! NEVER BEFORE SEEN!
